Set Up Virtual Inventory Tracking
FlexNet Manager Suite
2020 R1
(On-Premises)
IBM's requirements include that you can track movement of any relevant virtual
machine when it moves between hosts. To do this, you also need to configure
inventory gathering on virtual hosts. Three different approaches apply, depending on
the methods that FlexNet Manager Suite can use to gather information about guest
VMs:
- Agent on host: Where data about guest VMs is available to the FlexNet inventory agent locally installed on the host (as is the case with Microsoft Hyper-V), simply deploy the FlexNet inventory agent locally on the server, as you do to all other devices that may run software under IBM PVU licenses. In this case, the virtual host is added to the target All devices consuming IBM PVU points, and is managed on the same high-frequency schedule that applies to all installations of FlexNet inventory agent on devices running software licensed under IBM PVU.
- Agent on guest: Where data about the VM/host relationship is
available within the VM itself (as is the case for LPARs, vPARs, nPARs,
containers and zones), the only requirement is to deploy the FlexNet inventory agent locally on the VM. This also automatically joins the
All devices consuming IBM PVU points target.Tip: For Solaris zones, only the global zone contains details about the VM/host relationship. You must ensure that the FlexNet inventory agent is locally installed on the global zone, as well as in any non-global zones where you want to collect inventory.
- Direct inventory of host: For technologies where a locally-installed FlexNet inventory agent cannot access VM deployment details, but where there is an API available that exposes this data, FlexNet Manager Suite automatically maintains a separate target of such targets that require 'direct' inventory collection by an inventory beacon accessing the API. For these, you only need to configure discovery manually, since once a virtual host is discovered, it is automatically added to the (hidden) rule for high-frequency inventory gathering from these devices.
To set up discovery (and the resulting automatic inventory gathering) on virtual hosts:
- A new policy for inventory beacons is prepared and downloaded soon (by default within 15 minutes, although this interval may be customized by navigating to and scrolling down to the Beacon settings section).
- The policy is downloaded to all operating inventory beacons, each of which checks to see whether your rule needs to be executed by it (that is, whether there is any overlap between its assigned subnets and the target[s] declared in the rule). Unaffected inventory beacons, of course, ignore the policy change.
- Each affected inventory beacon applies your schedule, then (on schedule) triggers the action specified in the rule. Depending on subnet sizes, it may take a little while to complete the discovery process.
- Finally, the resulting discovery (.disco) files are uploaded to the central application server, and resolved into the inventory database. There they wait until the next full inventory import and license reconciliation, which happens by default overnight (although an operator in a role with Administrator privileges may trigger one sooner).
- After that, the discovered VMs and their hosts are visible in the All Discovered Devices page, and the automatic maintenance of special hidden targets and automated rules are ready to run as required (once you turn on high-frequency mode, as described in Turn on High-Frequency Mode).
- Thereafter, inventory is gathered from the target hosts automatically on the high-frequency schedule you enable.
FlexNet Manager Suite (On-Premises)
2020 R1