Collecting Inventory and Metering Software Usage

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 the foundation to implement many of the more advanced features of Microsoft System Center Configuration 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 computers and 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 the inventory collection process and describes its benefits for your organization. This lesson also describes how various Configuration Manager components work together to collect inventory from client computers that you assign within a specific site.

What Is Inventory Collection?

Inventory refers to the information that describes the hardware and software characteristics related 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 about client 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 them centrally 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:

Use of hardware inventory

Build queries based on hardware configuration Build collections based on inventory results Create reports to display hardware configuration or installed software details Troubleshoot client problems Maintain corporate standards

Description
Build and run queries to search for specific hardware inventory data. Create collections that are based on specific hardware-based query results. Create a new report, or run a predefined report to display hardware inventory data in an organized report format. View recent changes to a clients hardware to identify potential issues. For example, if your organization has a processor speed standard, you can use hardware inventory to collect information about the processors of clients and identify the clients that are not complying with that standard. Use inventory data to identify clients that can support the installation of a specific application, such as Microsoft Office 2007.

Target software distribution

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 file or files with specific file extensions. You can run reports to display software inventory data from the entire organization in an organized report format. Collect files, not just details about the files, from client computers. With file collection, you specify a set of files to be copied from clients to the clients assigned site server. Collect files, selected by file or by product, from client computers to help troubleshoot problems. For example, if a client is experiencing problems, you can view a copy of the clients recent log files that were collected previously to determine how many computers in your organization have the latest antivirus program installed. For example, if your organization has a standard set of client applications, including specific required versions, you can use software inventory to validate the specific file versions. Create collections that are based on file or product data, and then distribute software to these collections. For example, you might want to distribute an antivirus update only to clients that have the program installed.

Collect files

Troubleshoot client problems

Maintain corporate standards

Target software distribution

The Process of Inventory Collection

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

Inventory collection component

Clients

Description
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 Inventory Agent components are enabled on clients assigned to the site after 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 Agent Properties, which is set, by default, to every 60 minutes. The site server stores settings for software and hardware inventory. The site server processes collected inventory data and sends it to the site database. If the site server is not the central site server, it sends the inventory data to its parent site. The site also sends inventory data that it received from any lower-level sites on which you enable inventory. This step is repeated until the inventory data reaches the central site. Clients pull policy data from the management point. It also collects inventory data files from clients and passes this data to the site server. The site database stores the following important inventory data: Specifications of which hardware inventory to collect, which is created from the SMS_def.mof and Configuration.mof files. Inventory rules that define what software inventory data needs to be collected. Client policies, which contain site configuration information, inventory information, and other information that clients need. Client Agent configuration settings. Collected inventory data.

Site server

Management point

Site database

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

Phase
Check for setting updates

Description
If the hardware and software settings have been updated since the most recent policy polling interval, clients will retrieve the updates from management points and use them to configure the appropriate Inventory Agents. Configuration Manager Inventory Agents create inventory data files that list the collected data. 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.

Collect inventory

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

Update site database

Configuration Manager updates the database. The site database maintains a hardware inventory history for each client, but it does not maintain a software inventory history. Configuration Manager only keeps the current software inventory data for each client. 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 sends inventory data that it received from any lower-level sites. This step is repeated until the inventory data reaches the central site. 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 can view the history of each previous hardware inventory collection. When viewing software inventory, you can view only the current state.

Update parent sites and central site server

View inventory data in Configuration Manager Console

Collecting Hardware Inventory

When configuring hardware inventory collection for a specific site, you need to consider Hardware Inventory Client Agent configuration tasks. You might have requirements for enhanced inventory data in addition to the data collected by default. This lesson describes how 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 collects detailed hardware information of clients assigned to the site. Note: The Hardware Inventory Client Agent, by

default, is enabled and is configured to run every seven days. There are three main tasks to configuring hardware inventory:

Hardware inventory configuration task

Enable the Hardware Inventory Client Agent Configure the inventory schedule

Description
This is enabled from within the Client Agents node in the Configuration Manager Console. By default, the hardware inventory collection schedule is set to run every seven days. If the client is not running when inventory is scheduled to run, the agent will collect inventory the next time the client is started. There are two types of schedules that you can configure: Simple schedule. An interval between inventory cycles, such as every 24 hours or every six weeks. Custom schedule. A start time and an interval for inventory collection, such as every Sunday or on the first Thursday of every month.

Determine if you require the use of If you need to extend the hardware inventory that is collected from MIF files 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 underlying technologies, 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 (the MOF), represent that information (the CIM), and access that collected information. You can define the hardware-inventory information for which you want to query within two MOF 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 approximately 1,500 hardware properties from almost 100 different WMI classes.

