Managing Azure Connections

FlexNet Manager Suite 2020 R2 (On-Premises)

A connection to your chosen Microsoft Azure environment requires three elements:

• Installation of the Azure Resource Manager (AzureRM) module.
• An Azure service principal identity that is required to have access to Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines with read permission, or you can use the built-in role Virtual machine contributor.
• Configuration of the inventory beacon to make the connection to Azure. You must specify the connection details which can be obtained from Azure Active Directory (which does not have a schedule by default).

Prerequisites

To complete this process, your chosen inventory beacon must meet the following requirements, some of which should have been fulfilled when the FlexNet Beacon software was installed:

• PowerShell 5.1 or later is running on Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 or later, or Windows 7 SP1 or later; with the PowerShell execution policy set to RemoteSigned.
• Install the Microsoft AzureRM module, version 6.8.1 or later.
  • You downloaded this PowerShell module from https://www.powershellgallery.com/packages/AzureRM.
  • To install it on your inventory beacon use the command: Install-Module -Name AzureRM -RequiredVersion x.x.x. For example:

    Install-Module -Name AzureRM -RequiredVersion 6.13.1

• Ensure that the Windows Environment Variable PSModulePath includes the following path:

  %ProgramFiles%\WindowsPowerShell\Modules

• The FlexNet Beacon software installed on the inventory beacon must be release 15.0.0 (shipped with FlexNet Manager Suite 2020 R1) or later.
• A web browser is installed and enabled on the inventory beacon.
• You must log onto the inventory beacon, and run FlexNet Beacon, using an account with administrator privileges.

The connection to Azure supports optional use of a proxy.

To configure your first connection to Microsoft Azure:

1. The Microsoft Azure adapter requires a service principal identity to operate. This provides authentication for the Azure resources that can be accessed.
   • Microsoft provides the following guides to assist with this task:
     • Create an Azure service principal with Azure PowerShell: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/azure/create-azure-service-principal-azureps.
     • Use the portal to create an Azure AD application and service principal that can access resources: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/active-directory/develop/howto-create-service-principal-portal
     Note: The service principal object needs to have read access to Microsoft.Compute/virtualMachines. You may simply use the built-in role Virtual machine contributor.
2. Configure the connection to Azure:
   1. In the FlexNet Beacon interface, select the Inventory systems page.
   2. To create a new connection, click the down arrow on the right of the New... split button, and choose PowerShell.
      Tip: You can also edit a connection you have defined previously, by selecting it from the list of connections and clicking Edit....
   3. In the dialog that appears, complete (or modify) the following required fields with the values appropriate to your chosen Microsoft Azure environment:
      • Connection Name: The name you give this inventory connection is also used in the web interface of FlexNet Manager Suite to name the data import task.
      • Source Type: Select Microsoft Azure from this list.
      • Azure Tenant ID: This value is your Directory ID, available from the Properties page in Azure Active Directory.
      • Application ID: Once you have registered your application, this value displays next to your application's Display Name in the App registrations page of Azure Active Directory. The Application ID is specific to your chosen Azure environment, to be specified below.
      • Application Password: Copy your key's password when you save application key.
        Note: The Application Password can only be copied from Azure Active Directory after saving the application key. It cannot be retrieved later. This password is also specific to your chosen Azure environment.
      • Environment: Enter the name of one of the available Microsoft Azure environments (such as AzureChinaCloud, AzureCloud, AzureGermanCloud, AzureUSGovernment). If this field is left blank, the default connection is attempted to AzureCloud. Any value entered must be a (case-insensitive) match with one of the Microsoft Azure environments. If your value does not match one of the existing Microsoft Azure environments, the error message lists the current values to choose from. (The full list of available environments is also available through the PowerShell cmdlet Get-AzureRmEnvironment, delivered through the AzureRM Tools for Windows PowerShell.)
   4. If a proxy server is in use between the inventory beacon and Microsoft Azure, also select the Use Proxy check box, and complete the following additional details:
      • Proxy Server: Enter the address of the proxy server using HTTP, HTTPS, or an IP address. Use the format https://ProxyServerURL:PortNumber, http://ProxyServerURL:PortNumber, or IPAddress:PortNumber). If the protocol is omitted, it defaults to http:. If the port number is omitted, it defaults to :80 for http, or 443 for https.
      • Username and Password: If your enterprise is using an authenticated proxy, specify the credentials to access the proxy server you just identified.
   5. Click Test Connection to check that your current settings work in your specified Environment.
      • If the connection test fails, click OK to close the message, review and correct the connection details, and retest the connection. You cannot save the connection details if the connection test fails. If you cannot get the connection test to succeed, click Cancel to cancel the addition of these connection details, and seek further assistance.
      • If, instead, the inventory beacon can successfully access the Azure APIs using the details supplied, a Test connection succeeded message displays. Click OK to close the message. Click Save to add the connection to (or update it in) the list.
   6. By default, your new Azure connection will not be linked to any schedule, required to regularly import this Azure virtual machine inventory.
      • If there is not already a suitable schedule created for your Azure inventory import, click on Scheduling* from the Data collection group in the navigation bar. Click New... and create the new schedule (see Creating a Data Gathering Schedule).
      • When you have a suitable schedule already defined, click Schedule... to link to the timetable for repeated imports of data from Microsoft Azure (for details, see Scheduling a Connection).