Understanding the Selector

The Selector is a Java component on the server that receives the scan data from the workstations. These servers can be any of the following: Leaf Server, Leaf Server with Database, Intermediate Server with Database and Workstations, Intermediate Server with Workstations, Root Server with Workstations, and Standalone Server. See Inventory Components on Servers for a quick reference table of server components.

The processing done by the Selector is as follows:

1. While scanning the workstation, the Scanner creates a scan data file (.STR) in the scan directory (SCANDIR) at the server for each scan done on the workstation. The location of SCANDIR is obtained from the Inventory Service object. The Selector processes the .STR files placed by the Scanner in the SCANDIR directory.
2. The Selector checks the validity of the .STR file to ensure that it is a valid file generated by the Scanner. The Selector processes only valid .STR files. If invalid files are present in the directory, the Selector deletes them.
3. Based on the role of the server, the Selector copies the .STR files to the appropriate directories:
   • If a full scan is done at the workstation, the Selector on the server copies the .STR file to the DBDIR directory (if the database is attached) and the ENTMERGE directory. If the .STR file already exists in the directory, it overwrites the file. See the table below.
   • If a delta scan is done at the workstation, the Selector on the server appends the contents of the file in to the existing files in the DBDIR directory (if the database is attached) and the ENTMERGE directory.

   The following table lists the directories that the Selector copies the files to:

   Server	Copies the .STR file to the Database Directory (DBDIR)	Copies the .STR file to the Enterprise Merge Directory (EntMergeDir)
   Leaf Server with Database	Yes	Yes
   Leaf Server	--	Yes
   Intermediate Server with Database & Workstations	Yes	Yes
   Standalone Server	Yes	--
   Root Server with Workstations	Yes	--

4. The Selector updates the sequence number of valid .STR files in eDirectory.

   The Selector determines whether to enforce a full scan if the scanning sequence number in the .STR file is improper. If the .STR file is invalid or if there are discrepancies in the sequence number of the .STR file, the Selector enforces a full scan.

5. The Selector logs the status in the Server log. For more information, see Troubleshooting Workstation Inventory with Status Logs .

   The Selector removes the existing .STR files in the SCANDIR directory.

The following illustration depicts the processing done by the Selector: