Troubleshooting Software Inventory (4306126)

There are two types of inventory with the KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA). The appliance collects hardware and software data from agent-managed and agentless devices according to the KACE SMA data collection settings.

For agent-managed devices, software inventory information is available on both the Software and Software Catalog pages. This KB is meant to help with troubleshooting the process that runs to collect this data from the device.

There are times when it may be necessary to identify the location we found the software and at other times it may be necessary to troubleshoot why the process is not completing altogether. This KB will explain how to run inventory.exe with a debug trigger to gather additional information.

For more information on how to view the software catalog information, see the Viewing Software Catalog Information section in the administrator guide located on the SMA Technical Documents page.

Note: This is not to be confused with the agent inventory process or kinventory.exe, which collects device inventory, results in inventory.xml, and is located in C:\Program Files (x86)\Quest\KACE

To run Software Inventory locally with debugging:

1. Create the directory C:\temp
   1. Alternatively, replace C:\temp in the instructions below with the desired location
   2. Suggested to not use the Quest KACE directories for this test
2. Open a CMD prompt, Run as Administrator
3. cd C:\Program Files (x86)\Quest\KACE
4. cmd: inventory.exe -D -U -H -L C:\temp

​

Note: After this has completed, it should be possible to gather the following logs for review: C:\temp\InventoryData.software and C:\Program Files (x86)\Quest\KACE\Inventory.log

Contact KACE Technical Support for any assistance with running or reviewing logs.

Notice: The information in the script(s) provided is known to work successfully; however, they have not been officially tested by our Quality Control.

If any of these instructions are changed and/or incorrectly used, intentionally or unintentionally, this solution becomes unsupported by our Support and Development.

Support and Development recommend always making a backup of the current database prior to execution of any script(s) that may modify it.

For customization of the KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA), please contact our Professional Services Organization.

To create a script from the SMA to run software inventory with debugging:

1. Go to Scripting | Choose Action | New
2. Name the script
3. In the Description or Notes, place the URL for this KB
4. In Operating System, click on Manage Operating Systems
5. Uncheck All
6. Check Windows
7. Click OK
8. Add a test device under Devices
9. Run as Local System
10. Set a notify if you wish
11. Schedule can stay None and be ran on demand
12. Allow run without a logged-in user
13. +New Task
14. Verify
    1. Add
    2. Verify a directory exists 
    3. Directory: C:\temp
    4. Save Changes
15. On Success
    1. Add
       1. Launch a program
       2. Directory: C:\Program Files (x86)\Quest\KACE
       3. File: Inventory.exe
       4. Check box next to Wait for completion
       5. Parameters: -D -U -H -L  C:\temp
       6. Save Changes
    2. Add second task under On Success
       1. Upload a file
       2. Directory: C:\temp
       3. File: InventoryData.software
       4. Save Changes
    3. Add third task under On Success
       1. Upload a file
       2. Directory: C:\Program Files (x86)\Quest\KACE
       3. File: Inventory.log
       4. Save Changes
16. Save script

Note: After running the script, the necessary files can be saved from the Device Detail page for the device by using right click, save as from Inventory | Devices | Name of the Device | Uploads section.

Note: The script can be run on demand using Run Now or a schedule can be set as well. If a schedule is set, newer uploaded files with the same name will replace the previous ones on the Device Detail page.