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Parent Child Relationships

xAssets IT Asset Management User Guide
Asset Management

Parent Child Relationships

Parent-child relationships represent links between assets, such as a PC-to-Monitor relationship, a Virtual Machine to its Host, or a Computer assigned to a Software Licence. These relationships help you understand how assets are connected and support reporting on dependencies and configurations.

Viewing Relationships

Open an asset in the editing screen and click the Related Assets tab in the left-hand menu:

TODO Screenshot: ClickMenu "Asset List" | ClickItem "tr.drow:first-child td a" | ClickTab "Related Assets" | PrintScreen "itam-asset-management-parent-child-relationships"

The Related Assets tab shows all parent and child relationships for the current asset, along with the relationship type (e.g., "Assigned To", "Component Of", "Hosted On").

Creating Relationships

There are three methods for creating parent-child relationships:

  1. Open the parent or child asset in the editing screen.
  2. Click the Related Assets tab.
  3. Click Add Children... to link assets below the current one, or Add Parent... to link an asset above.
  4. A dialog appears where you select the relationship type and the target asset(s).

Method 2: Copy and Paste

  1. In a results screen, select the assets you want to link as children.
  2. Choose Query > Copy (a confirmation message appears that the selected records were copied to the clipboard).
  3. Open the parent asset and navigate to the Related Assets tab.
  4. Press Ctrl+V to paste the child assets.

Method 3: Drag and Drop

  1. In a results screen, select one or more assets.
  2. Drag them onto a parent asset in the same results list.

TODO Screenshot (manual): Requires drag-and-drop interaction state

  1. A dialog appears confirming the action to take. Select the appropriate action (e.g., "Create Relationship").

Selecting a Relationship Type

When you create a relationship through any of the above methods, a dialog appears asking you to select the Relationship Type:

TODO Screenshot (manual): Requires dialog open from drag-and-drop or paste action

Common relationship types include:

Relationship Type Typical Use
Assigned To A software licence assigned to a computer
Component Of A monitor, keyboard, or peripheral belonging to a workstation
Hosted On A virtual machine hosted on a physical server
Connected To A device connected to a network switch or SAN
Replaced By A new asset that replaced an older one

Choose the appropriate type and click OK to create the link.

Editing and Removing Relationships

To edit or remove a relationship:

  1. Open the asset and navigate to the Related Assets tab.
  2. Click the Edit link next to the relationship entry to modify its type or details.
  3. To remove a relationship, use the delete or remove option next to the entry.

TODO Screenshot: ClickMenu "Asset List" | ClickItem "tr.drow:first-child td a" | ClickTab "Related Assets" | PrintScreen "itam-asset-management-parent-child-relationships-4"

Tip: Relationships are bidirectional -- if Asset A is a parent of Asset B, then Asset B automatically shows Asset A as its parent. You only need to create the relationship from one side.

Warning: Removing a relationship does not delete either asset. It only removes the link between them. The assets continue to exist independently.

Tip: Software licence-to-computer assignments are a special case of parent-child relationships. When you assign a computer to a software licence, this is recorded as a relationship and affects the licence compliance calculation. See the Software Licencing chapter for details.