From the System Configuration window or Destination window of JP1/Software Distribution Manager, you can search for the destinations that satisfy a specified condition. There are three types of searches:

• Search using a name as the key value, such as a host group name or an ID group name
• Search using a date as the key value, such as a host registration date or the last update date for inventory information
• Search for duplicate hosts (hosts whose host IDs are different but their MAC address, IP address, or host names are the same)

You use these search functions to maintain the system configuration information, such as by copying the resulting hosts to the Destination window or deleting them from the system configuration information.

Note that you can execute searches by date and searches for duplicate hosts only from the System Configuration window.

For details about how to manually maintain the system configuration information using the search functions, see 9.1 Maintaining the system configuration information manually in the Setup Guide.

You can maintain the system configuration information by automatically detecting unneeded hosts and deleting them from the system configuration information, host groups, and ID groups. This function is called automatic system configuration maintenance. There are two types of automatic system configuration maintenance:

• For a JP1/Software Distribution system that acquires inventory information periodically, there is a function that automatically deletes hosts whose inventory information has not been updated for a specified period time.
• For hosts whose host IDs are different but their MAC address, IP address, or host names are the same, there is a function that automatically deletes the hosts that have old update dates/times (retains only the host with the most recent update date/time).

The deletion processing occurs once a day starting at a specified time. Note that automatic system configuration maintenance does not delete the following hosts:

• Relay managers
• Relay systems
• Clients running on the same PC as a relay manager or relay system

The information that is automatically deleted when a client is deleted from the system configuration information is the same as in manual system configuration maintenance. For details, see 9.1.5 Deleting a host from the system configuration information in the Setup Guide.

To use automatic system configuration maintenance, the JP1/Software Distribution system must satisfy the following conditions:

• During setup of JP1/Software Distribution Manager and JP1/Software Distribution Client (relay system), the Link with system configuration modifications check box is selected.
• Host IDs are used.

Methods of maintaining created host groups include editing them in the Destination window or importing data from a file. However, in a large-scale system with thousands of hosts, it is onerous for the system administrator to add and delete host groups frequently.

JP1/Software Distribution provides a facility that monitors the system configuration information to detect new hosts and moved hosts, and that adds the detected hosts to appropriate host groups on the basis of predefined grouping conditions (policy). This facility is called automatic maintenance of host groups. Such maintenance is performed at the following times:

• Upon notification of system configuration information from a client
• Upon notification of system information from a client
• Upon notification of user inventory information from a client

The following figure shows an overview of automatic maintenance of host groups.

Figure 2-54 Overview of automatic maintenance of host groups

Maintenance of host groups can be performed at any time, not just upon notification of information from clients. Therefore, hosts registered in the system configuration information can be added to host groups in batches according to a created policy at any time (Apply Policies to All Hosts).

For details about how to apply policies to host groups, see 9.3.2 Applying policies to all host groups in the Setup Guide.

You can also create policies from a file. By importing or exporting such files, you can back up or swap existing policies in and out. For details on creating a policy from a file, see 9.5 Creating a policy from a file in the Setup Guide.

As a rule, the client determines which created ID groups it will join. If you prefer that the managing server assign clients to groups, you can configure the system to register clients automatically based on whether they satisfy specified conditions. This is a more efficient and consistent way of registering clients into ID groups than performing such maintenance using the Destination window or by importing files.

The operations involved in setting conditions (a policy) for each ID group and automatically registering clients into ID groups is called automatic maintenance of ID groups.

The following two types of policies are available for automatic maintenance of ID groups:

• ID group registration associated with creation of a new client
  This policy enables JP1/Software Distribution to automatically detect addition of a new client and then register it into appropriate ID groups.
  For JP1/Software Distribution to automatically register a newly added client, the Automatically apply the system configuration check box on the System Configuration page displayed during server setup must be selected.
  
• ID group registration based on user inventory information
  Whenever user inventory information is acquired, this policy enables JP1/Software Distribution to automatically register clients based on whether their user inventory information matches a policy.
  

The following figure provides an overview of automatic maintenance of ID groups.

Figure 2-55 Overview of automatic maintenance of ID groups

For details about how to use automatic maintenance of ID groups, see 9.4 Automatic maintenance of ID groups in the Setup Guide.

As with automatic maintenance of host groups, you can create a policy from a file (for details, see 9.5 Creating a policy from a file in the Setup Guide).

Also note that before you use automatic maintenance of ID groups to execute a job, you must have already executed the job for that ID group.

For example, if there is a job that you always want to execute when you first install a client on a PC, by executing the job on that ID group beforehand, and then setting the newly added client to that ID group as a policy, you can configure JP1/Software Distribution so that it automatically executes the job for newly added clients.

The following figure shows the job flow when automatic maintenance of ID groups is used.

Figure 2-56 Job flow when automatic maintenance of ID groups is used

To maintain directory information, acquire the latest information from Active Directory. Import the directory information whenever the Active Directory information is updated.

To acquire the directory information, execute the directory information acquisition command (dcmadsync.exe). By registering this command as a task in the Windows Task Scheduler, you can periodically import the latest information from Active Directory. You can also link with JP1/AJS to execute the command periodically.