Collecting Inventory and Metering Software Usage

8/4/2019 Collecting Inventory and Metering Software Usage

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Collecting Inventory and Metering SoftwareUsage

To manage clients effectively in a network environment, it is important to be able to

determine specific hardware and software details quickly. These details will help set thefoundation to implement many of the more advanced features of Microsoft System CenterConfiguration Manager 2007. In this module, you will learn how to use hardware and

software inventory features to collect a variety of information related to client computersand files within a Configuration Manager hierarchy. You also will learn how to implement

software metering to help monitor and collect software usage data for Configuration

Manager clients.

Overview of Inventory Collection

One important Configuration Manager feature is inventory collection. This lesson defines theinventory collection process and describes its benefits for your organization. This lesson also

describes how various Configuration Manager components work together to collect inventoryfrom client computers that you assign within a specific site.

What Is Inventory Collection?

Inventory refers to the information that describes the hardware and software characteristicsrelated to a specific Configuration Manager client. Inventory collection is the process that

gathers information about the hardware and software installed on a client computer.

Hardware inventory

The Configuration Manager hardware inventory feature collects detailed information aboutclient hardware characteristics, such as memory, operating system, peripherals, services,and processes. Hardware inventory also maintains a history of hardware inventories for

each client, which allows you to identify changes to your clients inventories.

When you enable the Hardware Inventory Client Agent, all clients assigned to the site will

report hardware inventory data. This is a site-wide configuration setting.

Software inventory

The Software Inventory Client Agent collects detailed usage information for monitored

software, including file size, file date, file path, and the name of the product being

monitored. Software inventory also can collect files from client computers and store themcentrally on the site server. This is a site-wide configuration setting.

Uses of Hardware and Software Inventory

You can use hardware and software inventory results as a foundation for many

Configuration Manager features.

You can use hardware inventory information to:


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Use of hardware

inventory Description

Build queries based on

hardware configuration

Build and run queries to search for specific hardware inventory data

Build collections based on

inventory results

Create collections that are based on specific hardware-based query

results.

Create reports to display

hardware configuration or

installed software details

Create a new report, or run a predefined report to display hardware

inventory data in an organized report format.

Troubleshoot client problems View recent changes to a clients hardware to identify potential issu

Maintain corporate standards For example, if your organization has a processor speed standard,

can use hardware inventory to collect information about the proces

of clients and identify the clients that are not complying with that

standard.

Target software distribution Use inventory data to identify clients that can support the installatio

a specific application, such as Microsoft Office 2007.

You can use software inventory information to:

Use of software inventory Description

Create queries and reports Run queries to retrieve selected software inventory data, such as

information from a narrow set of files or information from a single f

files with specific file extensions. You can run reports to display soft

inventory data from the entire organization in an organized reportformat.

Collect files Collect files, not just details about the files, from client computers.

file collection, you specify a set of files to be copied from clients to t

clients assigned site server.

Troubleshoot client problems Collect files, selected by file or by product, from client computers to

troubleshoot problems. For example, if a client is experiencing

problems, you can view a copy of the clients recent log files that w

collected previously to determine how many computers in your

organization have the latest antivirus program installed.

Maintain corporate standards For example, if your organization has a standard set of client

applications, including specific required versions, you can use softw

inventory to validate the specific file versions.

Target software distribution Create collections that are based on file or product data, and then

distribute software to these collections. For example, you might wa

distribute an antivirus update only to clients that have the program

installed.


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The Process of Inventory Collection

Hardware and software inventory collection includes a number of components which follow aspecific process. These components include:

Inventory collection

component Description

Clients Clients contain client Inventory Agent components that are

responsible for collecting data from the client computers and

performing other inventory-related tasks on clients. The Invento

Agent components are enabled on clients assigned to the site af

the hardware and software inventory features are enabled. Any

changes to an Inventory Agent will be propagated to clients

according to the Policy polling interval in the Computer Client Ag

Properties, which is set, by default, to every 60 minutes.

