IUpdateServer.RegisterComputer(String)

Article
08/07/2009

Registers a client computer with the WSUS server.

public IComputerTarget RegisterComputer(StringcomputerName);

Public Function RegisterComputer( _
  ByVal computerName As String _
) As IComputerTarget
Implements IUpdateServer.RegisterComputer

Parameters

computerName
Name of the client computer to add. For example, if the client is a member of a domain, use the fully qualified domain name (name.domain.corp.com). The name must be less than 256 characters.

Return Value

An IComputerTarget that represents the specified client computer. Use the instance to add the client to a group.

Exceptions

Exception type	Condition
System.ArgumentException	The name contains a character that is not valid.
System.ArgumentNullException	computerName cannot be null.
System.ArgumentOutOfRangeException	computerName cannot be an empty string and must be less than 256 characters.
WsusObjectAlreadyExistsException	A client with the specified name is already registered.

Remarks

Typically, client computers register themselves the first time they contact the WSUS server. You can use this method to pre-register the computer so you can use the client information for planning purposes.

The name that you specify must match the name that is used by the client when the client first contacts the WSUS server. If the names match, WSUS updates the temporary IComputerTarget.Id value of the client you registered to the unique identifier that is specified by the client. If the names do not match, the client will register itself, leaving the client that you pre-registered untouched.

If you try to retrieve the client using the temporary value after WSUS changes the identifier, you will receive a WsusObjectNotFoundException exception.

This method validates that the specified computer name is well-formed according to DNS standards, but does not verify that the name exists.

The client is placed in the All Computers group and the Unassigned Computers group. If the server's targeting mode is Server, call IComputerTargetGroup.AddComputerTarget to move the client from the Unassigned Computers group to another group.

Example Code

The following example shows how to query computers from a fictitious Accounting organizational unit in Active Directory, register them in WSUS, and move them to the Accounting group. The server variable that is used in the example is an instance of IUpdateServer (for information on retrieving an IUpdateServer instance, see AdminProxy.GetUpdateServer).

//Reference the Directory Services namespace.
using System.DirectoryServices;

try
{
   IComputerTargetGroup accounting; //The example assumes this has already been set.
   IComputerTarget client;

   //Use the DCs to specify the full domain server name (name.domain.corp.com)
   DirectoryEntry root = new DirectoryEntry("LDAP://OU=Accounting, DC=<name>, DC=<domain>, DC=<corp>, DC=com");
   DirectorySearcher searcher = new DirectorySearcher(root);
   searcher.SearchScope = SearchScope.OneLevel;
   searcher.Filter = "(objectClass=computer)";

   foreach (SearchResult result in searcher.FindAll())
   {
      String fullClientName = (String)result.GetDirectoryEntry().Properties["dnsHostName"].Value;

      if (null != fullClientName)
      {
         client = server.RegisterComputer(fullClientName);

         if (TargetMode.Server == server.GetConfiguration().TargetingMode)
         { 
            accounting.AddComputerTarget(client);
         }
      }
   }
}
catch (System.Runtime.InteropServices.COMException e)
{
   Console.WriteLine("Error retrieving computer name from Active Directory.");
}
catch (WsusObjectAlreadyExistsException e)
{
   Console.WriteLine("The client, {0}, already exists.\n{1}", fullClientName, e.Message);
}

Requirements

Server	Requires Windows Server 2003 or Windows 2000 Server SP4 and later.
Namespace	Defined in Microsoft.UpdateServices.Administration.
Assembly	Requires Microsoft.UpdateServices.Administration (in Microsoft.UpdateServices.Administration.dll).
.NET Framework	Requires .NET Framework 1.1.

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