With Device Manager 2011, devices running the Windows Embedded operating system can be discovered and managed by using Configuration Manager. This section provides information about the following tasks that are made possible by adding Device Manager 2011 functionality to the Configuration Manager console:
- Populating new predefined device collections to work with
multiple devices at the same time
- Viewing existing and new information about device inventory
attributes
Both tasks are very similar to the inventory and reporting management you have used in the past with Configuration Manager console and traditional client computers. By using Device Manager 2011, you can use the inventory and collection features on thin client, POS, and digital signage devices running Windows Embedded.
Device Manager 2011 provides extensions to the Configuration Manager collections through several new predefined collections for devices. The following list shows the predefined collections installed with Device Manager 2011:
- All Windows Embedded Devices
- All Digital Signage Devices
- All Handheld Devices
- All Other Devices
- All Point of Service Devices
- All Thin Client Devices
.gif) Note: |
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| Currently, only thin client, POS, and digital signage devices are supported. |
.gif) Caution: |
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| If you use the Link to Collection command to set the All Windows Embedded Devices collection as a linked subcollection, do not delete the All Windows Embedded Devices collection. If you do delete it, the collection will be permanently deleted. |
Configuration Manager dynamically updates the membership of collections every time that Configuration Manager runs the scheduled inventory cycle to check for new devices. You can also manually update the collection membership shown in Configuration Manager console. It may take 24 hours before you begin to see devices listed in the All Windows Embedded Devices collection. Device Manager 2011 cannot begin dynamically updating collection membership until after a successful hardware inventory has processed, and it updates collections only every 24 hours.
A subcollection is automatically generated inside the predefined collections and is organized by basic device information with the following values:
- Manufacturer name
- Unique model number
- Device type
You can view device inventory in Resource Explorer or through several new predefined inventory reports. Either process lets you view important hardware inventory information about devices, such as hardware specifics and write filter status. The following list shows the types of information gathered by Device Manager 2011:
- Basic device information
- Password settings
- Proxy settings
- Wireless settings
- Deployed configuration package settings and related
information
- Enhanced Write Filter and related settings
- File-Based Write Filter and related settings
- Internet Explorer settings
- RDP settings
- VPN settings
- Boot status
- POS peripherals
You schedule and view the device inventory reports the same way you do other reports in Configuration Manager console.
For more information about POS peripherals, see POS for .NET on MSDN.
- Hardware Inventory
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Informational links about how to enable the servers and devices to collect hardware inventory information.
- Updating Collection Membership
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Information about how to manually update collection membership.
- Resource Explorer
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Informational links about how to use Resource Explorer to view hardware inventory information.
- Inventory Reporting
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Informational links about how to schedule and view hardware inventory reports, and the new reports installed with Device Manager 2011.