Use hardware inventory in Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2012 to collect information about the hardware configuration of client devices in your organization. Hardware inventory is collected when the Enable hardware inventory on clients setting is enabled in client settings.

After the hardware inventory option is enabled and a hardware inventory cycle is run by the client, the client sends the inventory information that it has collected to a management point in the client’s site. The management point then forwards the inventory information to the Configuration Manager site server which stores the inventory information in the site database. Hardware inventory runs on clients according to the schedule that you specify in the client settings.

You can use a number of methods to view the hardware inventory data that is collected by Configuration Manager 2012. These include the following:

• Create queries that return devices that are based on a specific hardware configuration. For more information, see Queries in Configuration Manager 2012.
  
  
• Create query-based collections that are based on a specific hardware configuration. Query-based collection memberships automatically update on a schedule. You can use collections for a number of tasks, which include software deployment. For more information, see Collections in Configuration Manager 2012.
  
  
• Run reports that display specific details about hardware configurations in your organization. For more information, see Reporting in Configuration Manager 2012.
  
  
• Use Resource Explorer to view detailed information about the hardware inventory that is collected from client devices. For more information, see How to Use Resource Explorer in Configuration Manager 2012.
  
  

When hardware inventory runs on a client device, the first inventory data that is returned by the client will always be a full inventory. Subsequent inventory information will contain only delta inventory information. The site server processes delta inventory information in the order in which it is received. If delta inventory information for a client is missing, the site server rejects further delta inventory information and instructs the client to run a full inventory cycle.

Configuration Manager 2012 provides limited support for dual-boot computers. Configuration Manager 2012 can discover dual-boot computers but will only return inventory information from the operating system that was active at the time the inventory cycle ran.

What’s New in Configuration Manager 2012

See Also