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Configuring Software Metering

Software metering is configured in two areas of reference: software metering rules and the client agent. Let’s begin by looking at the server components because without these the client agent is useless. The two server components that need to be configured are the Software Metering component and the software metering site system. Both are definable through the Site Settings node in the SMS Administrator Console.

Configuring the Software Metering Client Agent

Like the other SMS client features we’ve seen, you enable software metering by configuring a client agent—in this case, the Software Metering Client Agent. And, like the other client agent settings, the options you choose when you configure the agent are considered site-wide options and are propagated to all clients in the site.

To configure the Software Metering Client Agent, follow these steps:

  1. In the SMS Administrator Console, navigate to the Client Agents node under Site Settings.

  2. Right-click Software Metering Client Agent and choose Properties from the context menu to display the Software Metering Client Agent Properties dialog box, shown in Figure 15.1.

    Click To expand
    Figure 15.1: The Software Metering Client Agent Properties dialog box.

  3. In the General tab, select the Enable Software Metering On Clients check box.

  4. In the Schedule tab, shown in Figure 15.2, use the Schedule buttons to determine how frequently you want to send collected data from the client back to the site system (Data Collection Schedule) and how often you want to download software metering rules for Legacy Clients (Metering Rules Download Schedule). Note that Advanced Clients download metering rules as part of their Advanced Policy refresh schedule, which is once an hour by default. The minimum actual value that SMS will use for either of these options is 15 minutes.

    Click To expand
    Figure 15.2: Specifying software metering process flow.

  5. Choose OK to save your settings and configure the agent.

    Note 

    Software metering won’t collect a data file that’s more than 90 days old. If it finds such a file, it generates status message 5614 and moves the data file to its own folder.

On a Legacy Client, after the next client update cycle (every 25 hours or the next time you start the client), the agent component files will be copied to the client and the agent will be started. On an Advanced Client, all agents are automatically installed when the Advanced Client is installed. So, at the Advanced Client’s next refresh cycle (once an hour by default), it receives an Advanced Client policy indicating that the agent has been enabled and the agent is configured and started on the client.

After the rules are downloaded to the client, the agent can begin to monitor programs, even if the program is currently running in computer memory.

Configuring Software Metering Rules

Software metering rules identify for the client agent which programs should be monitored and how they should be monitored. Rules can be identified at any SMS site in your hierarchy and can apply only to that site or, as mentioned earlier, to any lower-level child site below it in the hierarchy. The catch is that any rules created higher up in the hierarchy can be modified only in the site in which they were created. This behavior is consistent with the way package, advertisement, and collection data are handled as well.

The rule configuration information is propagated down the hierarchy to child sites, but maintenance of the rule is effected at the site in which the rule is created. Consequently, it’s important that you carefully consider whether the rule you create should be propagated and applied to SMS clients in child sites.

Software metering is supported on SMS clients running Terminal Services or Remote Desktop Connection. Program usage in this case is monitored individually—that is, each program run through a Terminal Services session is counted as a distinct usage of that program, even if the same program is being run in each session. However, the programs run in the Terminal Services session are treated as remote connections and are reported with the same computer name. Programs run using Microsoft Windows 2000 or Windows XP Remote Desktop Connection, however, are treated as local connections and the local computer name is reported.

Creating a Software Metering Rule

To configure a software metering rule, follow these steps:

  1. In the SMS Administrator Console, navigate to the Software Metering Rules node.

  2. Right-click Software Metering Rules and choose New, Software Metering Rule from the context menu to display the Software Metering Rule Properties dialog box, shown in Figure 15.3.

    Click To expand
    Figure 15.3: The Software Metering Rule Properties dialog box.

  3. In the General tab, enter the appropriate information in each field (all fields are required except Version and Comment):

    • In the Name field, enter a descriptive name for the rule itself; it’s suggested that you include the program name or filename.

    • In the File Name field, enter the filename that launches the program or click Browse to search for the appropriate executable file. Keep in mind that some programs are used as placeholders to launch other programs. You should specify the name of the program that ultimately executes the program itself or you might not collect the appropriate tracking information. For example, if you track a command file that launches, say, Solitaire, software metering will track only the command file and not Solitaire. This field isn’t required if you specify an Original File Name.

    • In the Original File Name field, enter the filename of the program as it appears in the header information contained in the program’s executable file. If the executable file is renamed and you were tracking on the File Name value, software metering would no longer recognize the application as the one to monitor. The value in Original File Name, on the other hand, directs the agent to read the application’s name from the header information contained in the application’s executable file. Thus, even if the file is renamed, the agent would still recognize the application as the one to monitor. This field isn’t required if you specify a File Name.

      Caution 

      Not all applications are written to contain the program name in the header information of the executable file. Games, for example, tend not to do this.

    • In the Version field, enter the version of the program if you want software metering to monitor a specific version. Here you can use wildcards to broaden or narrow the entry. Use the default asterisk (*) to match on any version. Use the question mark (?) to substitute for any character. For example, if you want to monitor versions 5.0, 5.1, and 5.2, enter 5.? in the Version field.

