scheduling inventory collection for each PC

[influent]

Is there any way to schedule hardware and software inventory by PC or by collection? Also, I've been scheduling collection to occur every hour for testing and it never runs. The only time collection occurs is when the client is installed.

 

[Jpoandl]

I don't think there is any GUI-based way to configure the scan on idividual user. I think you have to set SITE-based rules of when scans will occur.

You may be able to go into the registry on the end clients and mess with the Software/Microsoft/SMS/Client/client components/Hardware Inventory Agent/ and mess with the cycles here?

Other than that, you can ask your users to manually run scans by starting the Hardware Inventory Component through control panel.

How do you know the hardware scan isn't running every hour? You should be able to check the clients Hardware Inventory time by looking in Resource Explorer.

Hope some of this helps.. Joseph L. Poandl
MCSE 2000

 

[influent]

Yup, resource explorer is how I know that it's not running. And I actually knew about the other stuff, but I'd rather not have to go to each PC to start it, and the registry stuff is slightly confusing (I don't know for sure that I'm changing the right thing in the right place).
thanks for your help

 

[Jpoandl]

Why do you want to control hardware scans idividually?


You can also check the c:\WINNT\MS\SMS\LOG\HINV32.log. Search this file for the word ERROR. Maybe, more information can be found in this log with regards to your problem. It should show you at what time the client inventory was started and for how long the inventory took. (Takes about a minute on my machine.)

Later.. Joseph L. Poandl
MCSE 2000

 

[influent]

I'd like to do different departments of my company at different times because I'd like to keep network traffic to a minimum. I'm starting to think that the settings for collection that are on the SMS server are changed, the clients do not hear about it, they only use the settings that were there when the client was installed.

 

[Jpoandl]

Yes, you can configure the fequency of HARDWARE scans through the SMS administrator MMC. This is under Site Settings. In my environment, I use a one time a week schedule.

I believe the client will scan hardware based on the time the client installation occurred. For example, if the SMS client software was installed Monday at 1:35pm (and the site setting for hardware scans were set to once a week.), the client would scan every Monday at 1:35pm. If a client installed on a Wednesday at 8:23am, every Wednesday at 8:23am the local client inventory scan will take place.

In this way, your network traffic caused by inventory reporting will be distributed based on client installation.

This is true for both HARDWARE and SOFTWARE scanning....although the fequency of scanning can be configured individually.


(After changing the inventory fequency, how long did you wait for the client to "see" the schedule change?) Joseph L. Poandl
MCSE 2000