Site server The site server stores settings for software and hardware invent

The site server processes collected inventory data and sends it t

site database. If the site server is not the central site server, it s

the inventory data to its parent site. The site also sends invento

data that it received from any lower-level sites on which you ena

inventory. This step is repeated until the inventory data reaches

central site.

Management point Clients pull policy data from the management point. It also colle

inventory data files from clients and passes this data to the site

server.

Site database The site database stores the following important inventory data:

Specifications of which hardware inventory to collect, whcreated from the SMS_def.mof and Configuration.mof file

Inventory rules that define what software inventory data

needs to be collected.

Client policies, which contain site configuration informatioinventory information, and other information that clients

need.

Client Agent configuration settings.

Collected inventory data.

By default, hardware and software inventory runs once every seven days. You can modify

this schedule to meet your organizations needs.

According to the specified schedule, Configuration Manager will perform the inventory-

collection process automatically. This process consists of the following key phases:


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Phase Description

Check for setting updates If the hardware and software settings have been updated since t

most recent policy polling interval, clients will retrieve the updat

from management points and use them to configure the appropr

Inventory Agents.

Collect inventory Configuration Manager Inventory Agents create inventory data fi

that list the collected data.

Deliver data to management point Clients send the inventory data files to the management points.

Deliver data to site server Management points send inventory data files to the site server.

Management points convert the data to Configuration Manager

format before moving the data to the site server.

Primary site servers add the inventory data to the site database.

Update site database Configuration Manager updates the database. The site database

maintains a hardware inventory history for each client, but it doenot maintain a software inventory history. Configuration Manage

only keeps the current software inventory data for each client.

Update parent sites and central

site server

If the primary site server is not the central site server, the site

server sends the inventory data to its parent site. The site also s

inventory data that it received from any lower-level sites. This st

repeated until the inventory data reaches the central site.

View inventory data in

Configuration Manager Console

You can view hardware and software inventory data in the

Configuration Manager Console and use it to create queries,

collections, and reports. When viewing hardware inventory, you

view the history of each previous hardware inventory collection.

When viewing software inventory, you can view only the current

state.

Collecting Hardware Inventory

When configuring hardware inventory collection for a specific site, you need to considerHardware Inventory Client Agent configuration tasks. You might have requirements for

enhanced inventory data in addition to the data collected by default. This lesson describeshow hardware inventory works and how to modify the default configuration-file settings to

enhance your organizations inventory collection.

How Does Hardware Inventory Work?

For hardware inventory to take place, you must enable the Hardware Inventory Client Agent

for the site. When enabled, the Hardware Inventory Client Agent automatically collectsdetailed hardware information of clients assigned to the site.

Note: The Hardware Inventory Client Agent, by


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default, is enabled and is configured to run every

seven days.

There are three main tasks to configuring hardware inventory:

Hardware inventory

configuration task Description

Enable the Hardware Inventory

Client Agent

This is enabled from within the Client Agents node in the

Configuration Manager Console.

Configure the inventory schedule By default, the hardware inventory collection schedule is set to r

every seven days. If the client is not running when inventory is

scheduled to run, the agent will collect inventory the next time t

client is started. There are two types of schedules that you can

configure:

Simple schedule. An interval between inventory cycles, s

as every 24 hours or every six weeks.

Custom schedule. A start time and an interval for inventocollection, such as every Sunday or on the first Thursday

every month.

Determine if you require the use of

MIF files

If you need to extend the hardware inventory that is collected fr

clients, you can enable MIF file collection.

Configuration Manager collects hardware inventory by querying several data stores on client

computers, such as:

The Windows registry.

Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) namespace classes.

WMI is the Microsoft implementation of Web Based Enterprise Management (WBEM), which

is a unifying architecture that allows access to data from a variety of underlyingtechnologies, including Win32, WMI, the Desktop Management Interface (DMI), and the

Simple Network Management Protocol. WBEM is based upon the Common Information Model(CIM) schema, which is an industry-standard driven by the Desktop Management Task

Force. WMI uses Managed Object Format (MOF) files to determine what information to load

into the CIM repository. WMI also uses providers to access the CIM repository.