      Caution 

      If you leave this field blank, software metering will monitor the program only if the version listed in the header information of the program executable file is also blank.

    • In the Language field, select the language of the software program from the drop-down list.

    • In the Comment field, enter any additional descriptive information that you think can be useful in identifying how or why this rule is used. As always, I prefer to err on the side of having more descriptive information than is needed rather than not enough.

    • In the Site Code field, select the site code that the rule should apply to. If you have only one site, or if the site is the lowest in the hierarchy, this field will be dimmed. If the rule should apply to this site and all its child sites, enable the option This Rule Applies To The Specified Site And All Its Child Sites.

  4. Click OK to save the rule.

Enabling and Disabling a Software Metering Rule

After you create a new software metering rule, it’s automatically enabled and, if you chose to do so, propagated to child sites. However, you might want to stop monitoring a particular program and continue to view data already collected but not completely delete the rule. In this case you can disable the rule and, when you want to run the rule again, enable it again. The client is notified of the change in status of the rule during the next rule update on the client.

To disable a software metering rule, complete the following steps:

  1. In the SMS Administrator Console, navigate to the Software Metering Rules node.

  2. Right-click the software metering rule you want to disable, choose All Tasks from the context menu, and then choose Disable.

To enable a software metering rule that has been disabled, follow these steps:

  1. In the SMS Administrator Console, navigate to the Software Metering Rules node.

  2. Right-click the software metering rule you want to enable, choose All Tasks from the context menu, and then choose Enable.

Summarizing Data

The amount of program information that’s collected can add up quickly and use a lot of space in the SMS site database. To keep the information manageable, SMS periodically summarizes the collected data as well as deletes old data. You can’t view collected metering data until the next summarization cycle—once a day by default—is completed.

Data is summarized based on monthly usage and file usage. File usage tracks the approximate total number of concurrent users who have run a specific program during a specific time interval. The Summarize Software Metering File Usage Data maintenance task (accessible by clicking Site Settings and then Site Maintenance), condenses the individual software metering data records into one record that provides aggregate information about the program—its name, version, language, and number of users—over intervals of 15 minutes and 1 hour. This task runs once a day and summarizes data over 15-minute and 1-hour intervals. Monthly usage tracks the number of times a program is run by a specific user on a specific computer.

Similarly, the Summarize Software Metering Monthly Usage Data maintenance task condenses the individual software metering data records into one record but summarizes the data over monthly periods. This task runs once a day and summarizes data over one-month intervals.

In addition, by default, each day SMS deletes software metering data records older than 5 days and summarized data older than 270 days.

Software metering summarization tasks and deletion tasks are configurable maintenance tasks in SMS 2003. To configure the Delete Aged Software Metering Data task, follow these steps:

  1. In the SMS Administrator Console, navigate to the Site Maintenance node under Site Settings, expand it, and, under Site Maintenance, select Tasks.

  2. Right-click the Delete Aged Software Metering Data task and select Properties from the context menu.

  3. In the Delete Aged Software Metering Data Task Properties dialog box, shown in Figure 15.4, select the number of days after which data will be considered old and the schedule for the task to be executed.

    Click To expand
    Figure 15.4: The Delete Aged Software Metering Data Task Properties dialog box.

  4. Click OK when you’re finished.

To configure the Delete Aged Software Metering Summary Data task, complete the following steps:

  1. In the SMS Administrator Console, navigate to the Site Maintenance node under Site Settings, expand it, and, under Site Maintenance, select Tasks.

  2. Right-click the Delete Aged Software Metering Summary Data task and select Properties from the context menu.

  3. In the Delete Aged Software Metering Summary Data Task Properties dialog box, shown in Figure 15.5, select the number of days after which data will be considered old and the schedule for the task to be executed.

    Click To expand
    Figure 15.5: The Delete Aged Software Metering Summary Data Task Properties dialog box.

  4. Click OK when you’re finished.

To configure the Summarize Software Metering File Usage Data task, follow these steps:

  1. In the SMS Administrator Console, navigate to the Site Maintenance node under Site Settings, expand it, and, under Site Maintenance, select Tasks.

  2. Right-click the Summarize Software Metering File Usage Data task and select Properties from the context menu.

  3. In the Summarize Software Metering File Usage Data Task Properties dialog box, shown in Figure 15.6, select the schedule for the task to be executed.

    Click To expand
    Figure 15.6: The Summarize Software Metering File Usage Data Task Properties dialog box.

  4. Click OK when you’re finished.

To configure the Summarize Software Metering Monthly Usage Data task, follow these steps:

  1. In the SMS Administrator Console, navigate to the Site Maintenance node under Site Settings, expand it, and, under Site Maintenance, select Tasks.

  2. Right-click the Summarize Software Metering Monthly Usage Data task and select Properties from the context menu.

  3. In the Summarize Software Metering Monthly Usage Data Task Properties dialog box, shown in Figure 15.7, select the schedule for the task to be executed.

    Click To expand
    Figure 15.7: The Summarize Software Metering Monthly Usage Data Task Properties dialog box.

  4. Click OK when you’re finished.



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