The initial client hardware inventory that the Hardware Inventory Client Agent collects is a full 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 inventory collections are performed on the schedule you specify in the Hardware Inventory Client Agent properties. Typically, only information that has changed, or deltas, are collected from the previous inventory report created during the last inventory cycle. Delta inventory reporting greatly reduces network traffic that client inventory reporting generates because the delta inventory data typically is a fraction of a complete inventory collection. With every hardware inventory collection, the site database is updated with the current inventory information while keeping a history of previous inventory information collected from the client. You can use Resource Explorer to view a clients current and historical hardware 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 the contents of two Managed Object Format (MOF) files stored on the primary site server: Configuration.mof and SMS_def.mof. These files are located at: <ConfigMgr install directory>\inboxes\clifiles.src\hinv.

Configuration.mof
The Configuration.mof file defines the data classes that the Hardware Inventory Client Agent will 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, the Configuration.mof is attached to the policy body that clients download and compile. When you 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 a requested computer policy. When extending hardware inventory to be collected from Configuration Manager 2007 clients, the Configuration.mof file is modified to inventory computer client information by

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

Provider
WMI Data Provider Registry Property Provider

Description
Inventories existing client WMI data-class information. 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 inventory various subkeys, under one main registry key, that all have similar data values that you want to inventory without creating more than one reporting class. View Provider Joins multiple data classes into one class or perform simple (WMI) Query 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 Client Agent uses to determine whether specific client data-class information is reported. Reporting classes are based on the WMI repository data classes and attributes of those classes, 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 polling interval. 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.

What Are MIF files

Management Information Format (MIF) files extend hardware inventory information collected 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 the data 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 clients current 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 for the default inventory of NOIDMIF file information to occur:

%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 the site 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 to use 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 Manager 2007 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 stores them 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.

There are four main tasks to configure software inventory:

Software inventory configuration task

Enable the Software Inventory Client Agent Configure the inventory schedule Specify the file types to inventory

Description
Enable this within the Client Agents node in the Configuration Manager Console. By default, the software inventory collection schedule is set to run every seven days. If the client is not running when you schedule inventory to run, the agent will collect inventory the next time the client starts. On the Inventory Collection tab, you can specify the file names or file types that you want to inventory, and then select the reporting detail for the files you want inventoried.

Specify files to collect from On the File Collection tab, you can specify files to be collected from clients clients during software inventory. Collected files are stored on the site servers hard drive. Note: Because software inventory is more computerresource 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 can include 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 can provide a path name, variable, and indicate whether to search subdirectories. 4. Specify whether to exclude encrypted and compressed files. While software inventory is 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 can control the detail that is reported, including the following:

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 File Collection 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" client hard 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 Inventory Client 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: <ConfigMgr installation directory>\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.

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 in Resource 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 manufacturer names 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 for display and query purposes.

Managing Inventory
After enabling and configuring the Hardware and Software Inventory Client Agents, clients assigned 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 inventory reporting.

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 force hardware 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

Hardware Inventory Cycle

Description
Forcing hardware inventory does not disrupt the normal hardware inventory cycle if it is set to run on a full schedule (at a specific time and day). In that case, the regularly scheduled hardware inventory still runs at the time scheduled in the Hardware Inventory Client Agent. Forcing software inventory does not disrupt the normal software inventory cycle. The regularly scheduled software inventory still runs at the time that you schedule in the Software Inventory Client Agent. Forcing the software inventory cycle does not force the File Collection Cycle. You must do this as a separate action.

Software Inventory Cycle

File Collection Cycle

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 new Microsoft Management Consoles (MMC) console opens that displays the hardware and software inventory information collected from clients. You can start the Resource Explorer from the Configuration Manager Console or from the command line.

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 on each disk. You can use this information to determine to which computers you want to distribute software, for example, or when to perform remote troubleshooting. Contains hardware inventory data that has changed from previous inventory cycles. Contains information collected by software inventory about each type of program file, such as the file name, file description, and product name. Contains a list of collected files. You can right-click a file, point to All Tasks, and then click View File to view the file in Notepad. Contains information about files without complete product details. This was previously referred to as unknown files. Provides the date of the last scan and the last collected file scan date. Contains the information about the clients software products that you specify when you configure the Software Inventory Client Agent, and are grouped under the manufacturer name.

