Symantec ALTIRIS INVENTORY SOLUTION 7.0 SP2 - V1.0, INVENTORY SOLUTION 7.0 SP2, ALTIRIS INVENTORY SOLUTION 7.0 SP2 User Manual
Altiris Inventory Solution™
from Symantec User Guide
Version 7.0 SP2
Altiris Inventory Solution™ from Symantec User Guide
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Technical Support .. ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... . 4
Chapter 1 Introducing Inventory Solution ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... . 11
About Inventory Solution .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... 11
About Inventory Pack for Servers .... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... 12
What’s new in this version of Inventory Solution ... ..... ..... ..... ......... .... 13
About what you can inventory ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ... 13
Supported Inventory Solution platforms . ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ... 15
Components of Inventory Solution . ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... . 16
What you can do with Inventory Solution ... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... .... 17
Methods for gathering inventory ... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... . 18
Where to get more information .... ......... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ... 20
Chapter 2 Using the Inventory home page ........ ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... .. 23
About the Inventory home page ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... 23
Chapter 3 Preparing managed computers for inventory . ..... ......... 25
Preparing managed computers for inventory and metering .... ..... ......... 25
About the Inventory and Application Metering plug-ins ... ..... ..... ..... .... 27
Installing the Inventory and Application Metering plug-ins ..... ..... ..... .. 28
Upgrading the Inventory and Application Metering plug-ins .... .... ..... ... 29
Uninstalling the Inventory and Application Metering plug-ins ... ......... . 29
Chapter 4 Gathering inventory on managed computers . ......... ..... 31
About gathering inventory on managed computers ... ..... ..... ......... ..... . 32
About inventory policies and tasks .. ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... .... 33
About predefined inventory policies .... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... . 34
About methods for gathering software inventory . ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... . 36
About using Inventory Solution with the Software Catalog Data
Provider .... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ....... 38
How Inventory Solution works with the Software Catalog Data
Provider .... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ....... 39
Gathering inventory on managed computers . ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... .. 41
Using predefined inventory policies ........ ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... . 42
Contents
Manually creating and modifying inventory policies and tasks ..... ..... ... 43
Selecting computers and scheduling inventory tasks ..... ..... ..... ......... .. 44
Inventory policy options .... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... .. 45
Inventory advanced options ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... . 46
Inventory advanced options: Data Classes tab .... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ........ 47
Inventory advanced options: Files Properties Scan Settings tab . ..... ...... 47
Inventory advanced options: Run options tab ... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... 51
About detailed file inventory ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... 53
About targeted software inventory . ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... . 54
Gathering detailed file inventory ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ... 55
Running a targeted software inventory ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... 56
Chapter 5 Gathering inventory using stand-alone
packages ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... 59
About gathering inventory using stand-alone packages . ..... ..... ..... ..... .. 59
Gathering inventory using stand-alone packages .... ..... ..... ..... ......... ... 60
Creating and editing stand-alone inventory packages .... ..... ..... ..... .... .. 60
Stand-alone inventory package options page . ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... . 61
Running stand-alone inventory packages on target computers ......... .... 64
Stand-alone inventory package command-line switches ... ..... ..... .... ..... 66
Manually reporting stand-alone inventory data ........ ..... ..... ..... ..... .... . 67
Chapter 6 Gathering custom inventory ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... . 69
About gathering custom inventory . ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... . 69
Gathering custom inventory ... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... .. 71
Creating and customizing the data class . .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... .... 72
Creating a custom inventory script task ........ ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... . 74
About creation interfaces . ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ... 76
Viewing custom inventory data ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... . 79
Chapter 7 Viewing inventory data and reports ..... ..... ..... ..... ..... ....... 81
Viewing inventory data ... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... .... 81
Using inventory reports .... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... .. 81
About using the Resource Manager to view inventory data . ......... ..... ... 82
Using the Resource Manager to view inventory data ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ... 84
Chapter 8 Metering and denying applications ...... ..... ......... ..... ..... ... 85
About metering and denying applications ... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... 85
About how application metering works . ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... 88
About blacklisting applications . ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... . 88
About configuring applications for metering .... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... .... 89
Contents8
Metering and denying applications ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... . 89
Configuring Application Metering policies .... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... .. 90
Defining applications to meter or deny .... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .. 92
Application metering policy options .... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... . 93
Application definition details ... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... 96
Application metering start, stop, and denial events ... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... . 99
About application summary data ... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... 101
About how application metering summary is sent . ......... ..... ..... ..... ... 104
Managing application metering data ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ....... 105
Viewing application metering data .... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... . 105
Chapter 9 Gathering baseline inventory ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ... 107
About baseline inventory . ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... .. 107
About baseline files .... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .. 108
Compiling a file baseline snapshot .... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... . 109
File baseline task options . ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... .. 110
File Configuration Editor dialog box ... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... . 112
File Snapshot Editor options . .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ... 121
Creating a Registry Baseline Snapshot task . ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... .. 123
Registry Baseline Task page ... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... . 123
Registry Configuration Editor options ... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ... 125
Registry Snapshot Editor options . ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... .... ..... ..... ..... . 128
Index ...... .... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ..... ......... ..... ..... ..... ... 129
9Contents
Contents10
Introducing Inventory
Solution
This chapter includes the following topics:
■ About Inventory Solution
■ About Inventory Pack for Servers
■ What’s new in this version of Inventory Solution
■ About what you can inventory
■ Supported Inventory Solution platforms
■ Components of Inventory Solution
■ What you can do with Inventory Solution
■ Methods for gathering inventory
■ Where to get more information
About Inventory Solution
Obtaining andanalyzing accurate inventory data is an important part of managing
and securing your network. Inventory Solution lets you gather inventory data
about computers, users, operating systems, and installed software applications
in your environment. You can collect inventory data from the computers that are
running the following platforms: Microsoft Windows, UNIX, Linux, and Mac.
See “Where to get more information” on page 20.
An application metering feature also lets you monitor and deny the usage of
applications on your network.
1
Chapter
You use policies and tasks to perform inventory and application metering
functions. Thepolicies and tasks are easily configured and managed usinga central
Web console. The inventory data is stored in the Altiris CMDB database. This
CMDB provides a central store of data that is used across the Symantec
Management Platform. After you have gathered inventory data or metered
applications, you can analyze the data using predefined or custom reports.
For more information, see topics about the CMDB in the Symantec Management
Platform Help.
You can collect the following kinds of inventory data:
■ Hardware and operating system
■ Software
■ File properties
You can use predefined inventory policies to gather inventory with little effort.
See “About predefined inventory policies” on page 34.
You can also use additional Symantec products to gather inventory data from
handheld computers, Microsoft Windows, UNIX, Linux, and Mac servers, and
network devices.
See “About what you can inventory” on page 13.
See “Supported Inventory Solution platforms” on page 15.
See “Components of Inventory Solution” on page 16.
See “Methods for gathering inventory” on page 18.
You can also use Altiris Inventory Pack for Servers, which is a separate product
that lets you gather server-based inventory data from servers.
See “About Inventory Pack for Servers” on page 12.
About Inventory Pack for Servers
Altiris Inventory Pack for Servers is a separate product with a separate license
that gathersserver-based inventory data from servers. It runs on top of Inventory
Solution and uses the same Inventory plug-ins, policies, and tasks.
You can gather the following types of server-based inventory data:
■ Microsoft Windows server operating systems
■ Red Hat Enterprise Linux
■ SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
Introducing Inventory Solution
About Inventory Pack for Servers
12
■ VMware ESX
■ ORACLE
■ Microsoft SQL Server
■ mySQL
■ Microsoft Exchange Server
■ Microsoft DHCP Server
■ Microsoft DNS Server
■ Microsoft RAS Server
■ Microsoft IIS
■ Apache
■ Network load balancing
■ System DSN
For acomplete list of supported platforms andversions, see the Inventory Solution
Release Notes.
See “Where to get more information” on page 20.
See “Supported Inventory Solution platforms” on page 15.
You can use predefined inventory policies to gather inventory with little effort.
See “Using predefined inventory policies” on page 42.
What’s new in this version of Inventory Solution
For a list of what's new in this release, see the Inventory Solution Release Notes.
See “Where to get more information” on page 20.
About what you can inventory
You can gather different types of inventory data. Inventory data is stored in the
data classes that are stored in the CMDB.
13Introducing Inventory Solution
What’s new in this version of Inventory Solution
Table 1-1
Inventory types
DescriptionOption
The data that is gathered when the Altiris Agent is
installed on the managed client computer. This
inventory is a core function of the Symantec
Management Platformand does not require Inventory
Solution. Basic inventory gathers information about
the computer that the Altiris Agent is installed on.For
example, itsname, domain,installed operatingsystem,
MAC and IP address, primary user account, and so on.
This information is updated on a regular basis as long
as the Altiris Agent is installed on the computer.
Basic inventory
The expanded data that can be gathered using
Inventory Solution.
Standard inventory collects information about the
following characteristics of a client computer:
■ Hardware and operating system: The hardware
components of the client computer. For example,
the processor, memory devices, disk controllers,
storage disks, and partitions. Operating system:
The operating system that is installed on the client
computer. Forexample, theversion ofthe operating
system, countrycode,serial number,and totalswap
space size. User accounts: The details about the
user accounts and groups on a computer. For
example, the primary user, all installed local
accounts, installedemail profiles,and membership
of the local admin group.
■ Software: The software that is installed on a client
computer. For example, the names of the
applications that are installed.
See “About methods for gathering software
inventory” on page 36.
■ File properties: More detailed information about
the software, such as version and manufacturer.
See “About methods for gathering software
inventory” on page 36.
■ Server applicatons: (requires Inventory Pack for
servers.) Theserver-class software that is installed
on servers.
See “About Inventory Pack forServers” on page12.
Standard inventory
Introducing Inventory Solution
About what you can inventory
14
Table 1-1
Inventory types (continued)
DescriptionOption
The additional data you can gather beyond the
predefined data classes in Inventory Solution.
You can create additional data classes that may be
unique to your environment. You then run the custom
scripts that collect the custom inventory data classes.
Custom inventory
The data you can gather about the usage of
applications.
You can monitor the following information:
■ The start and stop events for the application that
are sent to the CMDB
■ Summary data of monitored applications
This data helps you track how often an application is
used, not only if it is installed. This data can help you
manage your application licenses.
Note: Application metering is a Windows-only feature.
Application metering
inventory
The data you can gather about the files and registry
settings on a computer. You can detect how a
computer’s filesand registrysettings changeover time.
You canalso detectthe differencesbetween acomputer
and a reference computer.
Baseline inventory
Additional types of inventory can be gathered using other Symantec products.
See “Supported Inventory Solution platforms” on page 15.
Supported Inventory Solution platforms
You can collect inventory from a wide range of platforms enabling you to easily
gather data in a heterogeneous environment. You can gather inventory on
Windows, UNIX,Linux, andMac computers. A separate inventory agent is required
for each platform. However, pre-configured policies can automatically and
remotely install the appropriate agent on each computer.
See “Preparing managed computers for inventory and metering” on page 25.
When you configure inventory policies, you select the computers you want to
inventory .You can also customize policies basedon the settings that are available
for each platform.
15Introducing Inventory Solution
Supported Inventory Solution platforms
For acomplete list of supported platforms andversions, see the Inventory Solution
Release Notes.
See “Where to get more information” on page 20.
Additional Symantec products will be available to collect inventory data on
additional platforms.
You can use the following products:
■ Inventory Pack for Servers
Gathers the inventory from server-based software components.
For more information on product details and availability of these and other
potential products, see www.symantec.com.
Components of Inventory Solution
Inventory Solution provides many tools to help you perform inventory tasks.
Table 1-2
Inventory tools
DescriptionTool
Using policies, inventory data can be automatically and remotely collected from
managed client computers at scheduled intervals. Inventory collection policies are
easily created and managed from the Symantec Management Console. This process
eliminates the need for costly physical inventory processes.
In most cases you should use inventory policies. You should limit inventory tasks to
automated tasks and workflows.
See “Methods for gathering inventory” on page 18.
Inventory policies and tasks
You can collect inventory on the client computers that are not managed through the
Symantec Management Platform. You can create and run executables that gather
inventory dataand reportit to the CMDB. These executables can be delivered through
login scripts, USB keys, network shares, and so on.
See “Methods for gathering inventory” on page 18.
Stand-alone inventory
executables
A portal and many predefined reports let you easily view and analyze your inventory
data. You can also create your own custom reports.
See “Viewing inventory data” on page 81.
Inventory reports
Inventory data is gathered for hundreds of predefined data classes. You can expand
and customize the type of data you want to collect. For example, you can add specific
registry data or a unique hardware component.
See “About gathering custom inventory” on page 69.
Custom inventory
Introducing Inventory Solution
Components of Inventory Solution
16
Table 1-2
Inventory tools (continued)
DescriptionTool
In addition to knowing what applications are installed, you can identify the usage of
installed applications. You can also restrict applications from being run.
Note: Application metering is a Windows-only feature.
See “About metering and denying applications” on page 85.
Application metering
You can determine how a client computer's inventory data changes compared to a
baseline. You can detect how a computer's inventory has changed over time, or the
differences between a computer and a reference computer.
See “About baseline inventory” on page 107.
Baseline inventory(formerly
in Altiris Application
Management Solution)
What you can do with Inventory Solution
The Symantec Management Platform gathers basic inventory from managed
computers. Inventory Solution adds the ability to gather substantially more data
as well as other tools to help you gather and use your inventory data.
Inventory data can be used do the following:
■ Obtain an up-to-date inventory of the computers in your network and their
operating system platforms.
■ Identify thecomputers that do not meet minimum security requirements, such
as antivirus software, application updates, management agents, and so on.
■ Help prepare for a software license audit by providing the number of installed
instances of an application.
■ Help determine which computers need to be replaced according to age or
capabilities.
■ Identify the types and amounts of personal data that is stored on computers,
such as MP3 files, MPG files, and so on.
■ Prepare for operating system migrations by doing the following:
■ Identify the number of different operating systems that are installed.
■ Identify the computers that do and do not meet minimum hardware
requirements for a new operating system.
■ Identify the users of computers to be migrated.
■ Determine which applications need to be re-deployed after the migration.
■ Compare the files or registry settings of client computers against a baseline.
17Introducing Inventory Solution
What you can do with Inventory Solution
■ Help manage your application licenses by tracking how often an application
is used, not only if it is installed.
