Setting Connector Details, and Validation

FlexNet Manager Suite 2022 R1 (On-Premises)

Ensure that your chosen inventory beacon meets all the prerequisites listed in Prerequisites. Step through the following process while you are still logged into FlexNet Beacon as administrator.

To configure the ServiceNow inventory connection on the inventory beacon:

  1. In FlexNet Beacon, in the Data collection group, click Inventory systems.
    The list of current connections for this inventory beacon appears.
  2. Below the list, select the down arrow at the right of the Next... button, and from the drop-down options, choose PowerShell.
    The Create PowerShell Source Connection dialog appears.
  3. Create a Connection Name.
    Make the name meaningful within the first few characters, as it will appear in lists with fairly narrow columns.
  4. From the Source Type drop-down, choose ServiceNow.
    On inventory beacon versions 16.0.0 and later, two additional sets of controls (for test mode, and filter for overlapping records) appear in the lower part of the same dialog. (The proxy server settings remain disabled, as these cannot apply for this connector.)
  5. Ensure that the Source Folder field contains the correct path to the folder on the MID server where the .csv files are saved.
    By default, this is the export folder under the MID server installation directory. You may have customized this path (see Scheduling Inventory Exports). Ensure that the exact path is specified here.
  6. If your inventory beacon is version 16.0.0 or later, in the Overlapping Inventory Filter section, choose what action the importer should take if inventory for the same server(s) is returned from another source as well as from ServiceNow.
    A likely example is if you have some UNIX-like servers with a locally-installed FlexNet inventory agent returning inventory, while the same servers are included in inventory collected by ServiceNow. Also keep in mind that there may be large differences in the default schedules for different inventory sources: for example, FlexNet inventory may be collected daily, and ServiceNow inventory may be imported only once every 7 days. For reasons like these, a typical choice for the ServiceNow inventory connector is Import the inventory from this source for possible merging, where you may also have inventory incoming from locally-installed FlexNet inventory agents, and you have given the FlexNet Manager Suite inventory source a higher priority – this allows it to improve the inventory gathered from partitioned technologies on UNIX-like platforms.
  7. When all data is complete, click Test connection.
    You cannot save the connection details if the connection test fails. Either:
    • If the Test connection fails and displays an error message:
      1. Click OK to close the message.
      2. Review and correct the connection details.
      3. Retest the connection (and repeat until your changes are successful, in which case click OK and resume from the next step).
      4. If you cannot get the connection test to succeed, click Cancel to cancel the addition of these connection details, and seek further assistance.
    • If the inventory beacon can successfully access the MID server folder using the details supplied, a Test connection succeeded message displays. Click OK to close the message, so that your new connector is displayed in the underlying list of connectors.
  8. When your connection test is successful, select your new connection from the displayed list, and click Schedule....
  9. In the dialog that appears, select the name of your chosen schedule for inventory collection through this connection, and click OK.
  10. At the bottom of the FlexNet Beacon interface, click Save, and if you are done, also click Exit. Your work here is done.

To validate your configuration:

  1. Be sure to wait until after the next scheduled execution of the ServiceNow export through the Flexera Integration application.
  2. On the ServiceNow MID server, use the File Explorer to check the contents of the output folder (by default, the export folder under the MID Server software installed directory, although you may have customized this location).
    You should see three .csv files (these file are not cleaned up between exports, and are over-written next time):
    • flexera_computer_export.csv
    • flexera_software_export.csv
    • flexera_software_install_export_set.csv.
    The presence of these well-formed .csv files confirms that all the configuration elements on the ServiceNow side are correct.
  3. After the overnight inventory import and license consumption calculations, navigate in FlexNet Manager Suite to the All Inventory page, and apply a simple filter to the Last inventory source column, where the column contains ServiceNow.
    The first-time appearance of even one entry with that value means that the export from ServiceNow, the collection by the inventory connector, the upload from the inventory beacon to the application server, the import, and the compliance calculations have all succeeded. Remember that some servers which were in fact discovered by ServiceNow may not be visible in your filtered list – if they were also inventoried by a higher-priority inventory source (such as a locally-installed FlexNet inventory agent), they will be listed against that higher-priority source (and may, for example, display FlexNet Manager Suite).

FlexNet Manager Suite (On-Premises)

2022 R1