Asset Management: Eloquent MongoDb Implementation

This is an excellent architectural choice that balances the flexibility of MongoDB with the structural benefits of normalization. Using assetTag as the relationship key is a common pattern for linking documents when a human-readable identifier is preferred over MongoDB’s ObjectId. Here is a complete example of the Laravel Eloquent models for this system, using the jenssegers/laravel-mongodb package.

Prerequisites

Install the MongoDB Eloquent Package:

composer require jenssegers/mongodb

Configure config/database.php: Add a new connection for MongoDB.

// config/database.php

'connections' => [
    // ... other connections

    'mongodb' => [
        'driver'   => 'mongodb',
        'host'     => env('DB_HOST', '127.0.0.1'),
        'port'     => env('DB_PORT', 27017),
        'database' => env('DB_DATABASE', 'homestead'),
        'username' => env('DB_USERNAME', 'homestead'),
        'password' => env('DB_PASSWORD', 'secret'),
        'options'  => [
            'database' => 'admin' // required with Mongo 3+
        ]
    ],
],

1. Base and Lookup Models

These are foundational models that other entities will reference.

`App\Models\User`

This is the standard User model, but it needs to extend the MongoDB model.

// app/Models/User.php
namespace App\Models;

use Illuminate\Foundation\Auth\User as Authenticatable;
use Jenssegers\Mongodb\Eloquent\Model; // Use this if not using authentication traits
// Or for a full auth user:
// use Jenssegers\Mongodb\Auth\User as Authenticatable;

class User extends Model // or Authenticatable
{
    protected $connection = 'mongodb';
    protected $collection = 'users';

    protected $fillable = [
        'name',
        'email',
        'password',
    ];
}

`App\Models\Status`

A simple lookup collection for asset statuses.

// app/Models/Status.php
namespace App\Models;

use Jenssegers\Mongodb\Eloquent\Model;

class Status extends Model
{
    protected $connection = 'mongodb';
    protected $collection = 'statuses';

    protected $fillable = ['name']; // e.g., 'In Use', 'In Storage'
}

2. Normalized Sub-Entity Models

These models contain data related to an asset and are linked via assetTag.

`App\Models\Asset\Location`

// app/Models/Asset/Location.php
namespace App\Models\Asset;

use Jenssegers\Mongodb\Eloquent\Model;

class Location extends Model
{
    protected $connection = 'mongodb';
    protected $collection = 'asset_locations';

    protected $fillable = [
        'assetTag',
        'building',
        'floor',
        'room',
        'description',
    ];

    // Note: Defining the inverse relationship is complex because a location
    // doesn't know if its assetTag belongs to 'assets' or 'itAssets' collection.
    // It's often omitted, as queries typically start from the asset itself.
}

`App\Models\Asset\PurchaseInfo`

// app/Models/Asset/PurchaseInfo.php
namespace App\Models\Asset;

use Jenssegers\Mongodb\Eloquent\Model;

class PurchaseInfo extends Model
{
    protected $connection = 'mongodb';
    protected $collection = 'asset_purchase_info';

    protected $fillable = [
        'assetTag',
        'purchaseDate',
        'vendor',
        'cost',
        'warrantyExpiryDate',
    ];

    protected $casts = [
        'purchaseDate' => 'datetime',
        'warrantyExpiryDate' => 'datetime',
        'cost' => 'float',
    ];
}

`App\Models\Asset\Assignment`

// app/Models/Asset/Assignment.php
namespace App\Models\Asset;

use App\Models\User;
use Jenssegers\Mongodb\Eloquent\Model;

class Assignment extends Model
{
    protected $connection = 'mongodb';
    protected $collection = 'asset_assignments';

    protected $fillable = [
        'assetTag',
        'userId',
        'assignmentDate',
    ];

    protected $casts = [
        'assignmentDate' => 'datetime',
    ];

    /**
     * Get the user this asset is assigned to.
     */
    public function user()
    {
        return $this->belongsTo(User::class, 'userId');
    }
}

3. Abstract Base Asset Model

To avoid repeating the relationship definitions in every asset model, we create an abstract base class.

// app/Models/Asset/BaseAsset.php
namespace App\Models\Asset;

use App\Models\Status;
use Jenssegers\Mongodb\Eloquent\Model;

abstract class BaseAsset extends Model
{
    protected $connection = 'mongodb';

    /**
     * Defines the relationship from an Asset to its Location.
     * Foreign Key: 'assetTag' on the 'asset_locations' collection.
     * Local Key: 'assetTag' on this model's collection.
     */
    public function location()
    {
        return $this->hasOne(Location::class, 'assetTag', 'assetTag');
    }

    /**
     * Defines the relationship to its PurchaseInfo.
     */
    public function purchaseInfo()
    {
        return $this->hasOne(PurchaseInfo::class, 'assetTag', 'assetTag');
    }

    /**
     * Defines the relationship to its Assignment.
     */
    public function assignment()
    {
        return $this->hasOne(Assignment::class, 'assetTag', 'assetTag');
    }

    /**
     * Get the status of the asset.
     * This uses a standard ObjectId relationship.
     */
    public function status()
    {
        return $this->belongsTo(Status::class, 'statusId');
    }
}

4. Concrete Asset Models

These are the models you will interact with directly. They extend BaseAsset to inherit the common relationships.

