Hardware Refresh User Guide

NOTE: This is for versions prior to 10.12.

Overview

This DEX Pack offers detailed evaluations of hardware to determine the necessity of upgrading or replacing systems.

Value Proposition

This solution provides an optimized health score through a more structured upgrade process, aiding customers in making informed investment decisions. When justifying expenditures, organizations often question whether they can save money or if systematic upgrades are necessary. For example, they may determine that a model number has become obsolete. Systems are typically evaluated for upgrades based on criteria such as financial considerations, age, performance, or even a change in suppliers.

The dashboard offers concrete data, helping organizations decide which systems are still viable and which require upgrades. It may reveal, for instance, that 36% of systems deemed questionable are still suitable for current tasks and can be maintained for another year. Conversely, it confirms which systems are underperforming and need immediate upgrades. This approach allows for targeted, efficient upgrades, prioritizing systems that genuinely require enhancement.

This tool is also valuable for vendor refresh initiatives, as it highlights which systems should be prioritized for replacement based on performance metrics. It is available in two versions: cloud and on-premises. The cloud version has an optimized performance setup, with threshold settings moved elsewhere in the product to improve dashboard load times. In contrast, the on-premises version retains the original dashboard with the integrated threshold settings.

Additionally, this tool serves as a powerful modeling resource. Users can adjust threshold values to explore different performance scenarios. For example, if the default CPU threshold indicates that 20% of systems are underperforming, users can increase this value to see if the number drops, perhaps to 5%, thus identifying what level of performance is acceptable. This flexibility helps organizations evaluate upgrade costs and determine a tolerable performance threshold before committing to changes.

Hardware Refresh

Gain insight into systems that need upgrading or replacing.

External Monitors

Identify users who may benefit from additional monitors.

Hardware Refresh

Global Filters

Choose which Group you would like to explore or use the entry box to search for a system.

  • Use the slider to adjust the C: Drive free percent remaining. The default is at 10%.

  • Use the slider to adjust Percent of total memory used. The default is 80%.

  • Use the slider to adjust Percent of total CPU used. The default is 80%.

  • Select Hard Disk upgrade, Yes or No.

Note: If you want to upgrade all non-solid state drives (spinning drive) to solid state drive, choose “yes”.

System Refresh

There are many metrics that affect the recommendations for hardware refresh including: System Age, User Experience Score, Max CPU %, Max CPU Capacity, Graphical Intensity Usage, Battery Health and .Model

Use the entry box to Search for a System.

Replacement value is based on Suggested CPU.

  • To reveal the systems in a category, click the System Type arrow.

  • If the Status of the system is online, double-click to enter Systrack Resolve.

The Suggested CPU has three categories:

Green No Change Recommended
Yellow Review the system over time; the system is close to aging or maxing out although is not currently impacting user experience.
Red Replacement recommended based on thresholds.

System Refresh Chart

This chart displays the distribution of systems that need to be replaced, those that need review, and those that require no change. This data is based on the Suggested CPU in the Systems Replace grid.

  • Hover over a “slice” to reveal the number count for each category.

External Monitors

Advanced Options

Choose Show to modify monitor recommendations.

Monitor Recommendation

Users that frequently switch between app windows may benefit from an external monitor. By default, this Dashboard recommends an external monitor under the following conditions:

  1. The user has no external monitors

  2. The user switches between windows at least 1.2 times more than the average user

To change this multiplier from 1.2, use the text box.

External Monitor Summary

This graph shows how many external monitors systems have. Systems with 0 external monitors are usually laptops or other devices with an internal monitor. Systems in the red section may need an additional external monitor (defined in Advanced Options > Monitor Recommendation).

  • Select a bar in this pane to filter the data in the System Details table.

System Details

This table shows external monitor data for specific systems and users. Use the External Monitor Recommended column to determine which users need an external monitor. Providing external monitors to those who need them can increase productivity.

  • Use the drop-down to either show all data or to filter data based on the graph clicked in External Monitor Summary.

  • Click a system in this pane to populate the table in External Monitor Details (Selected System).

External Monitor Details (Selected System)

This table shows external monitor details for the system selected in System Details. Use the drop-down to specify the units for the Diagonal Screen Size column.