Apple Remote Desktop - Auditing Hardware

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Auditing Hardware

You can get a report about the hardware of any client computer. Hardware information
can be accessed using a number of different reports. Although some basic hardware
information can be found in the System Overview report, several more focused
hardware reports provide more detailed information.

To get a basic System Overview report:

1

Select a computer list in the Remote Desktop window.

2

Select one or more computers in the selected computer list.

3

Choose Report > System Overview.

4

Select or deselect hardware items as desired.

5

To search using new data, select Rebuild data for report.

6

Click Get Report.

The newly generated report window appears.

Getting Computer Information

Client computers can submit comments or notes to supplement System Overview
reports. These comments and notes are made on the client computer.

To make changes on a client computer, you must have the name and password of a
user with administrator privileges on the computer.

To add comments or notes when submitting in System Overview reports:

1

On the client computer, open System Preferences and click Sharing.

If the Sharing pane is locked, click the lock and then enter the user name and password
of a user with administrator privileges on the computer.

2

Select Remote Management in the Sharing pane.

If the client computer is running Mac OS X version 10.4 or earlier, add comments or
notes by selecting Apple Remote Desktop in the Sharing pane and clicking Access
Privileges.

3

Click Computer Settings.

4

In the Computer Information fields, enter comments or notes.

5

Click OK.

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Getting Serial Numbers

Although there is no specific serial number report for Apple Remote Desktop, the serial
number of any client is in the Computer section of the System Overview Report. In
addition to using Apple Remote Desktop to retrieve a computer’s serial number, you
could use the command-line tool systemprofiler with Apple Remote Desktop’s Send
UNIX Command feature.

To generate a serial number report:

1

Select a computer list in the Remote Desktop window.

2

Select one or more computers in the selected computer list.

3

Choose Report > System Overview.

4

Select Serial Number from the Computer section.

5

Select or deselect other items as desired.

6

To search using new data, check Rebuild Data For Report.

7

Click Get Report.

The newly generated report window appears.

Getting Storage Information

The Storage report collects information about the client computer’s internal hard disks.
It can get information about the hardware itself, the volumes on the disk, file system
information, and journaling information for the disk.

For a complete listing of Storage report options, see “Report Field Definitions
Reference” on page 181.

Basic information about hard disk volumes and size can also be found in the storage
section of the System Overview report.

To generate a Storage report:

1

Select a computer list in the Remote Desktop window.

2

Select one or more computers in the selected computer list.

3

Choose Report > Storage.

4

Select the hard disk information desired.

5

To search using new data, select Rebuild Data For Report.

6

Click Get Report.

The newly generated report window appears.

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Getting FireWire Device Information

The FireWire Devices report gets information about FireWire devices connected to the
client computer. It can get the following information from a device:

 Manufacturer
 Model
 Device speed
 Software version
 Firmware revision

For more information about FireWire Devices report options, see “Report Field
Definitions Reference” on page 181.

The number of attached FireWire devices can also be found in the Devices section of
System Overview report.

To generate a FireWire Devices report:

1

Select a computer list in the Remote Desktop window.

2

Select one or more computers in the selected computer list.

3

Choose Report > FireWire Devices.

4

Select the FireWire information desired.

5

To search using new data, select Rebuild Data For Report.

6

Click Get Report.

The newly generated report window appears.

Getting USB Device Information

The USB Devices report gets information on Universal Serial Bus devices (scanners,
keyboards, mice, and so forth) connected to the client computer. It can get the
following information from a device:

 Product name and ID
 Vendor name and ID
 Device speed
 Bus power amps

For more information about the USB Devices report options, see “Report Field
Definitions Reference” on page 181.

Basic information about attached USB devices can also be found in the Devices section
of the System Overview report.

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To generate a USB Devices report:

1

Select a computer list in the Remote Desktop window.

2

Select one or more computers in the selected computer list.

3

Choose Report > USB Devices.

4

Select the USB device information desired.

5

To search using new data, select Rebuild Data For Report.

6

Click Get Report.

The newly generated report window appears.

Getting Network Interface Information

The Network Interfaces report gets information for all network interfaces, including
inactive interfaces. It also gets detailed network, output, and Ethernet statistics from
client computers.

The Network Interfaces report can be used to find network errors or faulty network
equipment, troubleshoot network performance, and query the network settings of the
client computers.

All detailed statistics are refreshed when the client restarts, and address information
may change if your client uses DHCP to get a network address.

For a complete listing of Network Interfaces report options, see “Report Field
Definitions Reference” on page 181.

Basic information about network settings can also be found in the Network and AirPort
section of the System Overview report.

To generate a Network Interfaces report:

1

Select a computer list in the Remote Desktop window.

2

Select one or more computers in the selected computer list.

3

Choose Report > Network Interfaces.

4

Select the interface information desired.

5

To search using new data, select Rebuild Data For Report.

6

Click Generate Report.

The newly generated report window appears.

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Getting Memory Information

The Memory report gets specific information about the installed memory in a client
computer. In addition to reporting how much memory the client has, it shows
information about each memory module, including the module’s:

 Slot identifier
 Size, type, and speed

Memory reports can be used for managing computer resources, hardware
troubleshooting, or deciding which client computer can handle a memory-intensive
application or task.

For more information about the Memory report options, see “Report Field Definitions
Reference” on page 181.

Basic information about system memory can also be found in the Computer section of
the System Overview report.

To generate a Memory report:

1

Select a computer list in the Remote Desktop window.

2

Select one or more computers in the selected computer list.

3

Choose Report > Memory.

4

Select the module information desired.

5

To search using new data, select Rebuild Data For Report.

6

Click Get Report.

The newly generated report window appears.

Getting Expansion Card Information

The Expansion Cards report gets information about the expansion cards (such as PCI
cards and ExpressCards) installed in a client computer. It shows information about each
expansion card, including:

 Slot name
 Card name, type, memory, and revision
 Vendor and device IDs
 ROM revision

For more information about the Expansion Cards report options, see “Report Field
Definitions Reference” on page 181.

Basic information about a client’s expansion cards is also in the Computer section of
the System Overview report.

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To generate an Expansion Cards report:

1

Select a computer list in the Remote Desktop window.

2

Select one or more computers in the selected computer list.

3

Choose Report > Expansion Cards.

4

Select the desired expansion card information.

5

To search using new data, select Rebuild Data For Report.

6

Click Get Report.

The newly generated report window appears.