Inventory in Configuration

Manager
You can use Configuration Manager 2007 to inventory hardware and software on
Configuration Manager 2007 clients and to collect files from those clients. You can view
inventory for a client in Resource Explorer, and you can query on inventory properties to
generate reports or create collections.
Hardware Inventory :
When enabled, the Configuration Manager 2007 hardware inventory client agent
automatically collects detailed information about the hardware characteristics of clients in a
Configuration Manager 2007 site. By using this feature, you can collect a wide variety of
information about client computers, such as memory, operating system, and peripherals for
client computers.
The hardware inventory feature collects data from client computers by querying several data
stores on client computers, such as the registry and Windows Management Instrumentation
(WMI) namespace classes. The hardware inventory client agent does not query for all
possible WMI classes, but it does provide the ability to report on approximately 1,500
hardware properties from almost 100 different WMI classes by default.

Note
The information queried by the hardware inventory agent can be modified to inventory
custom inventory needs for your organization. For more information about modifying the
default information collected by the hardware inventory client agent, see How to Extend
Hardware Inventory.
The initial client hardware inventory collected by the hardware inventory client agent is a full
inventory collection based on the reporting requirements specified in the site's SMS_def.mof
file stored on the primary site server. The initial full inventory establishes a baseline for
future inventory collections.
Subsequent inventory collections are performed at the schedule specified in the hardware
inventory client agent properties. Typically, only information that has changed, or deltas, will
be collected from the initial baseline inventory report created during the first full inventory.
Delta inventory reporting greatly reduces network traffic generated by client inventory
reporting because the delta inventory data is usually only a fraction of a complete inventory
collection.
Client hardware inventory information can be queried to build collections. For example, you
could create a collection of all computers that have Pentium 4 processors and at least
512 MB of RAM.
With every hardware inventory collection, Configuration Manager 2007 updates the site
database with the current inventory information while keeping a history of previous

inventory information collected from the client. Both the current and historical hardware
inventory information for a client can be viewed using Resource Explorer. For more
information about Resource Explorer, see About Resource Explorer.
The hardware inventory client agent also collects some basic information about installed
client software. You can collect information about the applications installed on clients and
registered in the client's registry. However, by using software inventory, you can collect a
significantly larger amount of information about client software.
To enable and configure hardware inventory client agent settings for a site, you use the
general tab of the hardware inventory client agent properties. For more information about
enabling and configuring the hardware inventory client agent, see How to Configure
Hardware Inventory for a Site.
Software Inventory :

When enabled, the Configuration Manager 2007 software inventory client agent can collect
software inventory data directly from files (such as .exe files) by inventorying the file header
information. Configuration Manager 2007 can also inventory unknown files files that do not
have detailed information in their file headers. This provides a flexible, easy-to-maintain
software inventory method. You can also have Configuration Manager 2007 collect copies of
files that you specify. Software inventory and collected file information for a client can be
viewed using Resource Explorer. For more information about Resource Explorer, see About
Resource Explorer.
While software inventory is capable of inventorying encrypted and compressed files, software
inventory may run much slower due to the additional processing required. When encrypted files
are inventoried, an un-encrypted copy of the file must be created to inventory. In addition, if
antivirus software is running on the client machine, the antivirus software will detect the
inventory agent opening the files scanned by software inventory and will rescan them to ensure
they are not infected with a virus.
The file collection tab of the software inventory client agent properties is used to enable and
configure software inventory client agent settings for a site. For more information about enabling
and configuring file collection properties, see How to Configure Software Inventory for a Site.
Note

Software inventory can use considerable network capacity. The amount of network
capacity used depends on the number of Configuration Manager clients you have, how
frequently you schedule software inventory, and the size of the files you collect (if any).
If you expect that software inventory will significantly affect network activity, consider
running this process during non-peak hours.

Does SCCM 2007 Manage Printers?

By using the Network discovery method you are able to discover network printers,
routers, and stuff like that. However, since you can not install a SCCM client agent
on them, you can not manage them with them with SCCM.
Local printers can be inventoried by the normal Hardware inventory cycle.
However, you need to enable it in the SMS_DEF.mof
Inventory Files :

The Configuration.mof file is used to add new data class information to clients for
hardware inventory reporting.

