It is important that you keep your inventory current
on your central system to keep an up-to-date view of the fixes on the systems
that you are managing. 
When you collect your fixes (and fix group) inventory, you also collect software inventory. After you have refreshed your inventory, you can use the Management Central search function to find a specific fix. You can use an asterisk (*) as a wildcard.
In addition to managing the fixes inventory for your business, you also need software inventory information when you want to do an upgrade. The Software Inventory Utility tool provides you with the correct data about installed IBM® products and can therefore assist you in determining what software can be ordered.
Finally, with iSeries™ Navigator, you can use your software inventory to view the following types of products:
- Installed Products
- Displays a list of the software products that are currently installed on the selected system. You can right-click on any software listed and select Properties to view additional information. You can send these products to one or more endpoint systems or system groups and install them on those systems. You can download fixes for an installed product regardless of whether or not its status is "Installed and supported".
- Supported Products
- Displays a list of the software products that the selected system currently
supports for the other systems that it manages in the network. For example,
this list can contain products that are not installed on this system. A system
that provides support typically orders the fixes and sends them to systems
where the product is installed.
If a product is installed, you can send this product to one or more endpoint systems or system groups and install it on those systems. You can also upgrade a software product that is installed and supported and still have the fixes from the previous release available in a save file. You would be concerned about this on the system you are using for your source system when distributing fixes. This would be necessary if you had to support several different releases within your network.
You
can add support for a product whether or not it is installed on your system.
When you add a product to the Supported Products list, you can copy save files
to the source system for fixes to that product, even though the product is
not installed. You can then send (or send and install) these fixes to other
systems in your network. Note:Products that are installed on your
system are not automatically supported after an upgrade to a new release.
If you want to keep the PTF save files for currently installed products after
an upgrade, add support for your currently installed products before the upgrade.For instructions on adding support, see Add fix support for a software product.
The following examples show how to use the inventory function
to become more efficient in your daily work:
- Search multiple systems in very little time to find what systems have a certain product or fix installed.
- Export the software inventory of all your systems at the same time into a spreadsheet and keep track of the status of your systems on a regular basis.
- Use the compare and update function to compare fixes on multiple
systems. iSeries Navigator will send
the missing fixes to the target systems and install them for you. For more
information, see Compare and update fixes.
- Collect your inventories and electronically send them to IBM to be used for problem analysis and problem prevention functions and to assist IBM in providing improved service. The inventory collection and transmission function is available from iSeries Navigator with Extreme Support.