Client Management Suite

Do you want to know what systems are and are not ready for a Windows 7 migration? Two reports are to be included in Inventory Solution 7.0 SP2, but this release is still several months away as of the writing/posting of this article. Since Windows 7 has already been released, the Symantec Inventory team wanted to provide the upcoming reports so that you may see what systems are ready and which ones are not ready for a Windows 7 migration.

Introduction

Windows 7 is the most anticipated release of Windows since Windows XP. Vista, while beautiful, required high-end machines and introduced features that many users and administrators alike did not want. With Windows 7 now available, Microsoft has provided a more user-friendly Operating System built off the Vista platform. So are you ready for this release? Let Inventory Solution 7.0 provide you with this information.

Inventory Solution already captures the information necessary to make the call whether a machine is ready or not, even before the 7.0 SP2 release. It is only the reports that are missing. This article walks you through importing the reports, including some preparatory steps, and pinpoints what parts of the Inventory are required to have the necessary data.

The two reports included in this article are:

1. Systems Not Windows 7 Capable
2. Systems with Windows 7 Capable Hardware

Configuring Inventory

The first thing to do is to ensure that Inventory is running in a way that gives you the necessary data. Out of the box Full Inventory will run once weekly. This schedule allows any latent or out of sync data to be updated by the week, limiting the time the inventory between a client and the server may be out of sync. If you haven't changed this default schedule, most recommended settings are already in place. The following walkthrough sets the recommended settings:

1. If you are not on SP1 for Inventory Solution 7.0 please upgrade before completing these steps.
2. In the Symantec Management Console, browse under Manage > Policies
3. In the left-hand tree browse down under Policies > Discovery and Inventory > Inventory > and select Collect Full Inventory.
4. Set the radial button under Ensure my inventory is current to Weekly.
5. Check all options under Select the types of inventory to gather.
6. Click the Advanced button.
7. Check all boxes under Inventory data classes if not already checked.
8. Click the Run Options tab.
9. If checked, uncheck the option for Send inventory changes (deltas) only.
10. Set the inventory process priority to Low. This is recommended as we've found the Normal setting is more aggressive than it should be so users do not notice a resource impact when inventory is executing.
11. If not already checked, check the option for Report detailed file inventory immediately. See this screenshot for an example of the configuration:
    

    

12. Click OK to save any changes.
13. Under the Applies to/Compliance section ensure you are targeting all machines you wish to collect Inventory on.
14. Click Save changes to apply any changes made to the Inventory Policy.
15. Done!

If there are any changes you wish to make to the File Rules, there is a known issue. Please use the following process to avoid the known issue:

• https://kb.altiris.com/article.asp?article=49909&p=1

View Creation

The new reports require a new view in order to run successfully. In SP2 this view will be automatically created, but if you wish to use these reports now, the view must be created beforehand. The following steps walk you through creating this view:

1. Following these steps the new stored procedure is listed.
2. Open SQL Management Studio.
3. Connect to the SQL Instance containing the Symantec_CMDB database.
4. Open a query window pointed to the Symantec_CMDB database.
5. Take the contents of the Stored Procedure and paste them into the Query window, as shown:
   

   

6. Execute the Query. This will create the new Stored Procedure.

DECLARE @sql NVARCHAR (MAX)
IF (EXISTS (SELECT * FROM sys.views WHERE Name = 'vHWComputerSystem'))
                           DROP VIEW vHWComputerSystem
IF ((SELECT COUNT (1) FROM sys.tables WHERE Name = 'Inv_AeX_HW_Physical_Disk') = 1)
                           SET @sql = 'CREATE VIEW vHWComputerSystem
  AS
  SELECT
                           Inv_HW_Logical_Device.[_ResourceGuid] ,
                           Inv_HW_Computer_System.[Identifying Number],
                           Inv_HW_Computer_System.[Number Of Processors],
                           Inv_HW_Computer_System.[Total Physical Memory (Bytes)],
                           Inv_HW_Logical_Device.[Description],
                           Inv_HW_Logical_Device.[Device Class],
                           Inv_HW_Logical_Device.[Manufacturer],
                           Inv_HW_Logical_Device.[Model],
                           Inv_HW_Logical_Device.[Device ID]
  FROM Inv_HW_Logical_Device INNER JOIN Inv_HW_Computer_System ON
  Inv_HW_Logical_Device.[Device ID] = Inv_HW_Computer_System.[Device ID]
                           AND Inv_HW_Logical_Device.[_ResourceGuid] = Inv_HW_Computer_System.[_ResourceGuid]
                           INNER JOIN (SELECT SUM (Inv_HW_Physical_Memory.[Capacity (Bytes)]) [RAM], _ResourceGuid FROM Inv_HW_Physical_Memory GROUP BY _ResourceGuid) temp
                           ON temp._ResourceGuid = Inv_HW_Computer_System._ResourceGuid

   UNION ALL

   SELECT
                              temp.[_ResourceGuid][_ResourceGuid] ,
                              ISNULL (b.[Serial Number],'') [Identifying Number],
                              c.[Number] [Number of Processors],
                              temp.[Count] [Total Physical Memory (Bytes)],
                              '' [Description],
                              NULL [Device Class],
                              ISNULL (b.[System Manufacturer],'') [Manufacturer],
                              ISNULL (b.[Computer Model],'') [Model],
                              ISNULL (CAST (b.UUID AS NVARCHAR (MAX)),'') [Device ID]
                               from (Select SUM (CAST (pd.[Size (MB)] as Decimal (10,0)) * 1024 * 1024) [Count],pd._ResourceGuid from dbo.Inv_AeX_HW_Physical_Disk pd group by pd._ResourceGuid) temp
                              LEFT join Inv_AeX_HW_Serial_Number b
                                   on temp._ResourceGuid = b._ResourceGuid
                              LEFT join Inv_AeX_HW_CPU c
                                   on c._ResourceGuid = temp._ResourceGuid
   WHERE
   c.[_ResourceGuid] NOT IN (SELECT Inv_HW_Logical_Device.[_ResourceGuid] FROM Inv_HW_Logical_Device)'
ELSE
                           SET @sql = 'CREATE VIEW vHWComputerSystem
  AS
                           SELECT 
  Inv_HW_Logical_Device.[_ResourceGuid] , 
  Inv_HW_Computer_System.[Identifying Number], 
  Inv_HW_Computer_System.[Number Of Processors], 
  temp.[RAM] [Total Physical Memory (Bytes)], 
  Inv_HW_Logical_Device.[Description], 
  Inv_HW_Logical_Device.[Device Class], 
  Inv_HW_Logical_Device.[Manufacturer], 
  Inv_HW_Logical_Device.[Model], 
  Inv_HW_Logical_Device.[Device ID] 
                           FROM Inv_HW_Logical_Device INNER JOIN Inv_HW_Computer_System ON 
                           Inv_HW_Logical_Device.[Device ID] = Inv_HW_Computer_System.[Device ID] 
                            AND Inv_HW_Logical_Device.[_ResourceGuid] = Inv_HW_Computer_System.[_ResourceGuid]
                           INNER JOIN (SELECT SUM (Inv_HW_Physical_Memory.[Capacity (Bytes)]) [RAM], _ResourceGuid FROM Inv_HW_Physical_Memory GROUP BY _ResourceGuid) temp
                           ON temp._ResourceGuid = Inv_HW_Computer_System._ResourceGuid'
EXEC (@sql)

Importing the Inventory Reports

The last step before actually running the reports is to import them. The following process walks through the import process:

1. Save the attached XML files on the Notification Server (or on a system running the Symantec Management Console).
2. In the Symantec Management Console browse under Reports > All Reports.
3. Browse in the left-hand pane under Reports > Discovery and Inventory > Inventory > Windows > Upgrade Analysis > Windows Upgrade.
4. Right-click on the Windows Upgrade folder and choose Import.
5. After clicking import it will redirect you to a browser page.
6. Browse to the path where you saved the XMLs in Step 1.
7. Select Systems with Windows 7 Capable Hardware.xml file and click the Open button.
8. Wait for the import to complete and the console to refresh.
9. Repeat steps 4, 5 and 6.
10. Select Systems Not Windows 7 Capable.xml file and click Open button.
11. Done!

Report Usage

To finish, here is an introduction into using these two new reports. When you select one of the new reports in the left-hand tree, you'll receive the default results. You can change the following parameters, listed with their defaults:

• Domain: --Any--
• Computer Name: %
• OS Architecture: 32-bit
• Using XP Virtual Mode: N

Since the report executes automatically any changes to the defaults will require waiting until the initial execution returns results.

The defaults for the report provide a snapshot based on the requirements for Windows 7. You may hold a higher standard for hardware than the defaults. If so, the report will need to be cloned to enable the Edit function. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on the report, either Systems with Windows 7 Capable Hardware or Systems Not Windows 7 Capable.
2. Choose Clone.
3. Provide a name to differentiate this version of the report from the Default, such as Systems with Higher Windows 7 Capable Hardware.
4. Once the new cloned report loads, click the Edit button in the upper right corner.
5. In the Parameterized Query you'll find the defaults for Memory, CPU, and Free Hard Disk space. Consult a SQL DBA on how the values can be adjusted. See the following screenshot for an example:
   NOTE: Be sure to edit a clone so that any undesirable results can simply be deleted.
   

   

6. Save any changes and give the report a test run!
7. Be sure to make the same change to the opposite report so you don't get a different story between the two reports. For example of you raise the required memory from 1GB and 2GB, you need to have this reflected in both reports so they agree.

Conclusion

Now that these reports are available, you can take a look at your environment to see what systems are ready to be upgraded to Windows 7. You can also list what systems are not capable, according to the system specifications. This will help you know what a migration to Windows 7 will require, accounting for system upgrades or for avoiding deploying to a system that doesn't fit the minimum requirements.