Desired configuration reports might refer to a configuration item type of "business policy." The equivalent term in the Configuration Manager console is "general configuration item."

The two terms refer to the same configuration item type, but whereas general configuration item is displayed in the Configuration Manager console, the underlying Service Modeling Language (SML) uses the term business policy. When reports are run, you might see references to the SML terminology.

Solution

Configuration baselines and configuration items display in the Configuration Manager console with the display name you have selected, and which can be edited in the configuration data General properties.

However, Configuration Manager also automatically generates a unique name for each configuration baseline and configuration item to ensure that the configuration data is uniquely referenced in the Configuration Manager hierarchy. You might need to reference this unique ID value if you have configuration data with the same name. For more information, see How to Distinguish Configuration Data with the Same Name in Desired Configuration Management.

Another scenario in which you might need to use the CI Unique ID value is if the configuration data names display in the wrong language or as a blank entry. (See the section "Names Appear in Wrong Language, or Blank Entries" below.)

The CI Unique ID value is used with both configuration baselines and configuration items.

The following is an example of a CI Unique ID value for a configuration baseline:

• ScopeId_02E3AB69-4889-AFBF-B5B564E74A21/Baseline_14091de3-eb48-49f-85f2-ae7e541b826e
  

The following is an example of a CI Unique ID value for a configuration item:

• ScopeId_CD6A2D43-C7AF-416A-AC1B-4B80241D253D/Application_a2575f17db3e-4b23-a6fb-4c0a4a877d2e
  

Because of their nonfriendly name, it can be difficult to interpret how the values for the CI Unique ID align to friendly display names, and if they refer to a configuration baseline or a configuration item.

Solution

The display name and description that you choose for configuration baselines and configuration items and the names for configuration categories are not converted into different languages. For example, if you create a configuration item on an English version of Configuration Manager 2007, it will continue to display the English name on a Japanese client or on a reporting point that is running a German version of Configuration Manager 2007.

Solution

The validation criteria fields in desired configuration management reports (and the equivalent on the client-side report is Constraints) display the underlying DCM Digest, or Service Modeling Language (SML). This can make it difficult for administrators who have authored the configuration item in the Configuration Manager console to understand what the validation criteria is if they do not have knowledge of DCM Digest of SML.

For more information about DCM Digest, SML and authoring externally to Configuration Manager, see About Authoring Configuration Data for Desired Configuration Management.

An example of a validation criteria displayed in reports is the following:

(number(count(ns_BusinessPolicy_5d552faa-98ef-41fc-8261-33c30e91b3d5_this:File_a3a938fe-5f0c-40e7-8e0c-e0a4d0ba0e14))>number(1))

Solution

If you specify the name and location of an XML file in the General tab of the XML Query Setting Properties dialog box and this file is not found, a discovery error indicating that the file was not found is not produced.

Solution

When you configure a registry setting with a validation containing an environment variable, desired configuration management returns unexpected results. Desired configuration management cannot expand the environment variable into a full string.

Solution

When exclusive file permissions are used in a configuration item object, desired configuration management checks that one set of these permissions are used. However, it is possible that the file inherits a second set of permissions. If the two sets of permissions do not exactly match, desired configuration management reports a non-compliant state for the configuration item.

Solution

Uninterpreted configuration items are configuration items that have been imported into Configuration Manager 2007 and which the Configuration Manager console cannot interpret. In reports, their namespace is used for their display name, which is represented as a long URL that begins with http://.

The following is an example of an uninterpreted configuration item name as displayed in the desired configuration management reports:

• http://schemas.microsoft.com/systemsmanagementserver/SCOPEID_8BC05373-993D-4571-B490-BF2FAC48B7F3/BUSINESSPOLICY_063A71ED-5C34-42EC-9372-D3237FC3329E/1
  

If you click these links, a Web browser attempts to connect using the URL as if it were a Web resource and fails with an error that the page cannot be found.

Solution

Desired configuration management does not support discovery of SQL Server instance names when they are in cluster.

If you attempt to specify a SQL query against a clustered SQL installation, it will result in either non-compliance (if the option Report a non-compliance event when this instance count fails is configured), or a discovery error (if evaluating a named instance).

For more information about evaluation failures for SQL query settings, see Unexpected Compliance Results in Desired Configuration Management.

Solution

If you import a configuration baseline that is assigned and downloaded to a client, delete the configuration baseline and then re-import it with the same display name but new content version (for example, a new setting or modified validation criteria), the client will not realize that it must download the newly imported configuration baseline. In this scenario the client will continue to evaluate with the previously downloaded configuration baseline that is now deleted from Configuration Manager.

This unusual situation occurs because the client uses the configuration baseline version number to determine if it needs to download a newer version of the configuration baseline it has been assigned to evaluate. By deleting the configuration baseline in Configuration Manager, the version number is reset rather than incremented. However, you should be able to compare the content versions on the client and in the Configuration Manager console to confirm that there is a mismatch.

For more information about configuration data versions and content versions, see About Content Versions in Desired Configuration Management.

Solution

Concepts

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