Asset Manager Retrieval Advice

[jaymdouglas]

I am in the process of completing a new asset management system for our company, and now I am looking for some advice on how to retreive info from the users computers and keep it updated (roughly 200 and growing)

I am aware of WMI, and am looking into it now, but whats the best practice.

1. Have a VB app where the user runs weekly to scan the PC and update the DB.
2. A script which runs upon logging onto the network, which runs WMI and updates the DB.
3. A web page (.NET) which they visit weekly to perform the WMI task and update the DB.

We are runing a Windows network with Active Directory if that helps.

Any ideas would be great. Thanks...

[mendhak]

A logon script would be useful as it won't interfere with any other processing that may occur on their system at the time. #1 would feel like 'interference' and slow down their machine, #3 just won't happen. Nobody wants to take the time out to do something for your convenience since it doesn't benefit them in any way.

[jaymdouglas]

Thats the way we were leaning anyway, a script would run when the computer logs onto the network and pools the information and then posts / updates the SQL Server DB with its specs.

Does anyone have any tutorials on accessing SQL Server through a console / script. I am not even sure where to start with regards to that...

[mendhak]

How's your VBScript? You can create your scripts with JavaScript, VBScript, or make it a .BATch file or an EXE.