Hardware History Software Collected Files File Details Last Software Scan Product Details

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
Enable inventory encryption

Description
Native mode client communication with a management point is encrypted with secure sockets layer (SSL). In mixed mode, by default, client inventory reports and collected files sent to management points are signed, but not encrypted. You can enable the option to encrypt data before sending to the management point from within the Site properties dialog box, on the Site Mode tab. IDMIF and NOIDMIF files are not validated when they are submitted into the site database, so they could be used to alter tables that you do not want altered. Invalid data could overwrite valid data. Large amounts of data could load, causing delays in all Configuration Manager 2007 functions. To

Ensure that IDMIF and NOIDMIF collection in highsecurity environments is disabled

mitigate this risk, you can ensure that the IDMIF and NOIDMIF collection in the Hardware Inventory Client Agent properties is disabled. Note that this option is disabled by default. Do not use file collection to File collection uses the LocalSystem account, which has the ability to collect collect critical files or copies of critical system files. When these files are available at the site sensitive information server, anyone with Read Resource rights or NTFS file system rights to the 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 (MB) file collected from 1,000 workstations will need 1 GB of storage space. By default, these maintenance tasks run weekly and remove data that has been in the database for more than 90 days. You may want to change this interval d

Determine an appropriate deletion interval for the Delete Aged Inventory History or Delete Aged Collected Files maintenance tasks

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
Asset Intelligence knowledge base Hardware inventory enhancements

Description
Lookup tables in the site database that contain categorization and identification information. Enhanced information, including CPU age and speed, memory, peripheral devices, and more. Asset Intelligence reports provide information related to hardware issues. Enhanced information including about installed software. Asset Intelligence license management reports provide data about the types of licenses deployed within a network. Other reports provide information on client access licenses (CALs) for Microsoft products such as Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Exchange.

Software inventory enhancements License management

Enabling Asset Intelligence Classes

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

Required component

Description

Hardware Inventory Client The Hardware Inventory Client Agent must be enabled to allow for hardware inventory classes to be evaluated. Agent Specific SMS_DEF.mof classes Classes necessary for enhanced Asset Intelligence must be enabled. These classes include: Software Metering Client Agent SMS_SystemConsoleUsage SMS_SystemConsoleUser SMS_InstalledSoftware SMS_AutoStartSoftware SMS_BrowserHelperObject SMS_InstalledExecutable SMS_SoftwareShortcut SoftwareLicensingService SoftwareLicensingProduct

A number of software reports depend on the Software Metering Client Agent, including: Software Software Software Software Software 07A 07B 07C 08A 08B Recently used executables by number of computers Computers that recently used a specified executable Recently used executables on a specific computer Recently used executables by number of users 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 following parameters within the Configuration.mof file:

Configuration parameters Description

CALCollectionType Controls whether CALs are tracked for devices, users, or both. To enable CAL data collection, you must change the CALCollectionType from the default value of 0 to a value that specifies that data collection is enabled. The CALCollectionType parameter can be set to the following values: 0 - Data collection disabled 1 - User CAL collection only

 CALCollectionFrequencyDays

2 - Device CAL collection only 3 - All CAL collection enabled

Controls the frequency, in days, of CAL data collection. Acceptable values 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 default 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 this licensing model. If the model is changed in the future, you can adjust 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. Modification 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 your organization 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 can help 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

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 data collection 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 to the 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 client and determines if the program files header information matches a specified software metering rule that the administrator configures. The agent collects usage data each time 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 Metering Usage 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.

Software metering data held on the site database is summarized on a specified schedule and 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, this option is enabled. After you collect data from Configuration Manager 2007 clients, there are various methods to view the data, including collections, queries, and reporting. This data, combined with data from software inventory, can assist your organization in determining its software usage.

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 rules to 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 new software 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 General page, 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 rules contain 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 recommend that 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. This name 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 to meter 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

(?) to represent any single character. If you want to meter for all versions of an executable 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 the Browse 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 dropdown 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 to configure 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 executable before 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 is retained. 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, Configuration Manager periodically summarizes collected data and deletes aged summarized data. Configuration Manager provides the following four main maintenance tasks to help manage the amount of usage data that site database stores:

Maintenance task
Summarize Software Metering File Usage Data Summarize Software Metering Monthly

Description
Condenses software metering file usage data from multiple records into one general record. Runs daily by default. Provides information about the program name, version, language, and number of distinct users over intervals of 15 minutes and one hour. Condenses detailed software metering usage data from multiple records into one general record. The summarization information includes the number of times

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. Deletes all summarized software metering data that is older than the number of days you specify. By default, the task runs every day and deletes software metering data that is older than five days. Deletes summarized software metering summary data that is older than the number of days you specify. By default, the task runs every Sunday and deletes software metering summary data that is older than 270 days.

Delete Aged Software Metering Data Delete Aged Software Metering Summary Data

Note: Software metering data that is at least 12 hours old must exist for the two software metering summarization tasks to run successfully.