Data Analytics 9.6. User's Guide

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Copyright Notice

This document contains information, which is the confidential information and/or proprietary property of LANDESK Software, Inc. and its affiliates (referred to collectively as “LANDESK”), and may not be disclosed or copied without prior written consent of LANDESK.

To the maximum extent permitted under applicable law, LANDESK assumes no liability whatsoever, and disclaims any express or implied warranty, relating to the sale and/or use of LANDESK products including liability or warranties relating to fitness for a particular purpose, merchantability, or infringement of any patent, copyright or other intellectual property right, without limiting the rights under copyright.

LANDESK retains the right to make changes to this document or related product specifications and descriptions, at any time, without notice. LANDESK makes no warranty for the use of this document and assumes no responsibility for any errors that can appear in the document nor does it make a commitment to update the information contained herein. For the most current product information, please visit www.landesk.com.

Copyright © 2003-2014, LANDESK Software, Inc. and its affiliates. All rights reserved. LANDESK and its logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of LANDESK Software, Inc. and its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. Other brands and names may be claimed as the property of others

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LANDESK Data Analytics overview

Use LANDESK® Management Suite's Data Analytics tools to significantly increase your IT asset-management capabilities, whether you’re involved in procurement, auditing, or inventory. When you install the Data Analytics software, a parent item called Data Analytics appears in the Management Suite console's Tools menu and Toolbox that you can use to access these tools:

l Asset Control: Boosts your ability to discover and manage assets. A primary element of endpoint device management is the ability to identify those devices within your infrastructure. Discovery is no longer just about hardware; software discovery and inventory are just as important.

l Console Extender: Adds data-related tasks to the Management Suite console through right-click menus.

l Data Translation Services: Enables you to use a powerful data-mining engine to scan your organization's devices for the inventory data you most care about—data relating to software licensing, warranties, and so on.

l Database Doctor: Helps you avoid data corruption and normalize data to reduce multiple product names and instances of data.

l Discovery Services: Adds discovery services for devices without a LANDESK agent that you may not have managed in the past, such as printers and other SNMP devices on your network. While you may not need to manage some of these devices directly, it’s important to understand and have control over your organization's IT assets.

l Executive Report Pack: Enables you to expand, organize, and publish LANDESK reports to personnel based on their individual roles.

l Rapid Deployment: Ensures that the LANDESK agent is always available on all devices. This help provides detailed conceptual and procedural information about configuring and using the Data Analytics tools. You can navigate the help topics in the LANDESK Help Center or perform a search using a specific key word or phrase to find the information you want.

Data Analytics features and benefits

As an IT professional, you want to reduce risk by knowing about each hardware and software asset in your network environment. Manual processes increase IT cost, which is a burden against your budget. The primary challenge is having a full view of assets, from PoP to retirement. Implementing yet another console increases deployment time, as well as the cost of controlling your IT assets.

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NOTE: Data Analytics provides aggregated vendor data

Aggregated vendor data (via the Cloud) includes: HP, CDW, Insight, Apple, En Pointe, Dell, IBM, and many others.

Key results

l Automated data collection

l EULA/software license normalization l Third-party device inventory data l Executive reports

Purchase management

l Purchase history

l Barcode scanner integration l Automatic asset enrollment l License renewal

l Asset retirement l Warranty expirations

Software- and hardware-usage monitoring

l Hardware and software discovery l Asset mapping

l Printer monitoring (toner level and pages printed)

Asset reporting

l Data normalization l Custom data collection l Customizable reports l Configurable run-times

Efficient acquisition

l Adherence to corporate policies or budgets

l Business-to-business connectors (business alignment and automation) l Order-to-inventory visibility

l Reduced risk of “renegade” purchasing and unauthorized buyers—the purchase event is part of the asset process

l Unnecessary or duplicate acquisitions eliminated

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Automated asset management

Use Data Analytics to manage your assets in the following ways.

Asset mapping

Automatically map your discovered devices to their location, which improves device supportability and visibility. Inventory is not just a LANDESK feature—it’s at the heart of everything in IT.

Normalized data

As software has evolved, manufacturers have used various names for their company and products. For example, Microsoft software has been delivered under names such as Microsoft Corporation,

Microsoft Labs, Microsoft Inc., and so on. In addition, many of Microsoft’s brands have names such as Visio Corporation, which makes it difficult to discover software accurately at the endpoints. Data normalization, combined with a rules-based engine, allows you to inventory similar names into one system group. Now, various software products from Microsoft can be inventoried against one name, “Microsoft.”

Normalized data greatly simplifies how you manage software assets and helps you identify the assets being used on your hardware endpoints and by end users.

Rules-based licensing

Most organizations lack visibility into the software within their infrastructure. Using rules-based licensing enables better visibility and control, reducing security and liability risks and improving employee productivity.

Software-usage monitoring

One of the benefits of software-usage monitoring is that you don’t need to count every package simply because it’s there. For example, if Microsoft Office Professional 2010 is installed on a device, as well as Access 2007 and Outlook 2007, your license only needs to cover Office Professional 2010— information that Data Analytics can provide automatically.

Effective asset retirement

You can use Data Analytics to plan for a successful future by tracking assets in the following ways: l You can increase productivity and reduce costs by knowing ahead of time about warranty

expiration and license renewal. Having a clearer picture of the assets you have—and the assets your organization needs—ensures that your users have the right tools to be productive. You purchase only what you need and reduce expensive over-buying scenarios.

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Asset Control

Asset Control is a Data Analytics tool for LANDESK Management Suite that enables you to store and view detailed inventory records for devices lacking the LANDESK agent. For Unmanaged Device Discovery (UDD) devices (such as printers, switches, routers, and so on), only a minimal amount of data is stored in the Management Suite network view. By using Data Analytics' Discovery Services to add these devices to the Asset Control database, you have the ability to view a more detailed inventory record.

The Asset Control database is also an ideal place to archive the inventory records of older LANDESK-agent-enabled devices that you don't want included in Management Suite license calculations. The records are maintained as is, without using a license. To archive device records in Asset Control, you need to use the Data Translation Services "Archive asset wizard" (31).

NOTE: If you want to move a device record back into the inventory database after archiving it in Asset Control, you must rescan the device with the Management Suite inventory scanner.

