shopdb-flask/scripts/site_imports/assetcollector/overview.md

Collect-ShopDB.ps1 Overview

Overview

• Purpose: A unified, read-only "site adoption" collector that runs on any Windows PC, gathers facts about that PC plus any attached eDNC/DNC/UDC machine, and merges them into a shared set of importable CSVs so a site can build its ShopDB inventory one PC at a time.
• Compatibility: PowerShell 5.1+; CSV headers are aligned to the ShopDB importer (flask csv import --dir).

Configuration and destinations

• Two-stage flow: a fast local stage folder (%ProgramData%\ShopDB\intake) where CSVs are built/merged, and an optional network store (a file share) that the whole site accumulates into.
• Command-line params -OutputRoot and -PublishRoot override the in-script CONFIG block.
• Other params: -AssetNumber (defaults to hostname), -AssetType/-ComputerType/-MachineType (resolved by name), explicit -RegPath/-JsonPath machine source overrides, and -SkipMachine/-SkipApps switches for partial runs.

Data model (the stores)

• Six importable CSVs, each with a defined header order and natural key: vendors.csv, models.csv, operatingsystems.csv, assets.csv, computers.csv, machines.csv.
• Column names follow ShopDB conventions (e.g., assetid, modelnumberid, controllervendorid, lastreporteddate).

PC collection (Get-PcFacts, read-only)

• Uses CIM/WMI (Win32_ComputerSystem, Win32_OperatingSystem, Win32_BIOS) to gather hostname, vendor/manufacturer, model, OS caption, serial number, last boot time, and logged-in user.
• Enumerates network interfaces (hardware adapters only: alias, IPv4, MAC).
• Enumerates installed applications from the registry Uninstall keys (name, version, publisher), skipping system components - unless -SkipApps is set.

Machine (eDNC/DNC/UDC) collection

• Resolve-DncSource searches in priority order: explicit JSON path -> explicit .reg path -> live registry (HKLM\...\GE Aircraft Engines\DNC) -> local .reg export files -> local udc_settings_*.json files.
• Three parsers normalize the different source formats into one shape: ConvertFrom-RegExport (parses exported .reg files including dword decoding), ConvertFrom-LiveRegistry, and ConvertFrom-UdcJson.
• Extracts machine number, site, control type, DNC type, and connection detail (TCP address/port for ethernet, COM port/baud for serial).
• Resolve-ControllerVendor maps control type / NcIF to a controller vendor (e.g., eFOCAS -> FANUC, Siemens, Okuma).

Merge / upsert logic (Merge-CsvStore)

• Field-level UPSERT keyed on each table's natural key: existing rows are matched case-insensitively, and empty incoming cells never overwrite previously captured values - so partial or repeated runs fill gaps without wiping earlier data.
• CSV writing is UTF-8 without BOM, with proper quoting/escaping.

Sidecar files (phase-2 data CSV can't carry)

• Per-PC sidecars\computer_<assetnumber>.json: interfaces + installed apps.
• Per-machine sidecars\machine_<machinenumber>.json: PC-to-machine link (relationship "controls"), DNC/control details, and connection transport info.

Publishing and output

• Optionally mirrors the whole local store to the network share (Copy-Item -Recurse -Force), with a warning if run elevated (network writes should run as standard user).
• Prints a summary and the follow-up dry-run command: flask csv import --dir "<OutputRoot>".

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Relevance to an "Asset Collector" package

This script is a solid template for one collector in a broader package. Notable patterns worth generalizing across other collectors (existing databases, Intune/Azure exports, etc.):

• Normalized intermediate schema (the six CSV stores + JSON sidecars) that all sources converge on, decoupling collection from import.
• Idempotent field-level merge so multiple heterogeneous sources can contribute to the same asset without clobbering each other.
• Source-priority resolution and per-format parsers - the same shape could wrap an Intune/Azure Get-MgDevice export or a SQL query.
• Machines, PCs, Applications are already modeled here; an Intune/Azure source would map naturally onto computers.csv + the installed-apps sidecar, while a MES/CNC database could feed machines.csv.