(Windows only)
Several components work together to identify the detected software and to create a software resource for that software in the Software Catalog . By default, most of the Software Catalog Data Provider (SCDP) components perform automatically. To have Inventory Solution work with the SCDP, in the inventory policy or task, ensure that the following checkboxes are checked:
■ Software – Windows Add/Remove Programs and UNIX/Linux/Mac software packages
■ File properties - manufacturer, version, size, internal name, etc.
See“About using Inventory Solution with the Software Catalog Data Provider” on page 102.
Table 7-5 Software Catalog Data Provider components Description
Component
This component is installed with Inventory Solution. It contains a data file with a list of known applications and predefined software products such as Microsoft, Adobe, and Symantec products. This data file is updated regularly to include new applications, versions of applications, and predefined software products.
Software Catalog Data Provider component.
When the database of known applications and predefined software products is installed, this task automatically imports the list of known applications and predefined software products into the CMDB.
To view this read-only task, in the Symantec Management Console, on the Settings menu, click All Settings > Software > Data Provider > Providers > Software Catalog
Data Provider.
Software Catalog Data Provider task.
This summary is the list of known applications that has been automatically imported into the CMDB.
To view this list, in the Symantec Management Console, on the Settings menu, click
Console > Views, and then in the left pane, click Software > Data Provider Summary.
For more information, see the topics about the Data Provider Summary page and about gathering available software resources in the Symantec Management Platform
User Guide.
Data provider summary.
103 Gathering software inventory
Table 7-5 Software Catalog Data Provider components (continued) Description
Component
Software products are collections of one or many software components that administrators and users intend to purchase, license, inventory, and manage. SCDP provides software product definitions that let you distinguish which software components on your client computers can be defined as a software product. The list of predefined software products includes the programs about which companies are most concerned in terms of managing software licenses and being prepared for software audits. For example, the list includes Microsoft, Adobe, and Symantec products.
Predefined software products have the product name, the product version, and the associated application files.
Predefined software products let you easily perform the following actions at the product level:
■ Meter application usage
■ Track and manage software licenses
See“Tracking usage of the managed software products”on page 121. For more information, see the topics about managing software licenses in the
Asset Management Suite User Guide.
You can view the predefined software products that are installed and discovered in your environment in the Software Catalog, in the Managed software products list or in the Unmanaged software list.
Predefined software products.
Run an inventory policy or task with the following checkboxes checked:
■ Software – Windows Add/Remove Programs and UNIX/Linux/Mac software packages.
■ File properties - manufacturer, version, size, internal name, etc.
By default, the Collect Full Inventory policy runs every Monday at 18.00 (6:00 P.M., agent time).
The software inventory data is gathered and entered into the CMDB. Inventory policy or task.
Gathering software inventory
How Inventory Solution works with the Software Catalog Data Provider
Table 7-5 Software Catalog Data Provider components (continued) Description
Component
This task compares the gathered software inventory to the list of known applications (software resources) in the CMDB. By default, this task runs every Wednesday. You can also schedule a new task.
For more information, see the topics about schedules in the Symantec Management
Platform User Guide.
To view the task, in the Symantec Management Console, on the Settings menu, click
All Settings > Software > Data Provider > Software Catalog Data Provider Inventory.
If the data matches, the application data is automatically imported into the Software Catalog.
The software resource is created with the minimum metadata that consists of company (vendor) name, software name, and version. If the software resource is already in the Software Catalog, precedence settings determine if it can update the data.
For more information, see the topics about precedence settings in the Symantec
Management Platform User Guide.
Software Catalog Data Provider Inventory task.
A predefined event that automatically runs on Notification Server every time a new software component is discovered and imported into the CMDB.
This event compares the software components that software inventory discovers with the predefined software products. If there is a match, the event associates the discovered software components with the relevant predefined software product and moves the product to the Software Catalog, to the Managed software products list. The discovered software components become a managed software product. Note:If a manufacturer does not provide the version of its software, a version is not populated for the relevant software component. As a result, the software component does not get dynamically associated with a proper predefined software product. See“Managing software using the predefined nightly task NS.Nightly schedule to associate Software component to software product”on page 117.
For more information, see the topics about managing software in the Altiris™ IT
Management Suite 7.1 from Symantec™ Enhanced Console Views Getting Started Guide
at the following URL:
http://www.symantec.com/docs/DOC3563 Dynamic real-time
association event.
A list of software applications that have been discovered using software inventory and have not matched the list of known applications and predefined software products. To view the list, in the Symantec Management Console, on the Manage menu, click
Software, and then in the left pane, under Installed Software, click Newly Discovered Software.
Newly Discovered Software
report.
105 Gathering software inventory
Gathering software inventory
How Inventory Solution works with the Software Catalog Data Provider