WBEM provides a standard way to define information that a system should collect (theMOF), represent that information (the CIM), and access that collected information.

You can define the hardware-inventory information for which you want to query within twoMOF files, named SMS_def.mof and Configuration.mof. By default, the Hardware Inventory

Client Agent does not query for all possible WMI classes, but it can report on approximately1,500 hardware properties from almost 100 different WMI classes.


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The initial client hardware inventory that the Hardware Inventory Client Agent collects is afull inventory collection that is based on settings specified in the sites MOF files. The initial

full inventory establishes a baseline for future inventory collections. Subsequent inventorycollections are performed on the schedule you specify in the Hardware Inventory Client

Agent properties. Typically, only information that has changed, or deltas, are collected fromthe previous inventory report created during the last inventory cycle. Delta inventory

reporting greatly reduces network traffic that client inventory reporting generates becausethe delta inventory data typically is a fraction of a complete inventory collection.

With every hardware inventory collection, the site database is updated with the currentinventory information while keeping a history of previous inventory information collected

from the client. You can use Resource Explorer to view a clients current and historicalhardware inventory information.

Note: Historical inventory records are kept for the

number of days you specify in the Delete Aged

Inventory History site-maintenance task. The default

setting is 90 days. Current inventory records are

never deleted unless the client is deleted from the

sites database.

What Are MOF files?

Configuration Manager 2007 inventories hardware information about clients based on thecontents of two Managed Object Format (MOF) files stored on the primary site server:

Configuration.mof and SMS_def.mof. These files are located at: \inboxes\clifiles.src\hinv.

Configuration.mof

The Configuration.mof file defines the data classes that the Hardware Inventory Client Agentwill inventory. You can create data classes to inventory existing or custom WMI repository

data classes or registry keys present on client systems.

The Configuration.mof also defines and registers the WMI providers that you use to access

computer information during hardware inventory.

When clients request computer policies as part of their normal policy-polling interval, theConfiguration.mof is attached to the policy body that clients download and compile. Whenyou add, modify, or delete data classes from the Configuration.mof, clients compile changes

made to inventory-related data classes automatically the next time the client compiles arequested computer policy.

When extending hardware inventory to be collected from Configuration Manager 2007clients, the Configuration.mof file is modified to inventory computer client information by


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leveraging a registered inventory data provider. Configuration Manager 2007 hardwareinventory registers and uses the following providers by default:

Provider Description

WMI Data Provider Inventories existing client WMI data-class information.

Registry Property Provider Collects information from specific registry keys.

Registry Instance Provider Collects information from multiple registry keys according to a specific

condition. The best way to use the Registry Instance Provider is to inve

various subkeys, under one main registry key, that all have similar data

values that you want to inventory without creating more than one repor

class.

View Provider Joins multiple data classes into one class or perform simple (WMI) Quer

Language (WQL) queries for inventory reporting.

Asset Intelligence Provider Queries specific Asset Intelligence inventory information.

SMS_def.mof

The SMS_def.mof file defines the reporting classes that the Hardware Inventory ClientAgent uses to determine whether specific client data-class information is reported.

Reporting classes are based on the WMI repository data classes and attributes of thoseclasses, existing on clients by default or added to them by customizing the

Configuration.mof file.

Configuration Manager converts reporting class information in the SMS_def.mof file into a

reporting policy that it provides to clients during their normal computer policy pollinginterval.

Note: The SMS_def.mof file is never sent directly to

clients. Configuration Manager 2007 clients compile

only the policy that the contents of the SMS_def.mof

generates.


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What Are MIF files

Management Information Format (MIF) files extend hardware inventory informationcollected from clients. During hardware inventory, the information that MIF files store is

added to the client-inventory report and stored in the site database. You then can use thedata as you use default client inventory data.

You can use two MIF files when performing client hardware inventories, NOIDMIF and

IDMIF.

Note: By default, Configuration Manager 2007 sites

do not inventory NOIDMIF and IDMIF file information.To enable Configuration Manager to inventory

NOIDMIF and IDMIF file information, you must enable

NOIDMIF and IDMIF collection.

