Configuring the Adapter

FlexNet Manager Suite 2021 R1 (On-Premises)
The (core) App-V server adapter is set up on an inventory beacon. Only two tasks are required for configuring this built-in adapter:
  • Specifying the connection to the appropriate database. There are distinct databases in the two versions:
    • For App-V release 4.6, the App-V server adapter connects to the Microsoft App-V Management Server database
    • For App-V release 5.0 and later, the App-V server adapter connects to the Microsoft App-V reporting database.
  • Scheduling the imports.
Both tasks are summarized here. Further details are available in the inventory beacon help.

To configure the App-V server adapter (summary):

  1. On the appropriate inventory beacon, start the FlexNet Beacon interface.
    An appropriate inventory beacon has network access to the appropriate database as described above; and it can upload to the central FlexNet Manager Suite server, either directly or through a hierarchy of inventory beacons.
    Tip: Remember that logging into an inventory beacon requires an account with administrator privileges.
  2. Select the Inventory systems page in the FlexNet Beacon interface.
  3. At the bottom of the page, click New....
    The Create SQL Source Connection dialog opens.
  4. Complete the values required in this dialog:
    Option Description

    Connection name

    A descriptive name for this connection that you will recognize later in lists.

    Source Type

    Select App-V Standalone. (Use this same value whether you are connecting to App-V release 4.6, or release 5.0 or later.)
    Tip: 'Standalone' means that you are using the adapter to connect directly to the appropriate App-V database, rather than collecting inventory through another source such as Microsoft SCCM.
    Server Type the server name or IP address where the database is hosted. If the database instance you need is not the default one on the server you identify, add the instance name, separated with a backslash character.
    Authentication
    Select one of:
    • Windows Authentication — Select this option to use standard Windows authentication to access the database server. The credentials of the account (on the inventory beacon) running the scheduled task for importing inventory are used to access the SQL Server database. This account must be added to an Active Directory security group that has access to the database.
    • Windows (specific account) — Use the following two fields (enabled when you make this choice) to specify an account on the inventory beacon that can make a connection to the SQL database.
    • SQL Authentication — Use the following two fields to specify an account and password registered as a user with database access on SQL Server . This account is used to access the database, regardless of the local account running the scheduled task on the inventory beacon server.
    Tip: The account used needs read-only privileges.
    Username The account name used for SQL authentication, or Windows (specific account). (Not required for Windows Authentication.)
    Password The password for the account name required for SQL authentication, or Windows (specific account). (Not required for Windows Authentication.)
    Database Enter the name of the database, or use the pull-down list to select from database names automatically detected on your specified server. For example, for a connection to Technopedia, select BDNA_Publish from the drop-down list.
    Connection is in test mode (do not import results) Ensure that this check box is clear for production use. (For more details, see Managing Microsoft SQL Server Database Connections in the online help for FlexNet Manager Suite, in the section covering the inventory beacon.)
    Tip: When using App-V release 4.6, you cannot complete configuration for operation of this adapter (specifically, you cannot map the App-V packages to real applications) until you have run an import in production mode, with this check box clear.
    Overlapping Inventory Filter
    If you use more than one inventory source, it is possible to get overlapping inventory (records about the same endpoint device from multiple inventory tools). Because of differences between inventory tools, the overlapping inventory records may contain slightly different data. In the web interface (in FlexNet Manager Suite), you may nominate one inventory source as Primary, which gives its collected data priority for hardware properties imported from target inventory devices. The choices here give another, separate axis of control, based on whether or not the data from this particular source is to be considered "stale". This is different from the Primary setting in the following ways:
    • It is assessed first (before the primary setting is taken into account), and so may even modify the effect of your Primary setting. It is best practice to make sure that your chosen primary inventory source is not marked as stale with the following settings.
    • It affects not only imported hardware properties, but also software inventory (installer evidence, file evidence, and so on), as follows:
      • With two inventory sources (when neither one is considered stale), the total software inventory is a union (merging) of the results from both sources. This is useful when two different inventory tools have different specializations for software detection: the union means you are not blind-sided by a software inventory tool that missed something you should have licensed. This is considered the 'normal' operational case in a stable environment using multiple inventory sources.