To extend hardware inventory using the

Configuration.mof file
1. On the primary site server computer, navigate to
<ConfigMgr installation directory>\inboxes\clifiles.src\hinv directory.
2. Using Notepad.exe, open the Configuration.mof file and make any necessary
changes.
3. Close the Configuration.mof file and save changes.

The SMS_def.mof file is used to modify or add new reporting class information for client
hardware inventory reporting. The SMS_def.mof file consists of a list of classes and attributes
that relate to data classes stored in the WMI repository of Configuration Manager 2007
clients.
Classes and properties that have the reporting qualifier set to TRUE are collected and those
set to FALSE are not. However, there is an exception: if a class is set to TRUE then any class
properties with the key attribute are collected, even if the individual property is set to FALSE.
You can use Notepad.exe to modify the SMS_def.mof file. If there are properties or classes
that you no longer want to collect, set them to FALSE. If you want to inventory new classes
or properties, set them to TRUE.

Important

Be careful when modifying the SMS_def.mof file. It was not designed to be

executed with all or most of the class reporting qualifiers set to TRUE. The size
of the inventory report file can affect the performance of your network. If you
modify the file, first verify the size of a typical client's complete hardware
inventory and make sure it is acceptable for your networking environment.
Then, test the new file in a test lab before replacing the default SMS_def.mof on
the primary site server.

To extend hardware inventory using the

SMS_def.mof file
1. On the primary site server computer, navigate to
<ConfigMgr installation directory>\inboxes\clifiles.src\hinv directory.
2. Using Notepad.exe, open the SMS_def.mof file and make any necessary changes.

3. Close the SMS_def.mof file and save changes.

The IDMIF and NOIDMIF collection can be used to extend Configuration Manager 2007
client inventory information reported by clients. NOIDMIF files extend the hardware
inventory information for existing Configuration Manager 2007 clients. IDMIF files are used to
add information to the site database for devices and objects that are not Configuration
Manager 2007 clients.

Important
Configuration Manager 2007 creates new tables or modifies existing tables in
the site database to accommodate the properties in IDMIF and NOIDMIF files.
However, IDMIF and NOIDMIF files are not validated, so they could be used to
alter tables that you do not want altered. Valid data could be overwritten by
invalid data. Large amounts of data could be loaded, causing delays in all
Configuration Manager 2007 functions. To mitigate this risk, you should enable
IDMIF and NOIDMIF collection only when needed.

Using NOIDMIF Files to Extend Hardware

Inventory
NOIDMIF files are used to add additional data to information stored in the site database for
Configuration Manager 2007 clients during hardware inventory.

To extend hardware inventory collected from clients using a NOIDMIF file

1. Using a text editor such as Notepad.exe, create a NOIDMIF file containing the data
that will be added to the client hardware inventory information reported during
hardware inventory, and save it with a .MIF file name extension.
2. Place the NOIDMIF file in the %Windir%\System32\CCM\inventory\noidmifs directory
on a Configuration Manager 2007 client.
3. When the client performs its next scheduled hardware inventory, the information
stored in the NOIDMIF file will be added to the client inventory report sent to the site
server for processing.

Using IDMIF Files to Extend Hardware

Inventory
IDMIF files are used to add nonclient information to the site database during client hardware
inventory.

Important
Because IDMIF files are not associated with a Configuration Manager 2007
client, they are collected by the hardware inventory client agent and sent to
the site server along with the client hardware inventory report. Depending on
the maximum custom MIF size specified for the site, IDMIF collection may
cause increased network bandwidth usage during client inventories and should
be planned for before enabling IDMIF file collection.

To extend hardware inventory collected from clients using an IDMIF file

1. Using a text editor such as Notepad.exe, create an IDMIF file containing the data that
will be added to the site database during hardware inventory, and save it with a .MIF
file name extension.
2. Place the IDMIF file in the %Windir%\System32\CCM\inventory\idmifs directory on a
Configuration Manager 2007 client.
3. When the client performs its next scheduled hardware inventory, the IDMIF file will be
copied, and the copy will be sent to the site server's inventory processing inbox for
processing.