Asset management

Assets are abstract entities that represent real-world objects, like factories, vehicles, warehouses, and buildings. They group other entities in a hierarchy. Devices report telemetry; assets give that telemetry context by grouping the devices that produce it. Dashboard aliases can then use asset relations to show data from all related devices in one widget.

For a general introduction to assets, see Assets.

There are two ways to get an asset onto an Edge instance:

• Create on Edge: Use this when the asset is new and will be managed primarily on Edge. ThingsBoard pushes it to the server automatically.
• Assign from server: Use this when the asset already exists on the server and you want to make it available on a specific Edge.

1. Go to Devices & assets > Assets, click Add asset, and select Add new asset.

2. Enter the asset Name and select an Asset profile.

3. Click Add.

   The asset appears in the list and is pushed to the server automatically once the Edge connection is established.

Relations define the hierarchy between entities. An asset typically acts as the parent that Manages one or more devices. Once the relation is set up, you can use it as a filter in dashboard aliases to display data from all related devices dynamically.

The two key parameters are:

Parameter	Options	Meaning
Direction	From (outbound)	The relation originates from this entity
Direction	To (inbound)	The relation points to this entity
Relation type	Contains	This entity is a part of another
Relation type	Manages	This entity is responsible for another

To add a Manages relation from an asset to a device:

1. Go to Devices & assets > Assets and open the asset.

2. Go to the Relations tab and set Direction to From.

3. Click Add (+). In the Add relation dialog, set Relation type to Manages. Under To entity, set Type to Device and select the device.

4. Click Add.

   The relation appears in the Relations tab.

To display telemetry from asset-related devices on a dashboard, use a Relations query alias with the asset as the root entity. For details, see Entity aliases.

Use this flow when the asset already exists on the server and you want to make it available on an Edge. Assets reach an Edge through asset groups, so first add the asset to an asset group.

1. On the ThingsBoard server, go to Edge management > Edges and click the Edge.
2. On the Details tab, click Manage asset groups.
3. Click Assign to edge (+), select the group that holds the asset, and click Assign.
4. On the Edge, go to Devices & assets > Assets to check that the asset is there. The Groups column shows the assigned group.

You can also open an assigned group in the same list on the server and add a new asset to it. The asset reaches the Edge in the same way.

Unassigning an asset group removes all its assets from the Edge but keeps them on the server, together with all their data.

1. On the ThingsBoard server, open the Edge and click Manage asset groups on its Details tab.
2. In the row of the group, click Unassign entity group from edge and confirm.

To remove only one asset from the Edge, remove it from the group on the server.