SMS Inventory Tool for HP ProLiant and Integrity Update User Guide

cannot be guaranteed or supported by HP. You must perform adequate testing to ensure that your
chosen combination of individual components will integrate in your environment.
Manage distributions of specific components from within ProLiant and Integrity Support Packs. The
inventory tool simplifies the process of installing a single software module (a driver update, for
example) to a group of servers.
Monitor component installation and results. Log files are available to allow post-deployment audits of
updates.
Perform an inventory of certain hardware-specific information through the HP Insight Inventory
Collector.
The inventory tool supports installation of software from centralized software resources on the HP website,
as well as from CD media for environments that do not have access to the Internet.
Experienced SMS users will find the experience of using the inventory tool to be obvious and intuitive. HP
server customers will find that their familiarity with HP update resources simplifies their development of an
efficient SMS environment.
About this guide
This guide is intended for use by system integrators and network administrators who are familiar with HP
branded server and client system products and Microsoft® SMS 2003.
SMS 2003 and the inventory tool are both highly complex software systems that rely on many distributed
components and network-based external resources to function correctly. For even the most highly
experienced users, successful installation of the product is highly dependent on following the detailed
installation instructions included in this guide. A clear understanding of the product architecture is
important.
Use of this guide and other suggested resources is critical in installing, using, and troubleshooting the
inventory tool. For detailed setup and installation instructions, see the
SMS Inventory Tool for HP ProLiant
and Integrity Update Setup and Installation Guide. To troubleshoot installation and configuration problems
with the inventory tool, see the SMS Inventory Tool for HP ProLiant and Integrity Update Troubleshooting
Assistant.
Benefits
The SMS Inventory Tool for HP ProLiant and Integrity Update is available from, and supported by HP and
Microsoft® and provides the following functionality:
Enabling users that choose to use SMS to enjoy all the advantages of the HP software update
infrastructure
Facilitating updates of ProLiant and Integrity system software with the same tool many users choose
to manage Windows® components updates
Simplifying options for SMS users by functioning completely within the scope of SMS 2003. There
are no features unique to HP that users must understand.
Supporting distribution of both ProLiant or Integrity Support Packs and individual software
components
Providing automated HP Insight Inventory Collector installation
Is available from, and supported by, HP and Microsoft®
Complementing the full line of HP management tools
Overview 7