FlexNet Inventory Agent Change Log (On-Premises)
Versions of the FlexNet inventory agent released for the on-premises edition of FlexNet Manager Suite, linked to features and fixes.
FlexNet Manager Suite (On-Premises)
2022 R2
Release 2022 R2 (19.0.0)
Fix for the issue in gathering inventory from Oracle pluggable databases
Previously, gathering inventory from Oracle pluggable databases (PDB) might fail when the PDB case sensitivity parameter was set to TRUE. This release resolves this issue.
Bundled software versions updated
- The
Expat
utility, used for parsing streams of XML data, has been upgraded to release 2.5.0. - The
libxml2
utility, used for parsing XML documents, has been upgraded to release 2.10.3. - The
zlib
utility, used for data compression, has been upgraded to release 1.2.13.
Ability to recognize jar and zip-based (non-RPM) installations of JBoss Enterprise Application Platform
- JBoss Enterprise Application Platform
- JBoss Web Server
- Decision Manager
- Fuse.
Performance and quality issues with ndtrack file scans have been addressed
Previously, the agent's ndtrack file scanning functionality was prone to poor performance when machines had a significant number of ndtrack files. This release has made performance improvements to this functionality.
Fix for the issue of Oracle Fusion Middleware (FMW) inventory scanning not honoring the agent preference setting to exclude file paths
Previously, excluded file paths configured in the agent preference settings were not honored when Oracle FMW scanning was enabled. This release resolves the issue. Oracle Fusion Middleware scans now honor any excluded file paths that have been set by the user.
Bundled software versions updated
The Expat
utility, used for parsing streams of XML data, has
been upgraded to release 2.4.9.
Supported operating systems updated
Oracle Linux 9.0 is supported on FlexNet inventory agent now.For the full list of the supported operating systems, see the System Requirements topics in Gathering FlexNet Inventory.
Fix for the issue of high CPU usage for an extended period while processing RPM package information
Previously, ndtrack
might cause high CPU usage for an extended
period while processing RPM package information. This release resolves this
issue.
Fix for the issue of missing evidence from directories with the same name on different drives
Previously, if two or more directories on different drives have the same directory name, only one of them would be scanned in file evidence gathering. This release resolves this issue.
Fix for the issue of false error messages upon Oracle inventory gathering status
Previously, a false error message might display even when the Oracle inventory gathering had succeeded, which would cost users unnecessary effort in investigation. This release resolves this issue.
Enhancement to detect the edition of SQL Server Reporting Services that is installed stand-alone
Previously, if the SQL Server Reporting Services was installed stand-alone and separate from the SQL Server Database installation, the edition of this stand-alone installation would not be reported. From this release, the FlexNet inventory agent detects and reports the edition of the SQL Server Reporting Services that is installed stand-alone.
Using the "mgspolicy –s" command to update the machine policy
Previously, users were unable to update the machine policy by using the
mgspolicy –s
command. From this
release, you can run the mgspolicy –s
command to download the new policy.
Bundled software versions updated
OpenSSL
has been upgraded to release 1.1.1q in this version of
FlexNet inventory agent.
Fix for the issue of Windows Docker containers not appearing in the Web UI
Previously, the Windows agent running a Windows docker container reported unnecessary hardware classes which resulted in Windows Docker containers not appearing in the Web UI. This release resolves this issue.
Fix for the issue of unnecessary data being gathered from the Oracle Fusion Middleware scanning
Previously, the Oracle Fusion Middleware scanning returned unnecessary data. This release resolves this issue. As a result, you might notice a decrease in the size of database log files and the NDI files generated.
The FlexNet inventory agent has been enhanced to detect additional Java publishers
Enhanced the agents Java publisher detection by making an additional call to the Java launcher with the HotSpot JVM flag "-XshowSettings -version".
This option is described in the Oracle Java launcher description page https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/technotes/tools/unix/java.html (look for "-XshowSettings")
In addition to this change, the agent will also check if calling the Java launcher with only the “-version” parameter produces output which mentions the words "Java HotSpot".
