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What is the Inventory Collector?

  • Article

Applies To: Windows 7, Windows Vista

You configure and deploy the Inventory Collector, which is used to collect your software and hardware inventory, in the Application Compatibility Manager. Upon deployment, the Inventory Collector examines each of your organization's computers, identifying the installed applications, devices, and system information, returning the results to the Analyze screen of the Application Compatibility Manager.

Benefits of the Inventory Collector

The Inventory Collector provides the following benefits:

  • It enables you to identify all of the installed applications, devices, and system information within your organization.

  • It enables you to view the collected application, device, and system information through reports presented in the Application Compatibility Manager.

Common Inventory Collector Scenarios

The following sections describe common Inventory Collector scenarios.

Deploying the Inventory Collector

You create custom data-collection packages on the Collect screen of the Application Compatibility Manager. The Inventory Collector, which automatically appears in each data-collection package you create, is mandatory for the Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) to run properly.

Collecting Software Inventory

The Inventory Collector enables you to collect an inventory of installed applications, devices, and system information for the specified client computers that exist within your organization. You can configure a data-collection package by using the Application Compatibility Manager.

Note

The Inventory Collector is automatically included in any of your DCPs. After deploying the package to your environment, the Inventory Collector runs, collecting an inventory of applications and system data. At a specified time, the Application Compatibility Toolkit Data Collector (ACT-DC) uploads the data to your ACT database.

Viewing User Data

The Inventory Collector provides application, device, and system data, displaying it on the Analyze screen of the Application Compatibility Manager. You can view your data by application, application installation package, computer, or device.

Inventory Collector Dependencies

The following list includes all of the software that is required by the Inventory Collector to successfully run.

  • Supported Windows Operating System. A supported version of the Windows operating system is required on any computer that is running a component of the ACT. For more detailed information, based on component, see Software and Hardware Requirements for ACT 5.6.

  • Windows® Installer. The Windows Installer is required on any computer to which you will deploy the inventory collector, as it is necessary for the extraction of the DCP from the Windows Installer file.

  • Microsoft XML Core Services (MSXML) 6.0. MSXML 6.0 is only required on the computer from which you will run the ACT Log Processing Service.

The following list includes all of the software that is required by the Inventory Collector to successfully run.

Application Compatibility Manager

The Application Compatibility Manager works with the Inventory Collector to:

  • Configure the compatibility evaluator. The configuration process enables you to select when the Inventory Collector runs, how long it runs, where to log issues, and so on.

  • Provide reports about your client computers, including the installed applications, devices, and system information. You can view your data filtered by application, application installation package, computer, or device.

Application Compatibility Toolkit Data Collector (ACT-DC) and Inventory Collector

The Application Compatibility Toolkit Data Collector (ACT-DC) packages, installs, and deploys the Inventory Collector to your organization's client computers, for the purpose of collecting your application inventory. After installation, ACT-DC schedules the Inventory Collector to run, collecting information such as evidences, indicators, applications, and system properties. ACT-DC sends this information to your ACT database. The Inventory Collector uses the evidence to determine what applications are installed on each client computer, and uses the application properties to determine the potential compatibility issues for a new operating system.

Configuration Manifest

The configuration manifest contains all of the configurable settings used by the Inventory Collector. These settings include when and for how long the Inventory Collector runs, where to store the logs, and so on.

Bucketizer

The Bucketizer (Bucketizer.exe) is a post-processor that processes the raw XML information collected by the Inventory Collector into consolidated groups that are organized by application. It consolidates the data from other application inventory evaluators and sends the data to a centralized location. Consolidation of the data reduces the frequency of data transmissions and potentially reduces repetitive data transfers.

See Also

Concepts

Inventory Collector Technical Reference
Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit Data Collector (ACT-DC) Technical Reference
Phase 1: Collecting Your Compatibility Data