Intro 

This guide will be a jump start to setting up your Hudu instance. As an Admin, you have access to a complete set of tools to best design and organize your documentation structure.   

By the end of the guide, you'll have learned about these essential items.

• Building your first space and creating an example of each core tool 
• Building an Asset Layout and creating your first Asset
• Relating your documentation 
• Securing your instance & profile

Setting Up Your Hudu Environment

To begin setting up your Hudu instance, let’s start by building your first environment [space]. Each of your spaces has the same set of core tools and utilities [passwords, KB, processes, photos, websites, racks, networks, and expirations] and will have a similar structure [standardized asset layouts] but contain the documentation dedicated to the particular space. Spaces typically refer to separate companies but can be termed anything you'd like.

By the end of this section, you’ll have built an example company with an understanding of how they work and the features available per company.

Creating a Sample Company

Why Start with a Sample Company? Starting with a sample company lets you explore the core features of Hudu, as well as serves as an excellent opportunity to set up an example that your team can emulate later. You can always archive this company later to declutter your environment and search results.

Here's How: Create a Company

 

• Create a New Company:
  • Go to the Companies tab on your Hudu Toolbar.
  • Click ((+ New Company)).
  • Companies could be changed to divisions, locations, schools, etc. Choose a structure that suits your particular documentation needs. Want to learn how to change the name of each space? Read the linked article to learn more.
• Input Company Details:
  • Provide the basic details of the company.
• Save Your Company Space:
  • Click ((Create Company)) to finalize.
  • This action establishes a unique company space, unlocking features and tools tailored to this company.

Creating a Password

Hudu allows you to create, organize, and manage credentials specific to each company. Quick access buttons give technicians the ability to copy credentials directly to their clipboard. Let’s start by creating a new password in Hudu, and for more information on password capabilities, read our Password Management article.

Here’s How: Password 

 

• Create a user's credential as an example.
• To start creating a new password, navigate to the Password tool section, and select + New Password.
• You'll be prompted to fill in the required fields [Name and Password].
  • When creating your first password, consider adding more than the required fields. 
• For this example, we’ll fill fields, like the username, and secret key for OTP.
• Upon saving, you'll now have stored your first password inside your company:

Building a KB Article

KB articles in Hudu allow users to create and organize how-to guides or additional tutorials. KBs can be organized Globally or at the company level. They are also capable of being shared freely with users outside of your Hudu instance. For more information on KB articles, read our Knowledge Base article.

We’ll build a KB article, detailing editing toolsets and key features to know to provide further clarity for readers. 

Here's How: KB's

 

• Navigate to the KB tab under the core tools section.
• Select ((New Article))
• Select Blank from the dropdown and provide the article with a title.
• Explore the tools by testing:
  • WYSIWYG editor
  • Automated table of contents created from Headers (1, 2, and 3)
  • Callouts (Info, Success, Warning, and Danger)
  • Formatted code blocks for supported language types

Monitoring a Website

Website monitoring automatically tracks details like SSL, domain, and the status of addresses. Users are able to disable those tracking features and can choose what Hudu pulls in. 

Here’s How: Website Monitoring

 

• In the Websites tab, select ((+ New)).
• Add your desired URL and configure the tracking options.
• Consider adding additional notes relevant to the site.
• After creation, examine the items coming in, and make a note of the expirations found. Hudu will also pull these expirations to be seen in the next section, Expirations. 

Expirations can track SSL and Domain expirations but, can also be connected to custom alerts to let your team know when an expiration is approaching and notify you. These linked articles on Expirations and Alerts will expand on their capabilities.

Here's How: Expirations

 

• Navigate to the Expirations section under core tools.
• Explore the tools by testing:
  • Filter by time frame.
  • Choose the type of expiration.
  • Navigate to tracked entities by selecting their Name.

Creating Company Structure

Assets are the building blocks of your documentation structure. To design your structure, layouts can be created from scratch or by a template. We will begin by creating one from a template and adding an asset to it within your existing company. Our goal in this section is to familiarize the structure of asset layouts, and how an individual entity will look in your instance. 

Building an Asset Layout

Asset layouts are customizable categories designed to store information, guaranteeing that your technicians consistently obtain relevant and accurate data for your company’s IT infrastructure. Asset layouts are created at a global level, the same structure is used across companies to ensure a standardized yet adaptable format for information.

Here’s How: Template

 

• Navigate to Admin, then the Asset Layouts section.
• Select New Asset Layout. 
• Choose one of the existing templates.
  • For this guide, we’ll choose the People Asset example.
• After creating the template, make sure the Asset Layout is active, for it to appear in each company.

Creating Your First Asset

Now that we’ve created an Asset Layout, we can navigate back to the company we initially created, and begin filling out our first asset.

We will start by making one now.

Here’s How: Creating an Asset

 

• In this example, let’s build an entry for the asset layout of the person connected to the password credential you created.
• Navigate to the previously created company.
• Choose the Asset Layout we are looking to add, in our case, People.
• Fill out the required and additional fields to complete. 
  • As your first example, think about which critical details you'll need for the particular asset [these would be the fields you'd require your technicians to input every time they create an asset in this layout].
• It is up to the admin to show a good example.
  • Consider adding additional context to the note section, so users can see what a helpful note will look like.
  • Happy with how this looks? As an extra step, navigate to the More Options, marked by the 3 dots.
  • Consider marking this asset as a Gold Standard, that way users can see what a good example looks like.

Structuring Relationships

Now that we have created the first company, core documentation items, and your first asset, we can use Hudu’s powerful relationship features to connect documentation. Relating documentation gives your users a clearer picture of relevant documentation and efficiently connects them together. 

In this example, we’ll create a relationship between your asset and the existing credential.

Here’s How: Relating Documentation

 

• Navigate to your created People asset entity. 
  • Let’s connect their existing password so new users viewing this entity, can see what documentation is dependent on this individual. 
• On the right-hand margin, select the + Add under Related Items.
  • Note: In the same margin, + Password can be found, this will create a "child credential" to this asset with a direct relationship. For this example, we will stay in the relationships section. 
• Relationships can be created between nearly any entity stored inside Hudu. Since we’re adding a credential, choose 'password' from the drop-down menu.
  • Relationships in Hudu can connect Companies, Assets, Passwords, and Websites. Users also have the option of relating documentation outside their current company.
• Search the name of the password, and select add.
• This will create a 2-way connection between the two entities. View your newly created relationship on the right-hand sidebar.

Securing Your Instance 

Personal 2FA

Admin Security Control 

Admin security can be found by navigating to the admin tab and selecting Security, within the Basic Setup section. Under Authentication, you are able to configure 2FA or SAML/SSO.

Finishing Touches

This completes the basic setup of a company and asset in Hudu! You're ready to start documenting, building knowledge, and collaborating with other users. We recommend taking some time to build additional asset layouts and get familiar with the related tools we mentioned above.

When you're ready to explore more of Hudu's capabilities, here are some next steps that can help you further customize and build out your Hudu instance.

Additional Resources

• Invite Users
• Security Groups
• Password Folders
• Hudu Extensions
• Custom Logo & Design