How Inventory Dataloader Finds Matching Computers In SMS

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The Inventory Data Loader uses the Identification group in the MIF to determine how to search the database for a matching computer. The Identification group has a group class of "MICROSOFT|IDENTIFICATION|1.0". If any of the attributes in this group are designated as keys, then only those attributes are used for matching. If no key attributes are designated, all attributes in the Identification group will be used for matching. If there is an attribute named "SMSID" and if this attribute is a key attribute, it is used alone to identify a matching computer, even if other keys exist and do not match.

In Systems Management Server 1.1, there are the following attributes in the Identification group: Name, SMSID, Site, Domain, SMSLocation, SystemRole, SystemType, LogOnName, and NetCardID.

In Systems Management Server, Name, SMSID and NetCardID are defined as key attributes. The matching logic proceeds as follows:

1. An attempt is made to find a computer matching all key attributes (or all attributes if there are no keys). If this search finds a single computer, that computer is selected and no other searches are performed. If this search finds more than one computer, all the computers found are deleted, a RESYNC command is sent, and no other searches are performed. If no computers are found and there is no SMSID attribute, the computer defined in the MIF is considered to be a new computer. If no computers are found and an SMSID key attribute exists, proceed to step 2.
2. An attempt is made to find a computer with a matching SMSID. If this search finds more than one computer, all the computers found are deleted, a RESYNC command is sent, and no other searches are performed. If this search finds a single computer, that computer is selected and we proceed to step 3. If no computers are found by this search, proceed to step 3.
3. This query searches for all computers that have any key attributes in the Identification group with the same value as the computer being processed. (If there are no key attributes, all attributes in the Identification group are compared.) An event will be issued for each computer in the database that has one or more matching attributes. This query does not select a computer for update. If a computer was not found in either of the prior steps, the computer being processed is considered a new computer.