About the Asset Control view

When you open Asset Control, a pane appears across the bottom of the Management Suite console. This pane consists of a tree structure that lists various folders, displaying device data much like the network view.

About the tree-list folders

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l Assets: Expand this folder to view a series of sub-folders containing all devices that you've added to the Asset Control database. A device may appear in any number of sub-folders, depending on its type, status, and so on. Click a device to view its inventory.

l Column Sets: Expand this folder to show the column sets defined for viewing device inventory in the Asset Control view.

l Queries: Expand this folder to show the queries defined for searching for specific devices within the Asset Control database.

About the toolbar icons

l Refresh: Refreshes the tree-list display.

l Properties: Enables you to view the inventory of a selected device in the tree list. You can also view and edit the properties for a selected column set or query in the tree list.

l Delete: Deletes a column set or query from the Asset Control database.

l Export Device: Exports (as an .XML file) a single device's inventory data from the Asset Control database to a location you specify.

When exporting, you must specify an Attribute for filename, which is a database attribute used to create the name of the .XML file. For example, if you select Device.Device Name, the exported filename will be the name of the device.

You must also specify a Link attribute, which is the attribute to be used when you re-import. Normally, you'd want to use Device.Network.TCPIP address, because that's how a device is usually discovered. In the case of Verizon data, for example, the device doesn't have an IP address, so you could use Device.Device Name instead.

Getting started

To use Asset Control, you first need to add devices to the database so that you can see them in the Asset Control view.

You can add devices to Asset Control in a couple of ways. The first and simplest is through the Data Analytics' Discovery Services. When Discovery Services is configured to scan for new agentless devices, records for these devices are created in the Asset Control database. These device records are not visible using the Management Suite network view, but do appear in Asset Control view.

You can also use Data Analytics' Data Translation Services to add new devices to Asset Control. For example, you can configure a barcode web-form rule that creates records for new devices. These web forms can include LANDESK database attributes or new attributes you specify that will become part of the device record.

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Viewing inventory data

As you add devices to the Asset Control database, they're organized under the All Assets folder in any number of applicable sub-folders. You can browse these sub-folders and use the right-click menus off of any device for a variety of actions. You can also define column sets and queries to customize how you view device data in the Asset Control view, similar to how you view data in the Management Suite network view.

About the right-click menus

View inventory: Opens the full inventory record of a device.

Export device: Exports (as an .XML file) a single device's inventory data from the Asset Control

database to a location you specify.

When exporting, you must specify an Attribute for filename, which is a database attribute used to create the name of the .XML file. For example, if you select Device.Device Name, the exported filename will be the name of the device.

You must also specify a Link attribute, which is the attribute to be used when you re-import. Normally, you'd want to use Device.Network.TCPIP address, because that's how a device is usually discovered. In the case of Verizon data, for example, the device doesn't have an IP address, so you could use

Device.Device Name instead.

Delete: Deletes the device record from the Asset Control database.

Custom menu options: If you created new right-click menu options in the Console Extender, these

will appear under Delete.

Column sets

You can edit the columns that appear when viewing devices or query results in the Asset Control view. Once you've created a column set, you can export it at any time as an .XML file by right-clicking it and following the prompts.

Create a column set

1. Expand Database > Column Sets.

2. Right-click All Column Sets and select Add Column Set. 3. Give the column set a name.

4. From the Attributes list, select the new attribute (column to display) and click the Add button. The attribute will appear in the list below that shows other columns in the set. If you want to rearrange the display order of the columns, click an attribute and move it up or down the list using the arrow buttons.

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6. Right-click the column set and select Set Current to change the default column set for all devices that appear in the Asset Control view.

Edit a column set

1. Expand Database > Column Sets > All Column Sets. 2. Right-click a column set in the list, and select Properties.

3. Edit the column set properties and click the OK button to save the changes.

Queries

Queries are useful in Asset Control to search for devices matching a set of criteria. You can create a new query or import an existing LANDESK query to search for devices. When importing a query, you can either use it as is, or you can import and then edit it.

Once you've created a query, it will appear in the All Queries folder. To see the results of a query, click the query and select Run. You can export the query at any time as an .XML file by right-clicking it and following the prompts.

Create a new query

1. Expand Database > Queries. Right-click All Queries and select New Query. 2. Give the query a name.

3. In the All Attributes list, select an attribute for the basis of your query. 4. Select an Operator.

5. To select an existing value, click Show values, then select a value. You can also enter a new value in the Value box.

6. Click the Insert button.

7. Add as many additional elements to the query as you want. You can select And or Or logical operators, edit your entries, and group elements together.

8. Click the Save button. Import a query

1. Expand Database > Queries. Right-click All Queries and click Import. 2. Browse for the query you want to import and click the OK button. Import and edit a query

1. Expand Database > Queries. Right-click All Queries and click New Query. 2. Give the query a name.

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You can use a query as a filter to display only some of the available devices in the Asset Control view. Right-click a query and select Use as filter to display only the devices found based on the query. Click the magnifying glass next to Filter to remove the filter from the displayed list. Use the drop-down list to view previously used filters. Filters appear in this list based on the user who created them.

Asset Control reports

Asset Control reporting is handled through the Data Analytics' Executive Report Pack. Many Asset Control reports ship by default and are listed under Executive Report Pack > Reports > Asset

Control.

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Console Extender

Console Extender is a Data Analytics tool for LANDESK Management Suite that enables you to customize the right-click (context) menu of devices appearing in either the Management Suite

network view or the Data Analytics Asset Control view. Console Extender provides a convenient way of customizing right-click menus instead of the more time-consuming method of editing a device's registry.

Console Extender ships with a number of pre-built menu options that automatically appear on the right-click menus of devices in either the Asset Control view or the network view. You can edit these options as needed.

About the Console Extender view

When you open Console Extender view, a pane appears across the bottom of the Management Suite console. This pane consists of a tree structure that lists various folders.

About the tree-list folders

The tree list contains these main folders:

l Asset Control: Lists the right-click menu options available for devices in the Asset Control view. For a menu option that you want to disable but not delete, right-click it and select Disable. To enable the option again, toggle back to Enable.

l Management Suite: Lists the right-click menu options for devices in the Management Suite network view.