NOIDMIF

A NOIDMIF file has the following characteristics:

Does not contain a unique data identifier.

Is associated with the client from which the NOIDMIF file is collected when reporting

inventory information. Creates new inventory class tables in the site database to store the inventoried

information if the classes defined in an inventoried NOIDMIF file do not already exist

in the Configuration Manager 2007 site database.

Deletes all the classes and properties relating to the NOIDMIF file from the clientscurrent inventory information in the site database if the NOIDMIF file is removed

from the client.

Must be stored in the following directory on Configuration Manager 2007 clients forthe default inventory of NOIDMIF file information to occur:


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o %Windir%\System32\CCM\Inventory\Noidmifs

IDMIF

An IDMIF file has the following characteristics:

Contains a unique ID and is not associated with the computer from which it is

collected.

Use to collect inventory data about devices that are not Configuration Manager 2007

clients, such as a shared network printer, DVD player, or photocopier.

IDMIF file information is not added to client inventory reports and the files

themselves are sent across the network to be processed at the site server.

Removing IDMIF files from clients does not cause deletion of associated data in thesite database during subsequent hardware inventories.

Must be stored in the following directory on Configuration Manager 2007 clients for

the default inventory of IDMIF file information to occur:o %Windir%\System32\CCM\Inventory\Idmifs

Note: Because IDMIF files are not associated with a client, the

Hardware Inventory Client Agent collects them and sends them to the

site server along with the client hardware-inventory report. Depending

on the maximum custom MIF size that you specify for the site, IDMIF

collection might cause increased network bandwidth usage during

client inventories. You should plan for this before you enable IDMIF file

collection.

Collecting Software Inventory

Software inventory gathers software information, such as installed programs or files located

on a client computer. This lesson describes how to configure software inventory and how touse software inventory to collect specific files from Configuration Manager clients.

How Does Software Inventory Work?

You must enable the Software Inventory Client Agent for software inventory to take place.

When enabled, the Software Inventory Client Agent collects software inventory data directly

from files (such as .exe files) by reading the file-header information. Configuration Manager2007 also can report or identify unknown files or files that do not have detailed information

in their file headers. Software inventory also collects copies of files you specify and storesthem on the site server. This is useful for collecting log or configuration files from network

clients.

Note: By default, the Software Inventory Client

Agent is enabled and is configured to run every seven

days.


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There are four main tasks to configure software inventory:

Software inventory

configuration task Description

Enable the Software

Inventory Client Agent

Enable this within the Client Agents node in the Configuration Manager

Console.

Configure the inventory

schedule

By default, the software inventory collection schedule is set to run ever

seven days. If the client is not running when you schedule inventory to

the agent will collect inventory the next time the client starts.

Specify the file types to

inventory

On the Inventory Collection tab, you can specify the file names or file ty

that you want to inventory, and then select the reporting detail for the

you want inventoried.

Specify files to collect from

clients

On the File Collection tab, you can specify files to be collected from clie

during software inventory. Collected files are stored on the site servers

hard drive.Note: Because software inventory is more computer-

resource intensive than hardware inventory, consider

scheduling software inventory to occur less frequently

than client hardware inventories.

You can use Resource Explorer to view client software inventory information or you caninclude it in generated reports.

Configuring Software Inventory Rules

By default, software inventory is configured with a single rule that reports all .EXE files on

all client hard disk drives. This default setting excludes encrypted and compressed files.

To modify or add additional rules:

1. Create a new rule in the Software Inventory Agent Properties dialog box on the

Inventory Collection tab.2. Provide the file name for the new rule in the Inventoried File Properties dialog box.

This name can include spaces and the * and ? wildcard characters.

3. Specify a location to inventory. The default location is All client hard disks. You canprovide a path name, variable, and indicate whether to search subdirectories.

4. Specify whether to exclude encrypted and compressed files. While software inventoryis capable of inventorying encrypted and compressed files, software inventory may

run much slower due to the additional processing required.5. Determine whether to exclude files in the Windows directory.

Another option is to specify the reporting detail for all inventory collection rules. You cancontrol the detail that is reported, including the following:


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File details: Include the collection date, file name, file path, file size, and modified

date.

Product details: Include the company name associated with the inventoried file,product name, product version, and product language

Configuring File Collection

By default, software inventory file collection is not enabled. To enable file collection:

1. Create an entry in the Software Inventory Agent Properties dialog box on the FileCollection tab.

2. Provide the file name you want collected in the Collected File Properties dialog box.This name can include spaces and the "*" and "?" wildcard characters.

3. Specify a location from which to search for the file. The default location is "All" clienthard disks. You can provide a path name and variable, and indicate whether to

search subdirectories.

4. Specify whether to exclude encrypted and compressed files.

5. Configure a maximum size for collected files. The default is 128 kilobyte (KB).

When you specify a file for collection, the Software Inventory Client Agent searches for it

when it runs a file collection cycle on each of the sites clients. If the Software InventoryClient Agent finds a file to collect, it attaches the file to the inventory file and sends it to the

site server.

Note: The file collection cycle is a separate action

from the software inventory cycle.

The site server collects the five most recently changed versions of collected files and stores

them in a folder representing the clients Resource ID in the following location:

\Inboxes\Sinv.box\Filecol

Note: If a file has not changed since the last software

inventory collection, the file will not be collected

again.

You can view files collected from a client using Resource Explorer, which enables you to

view or save the file to an alternate location.


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Configuring Display Names for Inventoried Products

Software inventory retrieves manufacturer and product names from file-header information.If there are any inconsistencies in the way these names are entered in the header

information, multiple variations of the manufacturer and product names will also appear inResource Explorer and in any query results based on inventoried file display names.

For example, files created by Northwind Traders may have the manufacturer name entered

in various forms, such as Northwind Traders; Northwind Traders, Inc; Northwind Traders,inc; or NWtraders. Such inconsistencies can make it more difficult to read and query against

software inventory information because the data appears under multiple manufacturernames rather than under a single name.

To resolve this problem, you can set custom display names for inventoried products. For

example, you can map all variations of Northwind Traders to Northwind Traders, Inc fordisplay and query purposes.

Managing Inventory

After enabling and configuring the Hardware and Software Inventory Client Agents, clientsassigned to the site begin to report inventory results. Several management tasks enable

you to maximize inventory reporting, including forcing inventory collection on a client,viewing inventory results, and enabling enhanced Asset Intelligence information. This lesson

describes these tasks in more detail and provides best practices for client inventoryreporting.


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Forcing Inventory Collection on a Client

By default, hardware and software inventory is configured to run once every seven days.You can change the inventory schedule by setting the time, day, or frequency that best

suits your requirements. However, there might be situations when you need to forcehardware and software inventory to run immediately on a single client.

You can force hardware or software inventory by initiating the following actions from the

Configuration Manager client application:

Inventory

enforcement action Description

Hardware Inventory Cycle Forcing hardware inventory does not disrupt the normal hardware inven

cycle if it is set to run on a full schedule (at a specific time and day). In

case, the regularly scheduled hardware inventory still runs at the time

scheduled in the Hardware Inventory Client Agent.

Software Inventory Cycle Forcing software inventory does not disrupt the normal software invento

cycle. The regularly scheduled software inventory still runs at the time t

you schedule in the Software Inventory Client Agent.

File Collection Cycle Forcing the software inventory cycle does not force the File Collection C

You must do this as a separate action.

Viewing Inventory Results

After you collect hardware or software inventory information from Configuration Manager

clients, you can view it using Resource Explorer. When you start Resource Explorer, a newMicrosoft Management Consoles (MMC) console opens that displays the hardware and

software inventory information collected from clients. You can start the Resource Explorerfrom the Configuration Manager Console or from the command line.


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You can use Resource Explorer to view the following:

Collected information Description

Hardware Contains a wealth of information, ranging from specifics about the

manufacturer and type of hardware internals to the free space available

each disk. You can use this information to determine to which computer

you want to distribute software, for example, or when to perform remot

troubleshooting.