■ Deny unauthorized applications from running on managed computers.
Methods for gathering inventory
You can use different methods to gather inventory data. Each method has some
advantages and possible disadvantages.
Table 1-3
Inventory methods
DescriptionMethod
This method is performed automatically when the Altiris Agent is installed on
managed computers. This feature is a core function of the Symantec Management
Platform and does not require any additional inventory components.
See Table 1-1 on page 14.
Basic inventory gathers information such as the computer’s name, domain, installed
operating system, MAC and IP address, primary user account, and so on. This
information is updated on a regular basis as long as the Altiris Agent is running on
the computer.
The advantages are as follows:
■ Inventory data is automatically collected when the Altiris Agent is installed on
the client computer—no other components or steps are needed.
■ Inventory data is updated at regular intervals.
■ Can be used on a different platform.
The disadvantages are as follows:
■ Inventory data is limited in scope.
■ The computer must be managed using the Altiris Agent.
For more information, see topics about basic inventory and the Altiris Agent in the
Symantec Management Platform Help.
Basic inventory
Introducing Inventory Solution
Methods for gathering inventory
18
Table 1-3
Inventory methods (continued)
DescriptionMethod
You can use this method by installing the Inventory plug-in on your managed
computers and running inventory policies. The inventory plug-in works with the
Altiris Agent and uses scheduled policies to collect more detailed information than
basic inventory. You can collect detailed information about the hardware, operating
system, local users and groups, and software.
Using theInventory plug-inon managedcomputers, all inventory policies are remotely
managed from the Symantec Management Console. Inventory policies can be
scheduled to run at configurable intervals that provide up-to-date data. They can
also run at the times that do not affect your network’s performance.
You can use the Inventory plug-in on Windows, Linux, UNIX, and Mac platforms.
The advantages are as follows:
■ You can gather a broad range of inventory data.
■ Inventory data is automatically collected and updated using scheduled tasks.
■ You canconfigure policiesto reportonly changeddata fromthe previousinventory.
■ Can be easily used on multiple platforms.
The disadvantages are as follows:
■ The target computer must be managed using the Altiris Agent.
■ Maintaining currentinventory datacan bedifficult onthe computersthat arenot
regularly connected to the network.
See “About gathering inventory on managed computers” on page 32.
Agent-based inventory on
managed computers
(computers with the Altiris
Agent)
You can use this method by creating stand-alone programs that can be run on target
computers. These programs can be run on the computers that do not have the
Inventory plug-in. These programs are created using configuration pages in the
Symantec ManagementConsole. The programs can be distributed usingemail, network
shares, log-in scripts, and so on.
The advantages are as follows:
■ Does notrequire thecomputer tobe managed using the Altiris Agent or connected
to a Notification Server.
The disadvantages are as follows:
■ External delivery of inventory package is required.
■ The inventory schedule is not centrally managed.
■ Inventory data may not be current.
■ If the target computer is not connected to a Notification Server, the data must be
posted manually.
See Table 1-1 on page 14.
See “About gathering inventory using stand-alone packages” on page 59.
Stand-alone Inventory
(for computers without the
Altiris Agent or connection
to a Notification Server)
19Introducing Inventory Solution
Methods for gathering inventory
Table 1-3
Inventory methods (continued)
DescriptionMethod
You can use this method by installing the Application Metering plug-in on your
managed computers. You can monitor and record the usage of applications.
The advantages are as follows:
■ You can track how often an application is used, not only if it is installed. This
feature can help you manage your application licenses.
The disadvantages are as follows:
■ The target computer must be managed using the Altiris Agent.
■ Only Windows-based computers are supported.
See Table 1-1 on page 14.
See “About metering and denying applications” on page 85.
Application metering
You can use this method by creating and running the scripts that expand the types
of inventory that you gather.
The advantages are as follows:
■ By default, inventory data is gathered through more than 100 predefined data
classes. You can create additional data classes that may be unique to your
environment.
The disadvantages are as follows:
■ You mustcreate and run the scripts that collect the custom inventory data classes.
See Table 1-1 on page 14.
See “About gathering custom inventory” on page 69.
Custom Inventory
Where to get more information
Use the following documentation resources to learn and use this product.
Introducing Inventory Solution
Where to get more information
20
Table 1-4
Documentation resources
LocationDescriptionDocument
http://kb.altiris.com/
You can search for the product name under
Release Notes.
You can also access the Release Notes from
the Symantec Management Console. On the
Help menu, click Documentation Library.
From the Documentation Library page, in
the Inventory Solution section, click the
Inventory Solution Release Notes link.
Information about new features and
important issues.
This information is available asan article in
the knowledge base.
Release Notes
■ The Documentation Library, which is
available in the Symantec Management
Console on the Help menu.
■ The Product Support page, which is
available at the following URL:
http://www.symantec.com/business
/support/all_products.jsp
When you open your product’s support
page, look for the Documentation link
on the right side of the page.
Information about how to use this product,
including detailedtechnical informationand
instructions for performing common tasks.
This informationis available in PDF format.
User Guide
The Documentation Library, which is
available in the Symantec Management
Console on the Help menu.
Context-sensitive help is available for most
screens in the Symantec Management
Console.
You can open context-sensitive help in the
following ways:
■ The F1 key
■ The Contextcommand, whichis available
in the Symantec Management Console
on the Help menu.
This is the same information as the User
Guide but is available in HTML help format.
Help
In addition to the product documentation, you can use the following resources to
learn about Altiris products.
21Introducing Inventory Solution
Where to get more information
Table 1-5
Altiris information resources
LocationDescriptionResource
http://kb.altiris.com/Articles, incidents,and issuesabout Altiris
products.
Knowledge base
http://www.symantec.com/connect
/endpoint-management-virtualization
An online magazine that contains best
practices, tips, tricks, forums, and articles
for users of this product.
Symantec Connect
(formerly Altiris Juice)
Introducing Inventory Solution
Where to get more information
22
Using the Inventory home
page
This chapter includes the following topics:
■ About the Inventory home page
About the Inventory home page
The Inventory home page provides some Web parts that let you perform common
tasks, view an inventory data summary, and view scheduled inventory policies.
You access the home page from the Home menu of the Symantec Management
Console.
The Edit option lets you customize the Inventory home page to add or remove
Web parts. The Inventory home page has the following default Web parts.
Table 2-1
Inventory home page default Web parts
DescriptionWeb part
This Web part provides links to common tasks.
You can prepare managed computers for
inventory or run an inventory report.
See “Preparingmanaged computersfor inventory
and metering” on page 25.
See “Viewing inventory data” on page 81.
Quick start
2
Chapter
Table 2-1
Inventory home page default Web parts (continued)
DescriptionWeb part
This Webpart hasa graphthat shows how current
your inventory is. It shows how many computers
have and have not reported inventory in the last
seven days. You can click each bar in the graph
and get a list of computers.
How currentis my computer inventory?
This Web part shows a list of the inventory
policies that you have created. You can view the
status and schedules of the policies. You can also
create new policies.
Inventory policy status
Using the Inventory home page
About the Inventory home page
24
Preparing managed
computers for inventory
This chapter includes the following topics:
■ Preparing managed computers for inventory and metering
■ About the Inventory and Application Metering plug-ins
■ Installing the Inventory and Application Metering plug-ins
■ Upgrading the Inventory and Application Metering plug-ins
■ Uninstalling the Inventory and Application Metering plug-ins
Preparing managed computers for inventory and
metering
Inventory and metering policies and tasks require that target computers be
managed. Managed computers are the computers that have the Altiris Agent
installed on them.
See “Methods for gathering inventory” on page 18.
See “About gathering inventory on managed computers” on page 32.
See “About metering and denying applications” on page 85.
Note: Application metering is a Windows-only feature.
3
Chapter
Table 3-1
Process for preparing managed computers for inventory and
metering
DescriptionActionStep
You can discover the computers that
are not yet managed by the Altiris
Agent. Whencomputers are discovered,
resource objects are created for them
in the Configuration Management
Database (C.D.). You may have
discovered computers when you
installed the Symantec Management
Platform or when you added new
computers to the network.
For more information, view topics
about resource discovery in the
Symantec Management Platform Help.
Discover the computers that you
want to manage.
Step 1
You may have performed this task
when you installed the Symantec
Management Platform or when you
added new computers to the network.
The Altiris Agent has twoversions: one
for Windows and one for UNIX, Linux,
and Mac.
For more information, view topics
about theAltiris Agent in the Symantec
Management Platform Help.
Note: To inventory UNIX, Linux, and
Mac computers, you must have the
Altiris Agent for UNIX, Linux, and Mac
product installed on your Notification
Server. Dependingon theproducts you
installed, this agent may have been an
optional component.You cansee which
components are installed and install
additional components using the
Symantec Installation Manager.
For moreinformation, seethe Symantec
Management Platform Installation
Guide.
Manage the computers by
installing the Altiris Agent.
Step 2
Preparing managed computers for inventory
Preparing managed computers for inventory and metering
26
Table 3-1
Process for preparing managed computers for inventory and
metering (continued)
DescriptionActionStep
To inventory or meter managed
computers, youmust installor upgrade
the Inventory plug-in or Application
Metering plug-in on target computers.
See “Installing the Inventory and
Application Metering plug-ins”
on page 28.
See “ Upgrading the Inventory and
Application Metering plug-ins”
on page 29.
Prepare managed computers by
installing or upgrading plug-ins.
Step 3
About the Inventory and Application Metering plug-ins
To gather inventory data or meter applications on managed computers, you must
install theInventory plug-in or Application Metering plug-in ontarget computers.
These plug-ins work with the Altiris Agent to perform tasks on the target
computers and communicate with Notification Server.
Note: Application meteringis only supported on Windows XP and Vista computers.
We recommend that you do not install Application Metering plug-in on Windows
servers.
See “Preparing managed computers for inventory and metering” on page 25.
See “Supported Inventory Solution platforms” on page 15.
See “Installing the Inventory and Application Metering plug-ins” on page 28.
You can use the following plug-ins:
■ Inventory plug-in for Windows client computers
■ Inventory plug-in for UNIX, Linux, and Mac client computers
■ Application Metering plug-in for Windows client computers
See “Supported Inventory Solution platforms” on page 15.
If you have Inventory Pack for Servers, you can also use the following plug-ins:
■ Inventory Pack for Servers plug-in for Windows
■ Inventory Pack for Servers plug-in for Linux
27Preparing managed computers for inventory
About the Inventory and Application Metering plug-ins
See “About Inventory Pack for Servers” on page 12.
To install a plug-in, you configure a policy that installs the plug-in on target
computers. You select the group of computers on which the policy runs and when
it runs.If you choose a group that containsa computer that already has the plug-in
installed, the task is ignored on that computer.
When a policy is turned on, any new computer that is a member of the target
group automatically has the plug-in installed on it.
By default, no plug-ininstallation policiesare enabled.You mustmanually enable
policies.
See “Installing the Inventory and Application Metering plug-ins” on page 28.
See “ Upgrading the Inventory and Application Metering plug-ins” on page 29.
Installing the Inventory and Application Metering
plug-ins
To gather inventory data on managed computers, you must install the Inventory
plug-in on target computers. To meter applications on managed computers, you
must install the Application Metering plug-in on target computers. To install a
plug-in, you configure a policy that installs the plug-in on target computers. Two
sets of policies exist to install Inventory plug-ins: one for Windows computers
and another for UNIX, Linux, and Mac computers.
See “About the Inventory and Application Metering plug-ins” on page 27.
Note: Application metering is a Windows-only feature.
By default, no plug-ininstallation policiesare enabled.You mustmanually enable
policies.
Before performingthis task, you must install the Altiris Agent ontarget computers.
See “Preparing managed computers for inventory and metering” on page 25.
To install the Inventory or Application Metering plug-ins
1
In the Symantec Management Console, do one of the following:
■ On the Actions menu, click Agent/Plug-ins > Rollout Agent/Plug-ins.
■ On the Settings menu, click All Settings. In the left pane, click
Agent/Plug-ins.
2
In the left pane, click Discovery and Inventory.
Preparing managed computers for inventory
Installing the Inventory and Application Metering plug-ins
28
3
Click either Windows or UNIX/Linux/Mac.
4
Click the policy for the plug-in you want to install.
5
On the plug-in install page, turn on the policy.
At the upper right of the page, click the colored circle, and then click On.
6
Select the computers to install the plug-in on by clicking Apply to and
configure the target computers.
To access help for this page, on the Help menu, click Context.
7
Schedule the policy.
8
Click Save changes.
Upgrading the Inventory and Application Metering
plug-ins
If youupgrade from a previous version of Inventory 7,and you previously installed
the Inventory or Application Metering plug-ins, you must upgrade the plug-ins
on managed computers.
To upgradea plug-in, you turn on an upgradepolicy that is located with the plug-in
installation policy.
See “About the Inventory and Application Metering plug-ins” on page 27.
See “Installing the Inventory and Application Metering plug-ins” on page 28.
Uninstalling the Inventory and Application Metering
plug-ins
If you do notperform inventoryor meteringtasks oncomputers overan extended
period of time, you can uninstall the plug-ins. Uninstalling unused plug-ins helps
to eliminate unnecessary network traffic. To uninstall a plug-in, you turn on an
uninstall policy that is located with the plug-in installation policy.
See “About the Inventory and Application Metering plug-ins” on page 27.
See “Installing the Inventory and Application Metering plug-ins” on page 28.
29Preparing managed computers for inventory
Upgrading the Inventory and Application Metering plug-ins
Preparing managed computers for inventory
Uninstalling the Inventory and Application Metering plug-ins
30
Gathering inventory on
managed computers
This chapter includes the following topics:
■ About gathering inventory on managed computers
■ About inventory policies and tasks
■ About predefined inventory policies
■ About methods for gathering software inventory
■ About using Inventory Solution with the Software Catalog Data Provider
■ How Inventory Solution works with the Software Catalog Data Provider
■ Gathering inventory on managed computers
■ Using predefined inventory policies
■ Manually creating and modifying inventory policies and tasks
■ Selecting computers and scheduling inventory tasks
■ Inventory policy options
■ Inventory advanced options
■ Inventory advanced options: Data Classes tab
■ Inventory advanced options: Files Properties Scan Settings tab
■ Inventory advanced options: Run options tab
■ About detailed file inventory
4
Chapter
■ About targeted software inventory
■ Gathering detailed file inventory
■ Running a targeted software inventory
About gathering inventory on managed computers
You can gather inventory data by running automated policies and tasks on
managed computers. This method requires the Altiris Agent and an Inventory
plug-in that you install on target computers. The inventory policies and tasks use
the Inventory plug-in to perform the inventory scan on the target computer. The
inventory data is sent to the CMDB.
