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 Step-by-Step Guide to Deploying the...
Step-by-Step Guide to Deploying the Asset Inventory Service Client Software

Microsoft Asset Inventory Service is a Web-based service that delivers an intelligent and comprehensive view of your enterprise’s desktop software environment. It helps reduce total cost of ownership of your application management lifecycle through advanced software inventory scanning and by translating inventory data into useful, actionable information.

Microsoft Asset Inventory Service (AIS) is an integral component of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) for Software Assurance, a dynamic desktop solution available to Software Assurance customers that reduces application deployment costs, enables delivery of applications as a service and allows for better management and control of enterprise desktop environments.

The AIS Web service collects information about programs installed on computers in your enterprise that have the AIS client software installed. This guide describes how to install and remove the client software.

Requirements for Asset Inventory Service client software

Operating system requirements

You can install the AIS client software on any of the following Windows operating systems.

  • Microsoft Windows® 2000 Professional Service Pack 4 (SP4) (Subsequent service packs are also supported.)

  • Windows XP Professional

  • Windows Server 2003 operating systems

  • Windows Server 2008

  • Windows Vista Enterprise

  • Windows Vista Ultimate

  • Windows Vista Business

The AIS client software is supported on both 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the preceding operating systems, when available. Except for Windows 2000 Professional, the AIS client software is supported on all service packs for the preceding operating systems.

Hardware and memory requirements

To install the AIS client software, a computer must have the following:

  • 133 MHz or higher Pentium-compatible CPU

  • 64 MB RAM

  • 3 MB disk space

Permission requirements

You must be a member of the Administrators group on the computer on which you want to install the AIS client software.

Client computer updates

You should verify that all client computers have the latest Windows updates and service packs installed before installing the AIS client software.

AIS client software deployment scenarios

This topic provides instructions for deploying the AIS client software by using one of the following four methods or tools. You can also deploy the AIS client software by using other methods, such as third-party tools.

Before you begin to deploy the AIS client software by using any of these methods, you must download the client software package from the AIS Web site.

Download the AIS client software

To download the AIS client software, you must log on to the AIS Web site by using your subscription account (Windows Live™ ID) and password.

The AIS client software installation package is unique to your enterprise and contains account identifiers, so you must download it from the AIS Web site after you have logged on with properly licensed account credentials.

To download the AIS client software installation package

  1. After you have logged on to AIS, open the Management and Support workspace.

  2. click Download a Client to open the Client Deployment page.

  3. On the Client Deployment page, click Download Client Here.

  4. In the File Download dialog box, click Save.

  5. Save the file to a secure location on a local hard drive.

    ImportantImportant
    The installation file must be stored in a secure location on the hard drive. The package contains your account-specific certificate and should be installed only on computers from which you want inventory reports.

Manual installation

Perform the following steps to install the AIS client software onto individual client computers. Repeat this procedure on every computer that you want to participate in the AIS inventory.

To install the AIS client software manually

  1. On a client computer, download the AIS client software after logging on to your account at the AIS Web site.

  2. Open the folder into which you downloaded the client software.

  3. Double-click the installer package SCOnlineClient.msi.

Installation completes in the background, and when it is complete, the installation window closes without notification. To verify the client software installation, see Verify that AIS client software is installed and running.

System Center Essentials (SCE)

If you have installed System Center Essentials, you can use it to deploy the AIS client software. See Software Deployment on the System Center Essentials TechCenter (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=98206).

Systems Management Server (SMS)

To install the AIS client software on client computers by using SMS, create a software distribution package, and then advertise the AIS client software to the computers on which it should be installed. You can do this by advertising it to a specified target collection. The advertisement contains the name of the program (AIS Client), the name of the target collection, and the scheduling configuration (that is, when to run the installation program).

noteNote
The site’s clients cannot receive advertised programs until you enable the software distribution client agent on site clients (the Advertised Programs Client Agent on legacy clients, and the Software Distribution Client Agent on advanced clients). This agent manages software distribution tasks on SMS clients.

The following steps provide an overview of how to install the AIS client software by using SMS. For detailed information about how to install software by using SMS, refer to the Distributing Software section of the SMS 2003 Operations Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=103257).