Hardware History Contains hardware inventory data that has changed from previous inve

cycles.

Software Contains information collected by software inventory about each type o

program file, such as the file name, file description, and product name.

Collected Files Contains a list of collected files. You can right-click a file, point to All Ta

and then click View File to view the file in Notepad.

File Details Contains information about files without complete product details. This previously referred to as unknown files.

Last Software Scan Provides the date of the last scan and the last collected file scan date.

Product Details Contains the information about the clients software products that you

specify when you configure the Software Inventory Client Agent, and ar

grouped under the manufacturer name.

Note: You also can use reports to obtain the

hardware and software inventory information

collected from clients. More information about the

report feature is provided later in this course.

Best Practices for Client Inventory Reporting

There may be circumstances where you require specific inventory settings or you might not

want to use specific features. Best practices for implementing client inventory include:

Best practice Description

Enable inventory

encryption

Native mode client communication with a management point is encrypte

with secure sockets layer (SSL). In mixed mode, by default, client inven

reports and collected files sent to management points are signed, but nencrypted. You can enable the option to encrypt data before sending to

management point from within the Site properties dialog box, on the Si

Mode tab.

Ensure that IDMIF and

NOIDMIF collection in high-

security environments is

disabled

IDMIF and NOIDMIF files are not validated when they are submitted into

site database, so they could be used to alter tables that you do not wan

altered. Invalid data could overwrite valid data. Large amounts of data c

load, causing delays in all Configuration Manager 2007 functions. To


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mitigate this risk, you can ensure that the IDMIF and NOIDMIF collectio

the Hardware Inventory Client Agent properties is disabled. Note that th

option is disabled by default.

Do not use file collection to

collect critical files or

sensitive information

File collection uses the LocalSystem account, which has the ability to co

copies of critical system files. When these files are available at the site

server, anyone with Read Resource rights or NTFS file system rights to file location could analyze the file contents and compromise security.

Avoid collecting large files File collection occurs on a site-wide basis and requires you to consider

storage requirements on your site server. For example, a 1 megabyte (

file collected from 1,000 workstations will need 1 GB of storage space.

Determine an appropriate

deletion interval for the

Delete Aged Inventory

History or Delete Aged

Collected Files

maintenance tasks

By default, these maintenance tasks run weekly and remove data that h

been in the database for more than 90 days. You may want to change t

interval d

Collecting Asset Intelligence Information

Asset Intelligence enhances the inventory capabilities of Configuration Manager 2007 by

extending hardware and software inventory and adding license management functionality. A

number of reports help to present the information in clear and detailed formats.

The Asset Intelligence feature consists of the following components:

Component Description

Asset Intelligence

knowledge base

Lookup tables in the site database that contain categorization an

identification information.

Hardware inventory

enhancements

Enhanced information, including CPU age and speed, memory,peripheral devices, and more.

Asset Intelligence reports provide information related to hardwar

issues.

Software inventory

enhancements

Enhanced information including about installed software.

License management Asset Intelligence license management reports provide data abou

the types of licenses deployed within a network.

Other reports provide information on client access licenses (CALs

Microsoft products such as Microsoft Windows and MicrosoftExchange.

Enabling Asset Intelligence Classes


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To enable the Asset Intelligence Data Collection feature, you must configure the followingcomponents:

Required component Description

Hardware Inventory ClientAgent

The Hardware Inventory Client Agent must be enabled to allow for hardinventory classes to be evaluated.

Specific SMS_DEF.mof

classes

Classes necessary for enhanced Asset Intelligence must be enabled. Th

classes include:

SMS_SystemConsoleUsage

SMS_SystemConsoleUser

SMS_InstalledSoftware

SMS_AutoStartSoftware

SMS_BrowserHelperObject

SMS_InstalledExecutable

SMS_SoftwareShortcut

SoftwareLicensingService

SoftwareLicensingProduct

Software Metering Client

Agent

A number of software reports depend on the Software Metering ClientAgent, including:

