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Spreadsheet Import

Already have an inventory in a spreadsheet? Import it directly instead of typing targets by hand. Upload a CSV or Excel file, map its columns, and the platform bulk-creates either prefixes (so they can be scanned for cryptographic assets) or infrastructure assets (configuration-item records). It's the fastest way to onboard an existing server list or a network team's CIDR list.

Overview

Most organizations already track their servers, networks, and IP ranges somewhere — a spreadsheet exported from an ITAM/ITSM system, a network team's CIDR list, or a hand-maintained asset register. Spreadsheet Import lets you bring that inventory into Vista Platform in one step:

  • Two import targets, one wizard — choose whether each import creates prefixes (the CIDRs Discovery scans, in Inventory → Networks) or infrastructure assets (known servers/devices as CI records).
  • CSV and Excel — .csv, .xlsx, and .xls are all supported.
  • Column mapping — your spreadsheet's columns are auto-matched to the right fields by header name; you can adjust the mapping before importing.
  • Validation before import — rows are checked client-side (for example, a malformed CIDR or a missing required field) and flagged so you can fix them. Invalid rows are skipped, never imported.
  • Duplicate-safe — rows that match something already in your inventory (by any of the identifiers you mapped for assets, or by CIDR for prefixes) are skipped rather than duplicated.
  • Up to 1000 rows per import.

Where to find it

  • Discovery → Command Center → Import from spreadsheet — for either target (prefixes or infrastructure assets).
  • Inventory → Import — locked to infrastructure assets.

Importing prefixes needs Manage IPAM (ipam.manage) — each row is created the way Add prefix creates one, so the change log, the auto-approval rule and the scan-scope checks behave exactly as for a prefix added by hand. Importing assets needs Create assets.

Importing prefixes (scan targets)

This is the common path for onboarding a list of networks you want scanned.

  1. Open the wizard and choose Networks (prefixes).
  2. Upload your CSV/Excel file. The first row must be a header row.
  3. Map columns to prefix fields:
  4. Prefix (CIDR) (required) — 10.0.0.0/24 or 2001:db8:10::/64.
  5. Description — a label for the prefix.
  6. Network type, Environment (required) — pick a column to read these from, or set a single default applied to every row (handy when your whole sheet is, say, all private / production).
  7. Review the preview. Valid and skipped (invalid) row counts are shown.
  8. Click Import. You'll see how many prefixes were created, skipped (duplicates), or failed.
  9. Run a discovery scan on the new prefixes from the Command Center to find cryptographic assets on them.

Importing infrastructure assets (CI records)

Use this when your spreadsheet is a list of known servers/devices rather than networks.

  1. Open the wizard and choose Infrastructure assets.
  2. Upload your file and map columns:
  3. Class (required) — map a column or choose a single default for the whole file. The list is the platform's class taxonomy (Server, Workstation, Switch, Firewall, Object storage, Web application, Business service, …) — the same taxonomy the Inventory class facet uses, so an imported asset lands in the class you'd expect to find it under. A column whose value isn't a known class is flagged in the preview with the offending value quoted, and that row is skipped.
  4. Identifiers — FQDN, Hostname, IP address, MAC address and Serial number. At least one is required per row, and the wizard auto-maps them from the obvious headers ("Host Name", "Service Tag", …).
  5. Optionally map Interface name, Prefix length and VLAN (see Interfaces below).
  6. Optionally map Display name, Environment, Operating system, Support group, Business unit, Owner email, Description.
  7. Review and import. The preview shows each row's interface. Assets are created in pending_approval and appear in your inventory; subsequent discovery enriches them with cryptographic detail.

Not sure how to lay out the sheet? The upload step offers Download a template (CSV) — a header row whose every column maps itself, and one example row.

Interfaces

A row's IP address and MAC address are on one of the machine's network interfaces. Map an Interface name column (eth0, port1, Ethernet 2) and the row creates that interface on the asset, holding the MAC and the IP — at the Prefix length you give (24 for a /24), on the access VLAN you give — and it shows on the asset's Interfaces tab. A row with an IP or MAC but no interface name still records both, on one interface the platform names (observed-1); a prefix length or VLAN needs an interface name to be kept, and the preview says so. A prefix length outside 0–128 or a VLAN outside 1–4094 is flagged and the row is skipped.

Why identifiers, and not just a hostname column

The identifier columns are the part worth getting right. They are what let the platform recognise a machine it has seen before rather than create a second copy of it: a row carrying a serial number will match the same physical server whether a sensor saw it by hostname, your CMDB exported it by sys_id, or you imported it again next quarter from a different spreadsheet.

Map as many as your sheet has. A file with only a hostname column still imports fine — it just gives the platform less to match on later. Where a match is plausible but not certain, you get a merge proposal in Discovery → Approvals rather than a silent decision either way.

Operating system

Operating system is a property of the class, not of every asset: a server has one, a switch does not. Map the column if your sheet has it — rows whose class has no operating-system field simply ignore it rather than failing.

Services

A row whose class is under Service (Business service, Technical service) needs a Display name instead of an identifier. A service has no address or serial to be known by; its name is its identity.

Note on plan limits. Importing infrastructure assets counts against your subscription's asset limit. If an import would exceed your limit, the whole import is declined and nothing is created — reduce the file or upgrade your plan, then retry.

Tips for preparing your spreadsheet

  • Keep a single header row at the top; the wizard reads column names from it.
  • One record per row.
  • For prefixes, make sure CIDRs are well-formed — invalid values are flagged in the preview and skipped.
  • Re-importing the same file is safe: anything already present is skipped, so you can fix a few rows and re-upload without creating duplicates.

What this is not

Spreadsheet Import is for getting inventory in. To export inventory out, use the per-page Export button (CSV of the current view) or generate a CBOM artifact for audit-grade, content-hashed output. To sync with an ITAM/ITSM system continuously, use an Enterprise CMDB integration (Settings → Integrations).