      • When one of the two available sources is declared "stale" (using either of the first two choices below), all of its overlapping software inventory is excluded from the possible union of data sources (hardware inventory too, but here we're considering software). This behavior is valuable, for instance, when a target inventory device has migrated from one inventory source to another (perhaps by moving offices), but has not yet been obsoleted from this first source. Imagine that, as part of the office move, the MyApp application had also been uninstalled from the inventory device. You do not want the old and stale record from this source insisting there's an installation of MyApp when in fact it's no longer on the device. Of course, best practice is to obsolete the device from this stale source so that it is no longer reported in this inventory source; but these first two settings allow a quick control of all the overlapping data from this source, rather than having to obsolete devices one by one in the source tool. Another common scenario is when you are migrating over time from an old version of your chosen inventory tool to a newer version (on a new connection), and during transition both systems are still running. Declaring the old version's connection as "stale" means that as soon as a record appears in the new version's inventory for a particular device, the old device import is automatically superseded, and updates rely entirely on the new version of your inventory tool.
    Each of the following settings only takes affect when FlexNet Manager Suite is comparing the inventory dates of a device from this current inventory source and an overlapping record from another inventory source:
    • Ignore the device’s inventory from this data sourceWhen you have more recent inventory from another source for the same target inventory device, the record from this source is completely ignored. (Technically, the device record is deleted from the staging table in the database, and so can never be imported.)
    • Ignore this device’s inventory if older than nn days — If you select this option, overlapping inventory collected by this source more than the set number of days before the import is ignored. Fresher overlapping data is still imported and considered for data merging.
      Tip: In the interests of keeping inventory current, this control has a maximum value of 60 days.
    • Import the inventory from this source for possible merging — Choose this option (the default) to declare that overlapping inventory collected from this connection is never considered stale. This is the normal operating setting when you are not trying to manage transitions from one inventory source to another. With this setting, overlapping records are merged in this way:
      1. If a data point exists in the Primary inventory source, it is used
      2. If two equal-priority sources have different inventory dates, the data point is taken from the most recent inventory
      3. As a tie-breaker, the connection ID for this source recorded in the database is used (normally meaning that the earliest-created inventory source has priority).
  5. Click Test Connection.
    • If the inventory beacon can successfully connect to the nominated database using the details supplied, a Database connection succeeded message displays. Click OK to close the message. Click Save to complete the addition. The connection is added to (or updated in) the list.
    • If the inventory beacon cannot connect, a Database connection failed message is displayed, with information about why that connection could not be made. Click OK to close the message. Edit 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.
  6. If you do not already have a schedule specified that can be used to run the adapter for this connection, create one now (see Creating a Data Gathering Schedule in the online help).
  7. With the connection for this adapter selected in the Inventory systems page, click Schedule....
    The Select Schedule dialog opens.
  8. From the drop-down list, select the schedule you wish to apply.
    Tip: As you select each schedule from the list, the area below displays a summary of the schedule settings and the expected Next run time for this schedule.
  9. Click OK to apply the selected schedule.
  10. Click Save to store these details.

    The list of connections is updated, and the Next run column for your selected connection shows the projected run time from the schedule you just attached.

  11. With the connection for this adapter still selected in the Inventory systems page, click Execute now.
    The adapter collects information from the appropriate database (App-V Management Server database for App-V release 4.6, and App-V reporting database for App-V release 5.0 and later), packages it, and uploads it to the central FlexNet Manager Suite (or, if it uploads to a parent inventory beacon, the file is briefly saved in %CommonAppData%\Flexera Software\Incoming\RemoteApplications on the parent inventory beacon). Allow time for this process to complete before continuing with the next setup procedure.

FlexNet Manager Suite (On-Premises)

2021 R1