ImportantImportant
The AIS client software contains certificates that identify your account, and therefore, the installation file must be stored in a secure location on the disk of the server running SMS. For more information, see the Distributing Software section of the SMS 2003 Operations Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=103257).

To install the client software by using SMS

  1. Prepare the site for software distribution.

    1. Create or modify the Advanced Client Network Access account (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=103258).

    2. Configure the software distribution client agents (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=103259).

    3. Prepare client access points (CAPs), management points, and distribution points (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=103261).

    4. Prepare collections (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=103263).

    5. Prepare security (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=103264).

  2. Create packages (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=103265).

  3. Specify distribution points (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=103266).

  4. Create programs (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=103267).

  5. Create advertisements (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=103268).

Group Policy

You can use Group Policy to install the AIS client software on the computers in your network. The tasks you perform to install AIS client software by using Group Policy depend on whether the feature Group Policy Management is installed on your server.

If Group Policy Management is not installed on your server, you can use the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in to deploy the AIS client software. If Group Policy Management is installed on your server, you must use the Group Policy Editor to set up AIS client software deployment.

noteNote
When you are deploying the AIS client software to multiple computers by using SMS or Group Policy, schedule installations for off-peak hours to reduce network traffic. It is recommended that you deploy the client software to no more than 10,000 computers per package.

Installing AIS Client Software without Group Policy Management

If Group Policy Management is not installed on your server, perform the following tasks to deploy the AIS client software by using Active Directory Users and Computers.

noteNote
These tasks can only be completed on a server that is an Active Directory Domain Services domain controller.

Task One: Create a distribution point

First, create a distribution point on a server.

To create a distribution point

  1. Log on as an administrator to a server in your network.

  2. Create a shared network folder for the installation file.

  3. Set permissions on the share to allow access to the installation file.

    ImportantImportant
    The SYSTEM account of each client computer on which you want to install the AIS client software must have read access to the share. The path provided must be in the format \\MyServer\MyFolder\SCOnlineClient.msi.

  4. Download the AIS client installation software package by following the procedure provided in the section Download the AIS client software, and save the file to the shared network folder.

    ImportantImportant
    The installation file must be stored in a secure location on the server’s hard disk.

Task Two: Create a Group Policy object

Next, create a Group Policy object to distribute the AIS client software.

To create a Group Policy object

  1. Start the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in: click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Users and Computers.

  2. In the console tree, right-click your domain, and then click Properties.

  3. Click the Group Policy tab, and then click New.

  4. Enter a name for the new Group Policy object, such as AIS Client Software Distribution, and then press ENTER.

  5. In the results pane, double-click the new GPO to modify its properties, and then click the Security tab.

  6. Select Apply Group Policy for groups to which you want to deploy the AIS client software.

  7. Clear the Apply Group Policy check box for groups to which you do not want to deploy the AIS client software.

  8. Click OK.

Task Three: Assign the AIS client software

Finally, assign the AIS client software to computers on your network that are running the operating systems listed in Operating system requirements in this guide.

ImportantImportant
Verify that all client computers have the latest Windows service pack installed before installing the AIS client software.

To assign the AIS client software

  1. Open the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in: click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Users and Computers.

  2. In the console tree, right-click the site, the domain, or the organizational unit (OU) and then click Properties.

  3. Click the Group Policy tab.

  4. Expand the site, domain, or OU in the hierarchy pane, and then select the Group Policy object (for example, AIS Client Distribution).

  5. In the Computer Configuration area, expand Software Settings. (On servers running Windows Server® 2008, you must also expand Policies.

  6. Right-click Software installation, point to New, and then click Package.

  7. In the Open dialog box, type the full Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path of the installation file that you downloaded in Task One, as shown in the following example.

    \\<serverName>\<share>\SCOnlineClient.msi

    ImportantImportant
    Do not click Browse to access the location. Type the UNC path directly into the Open dialog box.

  8. Click Open.

  9. Click Assigned, and then click OK. The package is displayed in the results pane of the Group Policy Editor window.

  10. Close the Group Policy Editor snap-in, click OK, and then close Active Directory Users and Computers.

The AIS client software is installed automatically on all assigned computers the next time they are restarted.

Installing AIS Client Software with Group Policy Management

If Group Policy Management is installed on your server, perform the following tasks to deploy AIS client software by using the Group Policy Editor snap-in.

noteNote
These tasks can only be completed on a server that is an Active Directory Domain Services domain controller.

Task One: Create a distribution point

First, create a distribution point on a server.

To create a distribution point

  1. Log on as an administrator to a server in your network.

  2. Create a shared network folder for the installation file.

  3. Set permissions on the share to allow access to the installation file.

    ImportantImportant
    The SYSTEM account of each client computer on which you want to install the AIS client software must have read access to the share. The path provided must be in the format \\MyServer\MyFolder\SCOnlineClient.msi.

  4. Download the AIS client installation software package by following the procedure provided in the section Download the AIS client software, and save the installation package to the shared network folder.

    ImportantImportant
    The installation file must be stored in a secure location on the server’s hard disk.

Task Two: Create a Group Policy object

Next, create a Group Policy object to distribute the AIS client software.

To create a Group Policy object

  1. Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Group Policy Management to open the Group Policy Management snap-in.

  2. In the console tree, right-click your domain, and then click Create and Link a GPO Here.

  3. In the New GPO dialog box, enter a name for the new Group Policy object, such as AIS Client Software Distribution, and then press ENTER.

  4. In the console tree, right-click the new GPO and then click Edit to open the Group Policy Object Editor snap-in.

  5. In the console tree of the Group Policy Object Editor snap-in, expand Computer Configuration, and then expand Software Settings.

    noteNote
    On computers running Windows Server 2008, you must also expand Policies.

  6. Right-click Software installation, click New, and then click Package.

  7. Click OK.

Task Three: Assign the AIS client software

Finally, assign the AIS client software to computers on your network that are running the operating systems listed in Operating system requirements in this guide.

ImportantImportant
Verify that all client computers have the latest Windows service pack installed before installing the AIS client software.

To assign the AIS client software

  1. Open the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in: click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Users and Computers.

  2. In the console tree, right-click the site, the domain, or the organizational unit (OU) and then click Properties.

  3. Click the Group Policy tab.

  4. Expand the site, domain, or OU in the hierarchy pane, and then select the Group Policy object (for example, AIS Client Distribution).

  5. In the Computer Configuration area, expand Software Settings. (On servers running Windows Server 2008, you must also expand Policies.

  6. Right-click Software installation, point to New, and then click Package.

  7. In the Open dialog box, type the full Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path of the installation file that you downloaded in Task One, as shown in the following example.

    \\<serverName>\<share>\SCOnlineClient.msi

    ImportantImportant
    Do not click Browse to access the location. Type the UNC path directly into the Open dialog box.

  8. Click Open.

  9. In the Deploy Software dialog box, click Assigned, and then click OK. The next time the Group Policy Object Editor console is refreshed, the package shows in the results pane.

    If the package does not show, right-click Software Installation, and then click Refresh.

    To modify package installation settings, double-click the package in the Group Policy Object Editor results pane. To cancel the installation and remove its Group Policy object, right-click the package, point to All Tasks, and then click Remove.

  10. Close the Group Policy Editor snap-in, click OK, and then close Group Policy Management.

The AIS client software is installed automatically on all assigned computers the next time they are restarted.

Organizing client computers into groups

The Group Policy administrative template, sconline.adm, allows you to assign the computers in your network to a computer group.

You can download sconline.adm from the Microsoft Web site (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=104728).

Use the Group Policy Management Console to view and edit the SCO administrative template.

To view and edit the SCO administrative template

  1. Save the sconline.adm file to the %windir%\inf directory.

  2. Open the Group Policy Editor: click Start, click Run, type gpedit.msc, and then press Enter.

  3. In the console tree, expand Computer Configuration, and then select Administrative Templates.

  4. On the Action menu, click Add/Remove Templates.

  5. In the Add/Remove Templates dialog box, click Add.

  6. In the Policy Templates dialog box, browse to the %windir%\inf directory and select sconline.adm, then click Open.

    System Center Online Client is displayed in Administrative Templates.

  7. Open the Enable client grouping setting.

  8. To enable client grouping, select Enabled.

  9. In the Group name for this computer box, type a group name and click OK.

noteNote
A computer can belong to only one group.

Adding computers to groups by using the registry

To add your computers to a group in AIS, you can set the value of the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\System Center Online\Client\ClientGroup on client computers to the group name of which you want them to be members. The AIS client software interprets this key and sends information about a computer's group membership to the AIS Web-based service when the AIS inventory is updated.

ImportantImportant
Incorrectly editing the registry may severely damage your system. Before making changes to the registry, you should back up any valued data on the computer.

Configuring client computers that report to an authenticated proxy server

If you want client computers that report to an authenticated proxy server to participate in your inventory, you must follow the steps in this section. These steps are only required if the proxy server requires authentication.

To inventory client computers that report to a proxy server, the proxy server must be configured to use computer authentication. Verify that your proxy server is using correct authentication settings. The following steps enable you to add computer authentication for each client computer when the proxy server to which the computers report is running Microsoft ISA Server.

To add computers that report to a proxy server to your inventory

  1. On the client computer, open a Command Prompt window by clicking Start, clicking Run, typing cmd in the Open text box, and then pressing Enter.

  2. Enter one of the following commands.

    • If the group served by the proxy server is a domain group, enter the following.

      net group"Internet Authenicated Group Name" "Computer Name" /add

      For example, net group"Internet Authenticated Users""win2k3$" /add

    • If the group served by the proxy server is a local group located on the ISA server, enter the following.

      net localgroup "Internet Authenticated Group Name" "Computer Name" /add

      For example, net localgroup "Internet users" domain\computername$ /ADD

  3. Add an exception to the ISA server configuration to allow anonymous access to the SCO-AIS Service URLs (https://sc.microsoft.com and any subdirectories).

  4. Add the computer to the AIS inventory manually, by running the SCOnline-Full task in Task Scheduler.

    1. Open Task Scheduler by doing one of the following.

      On a computer running Windows XP or Windows Server 2003, open Scheduled Tasks by clicking Start, pointing to Control Panel, and then clicking Scheduled Tasks.

      On a computer running Windows Vista, click Start, click Control Panel, click System and Maintenance, click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Task Scheduler.

      On a computer running Windows 2000, click Start, point to Settings, point to Control Panel, and then click Scheduled Tasks.

    2. In the Task Scheduler or Scheduled Tasks tree pane, open %windir%\Tasks.

    3. Right-click the task SCOnline-Full-{89C1481E-9333-4a66-9014-18C9F60CA82D}.

    4. On the shortcut menu, click Run.

    Allow 10 minutes for the client computer's inventory to be uploaded to AIS.

Verify that AIS client software is installed and running

The client software automatically runs between five minutes and five hours after installation is complete. The Web-based service displays the client computer in its inventory within 15 minutes after the client software task has run.

To verify that the AIS client software was successfully installed and is communicating with the Web service, perform the following steps.

To verify the installation of AIS client software

  1. Open the AIS Web site.

  2. Log on to AIS by entering your Windows Live ID and password.

  3. In the navigation pane, click Computers.

  4. Scroll down the list of inventoried computers to find client computers that are communicating with AIS, or search for a specific client computer by entering the computer name in the Search text box.

Alternately, you can also verify that AIS client software was successfully installed by doing the following:

  • Open Control Panel, then open Add or Remove Programs (in Windows Vista®, open Control Panel, click Programs, and then click Programs and Features.). An entry for Microsoft System Center Online Client is displayed in the list of installed programs if client software installation succeeded.

On the Client Deployment page, the Deployment Status notification area shows the total number of client computers participating in the inventory, and how many of those have successfully uploaded data. Some computers may take more time between enrolling in the inventory, and completing the upload of their data.

noteNote
If more than 10,000 client computers are participating in your inventory, allow two to three business days (that is, two to three days in which client computers are turned on) for AIS to display your complete inventory.

What to do if installation fails

If a client computer is not visible in the Web service inventory after one hour, and the client software does not appear in Add or Remove Programs (or Programs and Features in Windows Vista), installation of the client software most likely failed.

Refer to Asset Inventory Service Tips and Troubleshooting (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=101667) for help with specific errors.

Alternately, click Troubleshooting and Support in the Management and Support workspace of the AIS Web UI.

Additional references

 
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