Create configuration items in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager to define configurations that you want to manage and assess for compliance on devices.
There are different types of configuration items:
- Application configuration item
Used to determine compliance for an application. This can include whether the application is installed and details about its configuration.
- Operating system configuration
item
Used to determine compliance for settings that relate to the operating system and its configuration.
- Software updates configuration
item
Automatically created when you download software updates with Configuration Manager.
You do not create or see these configuration items in the Compliance Settings node, but you can select them when you define configuration baselines.
- General configuration item
Used to determine compliance for mobile devices.
For more information about creating configuration items for mobile devices, see How to Create Mobile Device Configuration Items for Compliance Settings in Configuration Manager.
Use one the following four different methods to create a configuration item in the Configuration Manager console.
| Method | Description | More information | ||
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Create a new configuration item |
Use the Create Configuration Item Wizard to create the configuration item. Use this method to create a configuration item when you want to configure all properties, or you have no existing configuration item from which you can create a duplicate or a child configuration item. |
For more information about how to create a configuration item by using the wizard, see the steps and supplemental procedures in this topic.
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Create a child configuration item |
Create a child configuration item from the Configuration Items node. Use this method to create a configuration item when you want a configuration item that continues to inherit the properties of an existing configuration item, but refines them with more detailed configuration. You cannot create child configuration items for mobile devices. |
For more information about how to create a child configuration item, see How to Create Child Configuration Items in Configuration Manager. |
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Import |
Import configuration data from a file. Use this method to create configuration items when they have been defined outside the Configuration Manager hierarchy. For example, you created them in a test environment and now want to use them on the production network, or you want to import best practices from a Configuration Pack that vendors provided. |
For more information, see How to Import Configuration Data in Configuration Manager. |
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Duplicate |
Create a duplicate configuration item from the Configuration Items node. Use this method to create a configuration item when you want an exact copy of an existing configuration item to use as your starting point, but you want to modify it to create an independent configuration item from the original. |
To create a duplicate of a configuration item, select a configuration item in the Configuration Items node and then, on the Home tab, in the Configuration Item group, click Copy.
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Note
Important Warning |
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| Do not configure configuration items with identical settings that evaluate different values and assign them to the same devices. When devices evaluate configuration items that have conflicting values, the order in which they are evaluated is nondeterministic. |
Use the following steps and the supplemental procedures for when you want to create a new configuration item for Windows-based computers.
Steps to Create a New Configuration
Item for Client Computers
Use the following required steps to create a configuration item by using the Create Configuration Item Wizard.
| Step | Details | More information | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Step 1: Start the Create Configuration Item Wizard. |
Start the wizard in the Assets and Compliance workspace in the Compliance Settings node. |
See the Step 1: Start the Create Configuration Item Wizard section in this topic |
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Step 2: Provide general information about the configuration item. |
Specify a Windows configuration item and a detection method if this configuration item assesses the compliance of an application. |
See Step 2: Provide General Information about the Configuration Item. |
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Step 3: Provide detection method information for the configuration item. |
A detection method contains rules that detect whether an application is installed on a client device before it is assessed for compliance.
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See the Step 3: Provide Detection Method Information for the Configuration Item section in this topic. |
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Step 4: Configure settings for the configuration item. |
A setting represents the business or technical conditions to be used to assess compliance on client devices. You can configure a new setting or browse to an existing setting on a reference computer. |
See the Step 4: Configure Settings for the Configuration Item section in this topic. |
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Step 5: Configure compliance rules for the configuration item. |
Compliance rules specify the conditions that define the compliance of a configuration item. Some settings let you remediate values that are found to be noncompliant. You can also create new rules by browsing to existing settings in any configuration item and creating rules against them. |
See the Step 5: Configure Compliance Rules for the Configuration Item section in this topic. |
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Step 6: Specify supported platforms for the configuration item. |
Supported platforms are the operating systems on which a configuration item is assessed for compliance. |
See the Step 6: Specify Supported Platforms for the Configuration Item section in this topic. |
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Step 7: Complete the wizard. |
Complete the wizard to create the new configuration item. |
No additional information. |
Supplemental Procedures to Create a
New Configuration Item for Client Computers
Use the following information when the steps in the preceding table require supplemental procedures.