See “Preparing managed computers for inventory and metering” on page 25.
See “Methods for gathering inventory” on page 18.
See “About methods for gathering software inventory” on page 36.
You can also use Altiris Inventory Pack for Servers, which is a separate product,
to gather inventory data from servers. If you have Inventory Pack for Servers
installed, it uses the same type of inventory policies.
See “About Inventory Pack for Servers” on page 12.
To gatherinventory on a recurring schedule, you use inventorypolicies. Inventory
Solution includespredefined inventory policies that you can use,or you can create
your own. You can use unique policies and schedules for different kinds of
inventory. For example, you can have one policy collect hardware inventory daily
and another policy collect software inventory weekly.
See “About inventory policies and tasks ” on page 33.
You can use predefined inventory policies to gather inventory with little effort.
See “About predefined inventory policies” on page 34.
See “Using predefined inventory policies” on page 42.
Before yougather inventoryon managedcomputers, you must install the Inventory
plug-in on target computers.
See “Gathering inventory on managed computers” on page 41.
See “About the Inventory and Application Metering plug-ins” on page 27.
Gathering inventory on managed computers
About gathering inventory on managed computers
32
About inventory policies and tasks
When you want to run an inventory, you use policies or tasks to configure the
inventory configuration options that you want run on target computers. You can
choose to gather inventory immediately or you can schedule it. When you want
to gather inventory on a recurring schedule, you use inventory policies.
When you use policies, any new computer that is a member of the target group
automatically has the policy run on it.
See “About predefined inventory policies” on page 34.
See “Using predefined inventory policies” on page 42.
To useinventory policies or tasks, you must install the Inventory plug-in on target
computers.
See “Preparing managed computers for inventory and metering” on page 25.
You can use policies and tasks in the following ways.
A few predefined policies are provided to help
simplify inventory gathering. You can use
predefined policies as they are or modify them to
fit yourneeds. If you want to modify a predefined
policy, werecommend that you clone the original
policy and then modify the copy.
See “About predefined inventory policies”
on page 34.
See “Using predefined inventory policies”
on page 42.
Use predefined policies
You can clone (copy) existing policies and then
modify them to meet your needs.
See “Using predefined inventory policies”
on page 42.
See “Inventory policy options” on page 45.
For more information, see topics about cloning
policies in the Symantec Management Platform
Help.
Clone and modify existing policies
You can create your own policies and configure
them to meet your needs.
See “Manually creating and modifying inventory
policies and tasks” on page 43.
Create your own policies
33Gathering inventory on managed computers
About inventory policies and tasks
Even thoughyou will usually use policies, you can
create anduse Inventory tasks. However, in most
cases, you will want to limit them to automated
tasks used in a workflow.
See “Manually creating and modifying inventory
policies and tasks” on page 43.
Create your own tasks
About predefined inventory policies
You can use predefined inventory polices to quickly start gathering inventory
data. You can use the predefined policies as they are or modify them. If you want
to modify a predefined policy, we recommend that you clone the original policy
and then modify the copy.
See “Using predefined inventory policies” on page 42.
For more information, see topics about cloning policies in the Symantec
Management Platform Help.
See “About inventory policies and tasks ” on page 33.
See “Using predefined inventory policies” on page 42.
To useinventory policies or tasks, you must install the Inventory plug-in on target
computers.
See “Preparing managed computers for inventory and metering” on page 25.
Gathering inventory on managed computers
About predefined inventory policies
34
Table 4-1
Predefined inventory policies and tasks
NotesDefault
target
Default
schedule
Enabled by
default?
Policy
This policy collects a full inventory.
By default it collects hardware and
operating system, software, and file
properties inventory data.
You can use this default to gather an
initial inventory, and then again
weekly.
Even thoughthis policyis enabledby
default, you must install the
Inventory plug-in on target
computers before inventory data is
gathered.
See “Preparing managed computers
for inventory and metering”
on page 25.
All
computers
with the
Inventory
plug-in
installed
Weekly,
every
Monday at
18:00 (6:00
P.M.)
YesCollect Full
Inventory
By default, this policy collects only
the hardware and operating system
inventory datathat haschanged since
the last full hardware inventory.
See “Inventory advanced options:
Run options tab” on page 51.
All
computers
with the
Inventory
plug-in
installed
Monthly,
every first
Monday at
18:00 (6:00
P.M.)
NoCollect Delta
Hardware
Inventory
By default, this policy collects only
the software inventory data that has
changed since the last full software
inventory.
See “Inventory advanced options:
Run options tab” on page 51.
All
computers
with the
Inventory
plug-in
installed
Weekly,
every
Monday at
18:00 (6:00
P.M.)
NoCollect Delta
Software
Inventory
35Gathering inventory on managed computers
About predefined inventory policies
Table 4-1
Predefined inventory policies and tasks (continued)
NotesDefault
target
Default
schedule
Enabled by
default?
Policy
This task only exists if the Inventory
Pack for Servers product is installed.
See “About Inventory Pack for
Servers” on page 12.
Even thoughthis policyis enabledby
default, you must install the
Inventory plug-in on target
computers before inventory data is
gathered.
See “Preparing managed computers
for inventory and metering”
on page 25.
All
computers
with the
Server
Inventory
plug-in
installed
Weekly,
every
Monday at
18:00 (6:00
P.M.)
YesCollect Full
Server
Inventory
(Inventory
Pack for
Servers
required)
By default, this policy collects only
the server applications inventory
data that has changed since the last
full server inventory.
See “Inventory advanced options:
Run options tab” on page 51.
All
computers
with the
Server
Inventory
plug-in
installed
Weekly,
every
Monday at
18:00 (6:00
P.M.)
NoCollect Delta
Server
Inventory
(Inventory
Pack for
Servers
required)
About methods for gathering software inventory
You can gather inventory about the software applications that are installed in
your environment.For example, you can gather information about the application
version, build number, and manufacturer.
When you perform a software inventory, you can use different methods to gather
different types of data.
Table 4-2
Methods for gathering software inventory
DescriptionMethod
This scans the file system on target computers and reports
software inventory based on the application exe files that
are found. For example, it reports file name, size, path, and
so on.
You can perform this inventory by selecting the File
Properties option in the Inventory policies or tasks.
Basic application file
inventory
Gathering inventory on managed computers
About methods for gathering software inventory
36
Table 4-2
Methods for gathering software inventory (continued)
DescriptionMethod
This methodscans thefiles ontarget computersand collects
additional information,such asmanufacturer, version, and
so on.
You can perform this inventory in one of two ways:
■ By selecting the Report detailed file inventory
immediately option in the inventory policies or tasks.
This option is enabled by default.
See “Inventory advanced options: Run options tab”
on page 51.
■ By running the Detailed File Inventory task. This task is
scheduled, bydefault, torun once a week. You may want
to use this method to reduce network traffic during a
normal software inventory scan.
See “About detailed file inventory” on page 53.
Detailed application file
inventory
On Windows computers, you can gather information about
the applications that are in the Add or Remove Programs
list on target computers (MSI cache). When you select this
option, it uses the Software Discovery task.
For more information about what Software Discovery task
does, see topics about Software Discovery in the Symantec
Management Platform Help.
When Inventory Solution is installed, it turns off any
schedules for the Software Discovery task and instead uses
the schedules of the Inventory policies that use it.
You can perform this inventory by selecting the Software
–WindowsAdd/Remove Programs option in theInventory
policies or tasks. This option is enabled by default.
See “Inventory policy options” on page 45.
Add orRemove Programs list
(Windows only)
On UNIX/Linux/Maccomputers, you can gather information
about the software packages on target computers.
You can perform this inventory by selecting the Software
– Windows Add/Remove Programs and UNIX/Linux/Mac
software packages option inthe Inventory policies or tasks.
This option is enabled by default.
UNIX/Linux/Mac software
packages
37Gathering inventory on managed computers
About methods for gathering software inventory
Table 4-2
Methods for gathering software inventory (continued)
DescriptionMethod
The Software Catalog Data Provider is a new component
that can be used to import software inventory data into the
Software Catalog. The Software Catalog Data Provider is
installed with Inventory Solution.
The Software Catalog Data Provider provides a list of tens
of thousands of known applications that is imported in the
CMDB. When you perform a software inventory, that
gathered data about applications can be compared to the
list of known applications. If the application data matches,
it helpsensure thatyour softwareinventory datais accurate.
See “About using Inventory Solution with the Software
Catalog Data Provider” on page 38.
Gather softwareinformation
and validate it using the
Software Catalog Data
Provider (Windows only)
On Windows computers, this method lets you use rules to
identify specific software applications. You can perform
this inventoryby running the Targeted Software Inventory
policy.
See “About targeted software inventory” on page 54.
Targeted software inventory
(Windows only)
About using Inventory Solution with the Software
Catalog Data Provider
(Windows only)
The SoftwareCatalog Data Provider is a new component that can beused to import
software inventory data into the Software Catalog. It is installed with Inventory
Solution. It provides a list of tens of thousands of known applications that is
imported in the CMDB.
See “How Inventory Solution works with the Software Catalog Data Provider”
on page 39.
When you perform a software inventory, that gathered data about applications
can becompared to the list of known applications. If the application data matches,
it helps ensure that your software inventory data is accurate. You can also have
the matchedinventory data imported into the Software Catalog.You can view the
list of the applications that are in the Software Catalog. This process happens
automatically with the default Inventory Policy settings.
For more information see the Software Catalog Data Provider User Guide or help.
In the Symantec Management Console, see the Documentationlibrary for a link
Gathering inventory on managed computers
About using Inventory Solution with the Software Catalog Data Provider
38
for Software Data Provider. You can also see the Inventory Solution Release Notes
for more information.
How Inventory Solution works with the Software
Catalog Data Provider
(Windows only)
See “About using Inventory Solution with the Software Catalog Data Provider”
on page 38.
This process is performed by several components working together. Most all of
the SoftwareCatalog DataProvider components perform automatically, by default.
To have Inventory Solution work with the Software Catalog Data Provider, in the
inventory policy or task, selectSoftware – Windows Add/Remove Programs and
in the advanced options, select Report detailed file inventory immediately.
The following is a list of the components of Inventory Solution and Software
Catalog Data Provider.
Table 4-3
Software Catalog Data Provider components
DescriptionComponent
This component is installed with Inventory Solution. It
contains adata file with a list of tens of thousandsof known
applications. This database will be updated regularly to
include new applications and versions of applications.
To learn more about the Software Catalog Data Provider,
view the Software Catalog Data Provider User Guide which
is installed with Inventory Solution. To view this guide, in
the Symantec Management Console, on the Help menu,
click Documentation Library > Software Catalog Data
Provider Users Guide. For information on updating the
Software Catalog Data Provider data file of known
applications, see the Inventory Solution 7.0 SP2 Release
Notes.
Software Catalog Data
Provider component
When the database of known applications is installed, this
task automatically imports the list into the CMDB. To view
this read-only task, from the Symantec Management
Console, onthe Settingsmenu, click AllSettings>Software
> Data Provider > Providers > Software Catalog Data
Provider.
Software Catalog Data
Provider task
39Gathering inventory on managed computers
How Inventory Solution works with the Software Catalog Data Provider
Table 4-3
Software Catalog Data Provider components (continued)
DescriptionComponent
This summary is the list of known applications that has
been imported into the CMDB as software resources. To
view this list, from the Symantec Management Console, on
the Manage menu, click Software > Data Provider
Summary.
Data provider Summary
Run a policy or task with the Software – Windows
Add/Remove Programs option selected. By default, the
Collect Full Inventory policy is run every Monday.
The software inventory data is gathered and entered into
the CMDB.
The specific Windows application information is gathered
by one of the following two methods:
■ In theInventory policyAdvanced Settings> Runoptions,
the Report detailed file inventory immediately option
is selected. This setting is selected by default.
■ The Detailed File Inventory task is run. By default, this
task runs once a week.
Inventory policy or task
This taskis usedto reportdetailed fileinventory of Windows
applications.
It is automatically used when you do one of the following:
■ In theinventory policyor task Advanced Settings > Run
options, theReportdetailed file inventory immediately
option is selected. This setting is selected by default.
■ The Detailed File Inventory task is run.
For more information about what Software Discovery task
does, see topics about Software Discovery in the Symantec
Management Platform Help.
When Inventory Solution is installed, it turns off any
schedules for the Software Discovery task and instead uses
the schedules of the Inventory policies that use it. To view
this task, from the Symantec Management Console, on the
Settings menu, click All Settings > Software > Software
Catalog and Software Library Settings > Software
Discovery.
Software Discovery task
Gathering inventory on managed computers
How Inventory Solution works with the Software Catalog Data Provider
40
Table 4-3
Software Catalog Data Provider components (continued)
DescriptionComponent
This task compares the gathered software inventory to the
list ofknown applications(software resources)in theCMDB.
This task, by default, is run every Wednesday.
By default, if the data matches, the application data is
imported into the Software Catalog. This option can be
turned off. To view this task, from the Symantec
Management Console, on the Settings menu, click All
Settings > Software > Data Provider > Software Catalog
Data Provider Inventory.
Software Catalog Data
Provider Inventory task
The list of software applications that have been discovered
using Software Inventory and have matched the list of
known applications. To view this list, from the Symantec
Management Console, on the Managemenu, click Software
> Software Catalog > Installed Software.
Installed Software report
Gathering inventory on managed computers
You can gather inventory data by running automated policies and tasks on
managed computers. This method requires that you install the Altiris Agent and
the Inventory plug-in on target computers. The inventory policies and tasks use
the Inventory plug-in to perform the inventory scan on the target computer. The
inventory data is sent to the CMDB.
See “About gathering inventory on managed computers” on page 32.
Table 4-4
Process for gathering inventory on managed computers
DescriptionActionStep
Target computers must be managed and
have the Inventory plug-in installed.
See “Preparing managed computers for
inventory and metering” on page 25.
Prepare managed computers for
inventory.
