OS identification (OSID) certainty
Enterprise Scanner determines whether to run a check against a host based on the
certainty of the OS information in SiteProtector and the setting in the Assessment
policy that specifies what action to take if the OSID is uncertain.

What determines certainty?

The certainty with which a source provides a completely accurate OSID is based
on the quality of the information available to the source. For example, OSID from
an IBM Proventia Desktop agent is always considered certain because the agent
has full access to information about the asset. OSID from an Enterprise Scanner
scan is considered certain if the scanner had authenticated access but uncertain if it
did not.

Sources of OSID

Information that identifies the operating system of an asset can come from
different sources, such as agents or even directly from users. Each source has
access to slightly different data, which makes some sources relatively more certain
than others. SiteProtector receives OSID information in any of the following
methods:
vEntered manually by a user
vImported from Active Directory
vReported by Proventia Desktop agent
vDiscovered by Enterprise Scanner
vDiscovered by Internet Scanner

Certainty of OSID sources

The following table describes the relative certainty of the sources of OSID data:
Table23. Relative certainty of the sources of OSID data
Source of OSID Data Relative Certainty
User
Active Directory
Desktop agent
Certain
Enterprise Scanner Certainif obtained with authenticated access
Uncertain if not obtained with authenticated
access
Internet Scanner Uncertain

Comparing Enterprise Scanner and Internet Scanner results

If you want to make a valid comparison of OSID results between Enterprise
Scanner and Internet Scanner, you must make sure that you provide equivalent
login access to both products.
104 Enterprise Scanner: User Guide