This indicates the publisher is “Oracle Corporation” in the event that "-XshowSettings" is not supported in an older version of the Java launcher.
Bundled software versions updated
OpenSSL
has been upgraded to release 1.1.1o in this version of FlexNet inventory agent.- The
libxml2
utility, used for parsing XML documents, has been upgraded to release 2.9.14. - The
libxslt
utility, used for processing XSLT-1.0 style sheets, has been upgraded to release 1.1.35. - The
zlib
utility, used for data compression, has been upgraded to release 1.2.12.
Computer domain reported by default from UNIX-like operating systems now reflects what has been identified in the output of the "hostname" or "domainname" commands
In the previous releases, the computer domain reported by FlexNet inventory agent
from UNIX-like operating systems is blank by default, while the domain name
reported by the inventory scanner by default is based on the output of the
hostname
or
domainname
commands.
From this release, the computer domain reported by FlexNet inventory agent is
also based on what has been identified in the output of the
hostname
or
domainname
commands.
Supported operating systems updated
The following operating system versions have been added to the list of supported operating systems on FlexNet inventory agent:-
Debian Linux 11.3 (x86, 32-bit and 64-bit)
-
Fedora Linux 36 (x86 64-bit only)
-
Oracle Linux 8.6 (x86 64-bit only)
-
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9.0 (x86 64-bit only).
- Debian 7
- Fedora Linux 25 (x86, 32-bit and 64-bit)
- macOS 10.6, macOS 10.7 and macOS 10.8
- Oracle Linux 4.x and 5.x
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 (x86 32-bit and 64-bit)
- Red Hat Linux 8–9
- Solaris (SPARC) 8 and Solaris (SPARC) 9
- Solaris (x86) 8 and Solaris (x86) 9
- SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 (x86, 32-bit and 64-bit)
- Ubuntu 12 and 13
- Windows Server 2003 SP1 and SP2.
For the full list of the supported operating systems, see the System Requirements topics in Gathering FlexNet Inventory.
Fixed unnecessary hardware inventory uploads for IBM PVU in high-frequency mode
MGS_Processor.CurrentClockSpeed.MaxClockSpeed
As a result, you might notice a decrease in the number of hardware inventory uploads for IBM PVU.
For more information, see HardwareChangesClassPropertyBlacklist
in Gathering FlexNet Inventory, available in PDF format through the title
page of online help, or as either a PDF or an HTML document from docs.flexera.com.
Bundled software versions updated
OpenSSL
has been upgraded to release 1.1.1n in this version of FlexNet inventory agent.- The
Expat
utility, used for parsing streams of XML data, has been upgraded to release 2.4.8.
Release 2022 R1 (18.0.0)
Improved error message logging for the usage coordinator
In the previous releases, error messages about the usage coordinator were
regularly generated into the usage agent log (usageagent.log
).
From this release, these messages are generated in the trace log instead as
diagnostic logging. This change could significantly reduce the size of the
usageagent.log
file.
Improved collection of last logged on user for Windows and Mac devices
- For Windows devices, this is only possible when the device is a member
of a domain and has access to the domain controller (the information is
collected as WMI evidence through the Win32_NetworkLoginProfile
class)Tip: The functionality is not available on early versions of Windows, prior to Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008.
- On devices running macOS, where the operating system records logged on users, the most recent such record is chosen.
Support for gathering inventory from POWER Linux platforms
glibc
version 2.17 or later:- CentOS 7.4 and later
- Debian 8 and later
- Fedora 21 and later
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7.4 and later
- SuSE 12 and later
- Ubuntu 14.04 and later.
ppc64le
) only, and FlexNet inventory agent does not run on
any distribution that is big-endian (ppc64
). Any distributions
that do not have a ppc64le
build (such as Amazon Linux, Oracle
Linux, and Photon OS) are not supported on POWER processors, although of course
existing support on Intel architectures continues unchanged.Fixed issues of false hardware inventory uploads for IBM PVU
Win32_NetworkAdapter
Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration
MGS_NetworkAdapterConfiguration
As a result, you might notice a decrease in the number of hardware inventory uploads for IBM PVU.
For more information, see HardwareChangesClassPropertyBlacklist
in Gathering FlexNet Inventory, available in PDF format through the title
page of online help, or as either a PDF or an HTML document from docs.flexera.com.
Bundled software versions updated
OpenSSL
has been upgraded to release 1.1.1m in this version of FlexNet inventory agent- The
dmidecode
utility, used to help parse BIOS information, has been upgraded to release 3.3 - The
expat
utility, used for parsing streams of XML data, has been upgraded to release 2.4.4 - The
libxml2
utility, also used for parsing XML documents, has been upgraded to release 2.9.12 - The
libxslt
utility for processing XSLT-1.0 style sheets has been upgraded to release 1.1.34.
Disable all uploads from FlexNet inventory agent
DisableAllAgentUploads
in Gathering FlexNet
Inventory, available in PDF format through the title page of online
help, or as either a PDF or an HTML document from docs.flexera.com.Support for mutual TLS security with HTTPS for UNIX-like devices
If you choose to use mutual TLS (where both sides of HTTPS communications use certificates for authentication), it tends to be a blanket decision affecting (minimally) a bounded segment of your corporate network, because a correctly-configured inventory beacon normally requires a client certificate from every inventory device that contacts it. While inventory devices running Windows already support mutual TLS, this release adds mutual TLS support for UNIX-like inventory devices. For more information, including links to updated documentation about configuration, see the equivalent topic in the Features by Release notes.
Oracle Fusion Middleware configuration improvement
The collection of specialized inventory for Oracle Fusion Middleware, announced
in Support for Oracle
Fusion Middleware data collection, has been refined. At first
release, this functionality relied on the IncludeDirectory
preference being set to /
on UNIX-like systems; but experience
shows that this can return excessive amounts of file evidence, much of which is
unrelated to Oracle Fusion Middleware. From this release,
IncludeDirectory
reverts solely to its original purpose of
specifying folders for collecting file evidence for either application
recognition or usage tracking. When collection of inventory for Oracle Fusion
Middleware is authorized (by the controls described in the announcement in
Features by Release for release 2020 R2.1, Adding Oracle Fusion
Middleware to GLAS evidence archive), the FlexNet inventory agent
automatically scans the entire file system (as required by Oracle), independent
of the setting in IncludeDirectory
– almost. The
system-wide scan knows which folders (in IncludeDirectory
) have
already been scanned, and where Oracle Fusion Middleware evidence has already
been collected during the regular inventory scan of the target device; and no
folder is scanned a second time, again optimizing performance and uploads.
Release 2021 R1 (17.0.1)
Docker inventory files automatically cleaned up
The Docker monitor within the FlexNet inventory agent saves one .ndi file in the /var/opt/managesoft/tracker/inventories folder on the Docker host for each container image. To prevent too many of these files accumulating over time, the Docker monitor each day deletes any of these saved .ndi files that are over 7 days old. (As always, archived copies for upload are saved in /var/opt/managesoft/uploads/inventories, and these are deleted after a successful upload to the parent of this inventory beacon. A build-up of files in the uploads path indicates a problem with uploads.)
Fixes
- Usage tracking now works even for components in the Windows Installer package that are not identified as key components
- Paths recorded in Oracle comps.xml and inventory.xml are now validated to be current before they are reported in inventory
- Settings in
ExcludeDirectory
andExcludeEmbedDirectories
preferences are now honored, even if paths are included in Oracle comps.xml files - CAL access files (.swacc) can now include multi-byte characters, and are processed appropriately
- Very long paths for
ExcludeEmbedDirectories
now work correctly.
Inventory on UNIX-like platforms now includes Java build version
1.7.0_55-b13
Inventory gathering for Java on UNIX-like platforms has now been enhanced to include the build number in the version number, returned as always within the uploaded .ndi file. This enhancement does not currently affect recognition through the Application Recognition Library, since this uses wild cards while interpreting versions.