Step 1
41Gathering inventory on managed computers
Gathering inventory on managed computers
Table 4-4
Process for gathering inventory on managed computers (continued)
DescriptionActionStep
You need to enable and configure a policy or
task to collect inventory. You can use an
existing policy or create your own. You can
also create a task.
See “About inventory policies and tasks ”
on page 33.
See “About predefined inventory policies”
on page 34.
See “Using predefined inventory policies”
on page 42.
See “Manually creating and modifying
inventory policies and tasks” on page 43.
Enable an inventory policy or
create an inventory policy.
Step 2
You can modify the settings and schedule of
a policy to collect inventory.
See “Inventory policy options” on page 45.
(Optional) Modify policy settings
or schedules.
Step 3
You can view the gathered inventory data
by viewing reports and data in the Resource
Manager.
See “Viewing inventory data” on page 81.
View inventory results.Step 4
Using predefined inventory policies
You can use predefined inventory polices to quickly start gathering inventory
data. You can use the predefined policies as they are or modify them. If you want
to modify a predefined policy, we recommend that you clone the original policy
and then modify the copy.
For more information, see topics about cloning policies in the Symantec
Management Platform Help.
See “About predefined inventory policies” on page 34.
See “Manually creating and modifying inventory policies and tasks” on page 43.
To useinventory policies or tasks, you must install the Inventory plug-in on target
computers.
See “Preparing managed computers for inventory and metering” on page 25.
Gathering inventory on managed computers
Using predefined inventory policies
42
To view predefined inventory policies
1
In the Symantec Management Console, on the Manage menu, click Policies.
2
In the tree view, click Policies > Discovery and Inventory > Inventory.
3
Select a policy.
See “Inventory policy options” on page 45.
To clone (copy) an existing inventory policy
1
In the Symantec Management Console, browse to the item you want to clone.
2
Right-click the item, and click Clone.
3
Give the cloned item a unique name, and click OK.
To use inventory policies
◆
On the inventory policy page, turn on the policy.
At the upper right of the page, click the colored circle, and then click On.
See “Inventory policy options” on page 45.
Manually creating and modifying inventory policies
and tasks
You can manually create inventory policies or tasks.To manually create an
inventory task, you use the Task Management Portal. You can create new tasks
or use or modify existing tasks.
See “Using predefined inventory policies” on page 42.
See “About gathering inventory on managed computers” on page 32.
Before you can use inventory policies or tasks, you must install the Inventory
plug-in on target computers.
See “Preparing managed computers for inventory and metering” on page 25.
To manually create inventory policies
1
In the Symantec Management Console, on the Home menu, click Discovery
and Inventory > Inventory.
2
In the Inventory Policy status Web part, click New.
3
Configure the policy.
See “Inventory policy options” on page 45.
4
Click Save changes.
43Gathering inventory on managed computers
Manually creating and modifying inventory policies and tasks
To manually create inventory tasks
1
In the Symantec Management Console, on the Manage menu, click Jobs and
Tasks.
2
In the Quick Start - Jobs and Tasks, click Create a new job or task.
3
From the list of tasks, click Gather Inventory.
4
Give the task a name.
5
Select the inventory data to collect.
In the Advanced Options, you can select a whole category or expand it and
select a more detailed set of data.
See “About what you can inventory” on page 13.
6
(Optional) Click Advanced to configure the data classes, task run options, or
the software inventory rules.
See “Inventory advanced options” on page 46.
7
Click OK to save the task.
8
In the task window that opens, schedule the task.
See “Selecting computers and scheduling inventory tasks” on page 44.
To modify inventory tasks
1
In the Symantec Management Console, on the Manage menu, click Jobs and
Tasks.
2
In the left pane, open the folder that contains the task you want to modify.
For example, Inventory Solution > Inventory Task Viewer.
3
In the right pane, double-click a task.
4
Modify the settings or schedule of the task.
See “Selecting computers and scheduling inventory tasks” on page 44.
Selecting computers and scheduling inventory tasks
Inventory tasks use the task management component of Notification Server that
provides flexibility in targeting computers and scheduling tasks. For example,
when you select computers, you can build and re-use predefined collections of
computers. When you schedule tasks, you can configure multiple schedules for
an individual task, use maintenance windows, or use shared schedules.
For moreinformation, view topics about using tasks in the SymantecManagement
Platform Help.
Gathering inventory on managed computers
Selecting computers and scheduling inventory tasks
44
See “Manually creating and modifying inventory policies and tasks” on page 43.
See “Inventory policy options” on page 45.
To select computers and schedule inventory tasks
1
In an inventory task, click Task Status > New Schedule.
2
Select an option:
■ Now
■ Schedule
3
Select the computers to run the task on.
4
Click OK.
5
(Optional) To create multiple schedules and computer lists for this task, click
schedule and create a new schedule instance.
Inventory policy options
This page lets you configure an inventory policy. You can configure existing
policies or new policies that you create. If you want to modify a predefined policy,
we recommend that you clone the original policy and then modify the copy.
See “About predefined inventory policies” on page 34.
See “Using predefined inventory policies” on page 42.
See “Manually creating and modifying inventory policies and tasks” on page 43.
Table 4-5
Inventory policy options
DescriptionOption
You canclick theclipboard iconto openthe policymenu.
From the menu, you can perform the following
operations on the policy: open, clone, rename, move,
export, and so on.
Policy menu
The name of the policy. You can click the name andedit
it. For a new policy, the default name is New Inventory
Policy.
Policy name
The description of the policy. You can click the
description and edit it. For a new policy, the default
description is Add description.
Policy description
45Gathering inventory on managed computers
Inventory policy options
Table 4-5
Inventory policy options (continued)
DescriptionOption
Whether the policy is turned on or off. If the policy
clipboard icon is gray, and the icon is red, the policy is
off. If the policy clipboard icon and the icon are green,
the policy is on.
To turn on the policy , at the upper right of the page,
click the colored circle, click On, then click Save
changes.
Policy status
The frequency of inventory gathering. You can select
to have inventory gathered daily, weekly, monthly, or
on a custom schedule.
Ensure my inventory is current
The kind of inventory you gather.
See “About what you can inventory” on page 13.
You can click Advanced and specify which inventory
data classes to collect.
See “Inventory advanced options: Data Classes tab”
on page 47.
Select the types of inventory to
gather:
Opens a dialog for advanced settings.
See “Inventory advanced options” on page 46.
Advanced
The targets that the policy is applied to and a result
summary.
For moreinformation onconfiguring targets,view topics
about using policies and filtering rules in the Symantec
Management Platform Help.
Applies To/Compliance
Inventory advanced options
This dialog box lets you configure the advanced options of an inventory task.
See “Manually creating and modifying inventory policies and tasks” on page 43.
See “Inventory policy options” on page 45.
This dialog box has the following tabs:
The data classes are the specific items of inventory that you can
gather.
See “Inventory advanced options: Data Classes tab” on page 47.
Data Classes
Gathering inventory on managed computers
Inventory advanced options
46
(This tab is available only if software inventory is selected.)
Software rules let you filter drives, folders, and files when you
perform a software inventory scan.
See “Inventory advanced options: Files Properties Scan Settings
tab” on page 47.
Software Rules tab
(This tab is not available for stand-alone inventory packages.)
Run options let you configure inventory and logging options,
processor priority, and user context.
See “Inventory advanced options: Run options tab” on page 51.
Run Options tab
Inventory advanced options: Data Classes tab
You can select the types of inventory data that you want to gather. You can select
a whole category or expand it and select a more detailed set of data.
See “About what you can inventory” on page 13.
If you are viewing a predefined policy, data classes will be pre-selected based on
the policy.
Inventory advanced options: Files Properties Scan
Settings tab
You can filter drives, folders, and files when you perform a software inventory
scan.
See “Manually creating and modifying inventory policies and tasks” on page 43.
By default, all local drives and all folders on those drives are scanned. When you
select a folder, all subfolders are included by default.
You can add, edit, or delete items in the list.
Table 4-6
Software Rules tab
DescriptionOption
Select the drives that you want to include or exclude in the software
inventory scan. By default, all local drives are scanned.
If you have Inventory for UNIX and Linux installed, select the file
system types you want toinclude orexclude in the software inventory
scan.
Drives tab
47Gathering inventory on managed computers
Inventory advanced options: Data Classes tab
Table 4-6
Software Rules tab (continued)
DescriptionOption
Select the folders that you want to include or exclude in the software
inventory scan.When adding a folder to the list, you can either browse
to afolder name or enter the name in the text box. The text box accepts
environment variables, such as %windir%.
For UNIX and Linux folders, you can configure software scan to limit
the maximum number of subfolder levels. Youcan also ignore a folder
where the count of the files exceeds the given number.
Folders tab
You can set a rule to include or exclude files for a software inventory
scan. You can also edit, delete, or clone a file from the File Rules list.
Cloning lets you select a rule, create another copy of a rule in the
Software Rules query builder, and adjust the rule.
For UNIX and Linux platforms, the following properties can be
specified in the file rules: FileType, File Size, LastModifiedDate, and
Permissions.
For the Mac platform, the following properties can be specified in the
file rules: File type, File Size, LastModifiedDate, Permissions, File
Content (bundle or file), Product Name, Product Version, and
Manufacturer.
Files tab
The following table explains how to use includes and excludes:
Table 4-7
Software rules includes and excludes
DescriptionOption
Includes the drive in the scope of software scan.Include drive:
Ignores the drive from software scan.Exclude drive:
For the target computers that are running UNIX
and Linux, includes the file system of the given
type in the scope of software scan.
Include file system type:
For the target computers that are running UNIX
and Linux, excludes the file systems of the given
type from software scan
Exclude file system type:
Includes the folder in the scope of software scanInclude folder:
Gathering inventory on managed computers
Inventory advanced options: Files Properties Scan Settings tab
48
Table 4-7
Software rules includes and excludes (continued)
DescriptionOption
Ignores the folder from software scan. Starting
with InventorySolution 7.0SP1, newfolders have
been added to the list of excludes in order to
reduce redundant data. You may want to review
these settings to make sure that important
applications are not excluded.
Exclude folder:
Scans thefiles thatmatch the given rules. Reports
the sizeand the file count information if you have
selected “Report size or file count information
only” option on the Include file rules dialog.
Otherwise reports file information (name, path,
size, lastmodified date,manufacturer andso on).
File > Include Rule:
Does not report the information about the files
matching these rules to the CMDB.
File > Exclude Rule:
For the target computers that are running UNIX
and Linux. This setting tells the software scan to
limit maximum number of subfolder levels or to
ignore a folder where the count of files exceeds
the given number.
Include folder limit:
The following table explains how the inventory agent behaves on different
platforms:
Table 4-8
Software inventory behavior for different platforms
Behavior of the
software scan
agent on Mac
Behavior of the
software scan
agent on
UNIX/Linux
Behavior of the
software scan
agent on Windows
Possible settings
on the Software
Scan Settings tab
UI shows message
"Please include at
least one Drive or
Folder for the Mac
scan."
UI shows message
"Please include at
least one Drive or
Folder for the
UNIX/Linux scan."
UI shows message
"Please include at
least one Drive or
Folder for the
Windows scan."
Does not include or
exclude any drives or
file system types and
folders.
Scans the included
drives.
N/AScans the included
drives.
Includes only drives
and does not exclude
any drive. Does not
include or exclude
any folders.
49Gathering inventory on managed computers
Inventory advanced options: Files Properties Scan Settings tab
Table 4-8
Software inventory behavior for different platforms (continued)
Behavior of the
software scan
agent on Mac
Behavior of the
software scan
agent on
UNIX/Linux
Behavior of the
software scan
agent on Windows
Possible settings
on the Software
Scan Settings tab
N/ADoes not scan
anything
N/AIncludes only the file
system typeand does
not exclude any file
system. Does not
include or exclude
any folders.
Scans only the
included folders.
Scans only the
included folders.
Scans only the
included folders.
Includes only folders
and does not exclude
any folder. Does not
include or exclude
any drives or file
system types.
Scans the included
child folder.
Scans the included
child folder.
Does not scan the
child folder.
Excludes a parent
folder, but includes
the child folder of it.
Scans the parent
folder, but ignores
the child folder.
Scans the parent
folder, but ignores
the child folder.
Scans the parent
folder, but ignores
the child folder.
Includes a parent
folder, but excludes
the child folder of it.
Scans only the
included folder.
N/AScans only the
included folder.
Excludes a parent
drive, but includes a
folder on it.
N/ADoes not scan the
included folder.
N/AExcludes the file
system type, but
includes afolder with
this file system type.
Scans theentire drive
but ignores the
excluded folder.
N/AScans the entire
drive but ignores the
excluded folder.
Includes a parent
drive, but excludes a
folder on it.
N/ADoes not scan
anything
N/AIncludes the file
system type, but
excludes a folder
with this file system
type.
Gathering inventory on managed computers
Inventory advanced options: Files Properties Scan Settings tab
50
Table 4-8
Software inventory behavior for different platforms (continued)
Behavior of the
software scan
agent on Mac
Behavior of the
software scan
agent on
UNIX/Linux
Behavior of the
software scan
agent on Windows
Possible settings
on the Software
Scan Settings tab
Does not scan any
files.
Does not scan any
files.
Does or does not
exclude files.
Does not include any
files.
The includedfiles are
scanned in the scope
that is defined by the
drives and folders.
The includedfiles are
scanned in the scope
that is defined by the
file system types and
folders.
The includedfiles are
scanned in the scope
that is defined by
drives and folders.
Includes a few files.
Does not exclude
files.
Files not matching
the exclude file’s
criteria andmatching
include file’s criteria
are reported to the
CMDB.
Files not matching
the exclude file’s
criteria andmatching
include file’s criteria
are reported to the
CMDB.
Scans the files
matching include
file’s criteria.
Out of these, those
matching theexclude
criteria are excluded
from reportingto the
CMDB.
Includes a few files
and also exclude
files.
Inventory advanced options: Run options tab
This tab lets you configure the run options of an inventory scan.
See “Manually creating and modifying inventory policies and tasks” on page 43.
Table 4-9
Run Options tab
DescriptionOption
You canselect thisoption to send only the changes since
the previous inventory. This way, less inventory data
is sent across the network to the CMDB.
You might want to resend a complete inventory in the
following conditions:
■ You reset or cleaned-up your CMDB data.
■ You purged the inventory data.
