Applies To
Express Software Manager version 4.x through 5.x

Summary
This technical note explains how to consolidate inventory data from workstations at remote sites that have saturated or slow wide area network (WAN) connections. It includes procedures for collecting the inventory files on a local server--without using a standard Express library--and sending them to a central location to be imported into a fully functioning Express library.

Collecting Inventory Data Without Using an Express Library
Express Metrix recognizes the difficulty of consolidating libraries from remote sites using saturated or slow WAN links. As an alternative, you can inventory all of the workstations and collect the zipped data files on a local server without creating a standard Express library. The zipped files can then be transferred to a central location and imported into a fully functioning Express library.

Using this approach, you can

• Avoid consolidating remote site libraries over slow WAN links, thereby eliminating the waiting time.

• Conserve the limited space on the remote server by creating fewer, smaller files.

• Reduce traffic across the WAN link.

1. At the remote site, create a new folder on a central server or shared Windows NT 4.0 workstation. This folder will be used to collect each workstation's inventory files. In the example for this technical note, the folder is named \\Faraway\Inv.

Note: For the server or share, be sure to use UNC path names that comply with the 8.3 format. Users must have Read/Write/Create or comparable permissions to this folder.

2. Run Invrmt.exe from the Remote Client folder, which by default is located in C:\Program Files\Express Metrix\Express Console\ResKit\Remote Client.
   1. When prompted for the destination folder, browse to \\Faraway\Inv.

   2. Follow the prompts to install the remote client files to that location.

   3. Just before finishing, select not to start the remote client.

1. Run Exrem.exe in \\Faraway\Inv. This can be done either manually or from a login script.

2. Respond to the questions posed by the User Defined Fields Client and then click OK.

Note: The information collected by the User Defined Fields Client can be modified in the Exuser.ini file in the \\Faraway\Inv directory.

Sending and Importing the Inventory Files
When all the workstations have been inventoried, follow these steps to transfer the data to a central location, where it can be imported into a fully functioning library.

1. Move all of the w*.zip files in the \\Faraway\Inv folder from the remote site to a server at your central location. The data can be transferred in a number of ways, including on a laptop, a portable zip disk, or via FTP.

2. At the central location, open Express Console and the library to which the *.inv files will be imported.

3. On the Tools menu, point to Remote Client, and click Import Remote Client Files.

4. Navigate to the folder where you moved the w*.zip files from \\Faraway\Inv, and click Open.

On the Tools menu, point to Library and click Update Database. Express Reports and the Express Console for this library now include the inventory information from the remote workstations.

\\Faraway\Inv\Exrem.exe

Related Technical Notes

1337	Ghosted Computers and Express Software Manager 4.x through 5.x
1565	Collecting Inventory Data from a Remote Site using Express Software Manager 6.0
9991	Express Software Manager Technical Notes (5.x or lower)