On Windows platforms, the FlexNet inventory agent already returns the build number for Java, so that this enhancement for UNIX-like platforms brings cross-platform parity.
Repaired usage time for Windows devices suspended over weekends
Previously, if a Windows device was in a suspended state at 12am on Monday mornings, the report of weekly usage times could not be generated and uploaded, with the result that the previous figures rolled forward into the next reporting period and usage appeared to grow continually. This has now been repaired, and (when usage tracking is enabled) FlexNet inventory agent now triggers the weekly report as soon as the suspended device resumes normal operations. This is particularly valuable for enterprises wanting to use usage as a way to control internal cross-charging for computer use.
Inventory gathering on RHEL 5.11 repaired
(Inventory/Tracker/Hardware/Hypervisor): xenstore pid file "/var/run/xenstore.pid"
does not exist, will not try to read "/sys/hypervisor/uuid" as it may hang.
The
FlexNet inventory agent then moves on to the next inventory task. AIX 7.1 inventory now skips missing custom installations
On AIX 7.1, Licensed Program Products (LPP) are saved in a directory in backup file format. You may specify a custom installation location for an application in User-Specified Installation Location (USIL). If, for some reason, your USIL is 'orphaned' (missing), the FlexNet inventory agent would previously fail and block further inventory gathering for LPPs. This has now been repaired so that the FlexNet inventory agent skips problem packages and continues to take inventory of valid packages, uploading the results in the .ndi file as usual. The problem packages are logged in the mgstrace.log file.
Gathering Oracle inventory on UNIX-like platforms improved
- Before running the Oracle script, the FlexNet inventory agent saves its current memory lock limit, if present.
- It then sets the memory lock limit to unlimited, as required for the Oracle scripts, and runs the script.
- When the Oracle script is completed, FlexNet inventory agent restores its previous memory lock limit, and continues operation.
ndtrack
:-o UseOracleMemLockLimit=false
true
). To restate, for
reliable normal operation, do not disable this improved behavior.Supports inventory of Toad for Oracle
FlexNet inventory agent now collects evidence for installations of Toad for Oracle on Windows-based Oracle servers. Two new evidence types are created for upload, and the upload includes edition information collected from SettingsLocations.ini in the Toad installation.
-o PerformToadForOracleInventory=false
However,
the default behavior may be safely left enabled, since it does not create
significant load on devices where Toad is not installed.For more information, see the Features by Release document.
Improved support for network adapters on UNIX-like platforms
ifconfig -a
command; but this behavior is
now changed so that, as it has always done on Windows devices, the FlexNet inventory agent on UNIX-like devices returns all IPv4 addresses from a
multiple-address network adapter. These addresses are displayed in inventory
listings and inventory properties as a comma-separated list (up to 256
characters).Support for Oracle Fusion Middleware data collection
The FlexNet inventory agent, whether locally installed on the relevant Oracle server or using zero footprint inventory collection from an appropriate inventory beacon, now supports collection of audit-ready data for products in the Oracle Fusion Middleware collection. See the Features by Release document for further details, including relevant controls.
Improved usage tracking resolution
An issue that caused usage tracking records to merge as if they applied to a single device has been corrected. (There is no workaround available for earlier versions of FlexNet inventory agent, and the fix requires upgrading to this release.)
Improved inventory of IBM Db2 and add-ons
The FlexNet inventory agent now uses the db2licm
command to
improve inventory recognition of IBM Db2 database and its available add-ons.
This command is a standard part of the IBM Db2 installation, and requires no
special configuration. There is a 120-second timeout if the FlexNet inventory agent does not receive a response from the command, with the
duration configurable in the registry, so that a failure in this command does
not block all inventory gathering. If, for some unusual reason, you do not want
the added accuracy in reporting inventory for IBM Db2 and its add-ons, you can
turn off this functionality with a registry key.