■ For troubleshooting purposes, you might want a
complete inventory of a computer or application
folder.
Send inventory changes (deltas)
only
51Gathering inventory on managed computers
Inventory advanced options: Run options tab
Table 4-9
Run Options tab (continued)
DescriptionOption
You can select this option to include additional trace
information in the client log.
Generally, you would use this option to troubleshoot a
problem. For example, the inventory task runs on the
computer, but the data is not reported in the database.
For windows computers, the location of the log file is
stored in the registry on the Notification Server
computer.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Altiris\eXpress\Event
Logging\Log File
Key Name: Filepath
For UNIX/Linux/Mac computers, when you enable this
option, aseparate log file with detailed logging is created
for every task. The files are created in <agent install
dir>/inventory/var/log/ directory (by default
/opt/altiris/notification/inventory/var/log/).
Enable verbose client logging
You can select this option to scan the network file
systems.
Select thisoption toallow the Inventory plug-in to scan
remote volumes for software and report remote
volumes’ hardware information. Scanning remote
volumes is disabled by default to prevent numerous
computers from reporting redundant inventory data.
This option takes precedence over UNIX and Linux file
system types and Mac drive settings.
See “Inventoryadvanced options:Files PropertiesScan
Settings tab” on page 47.
If you clear this check box, remote volumes are not
scanned, regardless of whether their file system types
are included in the scan.
Access network file systems
(Unix/Linux/Mac))
Gathering inventory on managed computers
Inventory advanced options: Run options tab
52
Table 4-9
Run Options tab (continued)
DescriptionOption
You can modify the usage of the target computer's
processor and disk usage during an inventory scan.
The actualresource utilizationduring aninventory scan
will dependon thetarget computer'sprocessor typeand
hard disk speed. During a file scan for software
inventory, the number of files on the hard drive will
also affect resource utilization.
If you set the value to lower than normal, then target
computer's resources are minimized, however, the
inventory scan will take longer.
If you set the value to higher than normal, then more
of the target computer's resources are used and the
inventory scan will complete faster.
You may want to create multiple separate inventory
policies and target similar types of target computers.
For example, you may want to create a policy with
servers as targets. You can set the priority to lower than
normal to decrease the resource utilization and not
adversely impact the server's performance.
You maywant tolower theresource utilizationfor other
types ofcomputers, suchas notebookcomputers, which
generally have slower hard disks and processors.
System Resource Usage
Gathers the detailed file inventory immediately, rather
than performing a second detailed inventory scan
afterwards.
This option scans the files on target computers and
collects additional information, such as manufacturer,
version, and so on.
See “About detailed file inventory” on page 53.
Report detailed file inventory
immediately (Windows only)
You can specify the user account that the task runs in,
based on the platform the target computer is running.
Run Inventory as
About detailed file inventory
Detailed file inventory scans the files on target computers and collects detailed
information, such as manufacturer, version, and so on. This feature works with
Windows computers only.
53Gathering inventory on managed computers
About detailed file inventory
You can perform a detailed file inventory in one of two ways:
■ By selecting the Report detailed file inventory immediately option in the
inventory policies or tasks. This option is enabled by default.
See “Inventory advanced options: Run options tab” on page 51.
■ By running the Detailed File Inventory task. This task is scheduled, by default,
to runonce a week. You may want touse this method to reduce network traffic
during a normal software inventory scan.
Running a software inventory on client computers can generate a lot of network
traffic. To reduce network bandwidth, you may want to collect basic gather basic
software inventory data first, and then later gather the detailed file inventory in
a two-phased approach.
See “About methods for gathering software inventory” on page 36.
To accomplish this two-phased approach, do the following:
■ Configure and run a normal inventory policy or task with the software option
selected and configured.
This task gathers the basic information about the files from the target
computers.
■ You then run a second task, called the Detailed File Inventory Task.
This taskidentifies the file resources whose detail inventoryis missing. It also
it identifiesthe computer from where the file detail inventory can be gathered.
This task causes the Software Management Agent to flag this information as
detailed data to be collected during the next software scan.
The Detailed File Inventory task is a predefined task that is scheduled to run
once a week.
See “Gathering detailed file inventory ” on page 55.
■ The next time you run the normal software inventory, the detailed file
information is gathered and reported to the CMDB.
About targeted software inventory
Targeted software inventory determines whether specific software is installed
on managed computers. To find the software, it uses the software resource and
detection rule information that is defined in the Software Catalog. This feature
works with Windows computers only.
See “About methods for gathering software inventory” on page 36.
See “Running a targeted software inventory” on page 56.
To findthe software, Targeted Software Inventory uses the following information
that is defined in the Software Catalog:
Gathering inventory on managed computers
About targeted software inventory
54
■ Software resource
A softwareresource consists of the meta data that describes a specific instance
of a software application. In the Targeted Software Inventory policy, you
specify the software that you want to inventory.
■ The software resource’s detection rule
The detection rule that is associated with a software resource can be used to
create a policy to determine if that software resource is installed on a given
computer.
■ The software resource’s file associations
The files that are associated with a software resource can be used to analyze
the Inventory’sSolution’s file scan data to determine whatsoftware is installed
on a given computer.
A software resource consists of the meta data that describes a specific instance
of a software product. A software resourceis associatedwith the physical package
file that installs the software.
The policy then reports the computers that contain the software.
You can use the software information that is defined in the Software Catalog to
determine whether specific software is installed on one or more managed
computers.
The Targeted Software Inventory policy populates the inventory cache on each
client computer with the currently-installed software data. That data is
communicated to the Notification Server computer.
The software that you inventory must be defined as a software resource in the
Software Catalog. It must also have at least one detection rule. If the software
resource is not defined, contact an administrator who can edit the Software
Catalog.
You can see the results of the Targeted Software Inventory in the Installed
Software report. This report lists the software that is marked as installed. It also
lists the computers on which the software is installed and the installation dates.
You can access the Installed Software report from the Reports menu or from the
right-click menu in the Software Catalog.
Gathering detailed file inventory
To reducenetwork bandwidth when gathering initial software inventory, software
inventory uses a two-step process. This process first quickly gathers basic file
inventory and then secondly gathers detailed file inventory.
See “About detailed file inventory” on page 53.
55Gathering inventory on managed computers
Gathering detailed file inventory
Running thedetailed file inventory task finds out which fileresources in the CMDB
have basic information. Then it also finds out which of computers it can get the
detailed file information for. During the next software scan, the detailed
information about the file resources is sent back to the CMDB.
You can use the predefined Detailed File Inventory Task that is scheduled to run
weekly the first day of every week.
You can view the executed detailed file inventory client tasks. This ability is
important because there is a possibility that a target computer may be offline. As
a result, the detailed file inventory task can’t run. To find out whether detail file
inventory client task is ran successfully, look under Task status on the task page.
The currently executed task is prefixed with the date and time at which the client
task is run.
You should review the lists of includes and excludes in the task's File Properties
Scan Settings (advanced options). Otherwise, you may unintentionally exclude
applications.
See “Inventory advanced options: Files Properties Scan Settings tab” on page 47.
To view the Detailed File Inventory task
1
In the Symantec Management Console, on the Manage menu, click Jobs and
Tasks.
2
In theleft pane, under SystemJobsand Tasks, click Discovery and Inventory
> Inventory.
3
In the left pane, click Detailed File Inventory Task.
4
To run the task now, click New Schedule, click Now, and click Schedule.
Running a targeted software inventory
Targeted software inventory determines whether specific software is installed
on managed computers. To find the software, it uses the software resource and
detection rule information that is defined in the Software Catalog.
See “About targeted software inventory” on page 54.
To create a Targeted Software Inventory policy
1
In the Symantec Management Console, on the Manage menu, click Policies.
2
In the left pane, under Policies, click Discovery and Inventory.
3
In the left pane, right-click Targeted Software Inventory, and click New >
Targeted Software Inventory.
Gathering inventory on managed computers
Running a targeted software inventory
56
4
In the upper left of the right pane, click and type over the following text:
Type a name for this policy.
Because the description does not always appear, make the name
descriptive enough for other administrators to easily identify
this policy.
New Targeted
Software
Inventory
Type a description to further identify this policy.Add description
5
In the right pane, expand the Software to inventory section, and click Select
Software.
6
In the Select Software dialog box, select one or more software resources, and
click OK.
7
To edit the detection rule for a software resource, under the Software to
inventory section, select the software resource, and click Edit.
For more information, see the topic about editing an inventory rule in the
Symantec Management Platform Help.
8
On the policy page, expand the Schedule section, and define the schedule on
which to check the client computers.
See “Selecting computers and scheduling inventory tasks” on page 44.
9
On the policy page, expand the Applied to section, and select the client
computers to check for the specified software resource.
See “Selecting computers and scheduling inventory tasks” on page 44.
10
On the policy page, turn on the policy.
At the upper right of the page, click the colored circle, and then click On.
11
On the policy page, click Save changes.
57Gathering inventory on managed computers
Running a targeted software inventory
Gathering inventory on managed computers
Running a targeted software inventory
58
Gathering inventory using
stand-alone packages
This chapter includes the following topics:
■ About gathering inventory using stand-alone packages
■ Gathering inventory using stand-alone packages
■ Creating and editing stand-alone inventory packages
■ Stand-alone inventory package options page
■ Running stand-alone inventory packages on target computers
■ Stand-alone inventory package command-line switches
■ Manually reporting stand-alone inventory data
About gathering inventory using stand-alone packages
One method of gathering inventory data is stand-alone inventory packages. A
stand-alone inventory package is an executable file that you create from the
Symantec Management Console. You run the package on target computers and
gather theinventory data of that computer. This method lets yougather inventory
on the target computers that are not managed through the Altiris Agent.
Stand-alone inventory packages can only run on Windows-based computers. To
gather inventory on computers on other platforms, use the managed computer
method.
See “Methods for gathering inventory” on page 18.
If you use stand-alone packages, you must be able to report the inventory data
back tothe Notification Server computer. You can use different options of reporting
5
Chapter
data depending on the configuration of your network. You can create multiple
packages with different options based on your needs.
See “Gathering inventory using stand-alone packages” on page 60.
To execute a stand-alone package and gather the inventory correctly, the logged
on user must be a local administrator.
Gathering inventory using stand-alone packages
You can gather inventory on the target computers that are not managed through
the Altiris Agent. This process guides you through the steps to gather inventory
using stand-alone packages.
See “About gathering inventory using stand-alone packages” on page 59.
Table 5-1
Process for gathering inventory using stand-alone packages
DescriptionActionStep
You create stand-alone inventory
packages from the Symantec
Management Console.
See “Creating and editing stand-alone
inventory packages” on page 60.
Create a stand-alone inventory
package.
Step 1
You run the stand-alone packages on
the target computers that gather the
inventory data.
See “Running stand-alone inventory
packages on target computers”
on page 64.
Run the Stand-alone Inventory
package on the target computers.
Step 2
If the target computer cannot
communicate directly to the
Notification Servercomputer, youmust
manually report the inventory data.
See “Manually reporting stand-alone
inventory data” on page 67.
If you need to, manually copy
inventory data to the Notification
Server computer.
Step 3
Creating and editing stand-alone inventory packages
You can create or edit a stand-alone inventory package. When you configure a
package, you select how the data is reported to the Notification Server computer.
The inventory data is stored in files with an NSE extension.
Gathering inventory using stand-alone packages
Gathering inventory using stand-alone packages
60
See “Gathering inventory using stand-alone packages” on page 60.
To create or edit a stand-alone inventory package
1
In the Symantec Management Console, on the Settings menu, click All
settings.
2
In the left pane, click Discovery and Inventory > Inventory Solution >
Stand-alone Inventory Packages.
3
In the right pane, do one of the following:
■ To create a new package, click New package.
■ To edit a package, select an existing package and click the edit symbol.
■ To create an identical copy of a package, select a package and click Clone
package.
4
Name and describe the package.
5
Configure the package options.
See “Stand-alone inventory package options page ” on page 61.
6
Click OK.
7
You can view the properties of the package from the Stand-alone Inventory
Packages page.
The propertiesinclude the path of the package fileas well as the configuration
settings of the package.
Stand-alone inventory package options page
This page letsyou configure the options for a stand-alone inventory package. You
define the type of inventory gathered, where to store the data, and other options.
You can view the properties of a package from the main Stand-alone Inventory
Packages page.
When configuring where to store the inventory data, you select an option based
on what access target computers have to the Notification Server computer.
See “Gathering inventory using stand-alone packages” on page 60.
See “Creating and editing stand-alone inventory packages” on page 60.
Note: When the package is run, you can override some of these settings with a
command-line switch.
See “Running stand-alone inventory packages on target computers” on page 64.
61Gathering inventory using stand-alone packages
Stand-alone inventory package options page
Table 5-2
Stand-alone inventory package options
DescriptionSetting
You can select the type of inventorydata to gather. You can
select a whole category or expand it and select a detailed
set of data.
See “About what you can inventory” on page 13.
Inventory data classes
This option causes a dialog box to open on the computer
that is running the package. The dialog displays the data
classes that are gathered and then where the data is posted
after the inventory is completed.
Show progress
This option keeps the inventorydata cached so that youcan
compare the inventory data in the future. Inventory data
comparisons are performed using command-line switches.
See “Running stand-alone inventory packages on target
computers” on page 64.
Keep the inventory cached
for future comparisons.
Gathering inventory using stand-alone packages
Stand-alone inventory package options page
62
Table 5-2
Stand-alone inventory package options (continued)
DescriptionSetting
This option lets you configure where the inventory data is
stored after it is gathered.
You can choose from the following options.
■ Notification Server URL
If target computers can communicate with the
Notification Servercomputer usingHTTP (port80 open)
or HTTPS(port 443open), youcan usethis option.When
the package is run, the inventory data is automatically
sent to the Notification Server computer.
The URL that is used is displayed on the page.
■ Folder
You canstore the data on the local computer, on ashare,
or on the Notification Server computer. When the
package isrun, theinventory data is automatically saved
on that share. Inventory data files are stored with an
NSE extension.
If target computers can access a shared folder on the
Notification Server computer, you can store it directly
to a share on the server.
The Notification Server computer share to use with this
option is:
\\notification_server_name\NSCap\EvtInbox
If the target computer cannot access the Notification
Server computer, you can store the inventory data on
the local computer. You can also store it on another
computer that is not the Notification Server computer.