Software 07A - Recently used executables by number of comput

Software 07B - Computers that recently used a specified executa

Software 07C - Recently used executables on a specific compute

Software 08A - Recently used executables by number of users

Software 08B - Users that recently used a specified executable

Software 08C - Recently used executables by a specified user

Client access license data collection

To enable inventory collection for client access license data, you must edit the

CCM_CALTrackConfig class in the Configuration.mof file. You can configure the followingparameters within the Configuration.mof file:

Configuration parameters Description

CALCollectionType Controls whether CALs are tracked for devices, users, or both. Toenable CAL data collection, you must change the CALCollectionTypefrom the default value of 0 to a value that specifies that data collec

is enabled. The CALCollectionType parameter can be set to the follovalues:

0 - Data collection disabled

1 - User CAL collection only


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2 - Device CAL collection only

3 - All CAL collection enabled

CALCollectionFrequencyDays Controls the frequency, in days, of CAL data collection. Acceptablevalues are any number between 0 and 90. The default is 7. It is

recommended to not lower this value to anything less than 7.CALCollectionFrequencyMinutes Controls the frequency, in minutes, of CAL data collection. The defa

value, if CALCollectionFrequencyDays is set to 0, is 60 minutes.

CALCollectionTimeWindow Current Microsoft licensing models allow for CALs to be reassigned

every 90 days. The CALCollectionTimeWindow parameter reflects th

licensing model. If the model is changed in the future, you can adju

this parameter to agree with the new licensing model. Acceptable

values are any number between 1 and 365. The default is 90.

CALSupportedWindowsVersions To limit polling to servers, this parameter lists the operating system

versions that are polled for access information. This parameter is

intended for internal use only and should not be modified. Modificat

of this will result in inaccurate CAL counts. The default value is"5.0,5.2,6.0".

Configuring Software Metering

Software metering provides the ability to monitor and collect software usage data on clients

assigned to a Configuration Manager site. You can use this data to determine how yourorganization uses programs. This lesson describes software metering and how you can

configure software metering rules to begin monitoring your environments software usage.

What Is Software Metering?

Software metering allows you to monitor program usage on Configuration Manager client

computers. Software metering data can be summarized to produce useful reports that canhelp you plan your organizations software purchases.

Software metering can collect the following detailed information:

Collected information Description

Program usage information Program usage information includes values such as:

Start time

End time

Meter data ID

Resource ID

User name

Users in Terminal Services sessions

Whether it is still running


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File information File information includes the following:

File ID

Filename

File version

File description

File size (in kilobytes [KB])

Program information Program information includes the following:

Company name

Product name

Product version

Product language

How Software Metering Works

Software metering uses two main components to perform data collection tasks: the

Software Metering Client Agent and software metering rules. You must enable the Software

Metering Client Agent and configure software metering rules before program usage datacollection starts.

Note: By default, the Software Metering Client Agent

is enabled and is configured to collect data every

seven days. However, there are no default rules

configured. Any changes to the Software Metering

Client Agent will be propagated to clients according tothe Policy polling interval in the Computer Client

Agent Properties. It is set, by default, to occur every

60 minutes. Also, note that enabling the Software

Metering Client Agent affects all computers that are

assigned to the site.

The software metering process occurs as follows:

1. The Software Metering Client Agent examines each program running on the clientand determines if the program files header information matches a specified software

metering rule that the administrator configures. The agent collects usage data eachtime a monitored program runs on the client, regardless of whether the client is

connected to the network.

2. The agent uploads the data to the management point on its next Software MeteringUsage Report Cycle. If the client is not connected to the network, the data remains

on the client and is uploaded to the site the next time the client connects to the

network.3. The data is forwarded from the management point to the site server.

4. The data is added to the site database.


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Software metering data held on the site database is summarized on a specified scheduleand propagated up through the site hierarchy to any parent site. Therefore, the central site

database contains usage data from all client computers within the site hierarchy.

Note: When you create a new rule, you can specify if

it should be copied to all child sites. By default, thisoption is enabled.

After you collect data from Configuration Manager 2007 clients, there are various methodsto view the data, including collections, queries, and reporting. This data, combined with

data from software inventory, can assist your organization in determining its softwareusage.

