Creating a License
To calculate the license compliance position of your enterprise, FlexNet Manager Suite requires license records to compare against the corresponding application installation records. In addition to the recommended way of creating licenses through purchase processing, FlexNet Manager Suite also enables you to create licenses from a number of pages under the License Compliance menu (as well as the menu itself). Select the Create a license option from the appropriate place, based on your reason for creating a license.
- Uploading a Microsoft License Statement may cause licenses to be automatically created
- A Microsoft Office 365 data import may create a license (typically Named User), using the Office 365 connector
- An import from the Salesforce connector may create SaaS User licenses
- Superseding both of the above, an import from the Flexera SaaS Manager connector may create all required licenses to match those already present in the source (and if you have overlapping licenses created by either of the preceding connectors, an import from Flexera SaaS Manager automatically marks those as Retired, so that only licenses imported from Flexera SaaS Manager are included in license compliance calculations)
- If an IBM PVU license position has been generated in ILMT, FlexNet Manager Suite automatically imports the IBM PVU license definitions with the ILMT inventory imports, creating licenses to match. (In this scenario, any license deletions must be performed in both products within the same inventory import cycle. For more details, see IBM PVU (license type).)
- You have purchased a new license and you want to create a license record for it. You may create the license record manually; although the preferred path is to import or record the purchase details, and process those to create the license, taking advantage of all the specialized knowledge embedded in the downloaded libraries.
- Application installation evidence has been detected that is linked to the appropriate application, triggering an installation record. Select the application record from the appropriate page under the Applications menu and click Create a license. FlexNet Manager Suite automatically links the selected application to the new license.
- You have procured a license with some purchased software, but the licensed application has not yet been installed in your enterprise, and you do not have a purchase record that could be processed to create the appropriate license. You can create a license manually so that it can be linked to the application later on.
- You may need to create a Client Access License (CAL) to correct an entry in
the Unlicensed CAL Usage page. Tip: The Unlicensed CAL Usage page displays records of application access (not installation) that appear to need a CAL. License records (in this case, CAL records) are still required; but instead of being compared with installation evidence, the CALs are assessed against access evidence. The collected access evidence indicates that an application (that requires a CAL) has been accessed by a user through an accessing device. For example, if ten users are accessing an instance of Microsoft SharePoint Server, there should be a CAL record for Microsoft SharePoint Server to record the consumption of those access rights. You may need to purchase Microsoft User CALs or Microsoft Device CALs to achieve license compliance for such access.
- You want to create CAL Legacy licenses for managing CALs manually.
To create a license manually:
Available purchase properties
If you arrived at the Create a License page as part of processing a purchase, the relevant purchase displays at the top of this page in a list that includes the following columns, some displayed by default and others in the column chooser (and all listed here alphabetically):
Column | Details |
---|---|
Accepted |
If this purchase was processed automatically, this is the date of processing. If the link was created manually through property sheet adjustments, this is the date that the purchase was linked to this license. |
Assigned entitlements |
The number of entitlements assigned from this purchase to the license. This cannot exceed the Effective quantity shown in the General tab of the purchase properties. Editable in the Assigned entitlements field in the Licenses tab of the purchase properties. Tip: The process of creating a new license from a purchase
record assumes that this is a purchase of a single license, and
therefore defaults the Assigned entitlements to the entire value of the Effective quantity of the purchase. You may, however, edit this to some lower value if
you are planning to split the purchased entitlements across several
licenses. Just take care that your total assigned to all licenses does
not exceed the effective quantity you purchased.
|
Authorized by |
The person who authorized this purchase. Editable in the Ownership tab of the purchase properties. |
Contract description | The name (or brief description) of the contract. This is the contract linked directly to the purchase. (Linking of contracts to the license is separate.)Editable in the Description field in the General tab of the contract properties. |
Contract no. | The identifying code for the contract. Again, this is displayed from the purchase properties, showing the one contract that is directly linked to the purchase. |
Corporate unit, Cost center, or Location | The name of the related enterprise group. Each named group has been linked directly with the purchase.Tip: If you want to restrict consumption of license
entitlements to those enterprise groups who purchased them, keep in mind
that it is the license record, rather than the purchase, that
controls consumption. This means that to restrict consumption, you
must:
|
Current |
This column displays Yes when the purchase can
have some effect on the license today (at the moment the listing was refreshed).
Note: The value of Current takes into account
the license type, purchase type, and time-related settings. However, it does not take into
account the Entitlement
status on the
Purchases tab of the license
properties. In other words, a purchase may be current but disabled, in which case it has
no effect on license consumption calculations.
|
Description |
Details of the item purchased. Editable in the Description field in General tab of the purchase properties (in the Purchase details group). |
Effective date |
The first date that the purchase can contribute to this
license. If the Purchase type is
Software subscription, the
license is effective/renewed from that date (for the purchased number of entitlements). If
the purchase contributes maintenance coverage, it is the first date that the coverage
applies.
Tip: If the Entitlement
status is
Disabled, neither kind of contribution is permitted (look
instead for rights or maintenance provided in a separate purchase record created by an
import of a Microsoft License Statement).