You mustthen manuallycopy thefiles tothe Notification
Server computer.
You may have to use this option for the following
situations:
■ Computers that are not regularly attached to the
network
■ Computers that are outside the intranet that the
Notification Server computer is on.
You can specify a share or a path on the local computer.
If you specify a local path, that folder is created on each
target computer. For example, C:\Inventory_Data
Inventory data files are stored with an NSE extension.
You canalso useenvironment variableswhen specifying
the path to folder. For example:
\\IntermediateShare\%computername%
Send inventory data to:
63Gathering inventory using stand-alone packages
Stand-alone inventory package options page
Table 5-2
Stand-alone inventory package options (continued)
DescriptionSetting
(Software inventory only) You can configure software
inventory rules for software inventory.
See “Inventory advanced options” on page 46.
Advanced
Running stand-alone inventory packages on target
computers
After you have created stand-alone inventory packages on Notification Server,
you run the packages on target computers to gather inventory data. Stand-alone
inventory packages are EXE files. You can use multiple methods to make the
packages available to target computers. The method that you use affects how the
inventory data is reported back to Notification Server.
To execute a stand-alone package and gather the inventory correctly, the logged
on user must be a local administrator.
See “Creating and editing stand-alone inventory packages” on page 60.
You can use different methods for accessing stand-alone inventory packages.
Table 5-3
Options for accessing packages
DescriptionMethod
If target computers can communicate with the Notification Server
computer, you can use one of the following options:
■ Access the packages from a Notification Server URL (port 80 open
for HTTP and port 443 open for HTTPS)
■ Access the packages from a Notification Server share
See “Stand-alone inventory package options page ” on page 61.
When you create the package, the paths for the package are viewable
from the Standalone Inventory Packages page.
Directly from the
Notification Server
computer
If thetarget computercannot accessthe Notification Server computer
using a URL or share, you can manually distribute the package. For
example, you can email the package or place it on a different server's
share or URL.
If you use this method, you must manually copy the inventory data
files to the Notification Server computer after running the package.
See “Manually reporting stand-alone inventory data” on page 67.
Manually
Gathering inventory using stand-alone packages
Running stand-alone inventory packages on target computers
64
When you run a stand-alone inventory package, you can use command-line
switches to modify default behavior.
See “Stand-alone inventory package command-line switches” on page 66.
If you had enabled the verbose logging or if any errors occur when running
stand-alone inventory, you can view the inventory events in a log.
The log is on the local computers and stored at the following locations:
■ InstallDir\Altiris\Altiris Agent\Logsfolder asAgent*.log onmanaged computers
■ %ProgramFiles%\Altiris\Altiris Agent\Logs folder as a*.log on unmanaged
computers.
You may have thepackage configured toaccess theNotification Servercomputer,
but when the package is run, it cannot access the server. If stand-alone inventory
fails topost the NSEs to the specified target (afolder or HTTP or HTTPS location),
it deletes the NSE, NSI, and BAK files from the Inventory\NSI and
Inventory\Outbox folders. The files are deleted so that the next time stand-alone
inventory is run, it will re-create the inventory. The NSI and Out box folders are
removed if they are empty. This procedure is done to make sure stand-alone
inventory reports correct inventory to the Notification Server computer even if
users are running stand-alone inventory packages with the
/SendChangedInventory command-line switch.
Unlike the software inventory on managed computers, the software scan in
stand-alone mode does the following functions:
■ Also reports inventory of Add/Remove programs
■ Does not follow the two-pass logic for reporting the file inventory, so basic as
well as detailed file inventory is reported for the files scanned
See “About methods for gathering software inventory” on page 36.
Running stand-alone inventory packages on target computers
◆
Using oneof the inventory methods explained, run the stand-alone inventory
package.
If you used the manual method, you must manually copy the inventory data
files to the Notification Server computer after running the package.
See “Manually reporting stand-alone inventory data” on page 67.
65Gathering inventory using stand-alone packages
Running stand-alone inventory packages on target computers
Stand-alone inventory package command-line
switches
When you run a stand-alone inventory package, the packageuses the options that
are selected when the package was created. When you run a package, you can use
command-line switches to modify default behavior.
See “Stand-alone inventory package options page ” on page 61.
See “Running stand-alone inventory packages on target computers” on page 64.
These switches are not case sensitive.
Table 5-4
Stand-alone inventory package command-line switches
DescriptionCommand-line switch
By default, all the errors are logged. If you specify
/EnableVerboseLog at the command line,it enables verbose
logging. If verbose logging is enabled, the trace messages
are also logged.
/EnableVerboseLog
By default, a stand-alone inventory package reports all the
gathered inventory. If you use this switch, the package
reports only the inventory data that has changed since the
last scan.
To gather only changed data, the package compares the
previously collected data, if the previous data was cached.
To cache inventory data, check Keep the inventory cached
for future comparisons in the package configuration page.
For more information, see See “Creating and editing
stand-alone inventory packages” on page 60.
If no previous inventory data is present, all gathered
inventory is reported.
If you have multiple Notification Servers, do not use this
option if you report data to a server that does not have the
previous data stored on it.
/SendChangedInventory
Gathering inventory using stand-alone packages
Stand-alone inventory package command-line switches
66
Table 5-4
Stand-alone inventory package command-line switches (continued)
DescriptionCommand-line switch
Use thisswitch tooverride the value for the "Send Inventory
to" option that is specified in the stand-alone package.
The destination can be either an http(s) link to the
Notification Servercomputer ora folder path. For example,
you can store the NSE on a USB drive.
You can use environment variables when specifying the
destination.
For example, you can use the following command:
package_name.exe /SendInventoryTo
\\server_name\Inventory\%COMPUTERNAME%.
This command creates a separate folder for each computer
at \server_name\Inventory and stores the NSEs in that
folder. Thefolder isthe sameas the target computer’s name.
/SendInventoryTo
destination
Manually reporting stand-alone inventory data
If the stand-alone inventory package saved the inventory data to a location other
than the Notification Server computer, you must manually copy the inventory
data. The location of the stored inventory data is determined by the options of
the stand-alone package or a command-line switch when the package was run.
See “Creating and editing stand-alone inventory packages” on page 60.
See “Running stand-alone inventory packages on target computers” on page 64.
The inventory data is stored in files with an NSE extension. The NSE files must
be copiedto a Notification Server by a user who has rights to the server. Generally,
any user on a managed computer has sufficient rights.
Manually reporting stand-alone inventory data
◆
Copy the inventory files to the following folder:
\\notification_server_name\NSCap\EvtInbox
When the files are copied, the inventory data is stored in the CMDB.
67Gathering inventory using stand-alone packages
Manually reporting stand-alone inventory data
Gathering inventory using stand-alone packages
Manually reporting stand-alone inventory data
68
Gathering custom inventory
This chapter includes the following topics:
■ About gathering custom inventory
■ Gathering custom inventory
■ Creating and customizing the data class
■ Creating a custom inventory script task
■ About creation interfaces
■ Viewing custom inventory data
About gathering custom inventory
You canuse custom inventory to extend the type of inventory yougather by adding
new data classes that are not included by default.
To perform custom inventory, you perform the following steps:
■ Create new inventory data classes.
■ Create a Run script task for gathering and posting the custom inventory data.
You can use NSE creation interfaces for creating and posting NSEs to the
server.
■ Run the tasks on target computers.
See “About creation interfaces” on page 76.
See “Gathering custom inventory” on page 71.
For information about upgraded 6.x custom inventory, see the Inventory Solution
Release Notes.
6
Chapter
A data class is a table in the database. For example, the Processor_Ex data class
in the Inv_Processor_Ex database. Each data class has a set of attributes that
define its properties. You can create and customize a dataclass byadding, editing,
and deleting the attributes. The customized data class is referred to as a custom
data class. Attributes are the properties of a data class.
The following example lists the attributes of the Processor Extension data class.
Table 6-1
Example of attributes of the Processor Extension data class
DescriptionAttribute
Specifies the unique index that is used
to identify the device.
Device ID
Specifies the size of the Level 2
processor cache in Kilobytes.
L2 Cache Size
Specifies the clock speed of the Level 2
processor cache in Megahertz.
L2 Cache Speed
Each data class is identified by a unique GUID. You can also view the GUID of a
data class. While customizing a script, you can replace the GUID of a data class
with a new GUID to configure the data class. Example: set objDCInstance =
nse.AddDataClass ("{e8220123-4987-4b5e-bc39-ec6eaea312ef}").In this example,
e8220123-4987-4b5e-bc39-ec6eaea312ef is the GUID of the objDCInstance data
class. After customizing a data class, you must create a task, customize the task
script, and roll it out to the target computers.
See “Creating and customizing the data class” on page 72.
You can write the inventory gathering logic in scripts. You can use scripting
languages, such as VBScript, JavaScript, and so on. You schedule the task script
to run on the client computers to gather inventory.
See “Creating a custom inventory script task” on page 74.
You canextend the use of a data classby customizing it. For example, the attributes
of Processor Extension data class are Device ID, L2 Cache Size, and L2 Cache
Speed. You can customize this data class by adding attributes, such as Name and
Description of the processor.
Sample Custom Inventory scripts are provided. For example, one can be used to
gather information about the processor of a computer and posting data to server
using Altiris NSE component:
See “Creating a custom inventory script task” on page 74.
You can use the NSE creation interfaces for storing the gathered inventory in to
NSE and posting the NSE to NS.
Gathering custom inventory
About gathering custom inventory
70
See “About creation interfaces” on page 76.
You can change a custom data class in following ways if it is saved in the CMDB
and is empty:
■ You can add nullable, non-nullable, key, non-key attributes
■ You can delete an attribute
■ You can change the properties of an attribute
You cannot modify the data class in any of these ways if it has data.
Warning: Use caution if you aregathering a data class usingthe custom inventory
and the data class is also part of standard inventory. If you perform a standard
inventory after performing a custom inventory, the data gathered during the
standard inventoryoverwrites the data gathered in the data classesduring custom
inventory. To ensure that the data that is gathered during custom inventory is
displayed in the reports, you must perform custom inventory after the standard
inventory.
See “Gathering custom inventory” on page 71.
Gathering custom inventory
Custom Inventory lets you customize the set of inventory data that is gathered
and reported to CMDB.
See “About gathering custom inventory” on page 69.
To perform a Custom Inventory
1
Create a custom data class from the data class manager user interface.
See “Creating and customizing the data class” on page 72.
2
Create a Script task and schedule the script to run on the target computers.
See “About gathering custom inventory” on page 69.
See “Creating a custom inventory script task” on page 74.
3
Use generic NSE interfaces to store and post the gathered inventory to the
CMDB.
See “About creation interfaces” on page 76.
4
View the gathered inventory through reports.
71Gathering custom inventory
Gathering custom inventory
Creating and customizing the data class
From the Symantec Management Console, you can create a custom data class.
You can add, edit, and delete attributes of the data class. You can also find the
GUID and view the data in the data class.
Be aware that every time you modify an attribute and you save the changes, the
data class is assigned with a new GUID. You can modify an attribute by adding,
deleting, editing, or changing the position of the attribute.
Caution: The final step of saving changes is very important.The changes you make
before you save are stored only in memory. When you save the changes, a new
data class is created or the existing data class is updated in the database. If you
go to other page or select another data class without saving, the changes are lost.
See “About gathering custom inventory” on page 69.
See “Gathering custom inventory” on page 71.
To create a custom data class
1
In the Symantec Management Console, click Settings > All Settings.
2
In the left pane, click Discovery and Inventory > Inventory Solution >
Manage Custom Data classes.
3
To create a new data class, in the right pane, click New data class.
4
Enter a name and description for the new data class and click OK.
The name of the new data class must be unique and should not appear in the
existing custom and predefined data classes.
5
(Optional) In the left pane of the Data class configuration page, click Delete
to delete an existing data class.
6
To add an attribute to the data class, click Add attribute.
See “To add an attribute” on page 73.
7
(Optional) You can also edit or delete attributes by clicking the edit or delete
symbols.
Gathering custom inventory
Creating and customizing the data class
72
8
(Optional) You can let the data class store inventory of multiple objects, for
example services, user accounts, files, network cards, and so on. Select the
Allow multiple rows from a single computer resource check box.
When you report inventory values for the columns in an NSE, the attributes
are identified by the column ID and not by the column name. As a result, the
order of attributes in a data class must be correct. From the Data class
configuration dialog you can also specify the sequence of the attributes.
9
Click Save changes.
To add an attribute
1
In the Data Class Attribute dialog box, enter a name for the attribute.
2
From the data type drop-down list, select the attribute data type.
3
Enter the maximum size for an attribute.
4
(Optional) To add an attribute that uniquely defines a row in the data class,
select Yes from the Key drop-down list. Selecting Yes, enforces that the
attribute always has a unique value which is other than NULL.
5
If the attribute should ever be empty, blank, or null blank, select Yes from
the Data required drop-down list and click OK. If you have already selected
Key as Yes, the Data required is automatically set to Yes. It is not changeable
unless the Key is set to No.
To find the GUID of a data class
◆
In the Manage Custom Data classes page, select a required data class and
click the details symbol.
When you create any data class or add any attributes, all the information is
stored in memory. Nothing has yet been created into the database and on
details page, no GUID is yet assigned. As a result, a
00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000000 GUID isdisplayed in the property
of the data class. When you save your changes, the data class is saved in the
database and the GUID is generated. This GUID changesevery time you make
changes to the definition of the data class and save it.
To view the data of the custom data class
1
In the Symantec Management Console, click Manage > Computers.
2
In the right pane, double-click a computer.
3
In the Resource Manager page, select View > Inventory.
4
To view the data, double-click the data class.
73Gathering custom inventory
Creating and customizing the data class
Creating a custom inventory script task
After you have created a custom inventory data class, you can create a custom
inventory script task that gathers the custom inventory. The script task is
configured with both the script to gather the custom inventory and the schedule
of the task.
You can use a sample script that is provided. You can clone this task and modify
it with the custom data classes that you created.
See “About gathering custom inventory” on page 69.
See “Gathering custom inventory” on page 71.
You can also clone a task. Cloning a task refers to creating an identical copy of a
task.
To access a sample custom inventory script task
1
In the Symantec Management Console, select Manage > Jobs and Tasks.
2
In the left pane, click Samples > Discovery and Inventory > Inventory
samples > Custom.
Click the sample custom script task.