Configuring Software Metering Rules

After ensuring that the Software Metering Client Agent is enabled, the next step is to

configure software metering rules. You must create and configure software metering rulesto specify the applications that you want the Client Agent to monitor.

The New Software Metering Rule Wizard leads you through the process of creating a newsoftware metering rule for your Configuration Manager 2007 site, and the following is an

overview of the steps:

1. Navigate to the Software Metering node. In the Configuration Manager Console,navigate to System Center Configuration Manager, expand Site Database, expand

Computer Management, and then click Software Metering.

2. Create a new software metering rule. Right-click Software Metering, point to New,and then click Software Metering Rule.

3. Provide relevant information for the file that you want to meter. On the Generalpage, provide the following information:

Name. Enter the rule name to display in the Configuration Manager Console.

Software metering rules can share the same name if the file name that the rulescontain is different. This is useful for capturing multiple applications that belong to a

product suite, such as Microsoft Office.

File name. Enter the name of the executable file you want to meter. We recommendthat you use Browse to display the Open dialog box, in which you can select the

executable file to use.

Original file name. Enter the name of the executable file you want to meter. Thisname is matched to information in the files header, not the filename itself. This can

be useful in cases where the executable file has been renamed but you want tometer it by the original name.

Note: Wildcard characters are not permitted in either

the File name or Original file name fields.

Version. Enter the version of the executable file you want to meter. You can use the

wildcard character (*) to represent any string of characters or the wildcard character


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(?) to represent any single character. If you want to meter for all versions of anexecutable file, use the default value (*).

Language. Enter the language of the executable file to meter. The default value is

English (United States). If you select an executable file to be metered using theBrowse button, this field fills in automatically if language information is present in

the files header. To meter all language versions of a file, select Any from the drop-

down list. Comment. Enter an optional rule description.

Site code. Enter the site code to which the software metering rule will apply.

Apply the rule to child sites, if applicable. The final option provides the ability to

apply the software metering rule to all lower-level sites. However, you still need toconfigure the rule from the site in which it was created.

What Is an Automatic Software Metering Rule?

Configuration Manager 2007 provides the ability to generate disabled software metering

rules automatically based on recent usage inventory data. These auto-generated rules are

configured as follows:

Enable the option to auto-create disabled metering rules from recent usage inventory

data.

Specify the percentage of a sites computers that must use a particular executablebefore a software metering rule for that executable is created automatically. The

default value is 10 percent.

To protect against an unmanageable amount of disabled rules being auto-generated,

specify the number of rules after which no new software metering rules will be

created automatically. The default value is 100 rules.

Configure the period of time that the percentage of clients using the application isretained. The default value is 90 days.

Software Metering Maintenance Tasks

Collected software metering data can quickly add up and use a large amount of space within

the site database. To keep the amount of data manageable and current, ConfigurationManager periodically summarizes collected data and deletes aged summarized data.

Configuration Manager provides the following four main maintenance tasks to help managethe amount of usage data that site database stores:

Maintenance task Description

Summarize Software

Metering File Usage

Data

Condenses software metering file usage data from multiple records into one

general record. Runs daily by default. Provides information about the progra

name, version, language, and number of distinct users over intervals of 15

minutes and one hour.

Summarize Software

Metering Monthly

Condenses detailed software metering usage data from multiple records into

general record. The summarization information includes the number of time


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Usage Data each matching software program ran on a particular computer and by a

particular user during the month. By default, the task runs daily and the

summarization period is one month.

Delete Aged Software

Metering Data

Deletes all summarized software metering data that is older than the numbe

days you specify. By default, the task runs every day and deletes software

metering data that is older than five days.Delete Aged Software

Metering Summary

Data

Deletes summarized software metering summary data that is older than the

number of days you specify. By default, the task runs every Sunday and de

software metering summary data that is older than 270 days.

Note: Software metering data that is at least 12

hours old must exist for the two software metering

summarization tasks to run successfully.

Date post:	07-Apr-2018
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Collecting Inventory and Metering Software Usage

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