Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Inventory collection involves gathering information about a client computer's hardware and
software. You can collect inventory information through three primary methods:
■
Hardware inventory
Collects information about the hardware configuration of
client computers. Configuration Manager supports hardware inventory collection for
computers that are running supported Windows operating systems, Mac OS X, Linux,
and UNIX operating systems.
■
Software inventory
Collects information about files on client devices. Operating
systems that are not Windows-based do not support software inventory.
■
Asset Intelligence
Use in conjunction with and in addition to hardware inventory to
report software installations on client computers.
If you want to configure hardware and software inventory options that apply to the entire
hierarchy, do so using Default Client Settings. If you want to configure hardware and software
inventory options that only apply to a small number of computers, create custom client set-
tings and then assign them to specific collections.
EXAM TIP
Custom client settings override any settings that you configure within Default Client
Settings.
Inventory collection isn't limited to Configuration Manager. Microsoft Intune (formerly
Windows Intune) can collect hardware inventory from its clients. Integrating Intune with
Configuration Manager enables you to use the inventory information that Intune collects in
Configuration Manager.
When you integrate Intune with Configuration Manager, there are some differences
between what Intune inventories for personal devices and what it inventories for company-
owned devices. The following table illustrates the software inventory capability of Intune
when integrated with Configuration Manager.
TABLE 6-1
Intune inventory information
Platform
Personal devices
Company devices
Windows Phone 8/Windows Phone 8.1
Only managed apps
Only managed apps
Windows RT/Windows RT 8.1
Only managed apps
Only managed apps
Windows 8/Windows 8.1
Only managed apps
Only managed apps
iOS
Only managed apps
All installed apps
Android
Only managed apps
All installed apps
