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Deleting Inventory Targets

note

The information provided in this topic is specific to IT Visibility and does not apply to IT Asset Management.

Individual inventory targets (devices from which you might collect hardware and software inventory) can easily be deleted from the saved list of inventory targets.

note

Deleting an inventory target prevents the collection of updated inventory from that device. The inventory target records must be persistent for on-going inventory collection.

Because the .csv imports of inventory targets are cumulative (that is, each import either adds new inventory target records or updates the IP address and ports of existing targets to use for inventory gathering), any required deletions must be performed in the Flexera One list of inventory targets. Simply omitting a previously imported target from a later upload of a .csv file has no effect on existing records.

You need to be consistent in managing these imported records and your source files, in case of future imports of the .csv file; because if you delete from Flexera One but leave the record in a .csv file that is imported later, the record is naturally restored. Also be aware of the possible impacts of removing an inventory target, as described below.

tip

Your account must have write permissions on Flexera One to complete this process (or to see the Delete button).

To delete one or more inventory targets:

  1. If not already on the Inventory Targets page, click Data Collection > Inventory Targets.

  2. On the left side of the page, select the type of inventory target(s) that you want to delete. Types include:

    • VMware Infrastructure

    • Other types will be forthcoming.

  3. Either:

    1. To delete all the displayed inventory targets of this type, click the check box at the top left of the list.

      tip

      If you have too many inventory targets to fit on one page, this top check box selects only those on the current page. There is no way to select the contents of more than one page at a time. However, you can switch to a different page, and make additional selections there. Your selections are preserved as you navigate back and forth between pages.

    2. To delete one or a selection from the displayed inventory targets, click the individual selection boxes next to the items you want to remove. If necessary, you may make selections from more than one display page before taking action.

    The total number of inventory targets selected on all pages is displayed in an information panel at the top of the list. When any targets are selected, the Delete button is activated.

    note

    Keep your .csv file in sync with the deletions you are making from the list of imported inventory targets. If you delete a target in Flexera One, but it remains present in the working .csv file, it will be restored to your list of inventory targets at the next import of the .csv file. It may be helpful, therefore, to have the .csv file open as a spreadsheet from which you can delete rows at the same time as you select them in the listing.

  4. When satisfied with your selections, click Delete. A confirmation dialog appears, stating how many inventory targets are about to be removed and reminding you that this deletion cannot be undone. Click Cancel to reconsider (for example, taking into account some of the following impacts), or click Delete to remove the selected inventory targets.

    Deletion has the following effects:

    • If a deleted inventory target had already been included in a target group (for example, ready for tasks to be performed on the group), it is automatically removed from the group. (The group continues to be available, even if you have just deleted the last member of the group.)

    • If inventory has already been successfully collected from the inventory target (so that there is a matching inventory device record), the inventory device record is unaffected at the time of deleting the inventory target record. These two records are completely independent.

    • If this same deleted target still exists in your .csv file, the target record is recreated the next time you import the file. (This is why it is important to keep the Flexera One records and the .csv file in sync, as described above.)

    • Deleting the inventory target also stops any future inventory collection tasks for that device. When the previously-collected inventory from the device ages, you may need to ensure that the inventory device record is also deleted to prevent it consuming your license entitlements.

  5. You are returned to the Inventory Targets page, with the listing updated according to your actions.