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How to show a license requirement for applications run from a location that is not scanned by the agent

Question asked by Samuel on Nov 27, 2017
Latest reply on May 10, 2018 by jelle.wijndelts2

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Dear Community,

When some software is run from a network drive (e.g. a shortcut pointing to a mapped drive or to a UNC path) the software appears detected and as being run but it shows in orange, indicating that it was "uninstalled" recently. This is because the mapped drive and the UNC paths are not scanned by the Snow agent. Since the software is flagged as uninstalled, it shows no license requirement at all.

An easy solution #would be to consider that a license is still required for a given period of time, like for Microsoft VDA and the famous 90-day rule (the license is still required up to 90 days after last use). The problem is that apparently, only VDA benefits from this 90-day rule feature in Snow as fas as we have seen.

Has anyone successfully configured a xx-day rule on an application other than VDA? Or has anyone successfully tackled the issue of applications run from a location that is not scanned by the agent?

Thank you very much

Samuel

Samuel Apr 23, 2018 2:00 PM

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To give an update on our final solution:

We opted for a changing of the application metric. We set it to "Concurrent device" with a "Continuous" metering period of 90 days. That means that we decide that after 90 days without using the software, we consider that we can harvest the license and transfer it to another user.
In parallel with that, we can now use the compliance report for this application as a source of information for scheduled self-audits. The devices where the software is installed but not used for 90 days are devices for which the application can now be uninstalled.

This is not a perfect solution but really highlights the flexibility offered by Snow. We now have an acceptable workaround.

Samuel

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jelle.wijndelts2 Dec 1, 2017 6:57 AM
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Hi Samuel,

please see below instructions how to setup metrics for non inventoried applications.I hope this helps. I can send you the PDF version of these instructions if you require.

Kind regards,

Jelle

OVERVIEW
The purpose of this document is to provide guidance on how to create a compliance position for applications which are licensed with a metric that is not collected by the inventory agent.
1. CREATE CUSTOM COMPARE VALUE
1. Select Home – Administration – Custom compare value types
2. Click Add
3. Type in a meaningful Name and give a brief Description – For example:
4. Click on Save
2. CHANGE THE LICENSE METRIC FOR THE APPLICATION
1. Select Applications – Search for applications
2. Click on the + symbol alongside Also include not installed/used:
4. Under Also include not installed/used, with the condition ‘equal to’, select Yes from the drop down.
5. Under Name, select the condition ‘Like’ and then add the name of the application to be amended. For example:
7. Locate the application to be amended and click on it
8. Select Edit application
9. Select the License settings tab
10. From the Metric drop down, select Custom compare values
11. From the Custom compare value type drop down, select the type created in step 1. For example:
13. Select the Compare values tab
14. From the drop down select the relevant part of the Organisation structure and click on Add.
15. If all the users are at the root level, put the total number* in the box. For example:
17. However, if there are user values for different parts of the Organisation Structure, this can be represented also. For example:
19. * Total number is how many there actually are, not how many licenses there are. For example, how many Lotus Notes users are there.
20. Click on Save.
3. ADD AN AGREEMENT
1. If there is an Agreement or there is a requirement for alerts ahead of a renewal, add the agreement in to Snow License Manager – Please see Best Practice – Agreements.
4. ADD A LICENSE
1. From the application, select Add application license:
3. Alternatively, select License – Add license
4. *The difference between these two options is: if the first method is used the Application box is already populated, whereas with the second method the Application will need to be searched for and added first:
6. Populate each of the tabs, remembering to select the agreement if relevant. For example:
7. Click on Save.
5.      RECALCULATE COMPLIANCE
                           a. Select login name – Recalculate compliance

6.      COMPLIANCE POSITION
1. Click on the application and the compliance position is shown. For example:
3. In this example, a Custom compare value of 950 was added (Step 2l.) which provided the actual number of Lotus Users. 1,000 licenses were added (Step 4). The compliance position is therefore 50 spare licenses.
4. Run the Compliance Summary report with the criteria set for the selected application. For example:
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- Samuel @ jelle.wijndelts2 on Dec 1, 2017 8:06 AM
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  Hi Jelle,
  
  Thank you for this tutorial. Actually, our applications do not require a Custom Compare Value, they are properly recognized by Snow when installed in a folder that is scanned by the agent.
  