FlexNet inventory agent excludes the scanning of Docker image folders on Linux machines running Docker containers
To prevent processing excessive file inventory evidence, the FlexNet inventory agent now does not scan Docker image folders on Linux machines, where possible containers are defined and saved. However, inventory from running Docker containers is still gathered directly by the FlexNet inventory agent, from both Linux servers and Windows Docket hosts, and returned as installer evidence in its own .ndi file.
FlexNet inventory agent generates a unique agent ID for Windows devices
For physical machines, the AgentID is generated based on the hostname and BIOS SerialNumber property. In certain circumstances on Windows devices, the serial number may be invalid, non-unique, or missing. If two or more devices shared the same device name and the serial number falls under this scenario, duplicate AgentIDs resulted. Now, the FlexNet inventory agent generates a unique agent ID for Windows devices with the same name even when serial number is unusable.
Fixes for issues related to adoption of certain Unix agents
Previously, adoption of Linux RPM-based and AIX devices could use the wrong path for the agent application data folder, or fail to adopt the device successfully. This update resolves this behavior and adoption installs the agent correctly.
Fixes to update the FlexNet inventory agent policy information on some Windows 2008 and Windows 2012 servers
Agent modules that failed to start a required process have been updated with a retry that will use an additional Windows API flag that allows the process to start. The following modules require this update:
- The policy client (mgspolicy.exe) that needs to start the launcher (ndlaunch.exe)
- The launcher (ndlaunch.exe) that needs to start the schedule Agent (ndschedag.exe)
- The schedule Agent (ndschedag.exe) that needs to start the policy client (mgspolicy.exe) or the launcher (ndlaunch.exe) or the inventory agent (ndtrack.exe)
macOS FlexNet inventory agent now collects user information including domain for the currently logged-in user
On macOS, the FlexNet inventory agent now collects information for the currently
logged-in user including their domain. This is required with Mac software
licensing when using Named User licenses. However, note that macOS does not
track the last logged-in user, so that if no one is logged in when
FlexNet inventory agent runs, macOS returns system
.
Therefore, if you want the user name to appear in inventory, carefully review
your inventory collection schedules for alignment with user working hours; or
instead, use allocations of license entitlements to the user(s) in question.
Relying on inventory from macOS may mean that the user name record bounces
between the real user name and system
, depending on whether the
user was logged in at each day's inventory time.
macOS FlexNet inventory agent now collects inventory from Big Sur
New timeout when gathering Oracle inventory on UNIX-like platforms
A timeout for inventory collection from Oracle Database and associated options running on UNIX-like platforms now prevents a hung command from stopping the entire inventory-gathering process. For example, on some devices, certain commands might trigger a credentials challenge. Since FlexNet inventory agent does not provide passwords on demand, this previously blocked all further action. Now the timeout means that the FlexNet inventory agent can 'step back' from a blocking action, allow that single inventory command to fail, and then continue on with the rest of its process.
- Is available with the upgrade of FlexNet inventory agent to version 15.2.0 (or later)
- Works for both locally-installed FlexNet inventory agent and the Zero-footprint method of remote inventory collection
- Defaults to 10 seconds, with no set-up or configuration required
- Can be configured to any value from 1 to 60 seconds, either as a command-line option, or as a setting in the config.ini file that functions as a pseudo-registry on UNIX-like platforms.
The preference name is OracleEnvironmentCmdTimeoutSeconds
, and
full details are available in the Gathering FlexNet Inventory PDF (or HTML equivalent).
Handles more than 8 CPUs on Windows 2003 servers
The ndtrack executable now successfully gathers WMI inventory on servers running Windows 2003 Enterprise x64 SP2 and having more than 8 CPUs.
FlexNet inventory agent successfully inventories Linux servers with Docker installed
The FlexNet inventory agent now correctly filters Docker container data.
Local Oracle inventory now succeeds when tnsnames.ora is missing on Windows machines
The Windows FlexNet inventory agent no longer requires tnsnames.ora on Windows computers when running local inventory.
