Managing locations

OTbase lets you specify the physical location of a given asset. For this purpose, OTbase maintains a definition of locations that you can access and edit in INVENTORY/LOCATIONS.

Required access rights

In order to be able to manage location data, you must be a member of a group with the permission to modify master data.

The location directory

The location directory can be accessed at INVENTORY/LOCATIONS. It features a tree structure where you can expand and collapse nodes that contain sub-nodes. You can select a specific location by clicking on it.

You can sort and filter the location directory using the column headers.  Also note that you can change the layout of the directory by moving columns around with drag and drop, and by enabling/disabling columns using the context menu (right-click).

The command bar on top of the directory comes with the following functions:

Profile

Display the location profile of the selected location in a new browser window. A location profile is a consolidated account of all the OT data for a given location, including a list of OT devices and networks at that location. -- Note that you can also open a location profile with double-click on a location entry.

Topology

Do an interactive network topology for the selected location in a new browser window. The resulting topology diagram includes all networks present at the location. It therefore might take long to finish if you select a high-level location such as a complex site, or even a country or continent with a high number of networks.

Add

Add a new location below the selected location.

Delete

Delete the selected location.

Expand All

Expands all entries of the location tree. By default, only locations with sub-locations that are reference locations will be expanded automatically.

Collapse All

Collapses all entries of the location tree.

Edit

Edit the selected location (see below).

The location tree

Locations are organized in a hierarchical way in OTbase. This allows you to model your geo-spatial universe using the granularity that provides the most value. For example, you could use the following hierarchy levels:

• Continents
• Countries
• Counties
• Cities
• Sites
• Buildings
• Floors
• Rooms
• Cabinets

Note that OTbase doesn't force you to use a predetermined schematic for coding locations. It doesn't "know" or expect that a particular location or sub-location is a building, or cabinet. This gives you ultimate freedom in choosing the hierarchy levels that make most sense for your use cases.

The good thing is that you can re-arrange your location hierarchy later without having to re-enter data. You can arrange the tree by adding new locations, and by moving locations to different parts of the tree.

Marking a location or sub-location as a reference location (see below) will make it show in boldface. Usually this is used to highlight sites, but can also be used e.g. for buildings if you manage only one site.

Location IDs and location names

In general the location tree is built using location names that you can assign in a way that makes most sense for your users. The most important aspect of the location tree is that it allows you to map location IDs, as assigned in OTbase Asset Discovery, can easily be transformed into something that makes sense to the average user right away.

Location IDs are flat (or at least they don't use a hierarchy coding that would be obvious to every user), and can be mapped to any hierarchy level in the tree. This is done by editing location data in the details pane (see below) where you can assign a particular location ID to the given location, or via the REST API.

If that location ID matches a location ID assigned in OTbase Asset Discovery, the respective devices will then automatically be "moved" to that location.

The location edit pane

When you select a location by left-click and click the Edit button, a pane is moved in from the right that allows you to edit location details. You must be a member of a group with Master Data edit permission in order to use this functionality.

In the location edit pane you find the following fields:

Context drop-down

The context drop-down list in the pane header allows you to move the location to a different area, i.e. higher level location. When you open the context drop-down, you will see the present higher level location selected (in our example: USA). If you select a different location in the tree, the location will be moved to that new area. For example, if we selected "South America" for our example, the Flat Rock location would be moved to South America.

ID
Location ID. This field is usually set in OTbase Asset Discovery. Specifying a location ID used in Asset Discovery will make the respective devices show up in this location.

Name
Location name.

Reference Location
This checkbox determines if the location acts as a reference location in the tree segment. A reference location will be highlighted in the location tree. In vulnerability profiles, hardware product profiles, software product profiles etc. devices are grouped by reference locations. The most comman usage of reference locations is to make each site (plant, factory) a reference location.

Description
Description of the location.

Location Group

You can define location groups in INVENTORY/EXTENDED and then assign a group to a location. Not only makes this easier to filter your locations, but also to point out important characteristics of a location, such as it might require personal protective equipment, or being an offshore location that can only be reached by helicopter. The drop-down menu will present you with a list of location groups that have been defined by yourself or your team.

Address
Street address of the location. You can check the street address by clicking on the globe icon right to the field, which will try to open the address in Google Maps.

GPS
GPS coordinates of the location in lat/long format. In order to obtain the lat/long data for your location, go to Google Maps and pinpoint your location (for example by using the street address). Then do a right click to open the context menu. In the context menü, the lat/long data will be shown as the first item. Click on the entry to copy the information to the clipboard. -- You can check the GPS coordinates by clicking on the globe icon right to the field, which will try to open the location in Google Maps.

Company
Name of the company that owns the location, if applicable. You may use this field to identify that this location is owned by a particular company, such as a subsidiary.

Webcam
Webcam monitoring the location. You can check the link of a webcam that you specify by clicking on the button right to the field.

Map
Floor plan of the location, or other map type, such as geographical map, where you can highlight the exact placement of sub-locations. The use of maps is explained below.

Picture
Picture of the location.

Files
Any files that are attached to the location. These files will be displayed in the location profile, from where they can be downloaded.

Extended fields
Below the file box, any extended (user-defined) fields will be displayed that have been defined for locations. In the example above, there is one extended field "Seismic classification". Extended fields can be defined in INVENTORY/EXTENDED.

Using maps

The map feature allows you to graphically document the location of cabinets, rooms, buildings, sites etc. on an appropriate map. This is extremely useful for orienting staff members and contractors who are not intimately familiar with location identifiers and descriptions.

In order to use this feature, you first need to make sure that you have defined sub-locations for a given location. (If not, this can be done in a matter of seconds by clicking the "Add" button on top of the location tree.) If sub-locations are defined, a small arrow appers left to the location name, indicating that you can expand and collapse the location.

Maps can be Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) or bitmaps (PNG, JPG etc.). Bitmaps can be particularly helpful at the cabinet level, where you can identify various cabinets in a photo that you (or a maintenance specialist on site) can take with a smartphone in a matter of minutes.

In order to load your map, click on "Edit" at the bottom of the location detail pane. Then use right-click on the map field. After having loaded your map, you can place your sub-locations on the map with right-click.

After selecting "Place hotspot", a menu appears that lets you pick a sub-location that you want to place. Select the sub-location with left-click.

You can move the sub-location on the map with drag-and-drop. Continue this process until you have placed all sub-locations. Note that you can zoom in and out with the control wheel, and pan by clicking on the map and holding the mouse key pressed.

Don't forget to click "Save" (at the bottom of the pane) when you're done with your editing.

Video