  I guess I should have stated the situation in a clearer way. The problem is when we run the application from a shared drive on the network. The application is not installed locally and the agent cannot detect it as installed on on the computer running it. It detects the application as "used" but "not installed". Snow then infers that the application must have been uninstalled and then does not require a license anymore.
  
  We would like the license requirement to last for a given period after the last run, so that even if Snow thinks the application has been uninstalled, the license is still needed for a given amount of time (like for VDA).
  
  I hoipe this make my question clearer.
  
  Samuel
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- tracy.osullivan @ jelle.wijndelts2 on May 10, 2018 5:01 AM
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  Hi Jelle,
  
  I am having a similar issue with applications in SNOW, there are applications where SNOW is picking them up as not installed but I know they are as some are McAfee products and we have a large number of licences purchased for these. Because they are running as not installed and I have licence details entered the compliancy for this is way over which is throwing off the compliancy calculation. I have previously for other applications tried setting a custom compare value but when I do that the licence requirement, coverage and compliancy all switch to 0 and it's as if SNOW stops reporting on these applications which I don't want to happen either.
  Could you send me on the PDF instructions you mentioned above
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  - jelle.wijndelts2 @ tracy.osullivan on May 10, 2018 8:09 AM
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    Hi Tracy,
    
    I would recommend you contact the support desk and walk through the scenario with them. as there may a number of different reasons why this might be happening.
    
    kind regards,
    
    Jelle
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    - tracy.osullivan @ jelle.wijndelts2 on May 10, 2018 8:39 AM
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      Hi Jelle,
      
      My issue seems quite similar to the above as it's not solely related to McAfee, I think myself I'm misisng a step when setting up a custom compare value which is why it's not calculating for, I'm unable to see the screenshots in your instructions as they're a small bit unclear, i've logged a call with SNOW Support but I wnated to try doing it the way you explained in the mail to rule that out also.
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      - jelle.wijndelts2 @ tracy.osullivan on May 10, 2018 8:49 AM
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        I will send you a separate email.
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Samuel Dec 6, 2017 8:54 AM
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I just realized a tempting solution would be to change the application metric to "Concurrent device" over a reasonable period (let's say 30-90 days).
This only works unfortunately if, across the network, all users of that software are accessing it from a network folder. In our case, some users are also using the application installed locally on their devices.

Using applications from a network folder is similar to using TS applications ... with the difference that Snow can recognize an application run on a TS but it apparently does not take into account if it was run from a network location.

This is the reason why TS-xxxx applications exist: because those applications run from a Terminal Server require a different metric from the same application installed locally. Metric for TS applications will likely be set to "Device" or "User" while the same locally installed applications will be configured as "Installations". I wish we had something in Snow like NF-xxxx applications (Network Folder applications), just like TS-xxxx applications so we could change the metric accordingly and assign licenses for this type of use. Or does anyone know a workaround to this?

Samuel
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Samuel Apr 23, 2018 2:00 PM
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To give an update on our final solution:
- We opted for a changing of the application metric. We set it to "Concurrent device" with a "Continuous" metering period of 90 days. That means that we decide that after 90 days without using the software, we consider that we can harvest the license and transfer it to another user.
- In parallel with that, we can now use the compliance report for this application as a source of information for scheduled self-audits. The devices where the software is installed but not used for 90 days are devices for which the application can now be uninstalled.
This is not a perfect solution but really highlights the flexibility offered by Snow. We now have an acceptable workaround.

Samuel
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How to show a license requirement for applications run from a location that is not scanned by the agent

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OVERVIEW

1. CREATE CUSTOM COMPARE VALUE

2. CHANGE THE LICENSE METRIC FOR THE APPLICATION

3. ADD AN AGREEMENT

4. ADD A LICENSE

5. RECALCULATE COMPLIANCE

6. COMPLIANCE POSITION

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