Discovery and Inventory Group

Target Systems Not Running Inventory

If target systems are not running Inventory, here are the questions to ask:

1. Does the system have the Plug-in?

2. Is the computer part of the target filter for the policies?

3. Does a custom schedule have an End Date that’s passed?

4. Does the schedule only run once?

Does the system have the Plug-in?

This question has two answers that indicate a problem. One is that it does not have the plug-in. The second is it has the plug-in, but it is not running valid scheduled Inventory Policies or Tasks. For the first answer where the plug-in is not installed, please refer to the section Verify Plug-in Install found previously in this article. This section walks through to validate if it is installed or if it is not, and what to do to install it.

If you find yourself in the situation where the plug-in is installed but inventory is not running, this may indicate a corrupt install of the Plug-in. To resolve this situation, please walk through the following steps:

1. In the Symantec Management Console, browse under Settings > Agents / Plugins > All Agents / Plugins > browse in the left-hand pane under Discovery and Inventory > Windows / UNIX / Linux / Mac, and click on Inventory Plug-in Uninstall.
2. Make sure you delete the current target of the policy, as it is targeted to all systems that have the Inventory Plug-in installed.
    
3. Use the Apply to > Computers section to add the systems that are having this issue. You can create a filter beforehand or add computers individually in the Target.
4. Typically the Run once ASAP will work the first time you run this policy against systems. If you’ve used this policy before, you’ll need to use the Add schedule > Scheduled Time so systems run this policy again. Also note if you’ve used a previous schedule, delete the schedule and recreate to ensure it runs against all targeted systems.
5. Enable the policy and Save changes.
6. Wait the sufficient amount of time so all systems have run the uninstall policy.
7. Run a Delta Membership Update to ensure all filters are updated.
8. In the Symantec Management Console browse under Settings > Agents / Plugins > All Agents / Plugins > browse in the left-hand pane under Discovery and Inventory > Windows / UNIX / Linux / Mac, and click on Inventory Plug-in Install.
9. Click on the Apply to row and click the Edit pencil.
10. Click the Update results button. Review the list of returned systems to ensure the right systems show up. If they do not, you may need to wait additional time for the uninstall and filter updates to occur.
     
11. Likely this will already be enabled, but no specific schedule will be assigned. To get these systems that have previously run it to install, create a new schedule by:
    1. 1. Under the Schedule section, click Add schedule > Scheduled Time.
       2. Provide a time such as 00:10 with no repeat. This schedule should run as soon as systems receive the install policy.
12. Click Save changes.
13. The policy will now run and reinstall the Inventory Plug-in.

Is the computer part of the target filter for the policies?

By default all systems with the Inventory Plug-in are assigned to the three default policies. This ensures systems run Inventory as they should. However not all users use the default policies. When new policies are created, new filters or targets may be applied. I have often come across issues where a client has no enabled Inventory policies based on filter and target settings.

To validate if a computer is part of your Inventory Policies, go through this process.

1. 1. In the Symantec Management Console, browse under Manage > Policies and browse in the lefthand tree under Discovery and Inventory > Inventory > and select one of the enabled policies.
   2. Expand the Applies To / Compliance section.
   3. In the View: dropdown, select Computers and users.
   4. In the search field to the right, type in the name of the computer in question.
   5. The system should show up if it is properly applied to this policy, even if it has never run it for whatever reason. If the computer does not show up the filter or target rules excludes this system.
   6. To address, change the View: dropdown back to Applied by.
   7. Double-click on the row you wish to review. Each row represents a target. Review the rules to see why the computer is not included. Reasons may include:
      1. Computer is part of an exclude filter.
      2. The selected filter for inclusion does not include the computer.
      3. A computer list for exclusion includes the computer.
      4. The computer is not applied as part of a computer list.
   8. Repeat the process for each policy as needed.
   9. You can either adjust the filter or add the computer to an include computer list to ensure the system or systems are covered.
   10. For groups of computers the same steps apply, but the exclusions or inclusions should be viewed in relation to the missing group.