Understand Structures, Elements, and Collections

Choose the right record for hierarchy, operational units, and asset groupings.

Diagram showing Structure Tags attaching Elements and Collections while Collections group Assets.

WanAware uses three related records for organization:

  • A Structure is a hierarchy. Supported types include Company, Organization, Group, and Vendor, with placement rules that keep the hierarchy valid.
  • An Element is an operational unit. The supported Element types are Application, Service, and Site.
  • A Collection is a named group of existing Assets inside an Element.

A Structure Tag connects an Element or Collection to one node in a Structure. Matching names alone do not create this connection.

Choose by the question you need to answer

QuestionUse
Where does this belong in our hierarchy?A Structure and its Structure Tag
Which Application, Service, or Site is this?Element
Which Assets belong together for this purpose?Collection
Which Assets are at a Site?A Site Element and Site Assets

Start with the smallest model that answers a real question. Avoid creating separate records with nearly identical names to represent the same concept.

Related tasks

Get help

Email [email protected] with your company, affected user, record names or IDs, page URL, timestamp and time zone, and the hierarchy you are trying to represent. Never send passwords, credentials, tokens, or secret values.


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