Software Inventory Logging Registry Location

Software Inventory Logging (SIL) in Windows Server collects and aggregates machine-level software deployment data to streamline datacenter licensing and asset management. This article identifies the exact Windows Registry path where the active configuration for the system-wide Software Inventory Logging engine is stored, and outlines the key registry values governing its operational behavior.

Active Configuration Registry Path

The active configuration for the system-wide Software Inventory Logging engine is recorded in the Windows Registry under the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\SoftwareInventoryLogging

Key Configuration Values

Within the SoftwareInventoryLogging key, the operating system maintains several values that dictate how and when the logging engine runs:

• CollectionState: A DWORD value that indicates whether software inventory data collection is active. A value of 1 means SIL is running and actively logging data, while 0 indicates it is stopped.
• CollectionHour: A DWORD value that defines the time of day (0 through 23, in local system time) when the daily inventory collection task triggers.
• TargetUri: A String (REG_SZ) value specifying the HTTPS endpoint of the aggregation server or SIL Aggregator where the collected inventory data is published.
• CertificateThumbprint: A String (REG_SZ) value containing the SHA-1 thumbprint of the client certificate used to authenticate the server to the aggregation server.

Managing the Configuration

While these settings can be directly viewed and edited using the Registry Editor (regedit.exe), Microsoft recommends managing the Software Inventory Logging engine using PowerShell cmdlets, which automatically update this registry path:

• Get-SilLogging: Queries the current active configuration.
• Start-SilLogging: Sets the CollectionState to enabled (1) and starts the logging framework.
• Stop-SilLogging: Sets the CollectionState to disabled (0) and halts data gathering.
• Set-SilLogging: Modifies settings such as TargetUri, CollectionHour, and CertificateThumbprint.