The Group Policy snap-in, installed with the Administration Tools, allows you to configure what information the
Specops Inventory Group Policy Client Side Extension should collect and send to the
Specops Inventory Server. Information about what to collect during inventory is stored in Group Policy Objects. You can collect information from either the computers and/or the users.
Edit inventory settings
You can edit inventory settings by enabling different categories that you want to collect information from. A computer that is affected by the policy will collect information during the next Group Policy refresh interval and send it to a centralized database.
You need to run this task on a machine where the Administration Tools have been installed.
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In the GPMC, expand your domain node and locate the Group Policy Objects node.
- Right-click on the desired GPO and click Edit…
-
In the Group Policy Management Editor, expand
Computer Configuration or User Configuration,
Policies, Systems Management, and select
Specops Inventory.
- Click Edit inventory settings. From the list, select the category you want to enable.You will have the following options if you are in the computer
configuration node:
Category | Description |
General hardware information |
Contains general hardware information about the computer including:
- Computer manufacturer and model
- BIOS name and version
- Disk drives
- Video controllers
- Printers
- Computer chassis type
|
Operating System |
Contains information about the installed operating system including:
- OS name
- Version
- Service pack level
- OS language
- Time zone
- Hot Fixes
- Page file settings
|
Installed Software |
Contains information about installed software including:
- Windows Installer installations
- Legacy installations
- Time of installation
|
Files |
Can be used to inventory files. To set the inventory filter:
-
Click Add to select the file expressions to include in the inventory.
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In the Name of this file inventory field, enter the name that will be used to identify the found files in the report.
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In the File name field, enter the name of the file or files to search for.
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From the Root to start search in field select a search root from the environment variables.
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In the Sub path field, enter a sub directory within the selected root directory.
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To add the file expression to the list, click
Add.
-
If you want to add another file expression, click
Clear to clear the information in the file expression field and repeat steps 2 through 6.
|
WMI |
Can be used to inventory custom WMI properties. To set the inventory filter:
- Select a WMI Namespace.
- Select a WMI Class.
- Select a WMI Property.
- Click OK.
|
User query |
Can be used to display a query to the end user of a computer. The user can respond to this question in different ways depending on the settings in the query. The responses from the end user will be saved in the inventory database.
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In the Question title field enter a title for the question that you want displayed to the end user of the computer.
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In the Question field enter the question you want displayed to the end user of the computer.
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From the Query type drop-box, select the question type. You have the following options:
- Yes/No question
-
Multiple choice question. You will need to click
Add answer choice and enter a possible answer in the Response text field.
- Free text question
-
Select a time limit from the
Time limit for user response before closing field.
-
Enable Allow user to postpone query if you want to allow the user to postpone the query.
- Click OK.
|
Registry values |
Can be used to inventory one or more registry values. To set the inventory filter:
-
Click Add to select the registry key to include in the inventory.
- In the Registry hive field, enter
-
In the Path to registry key field, enter the path to the registry key.
-
In the Registry key name field, browse to, or enter the registry key.
- To add the registry key, click Add.
-
If you want to add registry key, click
Clear to clear the registry key information you have already added, and repeat steps 2 through 5.
- Click OK.
|
Environment variables |
Can be used to collect information about all the environment variables for the user or computer. Both the variable names and their values will be inventoried.
|
Services |
Contains information about Windows Services including:
- Services name
- Start mode
- Current status
|
Networking |
Contains information about all network adapters including:
- Adapter name
- Type
- Mac address
- IP address
- DHCP server information
- Gateway
- WINS servers
|
Scheduler jobs |
Contains information about the configured tasks in the Task Scheduler including:
- Task name
- Command
- Time
- Result from last run
|
Active Directory information |
Contains information from Active Directory about this computer object including:
- Organizational Unit
- Location
- Description
|
Group Policy information |
Contains information about the group policy objects that are applied on the computer including:
- GPO name
- Version
- Link information
|
You will have the following options if you are in the user
configuration node:
Category | Description |
User information |
Contains general user information including:
- Profile size
- Max allowed size
- Home directory path
- User screen saver settings
- Excluded directories for profile replication
|
Files |
Can be used to inventory files. To set the inventory filter:
- Add to select the file expressions to include in the inventory.
-
In the Name of this file inventory field, enter the name that will be used to identify the found files in the report.
-
In the File name field, enter the name of the file or files to search for.
-
From the Root to start search in field select a search root from the environment variables.
-
In the Sub path field, enter a sub directory within the selected root directory.
-
To add the file expression to the list, click
Add.
-
If you want to add another file expression, click
Clear to clear the information in the file expression field and repeat steps 2 through 6.
|
Registry values | Can be used to inventory one or more registry values. |
Environmental variables |
Can be used to collect information about all the environment variables for the user or computer. Both the variable names and their values will be inventoried.
|
Active Directory information |
Contains information from Active Directory about this user object including:
- Organizational Unit
- E-mail address
- Full Name
- Location
- Description
|
Group Policy information |
Contains information about the group policy objects that are applied on the user including:
- GPO name
- Version
- Link information
|
- Click OK to save inventory settings.