3
You can use this task or copy the script to use in a different task.
You can customize the script by configuring the data class with a GUID and
updating the attributes of the data class.
To clone a sample custom inventory script task
1
In the Symantec Management Console, select Manage > Jobs and Tasks.
2
In the left pane, click Samples > Discovery and Inventory > Inventory
samples > Custom.
Right-click the sample custom script task and select Clone.
3
In the Clone Item dialog box, give the cloned script a descriptive name and
click OK.
4
Customize the script by configuring the data class with a GUID and updating
the attributes of the data class.
See “To configure the data class with a GUID” on page 75.
See “To update attributes of a data class” on page 75.
5
Under Task Status, click Schedule to schedule the task to run on client
computers at a specified time.
See “To schedule a task” on page 76.
Gathering custom inventory
Creating a custom inventory script task
74
To create and schedule a new custom inventory task
1
In the Symantec Management Console, select Manage > Jobs and Tasks.
2
Click Create a new job or task.
3
In the list of task types, click Run Script.
4
In the right pane of the Create a New Task dialog, enter a name for the task.
5
Select VBScript from the Script drop-down list.
6
Enter your own script or copy a sample inventory script to the script editor.
See “To access a sample custom inventory script task” on page 74.
7
Customize the script and click OK.
See “To configure the data class with a GUID” on page 75.
See “To update attributes of a data class” on page 75.
8
Under TaskStatus, schedule the task to run on client computers at a specified
time.
See “To schedule a task” on page 76.
To configure the data class with a GUID
1
Create or open an existing custom inventory task.
2
In the right pane of the task dialog, scroll down to locate set objDCInstance.
3
Replace the GUID in the sample inventory script with the GUID of the data
class that you created.
See “To find the GUID of a data class ” on page 73.
To update attributes of a data class
1
Create or open an existing custom inventory task.
2
In the task dialog, scroll down to locate objCIMObj.
3
Add a new row.
Example: objDataClass.StartRow 0.
4
Set values for each column.
Example: objDataClass.
5
AddField objInfo.DeviceID.
The attributes of the data class are updated.
75Gathering custom inventory
Creating a custom inventory script task
To schedule a task
1
To run a custom inventory immediately, select QuickRun, select a computer
to run the task on, and click Run.
2
To schedule the task, click NewSchedule. Select the schedule options for the
task.
For more information, view topics about running tasks in the Symantec
Management Platform Help.
About creation interfaces
You store gathered custom inventory in an NSE (Notification Server Event) and
send the NSE to CMDB.
The NSE must be in a specific XML format so that it can be processed correctly.
The NSE interfaces help you format the XML code and send it correctly.
See “About gathering custom inventory” on page 69.
The following is an example.
'========================================================================================
'The following is a sample custom inventory script gathering
information about
the processor of a computer and posting data to the server using
Altiris NSE Component
'========================================================================================
' On Error Resume Next
'Create instance of Wbem service object and connect to namespace
strComputer = "."
Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:" &
"{impersonationLevel=impersonate}!\\" & strComputer & "\root\cimv2")
'Fire WMI Query
Set objCIMObj = objWMIService.ExecQuery("select * from CIM_processor")
'========================================================================================
'Create instance of Altiris NSE component
dim nse
set nse = WScript.CreateObject ("Altiris.AeXNSEvent")
Gathering custom inventory
About creation interfaces
76
' Set the header data of the NSE
' Please don't modify this GUID
nse.To = "{1592B913-72F3-4C36-91D2-D4EDA21D2F96}"
nse.Priority = 1
'Create Inventory data block. Here assumption is that the data class
with
below guid is already configured on server
dim objDCInstance
set objDCInstance = nse.AddDataClass ("{e8220123-4987-4b5e-bc39-
ec6eaea312ef}")
dim objDataClass
set objDataClass = nse.AddDataBlock (objDCInstance)
For each objInfo in objCIMObj
'Add a new row
dim objDataRow
set objDataRow = objDataClass.AddRow
'Set columns
objDataRow.SetField 0, objInfo.DeviceID
objDataRow.SetField 1, objInfo.L2CacheSize
objDataRow.SetField 2, objInfo.L2CacheSpeed
Next
nse.SendQueued
'========================================================================================
The script divides the process into four steps:
1. Gather the values:
strComputer = "."
Set objWMIService = GetObject("winmgmts:" &
"{impersonationLevel=impersonate}!\\" & strComputer & "\root\cimv2")
'Fire WMI Query
77Gathering custom inventory
About creation interfaces
Set objCIMObj = objWMIService.ExecQuery("select * from CIM_processor")
2. Create NSE objects for the custom data class GUID:
'Create instance of Altiris NSE component
dim nse
set nse = WScript.CreateObject ("Altiris.AeXNSEvent")
' Set the header data of the NSE
' Please don't modify the following GUID. It defines what receives
and processes the NSE on server. The priority value defines the
priority in which the NSE should be processed. Always keep it 1.
nse.To = "{1592B913-72F3-4C36-91D2-D4EDA21D2F96}"
nse.Priority = 1
'Create Inventory data block. Here, the assumption is that the data
class with the below guid is already configured on server. This
creates a data class with the specified GUID. The GUID used here can
be obtained from Manage Custom Dataclasses page > select a required
data class and click the details symbol.
dim objDCInstance
set objDCInstance = nse.AddDataClass ("{e8220123-4987-4b5e-bc39-
ec6eaea312ef}")
' Add the datablock so that rows can be added to the data class.
dim objDataClass
set objDataClass = nse.AddDataBlock (objDCInstance)
3. Store the gathered values into the NSE objects:
For each objInfo in objCIMObj
'Add a new row
dim objDataRow
set objDataRow = objDataClass.AddRow
'Set columns
objDataRow.SetField 0, objInfo.DeviceID
objDataRow.SetField 1, objInfo.L2CacheSize
objDataRow.SetField 2, objInfo.L2CacheSpeed
Gathering custom inventory
About creation interfaces
78
Next
4. Send the NSE:
nse.SendQueued
Viewing custom inventory data
When inventory data is gathered, it is stored in the CMDB. You can use the
Resource Manager to view custom inventory that is gathered from a computer.
For more information about using the Resource Manager, see the Symantec
Management Platform Help.
To view the data of the custom data class
1
In the Symantec Management Console, click Manage > Computers.
2
In the right pane, double-click a computer.
3
In the Resource Manager page, select View > Inventory.
4
To view the data, double-click a data class.
79Gathering custom inventory
Viewing custom inventory data
Gathering custom inventory
Viewing custom inventory data
80
Viewing inventory data and
reports
This chapter includes the following topics:
■ Viewing inventory data
■ Using inventory reports
■ About using the Resource Manager to view inventory data
■ Using the Resource Manager to view inventory data
Viewing inventory data
When inventory data is gathered, it is stored in the CMDB. You can view
information in the CMDB using reports and the Resource Manager. Both of these
are functions of the Symantec Management Platform.
See “Using inventory reports” on page 81.
See “About using the Resource Manager to view inventory data” on page 82.
Using inventory reports
When you use reports, you can use a wide variety of predefined reports or you
can create your own.
See “Viewing inventory data” on page 81.
Most reports let you filter the information that you view. For example, there is
an inventory report that lists computers with their BIOS information. You can
view the BIOS manufacturer, version, and release date. You can also filter the
7
Chapter
report to view computers in a certain domain. You can also filter the list of
computers by using wildcards.
For moreinformation aboutusing reports, see the Symantec Management Platform
Help..
To access inventory reports
1
In the Symantec Management Console, click Reports > All reports.
2
In the left pane, click Discovery and Inventory > Inventory.
To viewapplication metering reports, click Software > ApplicationMetering.
See “Viewing application metering data” on page 105.
3
Browse the report categories and choose a report.
About using the Resource Manager to view inventory
data
You can use the Resource Manager to view all of the inventory data for a single
resource. You can view the basic inventory that is gathered from all managed
computers. An example of basic inventory is the computer's IP address. You can
also viewthe more detailed data that is gathered Inventory Solution. For example,
you can quickly view which operating system a certain computer is running. You
can also view the status of that inventory data, such as when the data was last
gathered. You also use the Resource Manager to view custom inventory.
See “About what you can inventory” on page 13.
For more information about using the Resource Manager, see the Symantec
Management Platform Help..
You can view the content of the actual data classes or you can view hardware and
software summaries.
See “Viewing inventory data” on page 81.
See “Using the Resource Manager to view inventory data” on page 84.
The hardware summary page includes the following:
Viewing inventory data and reports
About using the Resource Manager to view inventory data
82
Table 7-1
Hardware inventory summary page
DescriptionSection
This section lists the agents that are installed on the
resource, the version number, the date they were first
discovered, the date when the last inventory was collected,
and so on.
Agent
This section contains the details of the processor, such as
the type, speed, model, sound card, RAM size, and so on.
Hardware
This section contains the details of the drives that are
available on the resource.
Drives
This section displays the installed applications and their
details suchas the version, the date they wereinstalled, etc.
Installed Software
This sectioncontains the details such as GUID, users, group,
and primary user.
Users and Groups
The software summary page includes the following:
Table 7-2
Software inventory summary page
DescriptionSection
This section displays the installed applications and their
details such as the version, the date they were installed, and
so on.
Installed Software
This section lists the programs that are in the Add Remove
Programs of the Control Panel of the computer. It lists the
name of the programs, their version number, the date they
were installed, the manufacture type, estimated size, and
so on.
Add Remove Programs
This section lists all the files that are associated with the
software component installed on the computer. It displays
details such as the file version, name, size, path, and so on.
Installed File Details
From the Resource Manager, you can also launch a report that displays the
software that is installed on the computer.
83Viewing inventory data and reports
About using the Resource Manager to view inventory data
Using the Resource Manager to view inventory data
You can use the Resource Manager to view all of the inventory data for a single
resource. You can view the basic inventory that is gathered from all managed
computers.
See “Viewing inventory data” on page 81.
See “About using the Resource Manager to view inventory data” on page 82.
To view the inventory data of a computer using the Resource Manager
1
In the Symantec Management Console, click Manage > Computers.
2
In the right pane, double-click a computer.
3
To view the hardware summary, click Summaries > Hardware Summary.
4
To view the software summary, click Summaries > Software Summary.
5
To view the Installed Software Report, in the left pane, click Installed
Software Report.
6
To view the inventory data classes, select View > Inventory.
To view the data, select a data class.
For example, to see which version of Windows is running on the computer,
click Operating System > Operating System Windows.
To see the status of the inventory data, click the Status tab.
Viewing inventory data and reports
Using the Resource Manager to view inventory data
84
Metering and denying
applications
This chapter includes the following topics:
■ About metering and denying applications
■ About how application metering works
■ About blacklisting applications
■ About configuring applications for metering
■ Metering and denying applications
■ Configuring Application Metering policies
■ Defining applications to meter or deny
■ Application metering policy options
■ Application definition details
■ Application metering start, stop, and denial events
■ About application summary data
■ About how application metering summary is sent
■ Managing application metering data
■ Viewing application metering data
About metering and denying applications
You can use the application metering feature to do the following functions:
8
Chapter
■ Monitor the use of applications on managed computers.
■ Control the availability of applications on managed computers.
Note: Application metering is a Windows-only feature.
This feature requires the Altiris Agent and an Application Metering plug-in be
installed on target computers.
See “Preparing managed computers for inventory and metering” on page 25.
The following table gives an overview of how you can meter applications:
Table 8-1
Application metering functions
DescriptionFunction
You can monitor and record the usage of applications.
You can monitor the following information:
■ The application's start and stop events that are sent to the CMDB
■ The summary data of monitored applications
These eventsare recordedin theConfiguration Management Database
(CMDB) and are viewable through reports.
Application metering reports let you view the following information:
■ Which metered applications were used
■ When metered applications were used
■ Which computers metered applications were run on
■ Concurrent application usage
■ Application resource usage statistics
See “Application metering start, stop, and denial events” on page 99.
See “About application summary data” on page 101.
See “Viewing application metering data” on page 105.
Monitoring
applications
Metering and denying applications
About metering and denying applications
86
Table 8-1
Application metering functions (continued)
DescriptionFunction
You can control the availability of an application with the following
options:
■ Allow an application to run at all times.
■ Deny an application from running at all times.
■ Deny anapplication fromrunning atspecified timesor on specified
days.
If a user tries to run a denied application, it is stopped immediately.
A promptcan beshown to the user for the application that was denied.
You can also configure deny events to be sent to Notification Server
when a user tries to run a denied application. These events can then
be used to trigger sending an email to an administrator. You can also
view reports that list the denied applications that were attempted to
run.
See “Metering and denying applications” on page 89.
You can deny one or more applications using a single policy. You can
also deny several applications using the Blacklisted Applications
policy.
See “About blacklisting applications” on page 88.
Denying
applications
When you meter applications, you define the applications you want to monitor
or deny by creating application definitions.
See “About configuring applications for metering” on page 89.
The rules for metering applications are controlled through Notification Server
polices. The Application Metering plug-in, which runs with the Altiris Agent on
the target computer, enforces the properties of the policies.
See “About how application metering works” on page 88.
See “Metering and denying applications” on page 89.
You can meter a variety of types of applications.
Table 8-2
Application types that you can meter
Win16 ApplicationsWin32 ApplicationsWin64 ApplicationsOperating system
NoYesYesWindows
NT/2000/XP/Vista
NoNoNoWindows 9x/ME
87Metering and denying applications
About metering and denying applications
Caution: When you use Application Metering policies, it is possible for multiple
policies to monitor the same application. This situation might cause erroneous
data in reports or trigger duplicate notification policy actions.
About how application metering works
The rules for metering applications are controlled through Notification Server
polices. The Application Metering plug-in, which runs with the Altiris Agent on
the targetcomputer, enforces the properties of the policy. An ApplicationMetering
policy can meter one or more applications.
See “About metering and denying applications” on page 85.
When an application starts on a managed computer, the Application Metering
plug-in checks for an enabled policy monitoring the application.
If the plug-in finds an enabled policy, it does the following functions:
■ Records the application summary datalocally andsends this data to theCMDB
at the end of the application monitoring period
■ Sends theevent notifications to the CMDB as specified in themonitoring policy.
It can send application start, stop, or denial events. It sends this information
in batches at a specified interval.
■ Denies the use of the application if the monitoring policy so specifies.
