SMS: How to Use Heartbeat Discovery (257799)

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Heartbeat Discovery is a discovery method for existing Systems Management Server (SMS) clients only. You can use this method to generate discovery data for computers that do not log on to the network very often, to keep the database information updated.

With SMS 2.0, you can enable maintenance tasks that periodically clean up your database (for example, Delete Aged Discovery Data). If you have client computers that do not periodically send the site servers new Data Discovery Records (DDRs), they are removed from the database after the old discovery record reaches the age that is specified in the Delete Aged Discovery task.

By default, aged DDRs are removed every 60 days. To change this value, use the following steps:

1. Locate the Database Maintenance node under Site Settings.
2. Click Tasks, click the Delete Aged Discovery data task, and then modify the value.
   
   NOTE: If you use Heartbeat Discovery as your primary method of maintaining the database, do not set the Delete Aged Discovery task to a value that is less than or equal to the Heartbeat Reporting Interval, as this could cause your client records to be removed from the database.

Key points about Heartbeat Discovery:

• You need to install the computer as an SMS client before Heartbeat Discovery creates a DDR for the client.
• The Discovery Agent resides and runs on the client and is not initiated from the site server.
• Heartbeat Discovery is defined on the site server and runs on a preset schedule of 7 days by default.
• The client sends the DDR to the Client Access Point (CAP).
• Logon Installation uses Heartbeat Discovery to send a DDR to the CAP for its assigned site.
• The DDR is sent up at the 23-hour client Client Component Installation Manager (CCIM) cycle, so any setting in the heartbeat schedule that is less than one day is not effective.
• The date of the last DDR that is sent to the CAP is kept in the registry of the client computer. The next DDR generation is based on that date and the next heartbeat cycle.
  
  NOTE: This information is kept in the DDR Refresh Interval entry in the following registry key:

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SMS\Client\Sites\Shared\sitecode\Configuration\Client Properties

  You can translate and use this entry by using the Readsche.exe tool from the Support\Reskit\Bin\platform\Diagnose folder of the SMS 2.0 CD-ROM. For information about how to use this tool, refer to page 376 of the Systems Management Server 2.0 Resource Kit.