Ensure that new machines run Full Inventory ASAP
Article ID: 178279
Updated On:
Products
Issue/Introduction
How can I ensure that new machines run Full Inventory ASAP?
Environment
ITMS 8.x
Inventory Solution 8.x
Resolution
To have new machines run a full inventory as soon as possible, ensure that a Full Inventory policy is on and scheduled with a start date prior to the current date/time, confirm that the filter in the policy target is updating frequently via Resource Membership Update, and the Management Agent is set to send configuration and basic inventory at an acceptable interval.
This means that the intervals affecting how quickly Full Inventory is returned for a newly registered client are:
- Inventory policy schedule
- Resource Membership Update
- Upload Basic Inventory
- Download New Configuration
Warning: These intervals can cause large amounts of processing if set to run too frequently, and delays in accurate reporting if set too infrequently.
If running Full Inventory frequently is problematic, there is an alternative: A scheduled start time of 00:00 with "No Repeat" has the same effect as "Run Once ASAP." Clone the existing Full Inventory policy, set it's schedule as shown above, and all new machines should run a Full Inventory as soon as the Inventory Plugin is installed. Keep in mind that this Policy will run only once on each client and then never again, as there is no repeat.
The process is as follows: Install the Management Agent, which then checks for, receives, and installs its plugins based on how the install policies for those plugins are configured. Next, the agent (not the Inventory plugin) sends in a basic inventory to notify the SMP (Symantec Management Platform) Server (also known as the NS, or Notification Server, which runs Altiris) that the client has these plugins, and should be added to the appropriate filters during the next Resource Membership Update. Finally, when the agent checks in again, it will receive the Inventory Solution policies and, if the policy schedule is set for a prior date/time, the agent will run them immediately.
Upload Basic Inventory and Download new Configuration are set in Settings > Agents and Plugins > Symantec Management Agent > Settings > Symantec Management Agent Settings - Targeted
Filter membership updates (which should be set to every 5 minutes by default, but may have been turned down to an hour) are part of the "Policy update schedule" in Settings > Notification Server > Resource Membership Update, if it needs to be changed.
Again, if these intervals are set to run too frequently, the notification server could be under heavy load and may cause issues. Take care when changing them, as this may cause large amounts of network and processing usage.
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