About blacklisting applications
Blacklisting is an application metering feature that lets you deny multiple
applications from running on client computers.
See “About metering and denying applications” on page 85.
Blacklisting is performed by configuring the Blacklisted Applications policy. This
policy is a predefined policy. You can add as many applications to this policy as
you want.You can also add applications the Blacklisted Applications policy through
right-clicking an application in the Software Catalog.
When you blacklist any software component, the software component is scanned
looking for an exe file. If that software component contains any exe, it is
blacklisted. A separate rule is created for every exe.
If the software component is successfully blacklisted, the following message is
displayed in a dialog:
“The following software has been successfully marked as blacklisted.”
Metering and denying applications
About how application metering works
88
Otherwise it displays “The following software cannot be blacklisted because it is
not associated with any executable files.”
See “Configuring Application Metering policies” on page 90.
About configuring applications for metering
When you configure an Application Metering policy, you define the applications
you wantto meter by creating application definitions. You canuse broad or specific
product definitions.For example, you can use one definitionto meter all Microsoft
applications or you can use a specific definition to meter Word version 12. The
metering options for each policy apply to all the applications you have added in
the list for that policy.
See “About metering and denying applications” on page 85.
Several predefined Application Metering policies are included.
Each application that you define has a set of definition details about the
application. The details include the product name, file name, product version,
product company, and so on. Application metering policies use these details to
identify the applications to meter on target computers. You can specify as many
or as few of these details as needed.
You add definitions by populating fields on the Application Definition Details
dialog. The definition details correspond to the properties of an EXE file. You can
see the properties of an EXE by right-clicking the file, then clicking Properties
then the Version tab. You can populate these fields manually or import them
from a known application.
See “Application definition details ” on page 96.
After you add an application definition to a policy, it appears in the list on the
Software tab of the Application Metering policy page. You canalso edit application
definitions.
Metering and denying applications
You can use the application metering feature to do the following:
■ Monitor the use of applications on managed computers.
■ Control the availability of applications on managed computers.
This task requires the Altiris Agent and an Application Metering plug-in be
installed on target computers. This process guides you through the steps of
metering applications.
89Metering and denying applications
About configuring applications for metering
See “About metering and denying applications” on page 85.
See “Preparing managed computers for inventory and metering” on page 25.
Table 8-3
Process for metering and denying applications
DescriptionActionStep
Target computers must be managed
and have the Application Metering
plug-in installed.
See “Preparingmanaged computersfor
inventory and metering” on page 25.
Prepare computers for metering.Step 1
You canconfigure datapurging options
and software inventory integration.
See “Managing application metering
data” on page 105.
Configure globalmetering options.Step 2
You create the policies that run
metering functionson target computers
and gather the data that you want to
collect.
See “ConfiguringApplication Metering
policies” on page 90.
Configure metering policies.Step 3
You can view the metering data by
viewing reports.See “Viewing
application meteringdata” on page 105.
View metering data.Step 4
Configuring Application Metering policies
You can meter applications on Windows-based computers by monitoring the use
of softwareor denyingsoftware from running. To meter applications, you configure
the policies that run metering functions on target computers.
See “About metering and denying applications” on page 85.
For ApplicationMetering policies to work, you must have the Application Metering
plug-in installed on target computers.
See “Metering and denying applications” on page 89.
Several predefined policies exist for the common applications that you may want
to monitor. For example, there are policies for Microsoft Office products, instant
messaging software, and software games. You can also create new polices from
Metering and denying applications
Configuring Application Metering policies
90
scratch or clone and modify existing policies. You can define one or more
applications in one policy.
If you want to deny several applications, you can add them to the Blacklisted
Applications policy. This policy is a predefined policy that denies applications
from running.
See “About blacklisting applications” on page 88.
To access predefined Application Metering policies
1
In the Symantec Management Console, on the Manage menu, click Policies.
2
In the left pane, click Software > Application metering.
You can use an existing policy or clone an existing policy to create a new one.
To create Application Metering policies
1
In the Symantec Management Console, on the Manage menu, click Policies.
2
In the left pane, click Software > Application metering.
3
Right-click the Application metering folder and click New > Application
metering policy.
You can also edit an existing policy or clone and existing policy to create a
new one.
To configure Application Metering policies
1
On the policy page, click the name and edit it to give it a unique name.
2
Add a description.
3
Turn on the policy.
At the upper right of the page, click the colored circle, and then click On.
4
On the software tab, select the applications you want to meter or deny.
To add to the list of applications, click the Add drop-down list.
See “Defining applications to meter or deny” on page 92.
You can also edit application definitions or delete applications from the list.
5
To configure metering and denying options, click Options.
6
Configure the metering options for the policy.
See “Application metering policy options” on page 93.
91Metering and denying applications
Configuring Application Metering policies
7
Click Apply to, and select the resources to apply the policy to.
For more information, view topics about using policies in the Symantec
Management Platform Help.
8
Click Save changes.
Defining applications to meter or deny
When you configure an Application Metering policy, you define the applications
you want to meter by creating application definitions. You specify a list of
application definitions for every Application Metering policy. When you define
application definitions,you specify a set of definitiondetails about the application.
For each metering policy, you can have one or more applications defined.
See “About configuring applications for metering” on page 89.
To add application definitions to meter or deny
1
Open an Application Metering policy.
See “Configuring Application Metering policies” on page 90.
2
To add an application definition, from the Software tab, click the Add
drop-down list.
Metering and denying applications
Defining applications to meter or deny
92
3
Select a method to enter definition details for an application:.
If you select Software, you can choose applications from a list
of known software. This list is the software programs that are
defined inthe Software Catalog. This list is generally the software
that is already installed on computers on your network. This list
may contain multiple versions of the same application.
This method is useful to quickly include a known application
without manuallyconfiguring an Application rule. However, the
definition detailsmay be too specific. For example, it is important
to note that application definitions may be version-specific,
especially those using known software details.
See “About configuring applications for metering” on page 89.
If you use an application from the Software list, you can edit the
details to meet your needs.
Software
If you select Rule, you manually create your own application
definitions. This method is useful for defining the software that
is not already installed on computers on your network. For
example, you can deny applications such as games or P2P file
sharing programs before they are ever used.
Rule
You can use one or both methods to create a list of applications in a single
policy. Theonly difference between the two is how the application details are
populated.
4
Enter the application definition details, and click OK.
See “Application definition details ” on page 96.
5
Add all of the application definitions that you want to meter using thispolicy.
The definition detail fields are case sensitive.
6
To configure the application metering options for the selected applications,
click Options.
See “Application metering policy options” on page 93.
7
Click Save Changes.
Application metering policy options
When you configure an Application Metering policy, you specify the metering
options for applications to be monitored or denied. The options apply to all the
applications that are defined in the policy.
See “About metering and denying applications” on page 85.
93Metering and denying applications
Application metering policy options
See “Configuring Application Metering policies” on page 90.
See “Defining applications to meter or deny” on page 92.
Table 8-4
Application metering policy options
DescriptionOption
You can configure if and when the applications in this policy can run.
You can select the following options:
■ Allow: This option lets the application run at any time.
■ Only deny running: This option lets you deny applications on
certain days or during certain times.
For example, you can deny an application from running during
business hours.
■ Deny from running: This option prevents the application from
running at all times.
Metering options
Metering and denying applications
Application metering policy options
94
Table 8-4
Application metering policy options (continued)
DescriptionOption
You can enable application event tracking. This option lets you track
the usage events of the applications that are defined in the policy.
When a selected event occurs, a record of the event is sent to the
CMDB. You can view the events using reports.
See “Viewing application metering data” on page 105.
You can select to record the following events:
For allowed applications:
■ Start events
■ Start and Stop events
For scheduled denied applications:
■ Start events
■ Deny events
■ Start and deny events (This option generates start events during
the allowed time and deny events during the denial time.)
For denied applications:
■ Deny events
Record usage
events
You can also specify the following intervals when the events are sent
to the CMDB:
■ Daily
■ Weekly
All the application events that are generated for the metered
applications are saved in a local queue file on the managed computer.
Depending on the schedule selected, the batch of saved events is sent
to the CMDB from the queue file. The data is sent at a random time
after every one day or one week.
95Metering and denying applications
Application metering policy options
Table 8-4
Application metering policy options (continued)
DescriptionOption
You can define the actions to be taken when a denied application is
attempted.
You can select from the following actions to occur if a denied
application is attempted:
■ No action
■ Send an e-mail
When a user attempts to start a denied application, you can have
an email sent.
You can send an email to report a denied application event. Enter
the recipients email address in the email ID field, and enter a
subject and text for the email.
■ Inform user
In addition to the other options, when a user attempts to start a
denied application, you can prompt the user with a message.
To prompt the user with a message, check Inform user and enter
the text of the message.
If run attempted
duringdenyhours
You canselect thetarget computersto applythis ApplicationMetering
policy to.
For moreinformation, viewtopics aboutusing policiesin the Symantec
Management Platform Help.
Add computer,
group of
computers or
user.
Application definition details
When configuring an Application Metering policy, use the Application Definition
Details dialog. You specify the details of applications that the policy meters. Any
application that you want to meter must have definition details specified.
See “About metering and denying applications” on page 85.
See “Configuring Application Metering policies” on page 90.
The definition details correspond to the properties of an EXE file. You can see the
properties byright-clicking an EXE file, then clicking Properties then the Version
tab. You can populate these fields manually or import them from a known
application.
For information about the definition fields, seeSee Table 8-6 on page 99.
You can use the following guidelines when completing the Application Definition
Details dialog.
Metering and denying applications
Application definition details
96
Table 8-5
Guidelines for specifying application definition details
DescriptionItem
For anapplication to be monitored, it must meet the criteria
of all the fields. For example, if you specify the File name
and File version, only the applications that meet both of
these criteriaare monitored. Unspecified fields are ignored.
You can use the * wildcard in these fields to represent any
number of characters.
All fields must be met
We recommend that you specify internal file properties
rather than depending on the file name. The properties are
compiled into the file and are not editable by a user. The
internal file properties are internal name, file version,
company name, product name, and product version. If you
monitor the file name and the user renames the file, your
monitor policy will no longer work for that user. To view
the properties of an application file, right-click the file,
select Properties, and click the Version tab.
Internal file properties
The definition detail fields are case sensitive.Details are case sensitive
This is the name that is used in the definition list. Each
definition must have a definition name.
Specify a definition name
97Metering and denying applications
Application definition details
Table 8-5
Guidelines for specifying application definition details (continued)
DescriptionItem
When you specify application definitions,it is important to
note that they may be version-specific. You can have a
definition witha specific version or you cannot use a version
at all. If you do not specify a version, all versions of the
application are metered.
The followingexamples illustratewhen youmay ormay not
want to use versions:
■ You want to monitor the general use an application and
want to track the usage of any and all versions.
For example, you want to track the use of all versions of
Adobe Acrobat Reader.
You create a rule for Acrobat, enterAcroRd32.exe, or its
internal name, in the file name field, and leave the
version fields blank.
■ You want to monitor the use of each version of an
application.
For example,you wantto track the usage of each version
of an antivirus application. This option lets you
determine how many users use the version. You create
a separate definition for each version of the application
you want to meter andenter the specific version in each
rule.
■ You want to allow one version of an application to run
but denyother versions. This option lets you enforce the
use of a certain version of an application.
For example,you can allow the version of an application
that has a security fix while blocking the use of other
versions. You create two Application Metering policies.
In one policy, you crate a rule for the approved version
and set the policy to allow it to run. In the other policy,
you create a definition for each version that you want
to deny and set the policy to deny the applications.
File and product versions
When specifying application definitions, you can use
wildcards to broaden the scope of a definition. You use
wildcards by placing an * before and after a string.
For example, if you want to deny certain games from
running, you can use a wildcard to deny all applications
from a game software company. Create a rule, and in the
Company name field, enter *company_name*.
Wildcards
Metering and denying applications
Application definition details
98
Table 8-5
Guidelines for specifying application definition details (continued)
DescriptionItem
The Command line field contains the command line that
the applicationmust useto bemonitored. Includean *before
and after the command-line text to ensure that the entire
command line is included.
Command line
Application metering start, stop, and denial events
When a user of a managed computer starts or stops a monitored application, an
event is generated. When a user tries to use an application whose monitoring
policy denies its use, a denial event is generated. After events are sent to the
CMDB, you can generate reports to view this data.
See “About metering and denying applications” on page 85.
See “Viewing application metering data” on page 105.
The Application Metering plug-in sends the events to the CMDB in a batch at a
specified interval.
The event data is very small, such as a few thousand bytes. If the Altiris Agent
cannot connectto the CMDB, the managed computer saves the information locally
and sends it later. Every start event has a stop event or becomes a denial event.
If a managed computer terminates abnormally, then the next time it starts, the
Application Metering plug-in does the following functions:
■ Determines which applications were running when the computer was
terminated
■ Generates the appropriate stop events.
Application metering records a variety of application events.
Table 8-6
Application metering start events data
ExampleDescriptionField
{018B191B-47AE-4180-9FCD7F3CEA4F1E12}
Resource guid that is
generated by using various
attributes of a file, like its
internal name,
manufacturer, version etc.
FileResourceGUID
99Metering and denying applications
Application metering start, stop, and denial events
Table 8-6
Application metering start events data (continued)
ExampleDescriptionField
{493435F7-3B17-4C4C-B07FC23E7AB7781F}
Resource guid that is
generated for a specific user
on a domain.
UserGuid
804Processor ID of the managed
computer thatis runningthe
application.
PID
WinWordInternal name of the
application.
Internal Name
9/03/2004 9:51:18 AMDate and time of the event.Start Date
{CC1355B1-3993-4519-BB4C-8C41735E3825}The GUID of the policy that
caused the event to be
generated.
Policy GUID
/nThe command-line options
that are used to start the
application.
command-line
0Specifies whether this event
is a denial event.
0 = not a denial event
1 = denial event
Denied
C:\Program Files\Microsoft
Office\Office\WINWORD.EXE
Path to the application file
on the managed computer.
File Path
Table 8-7
Application metering stop events data
ExampleDescriptionField
804Processor ID of the managed
computer thatis runningthe
application.
PID
Microsoft WordName of the application
monitoring policy.
Policy Name
9/03/2004 9:51:18 AMDate and time of the event.Stop time
Metering and denying applications
Application metering start, stop, and denial events
100
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