AppSense Terminal Server License Management
This product, a component
of AppSense Management Suite (you can
buy it separately from other products in the
suite), offers policy enforcement and application
restrictions for application-delivery
infrastructures that are based on Windows
2003 Terminal Services or Citrix Systems
products. Since Microsoft’s Terminal Services
licensing is frequently based on potential
application users rather than actual or
concurrent users, proactively restricting
application access can greatly decrease the number of licenses an organization
must acquire. AppSense’s kernel-level filter
driver intercepts all file-execution requests
to determine whether they’re authorized. If
not, the user gets a denial message.
Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007
Asset intelligence, a feature
of Configuration Manager 2007 that’s
been around since Systems Management
Server 2003 SP3, provides a variety of reports
in the areas of license management, software
metering and inventory, and hardware
inventory. These reports, which draw from
the inventory and application-usage data
that Configuration Manager collects, can
give IT an accurate picture of hardware
and software usage in an organization. For
example, the license management client
agent reports provide information about licenses in use and time until expiration; the
software agent collects information about
software titles installed on IT assets. The
license management reports are formatted
similar to a Microsoft License Statement
for easy comparisons. By comparing the
software asset intelligence reports with the
license management reports, you can determine
whether you’re complying with your
Microsoft application licenses.
By default, asset intelligence isn’t enabled
in Configuration Manager. To gather software
asset information, you must enable
the hardware inventory client agent and the
applicable classes in the sms_def.mof file.
Microsoft provides direction for configuring
asset intelligence data collection and all
the classes that must be enabled at technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb694072.aspx. A number of software reports also rely
on the software metering client agent for
data. Instructions for configuring software
inventory for a site are at technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb633191.aspx.
SAM Trends: Integration and CMDBs
The integration of SAM products into larger,
more inclusive network management solutions is the next market step. The ability
to use the data from the discovery tool and
license management repository as part of a
larger CMDB operation is what vendors are
striving for in the near future.
For example, Numara Software is integrating
its SAM product Track-It! with its Foot-
Prints service desk solution to provide more
IT services in one package. The Numara
Track-It! asset management and Help desk
solution combines the discovery, metering,
and license repository of a SAM system and
a full Help desk solution. Track-It! also has
modules for software deployment, patch
management, administration remote control,
and network monitoring. When the product’s
discovery, metering, and license-compliance
tools complete their tasks, Track-It! creates a
Help desk ticket to make sure the information
gets to staff whose job it is to resolve
compliance issues. For example, the Track-
It! discovery and license-compliance tools
might find that a company has 125 Microsoft
Office 2007 installations, but its license
allows only 100 installations. Track-It! will
create a Help desk ticket to assign someone
to determine whether all 125 installations are
necessary and the Office 2007 license must
be upgraded, or whether the Office 2007
instances can be uninstalled to comply with
the current license.
Other integrated solutions, such as CA
Unicenter Asset Portfolio Management,
HP OpenView AssetCenter, and LANDesk
Management Suite, are also moving toward
incorporating CMDBs in their products.
A CMDB—basically a single-source-ofrecord
for everything related to IT—contains
information about an organization’s
IT assets, including hardware, software, and
employees, and their relationships with one
another. A CMDB is required if your organization
is adopting the best practices of an
IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) and also is
a key element in IT Service Management
(ITSM: the relationship between enterprise
IT infrastructure and the organization’s
business goals). SAM is one component of
the CMDB.
Having a complete CMDB can benefit an
IT department by giving you better knowledge
- for budgeting
and purchasing. The CMDB is a central
repository with knowledge of every configuration
item, its use, its compliance
with license limitations and requirements, and how each asset is related and affected
by every other asset. Once you understand
what applications and assets are frequently
used, and which are not, you can
better support budget and procurement
requests.
- giving you more control over IT assets. When you have a central repository of
IT information, you can monitor all your
hardware and software assets and be notified
of any configuration changes or software
installations. With that information
and information about how those changes
might affect other enterprise IT components,
you’ll have more control over your
IT infrastructure.
- helping you respond to events that cause
loss of productivity and downtime. Using
the CMDB, you can trace how and when
an event occurred and what processes it
affected, which can help you identify and
resolve the problem.
Implementing a CMDB
Organizing and collecting all the data necessary
for a successful CMDB is the formidable
barrier to its widespread adoption. IT will
need to obtain the cooperation of departments
such as purchasing and HR to integrate
purchasing data with the automated
asset-discovery tool and license repository.
Other impediments include the problems
that come with a single-point-of-entry database
approach and the ability to host such a
large repository in one location. The idea of
a federated database is gaining acceptance
in the ITIL community. The CMDB would
store a limited amount of data on each configuration
item, then link to other locations—
known as CDMB extended data sites—with
expanded knowledge of the requested item.
This approach would meet the goal of establishing
a single point of reference for IT
knowledge, but reduce the CMDB’s size.
Implementing a CMDB is a long-term
process. You may have to change many
processes and win over staunch detractors.
Then there are the financial and time commitments that implementing a CMDB will
require. Here are some of the steps you’ll
have to take during the process:
- Educate your employees about CMDB
benefits. To successfully establish a
CMDB, you’ll have to have enough support
to get every department on board.
- Determine how IT can support your business
goals.
- Establish what data the CMDB requires
and where it currently resides. Interdepartmental
cooperation will be essential.
- Use an automated discovery tool to find
out what assets you have. The database is
only as good as its data.
- Integrate data from disparate applications
and departments, such as licensing information and requirements, purchasing
processes, and asset retirement procedures.
- Diagram the relationships between configuration
items. This is crucial and possibly
the most important step to developing
a successful CMDB.
- Establish the CMDB administrative processes.
Decide who has access and how
information is to be updated.
Better Information About
IT Assets
If you’re seriously considering implementing
a SAM solution, keep in mind that it will
likely be part of a CMDB. Therefore, you’ll
need to determine which departments must
be involved in preparing for the SAM and
CMDB and start getting key people on
board. You’ll also need figure out how to
integrate disparate departmental operations
programs and databases and initiate the
process of integrating their data. As you’ve
probably gathered by now, putting a SAM
in place involves some significant effort,
but the ROI will come in increased network
efficiencies, time and money savings, and
perhaps most important, peace of mind in
knowing that your organization is complying
with licensing agreements.
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