Step by step troubleshooting of Hardware Inventory in SCCM 2012

Hello Friends

Hope this post finds you in good health and spirit. I was quite indulged with latest version of SCCM in recent times. One point on which every SCCM admin will agree is that logs play a pivotal role in troubleshooting SCCM issues and if we know the flow of troubleshooting it will be very easy for us to get things in place.

I will write series of post with step by step troubleshooting of most important features of SCCM and the first post of this series will be how to troubleshoot hardware inventory. So, here we begin.

To troubleshoot any process, it is very important to understand the flow of process. Lets understand how hardware inventory works.

1. Configuration Manager inventory agents create inventory data files that list the collected data as per the configuration at server side (Remember, you may extend inventory using mif and mof files).
2. Clients send the inventory data files to the management points.
3. The management points convert the data to the Configuration Manager format and send the data to the site server.
4. The site server updates the site database.
5. Configuration Manager categorizes inventory data as site data, and stores it in the primary site. However, it replicates that data to a central administration site by using replication through Microsoft SQL Server, in case you have CAS on top of your hierarchy.
   From the central administration site, you can view the site data, but you cannot change it.

So, this is workflow of hardware inventory if everything works fine. But what to do if you have error?

I will illustrate logs which need to be checked at every step in below picture.

Lets discuss these logs:

1. Inventoryagent.log contains details about inventory cycle. You will find it at client side.
2. IIS logs has details about the loaded inventory data on MP. You will find IP address of client whose data is uploaded on MP. If successful entry exists then it means that data from client is now loaded on MP.
3. Once MP recieves client inventory it converts it in suitable format at load in its outbox so that it will be transferred to site server to be next written in database. You can verify it from MP_Hinv.log at MP.
4. Inventory data will be next written in site database. The details will be in dataldr.log.
5. Database replication between site will be in rcmctrl.log.

If hardware inventory is not working for you, check these logs in same flow. If you find error in any of these logs, check the details and start troubleshooting from there. These logs are illustrated in detail here:

http://www.enhansoft.com/blog/troubleshooting-inventory-flow

So, thats all in this post. See you soon with some other technical stuff. Till then take good care of yourself and “Happy Valentine Day”.