When you enable software inventory for a site, SMS installs Software Inventory Client Agent on clients. After SMS client installation is completed, Software Inventory Agent waits 30 minutes, and then starts its inventory cycle. Ignoring the %windir%\MS\SMS\Clicomp\Sinv\Colfiles directories, the Recycle Bins on 32-bit clients, and the SMS\Inboxes\Sinv.box\Filecol directories on site servers, the agent scans all local hard disk drives on a client for files of specified types. The agent also scans any external Zip and Jaz drives. (With SMS, you can inventory any valid file type. By default, however, only the .exe file type is configured.)
When Software Inventory Client Agent first runs on a client, it creates a complete inventory file and appends any collected files to it.
After the initial inventory, the agent compares each successive inventory to the most recently stored software inventory file (Sinv.his) and creates a delta inventory file (Sinvdat.sid). The agent then appends any collected files to the inventory file. Because the delta file is generally smaller than the complete inventory file, the impact on network bandwidth is reduced.
After Software Inventory Client Agent creates the software inventory file and places it in the client's Outbox (%windir%\MS\SMS\Clicomp\Sinv\Outbox), SMS copies the inventory file to the client access point (CAP).
SMS then moves the inventory files from the CAP to the site server. If the site server is a secondary site server, SMS passes the inventory files to the parent site server. On the primary site server, Software Inventory Processor processes inventory data in this inbox — starting with the .sic files and continuing with any .sid files — and updates the SMS site database with the inventory data. Software Inventory Processor also writes any collected files to SMS\Inboxes\Sinv.box\Filecol\ResourceID on the site server, where ResourceID is the client's resource ID.
Note If a software inventory file is corrupted, SMS copies the file to the SMS\Inboxes\Sinv.box\Badsinv directory on the site server, and the software inventory process stops for that file. Corrupted inventory files are not processed by SMS.
If the primary site server is not the central site server, SMS forwards the inventory file to its parent. The parent processes the file and stores the information in its SMS site database. This process continues until the inventory data reaches the central site database.
After client inventory has been added to the SMS site database, you can use Resource Explorer to view software inventory for a client.
Change from SMS 1.2 Software inventory history is not maintained in SMS 2.0.
Related Topics
32-Bit Client Software Inventory Flow Diagram
Collecting Software Inventory Overview