You can merge products into an existing Computer Information List (CIL) by importing a CIL into the Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT). Click the Import List menu from the context-sensitive Actions menu or from the Action menu on the top menu bar when the focus is on a node. The VAMT uses the following rules to match products that are merged from two separate CILs or when adding products to an existing CIL:

  • The VAMT matches the unique GUID generated when a machine is first discovered or manually entered into the VAMT.

  • For domain-joined computers, the VAMT matches computer names to find conflicts and to remove duplicates.

  • For workgroup computers, VAMT uses computer name and the workgroup name to identify conflicts and duplicates. If necessary, the VAMT will use the Media Access Control (MAC) address to further obtain resolution.

If the same computer is entered twice into the same CIL file by using more than one search method (for example, one search by computer name/IP address and another search in Active Directory domains), the two records will not be merged into a single record. This could also happen if you add a computer to a CIL when it is in a workgroup, then join the machine to a domain and rediscover the computer using Active Directory search. To resolve these conflicts, you must remove the duplicate entry from the CIL.

If a computer is discovered in a domain or workgroup, and then joined to a different domain or moved to a different workgroup, the record for that computer will become out-of-date in the CIL. If the computer is rediscovered, the VAMT will not recognize it as a duplicate, and will create a new row for the computer’s status.