Editable in the General tab of the purchase properties, when the purchase is for a Software subscription. |
Effective quantity |
Total number of units acquired with this purchase. Depending on purchase type, these 'units' may be license entitlements, or maintenance coverage for this number of license entitlements. This value is shown as Effective quantity in the General tab of the purchase properties. |
Expiry date |
The last date that the purchase can contribute to this license.
If the Purchase type is Software subscription, the purchased number
of entitlements on this license expire, and cannot be used after that date. If the purchase
contributes maintenance coverage, it is the last date that the coverage in this purchase
applies. In the normal course of business where you want to continue using the software (or
have continuous maintenance coverage), you should look for a different purchase with an
Effective date for the day
after the Expiry date of
this purchase.
Tip: If the Entitlement
status is
Disabled, neither kind of contribution is permitted (look
instead for entitlements or maintenance provided in a separate purchase record created by
an import of a Microsoft License Statement).
Editable in the General tab of the purchase properties. |
Invoice date |
The date recorded on the invoice related to this purchase. Editable in the Financial tab of the purchase properties. |
Invoice number |
Identifies the invoice, payment of which completed this purchase. Editable in the Financial tab of the purchase properties. |
Item |
The number of this purchase within its related purchase order. Not editable (reflects the order of data entry for purchases given the same purchase order number). |
Item sales tax (currency) |
The sales tax (if any) applicable to this purchase. Editable in the Financial tab of the purchase properties. |
Item subtotal (currency) |
The value of this purchase excluding tax, shipping, and handling, and displayed in the currency shown in the column header. Automatically calculated from the purchased quantity and unit price values, set in the purchase properties. |
Number of assets |
The total number of assets already linked to this purchase. Not editable. |
Number of licenses |
The total number of licenses already linked to this purchase. Not editable. |
Part no./SKU |
The vendor's code that identifies the purchased item (the Stock Keeping Unit). This value is added as Part no./SKU in the General tab of the purchase properties. |
Processed by |
The person who handled data entry for this purchase. Editable in the Ownership tab of the purchase properties. |
Product points |
The points Microsoft assigns to this purchase for tracking discounts under your Microsoft Select Agreement. Editable in the General tab of the purchase properties. |
Product pool |
The grouping of Microsoft products under your Microsoft Select agreement, used for calculating your appropriate discounts on license purchases. Editable in the General tab of the purchase properties. |
Publisher |
The manufacturer of the software that licenses its use to you. Editable in the General tab of the purchase properties. |
Purchase date |
The date that goods were ordered. The Purchase date is recorded when the first purchase from the same purchase order is created. Thereafter it is accessible through the General tab of the purchase properties. |
Purchase order no. |
The identifying code of the purchase order authorizing the purchase. Editable in the Purchase order no. field in the General tab of the purchase properties. |
Purchase quantity |
Number of units of a product in this purchase.
Note: This quantity is
not the license quantity for this purchase. It is a unit quantity
which may apply to a purchase where a group or pack of entitlements is sold (for
example, 10 units of a pack of 5 license entitlements), or to non-license
purchases such as maintenance.
The Purchase quantity value is added on the General tab of the purchase properties. |
Purchase type |
The nature of this purchase, such as software, hardware, maintenance and
so on. Determines whether automated processing of the purchase can occur, and
whether the purchase can contribute to license entitlements.
Tip: At
purchase processing time, when the purchase is linked to a license, the purchase
type from a recognized SKU is given priority over this Purchase type set in the purchase
properties. It is best practice to keep these two values aligned.
The Purchase type value is selected on the General tab on the purchase properties. |
Quantity per unit |
The multiplier for the number of individual items included in each purchased unit (relevant for purchases of groups or packs). The Quantity per unit value is added on the General tab on the purchase properties. |
Request date |
The date of a purchase requisition or similar request initiating this purchase. Editable in the Ownership tab of the purchase properties. |
Request number |
The identifying code for the request that triggered this purchase. Editable in the Ownership tab of the purchase properties. |
Requestor |
The person who asked for the item purchased. Editable in the Ownership tab of the purchase properties. |
Shipping and handling (currency) |
The shipping and handling costs attributed to this purchase. The Shipping and handling field is editable in the Financial tab of the purchase properties (under Cost Details). |
Shipping date |
The date of dispatch from the vendor. Editable in the Financial tab of the purchase properties. |
Shipping location |
The destination office receiving the shipment of this purchase. Editable in the Financial tab of the purchase properties. |
Status |
Shows the current progress of the purchase through the purchasing
process. Values may be:
Tip: These values have no effect on license
compliance calculations. If a purchase conveys license entitlements and is
linked to a license, the entitlements are counted regardless of this status
value. If you intend to cancel a purchase so that it no longer contributes to
your license entitlements, be sure to disconnect the purchase from any
licenses.
The Status value is selected on the General tab of the purchase properties. |
Total price (currency) |
The overall cost of this purchase, including tax and shipping. Read-only calculated value in the Financial tab of the purchase properties. |
Unit price (currency) |
The cost of an individual item in this purchase (exclusive of taxes and shipping). Editable in the Financial tab of the purchase properties. |
Vendor |
The reseller who sold this product. The Vendor value is editable in the General tab of the purchase properties. |