About the toolbar icons

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l Add Command: Creates a command that will become a new right-click menu option. The name you specify here will appear on the menu.

l Delete: Deletes a group or command from the list. If you delete an item and want to restore it:

For Asset Control items, you must rerun the database installation. For Management Suite items, you must manually access the registry of a device in inventory, then re-enter the

information here.

l Refresh: Refreshes the tree list.

l Set Display Order: Enables you to use up/down arrow buttons to reorder the right-click menus for devices appearing in Asset Control. Not an option for devices in the network view.

Getting started

Using Console Extender is simple—expand either the Asset Control or Management Suite folder, create a command, and set its parameters. The command will then appear as an option on the right-click menu of devices found in that particular database.

To edit a command, select it in the tree list. The command parameters will appear to the right. Edit them and click the Save button.

Asset Control

When creating a new right-click menu option for devices in Asset Control, you must specify which devices the option will be associated with. Do this by creating a query that limits the scope of the command.

Create a new menu option

1. Expand the Asset Control folder.

2. On the toolbar, click the Add Command icon. 3. In the tree list, enter a name for this menu option.

4. Enter the path to the Executable file that this menu option will run. Click the ellipsis (...) button, select a file, and click Open. If the file resides in a special folder, Special Folder can help you enter the path more quickly.

5. Enter any command-line options for this executable file, along with a database attribute if needed (often Device.Device Name). For example, if you want the menu option to open Notepad and copy device names into that file, you would specify Device.Device Name here. 6. To use this option on multiple devices at once, specify a Separator, such as a comma, to

separate each device in a resulting list.

7. Enter a group name for this menu option. Groups support one level of organization. 8. Select a query that specifies which devices will have this command appear in their right-click

menu.

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After you've created a menu option, you can see the result by going to the Asset Control view and right-clicking a device in the All Assets folder.

Management Suite

Any right-click menu options that you create for the network view are global, appearing for all devices in inventory. You can also organize menu options in groups.

Create a new menu option

1. Expand the Management Suite folder. 2. On the toolbar, click the Add Command icon. 3. In the tree list, enter a name for this menu option.

4. Enter the path to the Executable file that this menu option will run. Click the ellipsis (...) button, select a file, and click Open. If the file resides in a special folder, Special Folder can help you enter the path more quickly.

5. Enter any command-line options for this executable file, along with a database attribute if needed (often Computer.Device Name).

6. To use this option on multiple devices at once, specify a Separator, such as a comma, to separate each device in a resulting list.

7. Click the Save button.

After you've created a menu option, you can see the result by going to the Management Suite network view, selecting a device in the list, and right-clicking it.

Create a menu group

1. Expand the Management Suite folder. 2. On the toolbar, click the Add Group icon. 3. In the tree list, enter a name for the group.

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Data Translation Services

Data Translation Services (DTS) is a Data Analytics tool for LANDESK Management Suite that scans your organization's devices for the inventory data you most care about, such as software licensing, warranties, and so on. Once the data is scanned into the inventory database, you can customize, aggregate, and organize it in reports to make informed and practical decisions about hardware and software purchases and needs.

The power of DTS is found in its rules, which enable you to scan for much of the device data that's important to your IT work. DTS installs with numerous default rules that will likely address most of your IT needs, though you can configure your own rules to perform customized tasks as well. When you configure a rule and run it, you're enabling DTS to perform a task such as retrieving warranty data from a vendor website or pulling data from Active Directory. Once that information is in the inventory database, you can use it for customized reporting.

In this topic:

About the Data Translation Services view Getting started

Configuring new rules

About the Data Translation Services view

When you open DTS, a pane appears across the bottom of the Management Suite console. This pane consists of a tree structure that lists various folders, most of which are used to store the different rule types.

Most of the folders also have right-click menus that you can use for various tasks, such as configuring, editing, or running rules, importing/exporting rule data as .XML files, and so on. You can also use the toolbar for many of these same tasks.

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From the toolbar, you can complete the following tasks: l Refresh list: Refreshes the tree view.

l Edit properties: Allows you edit the properties of a rule. You can edit only the rules you create on your own. With system-generated rules, you must first copy the rule and then edit it. l Delete: Deletes a rule or group folder and its contents. You can only delete rules you create on

your own, not system-generated rules.

l Toggle active/inactive: Makes a rule active or inactive. By making a rule active, the rule

automatically runs when the core server receives the scan file. You also need to ensure that the

Enable Real-time Processing is on at the DTS toolbar.

l Schedule: Schedules a rule to run now or at a later time against the inventory database. The Schedule icon remains dimmed until you highlight a rule in the DTS tree view. Once you schedule the rule to run, a script is created in the Management Suite console's Scheduled

Tasks. The script name is normally <rulename>_<rule idn>.ini. If you want to change the

scheduled settings, go into Scheduled Tasks and modify it there. Rules don't have to be active in order to schedule them.

l Export configurations: Exports a rule configuration to an .XML file.

l Import configurations: Imports a rule configuration .XML file into the inventory database. l Run order: Sets the run order for your active rules. The top rule runs first, and the others follow

in descending order. Use the arrow keys to change the run order. Only rules set to active appear on this list.

Run order is important, because some rules are dependent on other rules for information. For example, if you're interested in obtaining warranty data for your Dell devices, you would first run a Dell Warranty rule to scan the data initially into the database, and then run the Last Warranty End Date rule to scan more specific data about that warranty.

l Model attributes: A tool that "models" data usually handled by a catch-all table where unknown or “unmodeled” data in the database is placed. You can model the unmodeled data to its own normalized table for users unfamiliar with SQL or the schema of the database. l Settings: Turns on/off the Data Analytics software manager service scan that runs the licensed

software rules for all vendors. This service runs nightly on the core server when network activity is low.

Because the service is resource intensive and can take hours to complete, by default it's turned on at your child core servers and turned off on your rollup servers. We recommend the default, which ensures your inventory data will be current during your regularly scheduled rollup. l Enable/disable real-time processing: Enables or disables active mode for rules. Active mode

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l Favorites: Organizes the rules you consider favorites. Drag and drop rules into this folder. l Active: Organizes rules by "active" status, which means they run nightly during the Data

Analytics core processor service scan. By default, DTS ships with an active subset of rules that provides data for a number of reports. When you set a rule as active, it automatically appears in this folder as well as remaining in its original folder.

l All types: Contains a list of folders that represent all available rule types.

l System groups: Organizes rules by system type. Drag and drop rules into the appropriate system group folder, where you can run them all at once.

l User groups: Organizes rules by the user groups you've defined. Drag and drop rules into the appropriate user group folder, where you can run them all at once.

