How to Identify and Manage Duplicate Devices in ControlUp Desktops Due to Reimaging and Agent Re-registration

A common challenge with ControlUp‘s Desktops product arises when IT teams test new device models by repeatedly reimaging machines, causing multiple instances of the same device to register with unique device IDs but identical hostnames. This scenario leads to an inflated license count, as each registration consumes a license until the devices are flagged inactive and subsequently removed from the system.

To identify these “duplicate” devices, one effective method involves querying the ControlUp `device_status` data index. While leveraging ControlUp Dashboards can help visualize this data, caution is advised when running queries based solely on device IDs without applying appropriate filters to avoid misleading results. Advanced options in the dashboard allow adding additional metrics that can pinpoint such duplicates by hostname or device name, which is particularly helpful since the root issue is not duplicate device IDs but duplicate device names retained after reimaging.

In practice, customizing dashboard widgets with additional filters and metrics can enable teams to monitor and isolate devices that have been repeatedly reimaged and registered, streamlining license management. For devices already deployed, it is possible to run a script that forces re-registration of devices with a new unique ID to prevent license count inflation. This step may be beneficial where device IDs need to be refreshed or reset in the ControlUp environment.

Another important factor involves deployment parameters. For example, the `REGISTERWITHNAME=1` flag, if set during agent deployment, can cause devices to register under the same name, exacerbating duplicate name issues. However, in many cases, the default setting with the `ALLUSERS=1` flag, used in ControlUp’s standard installer from the Downloads pane, is sufficient and does not trigger duplicate registrations unless devices are repeatedly reimaged and reset by users.

Overall, the underlying cause of the inflated license usage is the repeated device reimaging and agent re-registration under the same hostname but with unique IDs. Proper use of the `device_status` index for querying, cautious dashboard configurations, potential scripting to reset device IDs, and awareness of deployment flags can effectively manage and mitigate “duplicate” device issues within the ControlUp Desktops product.

Read the entire ‘How to Identify and Manage Duplicate Devices in ControlUp Desktops Due to Reimaging and Agent Re-registration’ thread below:

Good morning, is there a quick and easy way to review “duplicate” devices in the desktops product? We have a few IT people testing new device models with multiple reimages and the controlup agent is installing, registering, and taking a license until they are inactive long enough to fall off.

Device hostname stays as the serial number but gets a unique device ID in controlup.

This could be done from the `device_status` data index. Although Dashboards could help you with this, I’d be cautious running queries based on _id without filtering results

something like this, perhaps?

I was close haha. Didnt know I could add an additional metric under advanced options. This seems to do what I need it to for now, thanks for the suggestions! Added my slightly different widget file below:

for already deployed devices, you can run a script that re-registers the device with a different ID. Let me know if you will need that as well

oh! I see your issue, not a duplicate ID, but duplicate name

hmm, strange

unless you are using the REGISTERWITHNAME=1 parameter in the deployment?

Only flag I have set so far is the ALLUSERS=1, which I think is default in the “Downloads” pane. Not a super big deal, I just noticed our license count was getting higher and found someone reset their device like 10 times

ah! that makes sense then
that’ll do it

Continue reading and comment on the thread ‘How to Identify and Manage Duplicate Devices in ControlUp Desktops Due to Reimaging and Agent Re-registration’.  Not a member? Join Here!