Chapter 1. About The System Information Center Program; Components; The System Information Center Program; The System Information Gatherer Program - Lenovo ThinkPad G40 Administrator's Manual

Chapter 1. About the System Information Center program

The System Information Center program provides ways for you to efficiently
manage asset inventory and details regarding each asset. Asset information is
gathered on client computers and delivered to a central built-in database provided
with the program. Or, information can be manually entered for non-personal
computer assets. After the information is entered in the database, you can
manipulate it and view it to generate a variety of reports or to perform a
multitude of tasks and advanced functions.
This chapter describes the following information about the System Information
program:
v "Components"
v "Architecture" on page 2
v "Features" on page 3

Components

The System Information Center program consists of two major components: the
IBM System Information Center program and the IBM System Information
Gatherer program. Each component has prerequisites for the System Information
Center program to run correctly.

The System Information Center program

The System Information Center program resides on a Web application server and
populates a database with information provided by the client agent (also called the
System Information Gatherer program). The program also renders information
provided by the client agent in a Web-based graphical user interface (GUI) where a
variety of functions (including generating reports, tasks, and specialized e-mails)
are performed.
Three types of user accounts can use the System Information Center program:
User, Super-User, and Administrator. Each user account has its own privileges,
with the Administrator having the most comprehensive authority. For details about
creating user accounts and the functions related to each account, see Chapter 4,
"Using the System Information Center program," on page 21.

The System Information Gatherer program

The System Information Gatherer program (also called the client agent) scans
computer assets (such as desktop, mobile, and server computers) for important
hardware and software information as well as for client security settings. In
addition, the client agent scans for other IBM ThinkVantage Technology
deployment information. ThinkVantage Technologies are predominantly software
innovations delivered through the IBM ThinkPad notebook and ThinkCentre
desktop computer brands. ThinkVantage Technologies make computing simpler
and safer by helping protect data, reduce costs, and increase user productivity. The
client agent also gathers a rich set of hardware information, including client
network name, serial and model number, processor type and speed, device drivers,
BIOS level and settings, network settings, and memory information.
© Copyright IBM Corp. 2004
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