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NOTE: You may find that the following list of folders is incomplete. The weekly LANDESK content update service will occasionally publish new folders that aren't currently in the product.

l Aggregate data: Creates a rule that performs counts on one-to-many database attributes. If the source attribute is a number, the rule will total the values of the attribute; for example, counting the available storage of a logical drive will return the total storage available on all computer logical drives. If the source attribute is not a number, the rule will count how many records exist and return the number in the destination attribute; for example, counting removable logical drives will total the number of those drives found on all computers. l Archive asset: Creates a rule that removes active assets from the inventory database while

archiving a backup copy of the records in Asset Control. You may need to do this for policy or legal reasons.

l B2B connector: Creates rules that retrieve data— such as purchase history or software license information—from external vendor websites such as CDW or Microsoft.

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l Barcode web form: Creates a form for entering custom data into the inventory database using a web browser.

l Bulk input: Creates a spreadsheet for entering custom data "in bulk" for new and existing device inventory records.

l Calculate data: Creates a rule that uses VBScript to combine multiple database attributes to return a single value or do other operations.

l Enterprise aggregators: Creates a rule that imports data from various enterprise databases into inventory so that you can analyze it using Data Analytics. The data is pulled from the enterprise databases without making any changes to those databases.

l Export data: Creates a rule that exports data to SQL, ODBC, Oracle, or .CSV files.

l Import data: Creates a rule that imports data from SQL, ODBC, Oracle, or .CSV and Excel files. l LDAP import: Creates a rule that enables DTS to connect to an LDAP source and import data

into the inventory database. Data Analytics ships with a number of these rules by default. However, you may want to modify them to gather additional or customized data. An LDAP browser is included to help you find the information you need.

l LDAP export: Creates a rule that enables DTS to connect to a LDAP source and export data from the inventory database to that source.

l Licensed software: Creates a rule that groups software products together by shared license information, showing exactly how many licenses you need to be compliant.

l Map data: Creates a rule for manipulating data, such as copying a database attribute from one place to another. Data Analytics ships with a number of these rules by default. However, you may want to modify them to gather additional or customized data.

l Map list: Creates a rule for creating a new database attribute based on a different attribute. For example, if you have a number of subnets in your network, each one can be mapped to a particular city. You can then map each default gateway to a city.

l Normalize: Creates a rule for normalizing inventory data by standardizing the names for hardware, software, or vendors to make the data reportable.

l Software license import: Creates a rule that imports software license data from external sources (such as .CSV or Excel files, ODBC, Oracle, or SQL) into the Management Suite software license management (SLM) tool.

l SQL command: Creates a rule that directly writes SQL to modify the inventory database. You can enter any valid SQL command or series of commands.

l Web import: Creates a rule for collecting data from the Internet or an intranet. You can specify a vendor website to go to and the information to gather. The most popular of these rules perform manufacturer warranty look-ups and ship by default with Data Analytics.

l Web custom data: Creates a rule that creates web forms you may want to use.

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l Datacenter product: Creates a rule that modifies licensed software detected based on a vendor's advanced licensing policies. For example, running SQL Server in a virtual environment requires comparisons between the host and virtual images to determine the actual license that is most cost effective.

Most of the tree-view folders have right-click menus that you can use for various tasks, such as configuring or editing rules, scheduling rules to run, importing/exporting groups or rule data as .XML files, and so on.

NOTE: The following items are a global list of right-click menus, and they're listed alphabetically. Not all menu items are available for all folders.

l Add group: Creates a group folder that you can use for organizing rules; drag and drop the rules from other folders into this new one. Grouping is useful for running a series of rules together.

l Add licensed software to SLM: Manually runs the Data Analytics software manager service to add product license data to Management Suite’s software license monitoring (SLM) console. The same service runs automatically each night. We recommend that you do not run this process manually unless necessary—it’s resource intensive and could take several hours to complete.

l Add root group: Creates a group folder, at the root of the tree view, that you can use for organizing rules. Drag and drop the rules from other folders into this new one. Grouping is useful for running a series of rules together.

l Add software license lookup entry: Allows you to add a software product to the software license look-up table. The lists that are built for vendor, product, and version come from the licensed software rules. When running a license import, if you receive the message “Product is not defined for row xyz,” the product was not defined in the look-up table, and you must add it. l Assign computer groups: Lets you use computer groups to limit the scope of a software

license. These are groups that you've already defined in the database using the software license monitoring (SLM) tool.

l Assign LDAP groups: Lets you assign licensed software to LDAP groups, ensuring that users in those groups are counted in license compliance. By assigning LDAP groups, you have a way to track license usage accurately in a Citrix or Terminal Server VDI-licensing environment where users remotely access software and aren't using a device with the LANDESK agent installed. l Copy: Creates a copy of a rule in the same group folder. You can then rename and edit the copy. l Delete: Deletes a rule or group folder and its contents. You can only delete rules you create on

your own, not system-generated rules.

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l Delete software license lookup entry: Allows you delete a software product from the software license look-up table.

l Disable/enable group: Disables a group and its rules from running as part of the nightly Data Analytics software manager service scan. When a group is disabled, the service skips that group and doesn’t run its rules.

This feature is useful if the default rules for a vendor don't represent the specific license agreement your organization has with that vendor. For example, if you have a deal with Microsoft that's different from their standard license downgrade rights, you can disable the

Licensed Software > All Vendors > Microsoft group and create a new group called

"YourCompany Microsoft." In that group, you would configure new rules that are specific to your organization's use of Microsoft products, reflecting the true nature of your license agreement with Microsoft.

l Edit: Allows you edit the properties of a rule. You can edit only the rules you create on your own. With system-generated rules, you must first copy the rule and then edit it.

l Export: Exports a rule as an .XML file. To export multiple rule configurations, select them in the list view and click Export.

l Export computer groups: Exports your SLM-defined computer groups as an .XML file for use in another database's software license look-up table, which is useful in a multi-core environment. Use computer groups to limit the scope of a software license.

l Export group: Exports a group folder as an .XML file, which is useful in a multi-core

environment. This action doesn't export the group's rule configurations, just the definition of which rules are in the group. You must export the rule configuration files separately.

l Export LDAP groups: Exports an LDAP group as an .XML file, which is useful in a multi-core environment.

l Export software license lookup information: Exports data from the software license look-up table, which is useful in a multi-core environment.

l Import computer groups: Imports your SLM-defined computer groups as an .XML file from another database's software license look-up table, which is useful in a multi-core environment. Use computer groups to limit the scope of a software license.

l Import group: Imports a group folder from an .XML file, which is useful in a multi-core

environment. This action doesn't import the group's rule configurations, just the definition of which rules are in the group. You must import the rule configuration files separately into the target databases; otherwise, you'll be importing an empty group folder.

l Import LDAP groups: Imports an LDAP group from .XML file, which is useful in a multi-core environment.

