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Perform Client Action

  • Article

Applies To: System Center 2012 - Orchestrator, System Center 2012 R2 Orchestrator, System Center 2012 SP1 - Orchestrator

The Perform Client Action activity is used to initiate Configuration Manager client actions by communicating directly with the client. These client actions can be used to enable more rapid processing of assignments or policies by the client by bypassing the normal client polling interval.

This activity connects to the client computer using a remote WMI connection and does not connect to the Configuration Manager Site server. Specific firewall settings are a prerequisite for this activity to function correctly. For more information about remote WMI see Connecting to WMI on a Remote Computer in the Microsoft MSDN Library (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkID=184817).

Connecting remotely using WMI also requires appropriate credentials. If the account used for the Orchestrator Management Service does not have rights to access WMI on the target computer you will need to specify an account that does by using the optional properties on the Connection tab. For more information about WMI security and connection settings, see Securing a Remote WMI Connection in the Microsoft MSDN Library (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkID=144681).

Important

Avoid using this activity to refresh a large number of clients simultaneously.

Because this activity targets individual computers and bypasses the normal communication processes of Configuration Manager, including client polling intervals that might be configured for optimal site performance, use of this activity should be limited to individual computers or small groups of computers targeted by a runbook.

For the procedure to configure this object, see: Configuring the Perform Client Action Activity

Properties and Published Data

The following tables list the properties and published data for this activity.

Perform Client Action Properties

Element Description

Computer

The NetBIOS name, fully-qualified domain name (FQDN), or IP address of the Configuration Manager client.

Action

The client action to be performed. Options are:

  • Machine Policy Retrieval & Evaluation Cycle

  • Software Updates Scan and Deployment Re-evaluation

  • Application Deployment Evaluation Cycle

  • Discovery Data Collection Cycle

  • File Collection Cycle

  • Hardware Inventory Cycle

  • Software Inventory Cycle

Connection Required Properties

Element Description

Authentication Level

The authentication level used to connect to WMI. Options are:

  • Packet

  • Call

  • Connect

  • Default

  • None

  • Packet Integrity

  • Packet Privacy (default value)

  • Unchanged

For more information, see Authentication Level Enumeration in the Microsoft MSDN Library (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=203420)

Enable Privileges

True or False. When set to True, indicates that user privileges need to be enabled for the connection operation. This property should only be used when the operation performed requires a certain user privilege to be enabled, for example, a computer restart.

Impersonation Level

Defines the security impersonation level for the WMI connection. Options are:

  • Impersonate

  • Anonymous

  • Default (default value)

  • Identify

  • Delegate

For more information, see Impersonation Level Enumeration in the Microsoft MSDN Library (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=203421).

Locale

The client can request data from the WMI server in a client-preferred locale. This string is specified as MS_xxx format. The default value for this property is “MS_409”.

For more information, see Locale IDs in the Microsoft MSDN Library (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=165561).

Timeout (Seconds)

Connection Optional Properties

Element Description

Authority

Sets the authority used to authenticate the specified user. Options are:

  1. Kerberos: <Principal name>

  2. NTLMDOMAIN: <domain name>

For more information, see Connection Options Authority in the Microsoft MSDN Library (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=203424).

Password

The password for the account credentials specified in the Username property

Username

The account credentials with WMI access to the remote client, in the format domain\username

Performa Client Action Published Data

There are no additional values published in addition to the input values above.

Configuring the Perform Client Action Activity

To configure the Perform Client Action activity

  1. From the Activities pane, drag a Perform Client Action activity to the active runbook.

  2. Double-click the Perform Client Action activity icon. The Properties dialog box opens.

  3. Configuring the Details tab:

    1. In the Connection section, click the ellipsis button (...), and then select the Configuration Manager server connection that you want to use for this activity. Click OK.

    2. In the Fields section, enter a value for each of the required properties. If the property is Lookup-enabled, you can click the ellipsis (…) button next to the text box to browse for a value.

      You can also use published data to automatically populate the value of the property from the data output by a previous activity in the runbook.

  4. Click the Connection tab. Enter a value for each of the required properties. If the property is Lookup-enabled, you can click the ellipsis (…) button next to the text box to browse for a value. You can also use published data to automatically populate the value of the property from the data output by a previous activity in the runbook.

  5. To use additional properties, click Optional Fields.

    1. In the Select Properties dialog, select the properties you want to apply to this activity from the Available Properties list, and then click the right arrow button (>>). The properties appear in the Selected Properties list.

    2. To remove a property from the Selected Properties list, click the property, and then click the left arrow button (<<).

    3. Click OK to save the changes.

    4. Assign values to the properties or Subscribe to Published data from the previous activity in the runbook.

  6. For more information about the settings on the General and Run Behavior tabs, see Common Configuration Instructions for all Activities.

  7. Click Finish.

Other Activities

The Integration Pack for System Center Configuration Manager contains the following additional activities: