Hi Carlos,
Software Discovery and File Scanning are two different topics. Can you clarify that you are trying to discover a particular software title?
If so, there are three discovery methods:
- Signature (enabled by default)
- Heuristic (disabled by default)
- Intellisig (enabled by default)
Signature discovery works much like a virus scanner. It takes a set of signatures as input, scans the system and produces an output. CA provides a number of software definitions by default, but it is certainly not all-inclusive. This is why ITCM offers the ability for you to create a custom signature for whatever you are trying to discover.
Here's the documentation for creating a custom signature:
How to Create a Custom Software Signature - CA Client Automation - 14.0 - CA Technologies Documentation
Heuristic, which is disabled by default, will scan and report all software found in registered in common places, e.g. the common locations in the registry. It does not require signatures for input and is a bottom-up method of discovery, reporting everything it finds. It's useful on Windows, but can create a lot of data. I would say it's less useful on Linux, as it reports every little package that it finds, which can generate thousands of records.
Intellisig is similar to signature scanning, except it uses a script instead of a signature. The result of the script will become discovered records. Intellisigs are useful so you don't have to create a signature for every version of the product you want to detect. You can use scripting logic to proactively figure out how to report the correct version for a particular software title. Downside is now you have to write a script!
So let us know if you need any more help with software discovery-- or if File Scan is truly what you intended to do...