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l Modify approved software: Enables you to choose which products are part of the corporate standard for your network environment by setting the Computer.Software.Licensed

Software.Approved attribute to "Yes." This setting is useful when you want to ensure all devices are standardized and running company-approved software.

l New rule: Opens a wizard for creating a new rule configuration. l Run now: Runs the selected rule immediately.

l Schedule: Schedules a rule to run as a task against the inventory database. The task will show up in the DTS Scheduled folder, and a script is created in the Management Suite console's

Scheduled Tasks. The script name is normally <rulename>_<rule idn>.ini. If you want to

change the scheduled settings, go into Scheduled Tasks and modify them there. Rules don't have to be active in order to schedule them.

l Set active/inactive: Sets a rule as active, so that it will run when an inventory scan is received (keeping your inventory data as current as the last inventory scan). When you set a rule as active, you'll be prompted to run it against the entire inventory database to update the data for existing devices; we recommend that you do this. Once a rule is set as active, it automatically appears in the Active folder.

Active mode also requires you to turn on Enable Real-time Processing at the DTS toolbar. l Set group run order: Sets the run order for rule configurations in this group. The top rule runs

first, and the others follow in descending order. Use the arrow keys to change the run order. Run order is important, because some rules are dependent on other rules for information. For example, if you're interested in obtaining warranty data for your Dell devices, you would first run a Dell Warranty rule to scan the data initially into the database, and then run the Last Warranty End Date rule to scan more specific data about that warranty.

l Set targets: Lets you specify which types of devices a rule runs against. For example, you wouldn't run a Dell warranty rule on HP devices. A target can be a device group, individual devices, queries, scopes, or any combination of these.

l Show all licensed software detected: Shows an up-to-date list of all scanned, licensed software.

Getting started

To obtain inventory data and then view it in report format, you'll use both the DTS and the Executive Report Pack (ERP) tools. Use DTS to configure and run the rules that determine the type of data that's scanned into the inventory database, and use ERP to create a variety of reports that are useful for lifecycle management, software compliance audits, and so on.

Understanding rules

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l The licensed software rules, listed under Licensed Software > All Rules, gather information about software licensing that you'll want for reporting. By default, these rules run collectively each night during the Data Analytics software manager service scan and are turned off only if you disable a vendor group from being part of the scan.

You also have the option of running these rules on demand or as a scheduled task, either by vendor group or individually. To see licensed software rules specific to a vendor, click Licensed

Software > All Vendors.

l All other rules, not related to software licensing, gather information from various sources that could also be of value to you. You'll find these rules in the various folders of the DTS tree view, and by default, most are inactive. Only a subset of the most commonly used rules install as active.

To run these rules, you can do so manually, as a scheduled task, or set them as "active." By setting a rule as active, it will appear in the Active folder and will run when an inventory scan is received.

NOTE: The LANDESK content update service, which publishes Data Analytics updates on a weekly basis, regularly overwrites the existing system-generated rules. New system-generated rules, reports, column sets, and so on are also published during these updates.

Running rules

You can run rules three different ways:

l As a scheduled task: Create a script that schedules a rule to run by right-clicking the rule and selecting Schedule. The script you create will appear in the Management Suite console's

Scheduled Tasks, and the name is normally <rulename>_<rule idn>.ini. If you want to change

the scheduled settings, go into Scheduled Tasks and modify them there.

l By manually activating: Run a rule manually by right-clicking it and selecting Run Now to run it on all devices. Or, with some rules, you can drag and drop a device, group, or query from the Management Suite console onto the rule in the DTS console view. This action opens a dialog where you can specify that the rule runs against just those devices.

l By setting as "active" for real-time processing: Set a rule as active so it runs when an

inventory scan is received. You can turn on active mode by right-clicking a rule and selecting Set

Active. Once a rule is active, it automatically appears in the Active folder. For active mode to

work, you must also enable real-time processing. To do this, make sure the Enable Real-time

Processing stoplight is green on the DTS toolbar.

To set a rule as inactive, right-click it and select Set Inactive. DTS will automatically remove the rule from the Active folder. The rule will still exist in its original group folder.

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When real-time processing is enabled, the LANDESK inventory service receives the scan file from a device and writes it with an .MP extension. The Data Analytics core scan processor service then picks up the scan file and runs all active rules against it. After completion, the service puts the scan file back in the LDScan folder as a .SCN file and the inventory service processes it.

For performance reasons, a rule will only run against a scan file if the source data for it is in the scan file. For example, most of the web warranty rules are looking for the System.Serial Number attribute. When a device first sends a scan file, it contains all the data about the device. At that point the serial number should be in the scan file and the rule will run. However, subsequent scans from the same device are normally delta scans (only changes are sent). Since the serial number does not normally change, the rule will not run.

When you set a rule as active, you'll be prompted to run it against the entire inventory database to update the data for existing and new devices; we recommend that you do this. Once a rule is set as active, it automatically appears in the Active folder.

For more information, see "The core scan processor service" (29)

Assigning targets

With most rules, you can specify which types of devices or "targets" the rule runs against. For example, you would only run a Dell warranty rule on Dell devices, not HP devices. A target can be a device group, individual devices, queries, scopes, or any combination of these.

Assign a target to a rule

1. Right-click the rule and select Set Targets.

2. Drag an item from the right (Available Devices) to the left (Selected Devices).

3. Select Check database only if you want the query to check the database but not run against the scan file. This option is important if the attributes being used are not in the scan file, such as data brought in by other rules that may not have run.

4. Click OK.

Viewing reports

By default, Data Analytics installs with multiple reports already defined. You can view these reports by opening the Executive Report Pack tool. From an IT perspective, the most valuable reports are the ones showing software licensing compliance, though many other types of reports are also available. View license-compliance reports

1. In the Data Analytics toolbox, open Executive Report Pack.

2. In the tree view, click ERP > Software Compliance. You'll find several reports to choose from in this folder.

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Configuring new rules

The power of DTS is found in its system-generated rules, which enable you to scan for a wide variety of device data that's important to your IT work. At some point, you may want to configure new rules. DTS has numerous wizards that lead you through the process of creating a rule. These wizards are

accessible via the tree view by right-clicking any of the folders and selecting New Rule. For descriptions of the rules you can configure, seeAbout the Data Translation Services view. The rules you will most commonly need that may not ship by default with Data Analytics involve merging records, normalizing data, and managing licensed software. The following sections describe those rule types.

Merging records

One key feature of DTS is the ability to use a barcode form or B2B connector to create a "stub" record for a device that doesn't yet exist on your network. For example, when you receive a computer at your loading dock, you can scan the barcode on the box, and DTS will create the stub record in the

database. Then, depending on the manufacturer, DTS may pull additional information from the web about the device. After you put the device on the network with an installed LANDESK agent, this stub record is merged with the normal inventory record.

Stub records are stored in the following places:

l For devices that can be managed, such as computers, they're stored in the inventory database. l For a non-agent device, such as a printer, they're stored in Asset Control.

l For a software license, they're imported into Management Suite's software license monitoring (SLM) tool.

Rules for B2B connectors and barcode forms merge stub records automatically. Below is a description of the process.

B2B connector merging

The various B2B connectors are designed to pull information about your devices from the web and add that information into inventory. For example, if you purchase devices from CDW, you can create a B2B connector rule for CDW that can pull purchase information such as the price, P.O. number, and so on. B2B connectors can also create new stub records to show devices you have ordered but have not yet installed with the LANDESK agent.

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An important point is that by default, the LANDESK agent does not report a Computer.Barcode value. When DTS is installed, a system-generated rule is also installed that can populate this field. If you plan on merging records, it's best practice to run this rule manually (located in Calculate Data > All Rules

> Computer.Barcode). After comparing the barcodes for a match, the service copies only the stub

record data that doesn't already exist into the inventory database. The stub record is then deleted. For more information, see "B2B connectors overview" (33)

Barcode merging

Barcode merging is similar to B2B merging. The main differences are that the Computer.Scan Type is set to Barcode, and it's not necessarily the Computer.Barcode field that's used to merge. Each barcode form has a link field. When a barcode rule creates a device record, the Computer.Barcode Configuration attribute is populated with the name of the rule that added it.

When the service performs its merge check, it looks for all devices with a Computer.Scan Type of

Barcode. It then looks up the Computer.Barcode Configuration value for the device. The service reads

the barcode form for the link attribute and searches the database for any non-barcode devices with the same link attribute value. If one is found, the records are merged in the same manner as for B2B connector devices.

For more information, see "Barcode web-form wizard" (50).

Normalizing data

For a variety of reasons, much of the data in your inventory database is not in report-ready format. Many vendors have few standards for naming their hardware, software, or company, making it difficult to create a clean report that shows all of the vendors and product versions you have installed. The inventory database can only report back what a device reports to it. A hardware vendor may report that its name is just "Vendor" on one device, “Vendor Inc.” on another device, and “Vendor

Incorporated” on a third. By normalizing the data, you can make it more easily reportable. For more information, see "Normalize wizard" (105)

Managing licensed software

One of the most expensive aspects of an IT environment is the software. Using DTS to determine an accurate number of licenses your software products require can result in huge cost savings.

DTS uses a EULA-based method for determining which software products actually need licenses in your environment. For example, Microsoft may allow a license for Office 2010 Professional to also cover a copy of Office Professional 2007, but not a copy of Office Standard 2010. Regardless of how many of these “covered” copies of software exist on a device, you need only one license to be compliant. This is known as “effective licensing”—the number of licenses you need versus what you may have installed. DTS uses a flexible, query-based engine to determine effective licensing.

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The core scan processor service

All of the Data Translation Services rules that are set to active are executed by the Data Analytics core scan processor service. The core scan processor service actually does the processing of the scan files. In order to process the scan files, they are moved to different directories:

1. The LANDESK inventory service receives the scan file and puts it in the ManagementSuite\ldscan directory with an extension of .MP.

2. The Data Analytics core scan processor service moves the scan file from the

ManagementSuite\ldscan directory to the ManagementSuite\MP_TEMP directory and changes the extension to .SCN.

3. All active rules are applied to the scan file.

4. The core scan processor service moves the scan file from the ManagementSuite\MP_TEMP directory to the ManagementSuite\ldscan directory.

5. The LANDESK inventory service processes the scan file into the inventory database.

The core scan processor service processes multiple scan files simultaneously, by default, 10 at a time. You can increase or decrease this number with a registry value. Increasing the value can increase performance if Data Analytics rules spend a lot of time waiting for other resources, such as LDAP queries or other computers.

Change the number of scans processed simultaneously 1. Set the following registry value:

HKLM\Software\Managed Planet\Core\ThreadCount

NOTE: This value is a DWORD. Set it to the number of simultaneous scan files to be processed.

Rule names and database selections

You can use Data Translation Services (DTS) to configure rules that do various tasks. Each rule has a specific wizard that leads you through the configuration process.

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The second page of most wizards requires you to select the database where the rule will store the data it gathers. Depending on what you have installed, the database options are Management Suite, Asset Manager, Asset Control, or Asset Lifecycle Manager.

Aggregate data wizard

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Source: The one-to-many database attribute to aggregate. Click the ellipsis (… ) button to select the

attribute from the attribute browser.

If the source attribute is a number, the rule will total the values and return the number in the

destination attribute. For example, counting the available storage of a logical drive will return the total storage available on all computer logical drives.

If the source attribute is not a number, the rule will count how many records exist and return that number in the destination attribute. For example, counting removable logical drives will total the number of those drives found on all computers.

Description: The database attribute where the rule will return the aggregated result. Click the ellipsis

(… ) button to select the attribute from the attribute browser.

Click the Finish button. Your new rule will appear in the Aggregate Data > All Rules folder.

Archive asset wizard

Use this wizard to create a rule that automates an archiving process for your Management-Suite-managed devices.

For policy or legal reasons, you may need to remove devices from the inventory database but still keep a backup copy of those records in an archive. The Asset Control database is a location where you can archive records after removing them from the active management area. When a device record is moved out of inventory and into Asset Control, the device no longer consumes a Management Suite client license.

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Control, you must rescan the device with the Management Suite inventory scanner.

You can also use this wizard to create a rule that stores copies in Asset Control of device records that continue to exist in the inventory database. The device records in Asset Control will only be as up-to-date as the last time you ran the rule.

Use the Link attributes list to link the device to an inventory record in the Asset Control database.

Computer.Device ID is the attribute used to determine uniqueness in inventory and is entered by

default. Because IDs can change if devices are re-imaged, the Computer.System.Serial Number is also a good link attribute to use. Click the Add button to open the attribute browser and add more link attributes to the list.

Delete from Management Suite: Removes device records from the inventory database after archiving

them. The device no longer uses a Management Suite client license. To import a deleted device back into inventory, you must rescan the device.

Only copy devices that do not exist in Asset Control: Copies device records only if they don't

currently exist in the Asset Control database, which is useful for keeping copies of records that don't need up-to-date information.

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B2B connectors overview

You may have purchased products or services for your organization from manufacturers that DTS refers to as "B2B connectors." B2B connectors are manufacturers whose websites store data records of customer purchase history, software license information, and so on that you may find valuable for reporting and auditing purposes. By configuring B2B connector rules, you have the option of importing this information into the inventory database.

The types of data you can retrieve will vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. For example, a rule for Adobe can import their most current software license data, helping you maintain up-to-date records within Management Suite's software license monitoring (SLM) console. A rule for CDW can import information about devices purchased from CDW, such as purchase price, P.O. number, and so on.

NOTE: The B2B connector rules rely on vendor websites to import data. On occasion, a vendor may change their website, preventing the rule from working correctly. If this occurs, contact LANDESK Software to ensure that the rule functionality is updated via a content patch.

You may also find that a vendor has added a Captcha key, which prevents a B2B connector rule from accessing the vendor's website. In this case, contact the vendor directly.

When configuring B2B connector rules, you'll notice there are two types—file based and web based. Both types import manufacturer-supplied records, each in different ways:

l File based: You log into the manufacturer website directly, create a report file from available data records (or request one from the manufacturer), and store the file in a directory location. When you run the rule, DTS imports the .CSV, .XLS, or .XLSX file. You'll want to update this report file periodically when new manufacturer records become available. Manufacturers that require you to create a report include Softchoice and Softmart.

l Web based: DTS dynamically pulls data records from the manufacturer's website and imports them each time you run the rule. All manufacturers listed under the B2B connector folder are web based except for Softchoice and Softmart.

When you expand the B2B Connector folder, you'll see that DTS has an extensive list of manufacturers that you can set up as B2B connectors. To open the wizard for a manufacturer, right-click the

manufacturer name and select New Rule.

Each manufacturer has slightly different requirements for configuring B2B connector rules. For more information, see "B2B connector wizards" (34).

About the Universal B2B import rule

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A list of manufacturers whose .CSV, .XLS, or .XLSX files DTS can currently import is accessible via the

Universal B2B import folder's Edit Manufacturers right-click menu. If a manufacturer is not in this

list, you must contact LANDESK Software with a request to add it. For more information about this rule, see "B2B connector wizards" (34).

Merging records

One key feature of DTS is the ability to use a B2B connector to create a "stub" record for a device that doesn't yet exist on your network.

For example, when you receive a computer at your loading dock, you can scan the barcode on the box, and DTS will create the stub record. Then, depending on the manufacturer, DTS may pull additional information from the web about the device. After you put the device on the network with an installed LANDESK agent, this stub record is merged with the normal inventory record.

Stub records are stored in the following places:

l For devices that can be managed (such as computers), records are stored in the inventory database.

l For a non-agent device (such as a printer), records are stored in Asset Control.

l For a software license, records are imported into Management Suite's software license monitoring (SLM) console.

When a B2B connector rule creates a stub record, it assigns the Computer.Scan Type as Vendor

Import. It also assigns the serial number (or similar identifying number) to the Computer.Barcode field.

A service then runs on the core server looking for all records of Computer.Scan Type Vendor Import. It checks the Computer.Barcode against all other devices to see if a device with a different scan type exists.

NOTE: By default, the LANDESK agent does not report a Computer.Barcode value. You must use a system-generated rule that's installed with DTS to populate this field.

If you plan on merging records, we recommend manually running this rule (located in Calculate Data > All Rules > Computer.Barcode). After comparing the barcodes for a match, the service will copy only the stub record data that doesn't already exist as part of the inventory record and then delete the stub record.

B2B connector wizards

Each manufacturer, or B2B connector, has slightly different requirements for configuring rules to retrieve data from their websites. For more information about B2B connectors, see "B2B connectors overview" (33)

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NOTE: The B2B connector rules rely on vendor websites to import data. On occasion, a vendor may change their website, preventing the rule from working correctly. If this occurs, contact LANDESK Software to ensure that the rule functionality is updated via a content patch.

You may also find that a vendor has added a Captcha key, which prevents a B2B connector rule from accessing the vendor's website. In this case, contact the vendor directly.

Expand the B2B connector name below for more information about using the wizard: Adobe Software Import

An Adobe B2B connector rule functions just like a software-license import rule. You may need to update the software license look-up table if the rule is importing software data that's not recognized. For more information, see "Licensed-software rules overview" (84)

User: The username assigned by Adobe. Password: The password assigned by Adobe.

Start date: The date to start collecting data from Adobe. All data from the Adobe volume licensing site

will be imported from this date on.

Timeout: Depending on how much data you retrieve and the speed of your connection, you may need

to increase the timeout value. Values are listed in seconds.

Click the Finish button. Your new rule will appear in the B2B Connector > Adobe Software Import >

All Rules folder.

CDW Import

To pull information from the CDW website, it's first necessary to create a report for the data you want. Create the report by going to the CDW website and following the steps below.

Because you'll be scheduling this report to run periodically, make sure you select an appropriate time period for the data you want to import. For example, you may want to schedule the report to import data once a week, so you would select Month To Date. You may also want to do one initial pull of historical data to populate the items already in your database.

To create a CDW report

1. Go to http://www.cdw.com. 2. Log in using your credentials.

3. From the menu, select Order Center > Order History.

4. Select Create New Report and select the fields you want to include in Management Suite. 5. Select a Time Period for the report.

6. Click Save Report.

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Report URL: The URL for the report you just created on the CDW website. Go to that report, run it,

and copy the URL into the Report URL text box. This link will be a very long; make sure you copy the entire URL.

User: The username assigned by CDW. Password: The password assigned by CDW.

You can now manually run the rule to pull CDW data into the database. To import new items that you order from CDW, schedule this rule to run in accordance with the time period you selected for the report.

Click the Finish button. Your new rule will appear in the B2B Connector > CDW Import > All Rules folder.

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Warranty data: An option that imports all warranty data, such as start date, end date, description,

and so on.

Manufacturer parts: An option that imports the parts information (such as hard drive, memory, and

so on) that Dell shipped with the ordered device.

Key attribute: The database attribute to send to Dell when this rule looks up the device in inventory.

This attribute should be the one that holds the Dell Service Tag.

Use proxy: If your server needs to use a proxy to access the Dell website, select this option and fill in

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Click the Finish button. Your new rule will appear in the B2B Connector > Dell Warranty Import >

All Rules folder.

En Pointe Import

User: The username assigned by En Pointe. Password: The password assigned by En Pointe.

Days to save: The number of days back for which to retrieve data. You can set up one rule that

retrieves all historical data and another rule that is scheduled to run once a month to retrieve that month’s information.

Click the Finish button. Your new rule will appear in the B2B Connector > En Pointe Import > All

Rules folder.

ePlus Import

User: The username assigned by ePlus. Password: The password assigned by ePlus.

Months to save: The number of months back for which to retrieve data. You can set up one rule that

retrieves all historical data and another rule that is scheduled to run once a month to retrieve that month’s information.

Click the Finish button. Your new rule will appear in the B2B Connector > ePlus Import > All Rules folder.

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User: The username assigned by Microsoft. Password: The password assigned by Microsoft.

Totals only: The total number of licenses that are part of your Microsoft contract.

By individual licensing ID: Contract numbers assigned by Microsoft. Enter each licensing ID on its

own line.

Ignore unresolved: A column in the Microsoft report titled "Unresolved," which typically refers to

upgrades or items purchased that are not part of your original contract.

Click the Finish button. Your new rule will appear in the B2B Connector > Microsoft Volume License

Import > All Rules folder.

PDS Import

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Password: The password assigned by PDS.

Months: The number of months back for which to retrieve data. You can set up one rule that retrieves

all historical data and another rule that is scheduled to run once a month to retrieve that month’s information.

Click the Finish button. Your new rule will appear in the B2B Connector > PDS Import > All Rules folder.

Softchoice Import

Directory: The directory location where you'll store the .XLSX-formatted report file obtained from the

Softchoice website. When this rule runs, the file will import into the inventory database.

Click the Finish button. Your new rule will appear in the B2B Connector > Softchoice Import > All

Rules folder.

Softmart Import

Directory: The directory location where you'll store the .XLS-formatted report file obtained from the

Softmart website. When this rule runs, the file will import into the inventory database.

Click the Finish button. Your new rule will appear in the B2B Connector > Softmart Import > All

Rules folder.

SoftwareONE Import

User: The username assigned by SoftwareONE. Password: The password assigned by SoftwareONE.

Start date: The date to start collecting data from SoftwareONE. All data from the SoftwareONE volume

licensing site will be imported from this date on.

End date: The date to stop collecting data from SoftwareONE.

Use current date as end date: Select if you want to collect data from the start date on, without

cessation.

Click the Finish button. Your new rule will appear in the B2B Connector > SoftwareONE Import> All

Rules folder.

Verizon Import

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server.

User: The username assigned by Verizon. Password: The password assigned by Verizon.

Gather summary data: Retrieves summary-usage data for your account by taking the monthly

summary-usage report from Verizon and importing as far as back as possible, typically 12 months.

Gather upgrade data: Pulls upgrade information for each device, such as device type and cost. This

option works only on selected devices that you drag and drop onto the rule.

Gather current usage data: Retrieves usage data for the current month that hasn't been billed yet.

This option works only on selected devices that you drag and drop onto the rule.

Click the Finish button. Your new rule will appear in the B2B Connector > Verizon Import > All

Rules folder.

VMWare B2B Import

User: The username assigned by VMWare. Password: The password assigned by VMWare.

Click the Finish button. Your new rule will appear in the B2B Connector > VMWare B2B Import > All

Rules folder.

Universal B2B import wizard

Use this wizard to create a rule that imports report-file data from manufacturers not appearing in the B2B connectors list. Files must have a .CSV, .XLS, or .XLSX extension to be imported into the inventory database.

You can accomplish tasks related to the universal B2B import rule by using the various right-click menus.

In the DTS tree view, right-click the Universal B2B Import folder to access these menus:

Edit classes: A list of classes, or categories, DTS can currently import from a manufacturer-supplied

report file into one of three places, as listed in the Import type column:

Data Analytics 9.6. User's Guide

Contents

LANDESK Data Analytics overview

Data Analytics features and benefits

Key results

Purchase management

Software- and hardware-usage monitoring

Asset reporting

Efficient acquisition

Automated asset management

Asset mapping

Normalized data

Rules-based licensing

Software-usage monitoring

Effective asset retirement

Asset Control

About the Asset Control view

Getting started

Viewing inventory data

Column sets

Queries

Asset Control reports

Console Extender

About the Console Extender view

Getting started

Asset Control

Management Suite

Data Translation Services

About the Data Translation Services view

Getting started

Understanding rules

Running rules

Assigning targets

Viewing reports

Configuring new rules

Merging records

Normalizing data

Managing licensed software

The core scan processor service

Rule names and database selections

Aggregate data wizard

Archive asset wizard

B2B connectors overview

About the Universal B2B import rule

Merging records

B2B connector wizards

Universal B2B import wizard