Endpoint Protection

We have some VM's that are used to test software and they are rebuilt often. They always have the same computer name so I started noticing multiple entries in the SEPM console with the same computer name/account. Only one shows to be online. We have the information collector enabled and the user information is in the first computer name/account created in the SEPM console but the subsequent accounts dont have the information and the system is never prompted again to enter the information.

Anyone else seen this issue? Does Symantec use some type of SID when creating the account? If not I would think the computer name being the same would simply override the existing account.

Anyway to purge the extra entries? We have close to 40,000 systems and refresh/rebuild at least 500 a month. This could be a pain if we have multiple entries everywhere.

Version of Client and SEPM - RU5

https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/articles/hardware-change-causes-re-registration-which-generates-multiple-entries-sepm-database 

Thanks. Interesting that I'm using RU5 but the article states it was resolved in RU5. I'm also not using AD.

 https://www-secure.symantec.com/connect/forums/sql-query-duplicate-computers-sepm#comment-2781711

Hi,
With RU5 we did change the way the unique number, usually called the "Hardware key" is generated and stored.

In RU5, we now store the hardware key in a file on the disk. It is located at %ProgramFiles%\Common Files\Symantec Shared\HWID\sephwid.xml
If you want your new machines to appear as the same entry, you can backup this file and place it on your 'new' virtual machine. That way when the new virtual machine starts it will have the same ID and use the same entry in the SEPM server.