Duplicate Computer Merge task is not merging duplicated machines by Serial Number

Products

• Endpoint Encryption

Issue/Introduction

A new machine was manually added to Asset (Computer), but neither the Altiris Agent nor the corporate image was installed on the machine.

As the Asset (Computer) name and serial number, it's used the machine's Serial Number for both of them.

The problem starts when the machine receives the company image along with the Altiris Agent.

The Altiris Agent is installed and reports the Basic Inventory. After that, their IT Team turn off the machine and wait until someone needs a new computer.

What is happening during that time (agent installed and machine delivered to another person), is that 2 devices are showing in the ITMS (Symantec IT Management Solution) console having the same Serial Number.

The difference is that one has the correct name (the name that came with the Basic Inventory), and the other has the Serial Number as its name.

Their "Duplicate Computer Merge" task is configured to merge duplicate machine by the Serial Number and it is running without issue, but the device is not being merged.

 

NA

Environment

Symantec IT Management Suite (ITMS) 8.5x

Cause

Because the machine is not reporting the Full Inventory, we do not have the “Internal Serial Number” information, so the Merge process is not able to validate those two computers as being the same one.

You could verify the Inv_Serial_number table to see if the Serial Number is there.

Resolution

Perform a Full Inventory, or at least a Hardware Inventory, to populate all the needed fields.

When the Serial Number gets added to the Inv_Serial_Number table, you can run the “Duplicate Computer Merge” task.