Most organizations run a helpdesk and an asset inventory. Often these are separate systems -- tickets in one tool, assets in another, and no connection between them. GLPI has both in a single database. But having both doesn't mean they're connected. That only happens when tickets are linked to assets, and most GLPI installations don't enforce this.
The problem with unlinked tickets
A ticket comes in: "My computer is slow." The agent asks what computer, gets a vague answer, spends five minutes looking it up. They fix the issue and close the ticket. No asset is linked. Three months later, the same computer has another problem. A different agent starts from scratch -- no history, no context, no record that this machine has been a repeat offender.
Multiply this across hundreds of tickets and you lose the ability to answer basic questions: Which assets generate the most support requests? Should we replace these machines or keep fixing them?
How to associate assets with tickets
Manual linking
When creating or editing a ticket, the "Associated elements" tab lets agents search for and attach any GLPI asset. The agent types part of the asset name or serial number, GLPI searches, and the link is created. Simple, but relies on agents remembering to do it.
Automatic linking via business rules
GLPI's business rules can auto-fill the associated asset based on the requester. If a user has exactly one computer assigned to them, a rule can automatically attach it to every ticket they submit. Configure this in Administration > Rules > Business rules for tickets. It works well when each user has a single laptop. It breaks down when users have multiple devices -- the rule can't guess which one the ticket is about.
What linked data gives you
Per-asset ticket history
Open any computer in GLPI's asset inventory and click the "Tickets" tab. Every linked ticket appears in chronological order. You can immediately see whether this asset is a one-time issue or a chronic problem. This single view replaces dozens of search queries.
Impact analysis for changes
Planning a network switch replacement? If tickets are linked to assets, and assets are linked to locations and networks, you can trace which users and services will be affected. Without asset-ticket links, you're guessing.
Cost-per-asset support data
If your tickets track time spent (GLPI supports this natively), and tickets are linked to assets, you can calculate the total support cost per asset. When a three-year-old laptop has accumulated 40 hours of support time, the replacement decision becomes obvious -- and backed by data, not gut feeling.
Faster diagnosis
When an agent opens a ticket with a linked asset, they immediately see the asset's configuration: OS version, RAM, disk space, last inventory date. No need to ask the user for basic specs -- the data is right there.
The reporting payoff
Linked tickets and assets make specific reports possible that are otherwise out of reach:
- "Top 10 assets by ticket count this quarter" -- identifies hardware that should be replaced
- "Average tickets per asset by model" -- reveals whether a specific laptop model is unreliable
- "Support cost by department" -- based on linked assets assigned to users in each department
- "Assets with zero tickets in 12 months" -- candidates for reallocation or surplus
These reports use GLPI's built-in search engine. No custom SQL needed -- just configure the search criteria and save the query.
Making it stick
The technical setup is straightforward. The hard part is consistency. Three things help: make the asset field mandatory on ticket forms (Setup > General > Helpdesk), enable auto-association rules for the common case, and review unlinked tickets weekly until the habit forms.