Inventory information can be collected from clients outside the network as well as from connected clients. An unconnected client or other client not registered in the JP1/Software Distribution system configuration is known as an offline machine. You can collect inventory information from an offline machine by email or by using storage media such as a floppy disk, CD-R, or MO disk.

The following figure shows the concept of acquiring inventory information from an offline machine.

Figure 2-13 Acquiring inventory information from an offline machine

For details about how to acquire inventory information from offline machines, see 7.7.2 Collecting inventory and operation information from offline machines in the manual Administrator's Guide Volume 1.

To collect inventory information from an offline machine, the JP1/Software Distribution system must be using:

• A relational database
• Host IDs
• Remote Installation Manager running on the same machine as the central manager

Note that you cannot collect only modified inventory information from an offline machine. Also, when you install JP1/Software Distribution Client on a computer to be managed as an offline machine, you must set a question mark (?) as the host name or IP address of the connection destination.

The inventory information collected from offline machines is managed in an offline folder. This folder is handled as a virtual relay system; there is no actual machine. In the System Configuration window and Destination window, the name {OFFLINE} represents an offline folder.

If an offline machine for which inventory information was previously managed in an offline folder is registered into the system configuration, that client is moved from the offline folder as soon as the system configuration information is reported from the client to the central manager.

If you use the facility for collecting inventory information from an offline machine to acquire inventory information from a client registered in the system configuration, that client is not moved to the offline folder; only its inventory information is updated.