General Asset: `App\Models\Asset\GeneralAsset`

// app/Models/Asset/GeneralAsset.php
namespace App\Models\Asset;

class GeneralAsset extends BaseAsset
{
    protected $collection = 'general_assets';

    protected $fillable = [
        'assetTag',
        'name',
        'manufacturer',
        'statusId', // Foreign key to the 'statuses' collection
        'category', // e.g., VEHICLE, MACHINERY
        'specifications',
    ];

    protected $casts = [
        // Cast the flexible specifications field to an array/object
        'specifications' => 'array',
    ];
}

Specific IT Asset: `App\Models\Asset\ItAsset`

// app/Models/Asset/ItAsset.php
namespace App\Models\Asset;

class ItAsset extends BaseAsset
{
    protected $collection = 'it_assets';

    protected $fillable = [
        // Base Fields
        'assetTag',
        'name',
        'manufacturer',
        'statusId',

        // IT Specific Fields
        'hostname',
        'macAddress',
        'ipAddress',
        'os',
        'cpu',
        'ramGb',
        'storageGb',
    ];

    protected $casts = [
        'ramGb' => 'integer',
        'storageGb' => 'integer',
    ];
}

Usage Example

Here’s how you would use these models in your controller or service.

use App\Models\Asset\GeneralAsset;
use App\Models\Asset\ItAsset;

// --- Creating a new IT Asset and its related data ---
$itAsset = ItAsset::create([
    'assetTag' => 'IT-LPT-01124',
    'name' => 'Dell Latitude 7420',
    'manufacturer' => 'Dell',
    'statusId' => '638d1d8f5d1e4e3f8b0e7b45', // ObjectId of the 'In Use' status
    'hostname' => 'LPT-JSMITH-PROD',
    'macAddress' => '9C:B6:D0:FF:1A:3E',
    'ramGb' => 16,
]);

$itAsset->location()->create([
    'building' => 'Building A',
    'floor' => '4',
    'description' => 'Desk 4-15'
]);

$itAsset->purchaseInfo()->create([
    'purchaseDate' => now()->subYear(),
    'vendor' => 'Dell Corporate Sales',
    'cost' => 1850.50,
]);

// --- Retrieving an asset with its relations (Eager Loading) ---
$assetTag = 'IT-LPT-01124';
$retrievedAsset = ItAsset::with(['location', 'purchaseInfo', 'assignment.user', 'status'])
                         ->where('assetTag', $assetTag)
                         ->first();

// You can now access related data as properties:
echo $retrievedAsset->name; // "Dell Latitude 7420"
echo $retrievedAsset->location->building; // "Building A"
echo $retrievedAsset->status->name; // "In Use"
if ($retrievedAsset->assignment) {
    echo $retrievedAsset->assignment->user->name;
}

DMS

FAS

Asset

Asset Management: Eloquent MongoDb Implementation

Prerequisites

1. Base and Lookup Models

`App\Models\User`

`App\Models\Status`

2. Normalized Sub-Entity Models

`App\Models\Asset\Location`

`App\Models\Asset\PurchaseInfo`

`App\Models\Asset\Assignment`

3. Abstract Base Asset Model

4. Concrete Asset Models

General Asset: `App\Models\Asset\GeneralAsset`

Specific IT Asset: `App\Models\Asset\ItAsset`

Usage Example

​Prerequisites

​1. Base and Lookup Models

​App\Models\User

​App\Models\Status

​2. Normalized Sub-Entity Models

​App\Models\Asset\Location

​App\Models\Asset\PurchaseInfo

​App\Models\Asset\Assignment

​3. Abstract Base Asset Model

​4. Concrete Asset Models

​General Asset: App\Models\Asset\GeneralAsset

​Specific IT Asset: App\Models\Asset\ItAsset

​Usage Example

Prerequisites

1. Base and Lookup Models

`App\Models\User`

`App\Models\Status`

2. Normalized Sub-Entity Models

`App\Models\Asset\Location`

`App\Models\Asset\PurchaseInfo`

`App\Models\Asset\Assignment`

3. Abstract Base Asset Model

4. Concrete Asset Models

General Asset: `App\Models\Asset\GeneralAsset`

Specific IT Asset: `App\Models\Asset\ItAsset`

Usage Example