Oracle Database In-Memory option is now reported by FlexNet Manager Suite
The version check logic for the query execution for Database In-Memory usage is now fixed, allowing Oracle Database In-Memory to successfully execute in-memory scans, joins, and aggregation. This changed is pushed down through a content update.
Timeout when Oracle user login script hangs during Oracle Database inventory gathering
The FlexNet inventory agent attempts to call an Oracle executable with the current level of access. If the executable prompts for a password, the FlexNet inventory agent previously would hang. A timeout has been added that results in this scenario no longer hanging the FlexNet inventory agent.
Recognition of the Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC) One Node option
Oracle Real Application Clusters (RAC) One Node
option supporting versions 11g, 12c, 18c
, and
19c
. Enables usage tracking based on Add/Remove programs evidence when "Enable usage tracking" setting is selected
FlexNet inventory agent for Microsoft Windows platforms supports gathering evidence from Add/Remove Programs to help in tracking software usage.
Collect inventory for Docker Containers, Images and Hosts
- Image and container discovery
- Event based container scanning identifies the status of each container
- Performs a one-time Zero-footprint inventory of application(s) on running containers
- Collects image ID, repository tags and repository digest information.
Once an inventory for an image has been successfully collected, the FlexNet inventory agent will not inject the tracker into any subsequent containers based on that image. The image is identified by its ID, rather than its tag, so updating a particular image will result in the agent injecting the tracker into containers launched from the updated image.
- Enable the setting globally using the Enable detection of Docker and running inventory agent inside Docker containers in the Container Scanning section on the Inventory Settings page
- Create or set the PerformDockerInventoryScan Tracker setting to the value True in the mgspolicy command line.
Add identification for Oracle VM VirtualBox
The FlexNet inventory agent will now detect and scan a
VirtualBox
instance on a computer. This functionality
permits identification of the Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack.
Meter 64-bit applications for usage tracking
The FlexNet inventory agent will now correctly meter executables under installation directories identified in Windows 64-bit Add/Remove Programs registry settings.
Remove possibility of usage tracking linking the executable to the wrong application
This update removes the possibility for an executable to map to the wrong
application for usage metering on Windows devices. This could occur when
multiple applications share the same installation directory, and the
UseAddRemove
preference is set to "true". For more
information on this setting, you may refer to the Gathering FlexNet
Inventory guide.
Recognition of Adobe Acrobat 2017 editions
Added the ability to identify Adobe Acrobat 2017 Standard, Pro
and Trial
editions.
Compatibility with Photon OS
Confirmation of FlexNet inventory agent compatibility with Photon OS 3.0
Support for macOS 10.15
- Installation: The installation package supports both:
- 64-bit systems, to install FlexNet inventory agent on macOS 10.15 and later devices
- 32-bit systems, so that you can install this FlexNet inventory agent on devices running older 32-bit versions of macOS.
- Upgrade warning: If previous releases of FlexNet inventory agent are already installed on Apple inventory devices currently running earlier versions of macOS, these installations need to be upgraded to FlexNet inventory agent version 14.0.0 or later before the OS is upgraded to macOS 10.15. If the OS is upgraded without first upgrading the installed FlexNet inventory agents, the existing 32-bit FlexNet inventory agent will no longer be able to run on the upgraded inventory device. As a result, in this scenario it will be impossible for device policy to upgrade the FlexNet inventory agent. Recovering from such a case will require manually upgrading the FlexNet inventory agent to version 14.0.0 or later. However, if you upgrade FlexNet inventory agent first to 14.0.0 or later, and subsequently upgrade the macOS version to 10.15, the 64-bit support in this latest FlexNet inventory agent means that the system continues to operate as usual after the upgrades.
Inventory of Linux KVM virtualization
A locally-installed FlexNet inventory agent 14.0.0 collects inventory from
virtual machines (and hosts, although here you may prefer zero footprint inventory collection by an inventory beacon version 14.0.0 or later) on Linux virtual hosts
using Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) infrastructure. To ensure that
inventory is imported from every guest VM on the host, the inventory from
the host must be gathered by an FlexNet inventory agent 14.0.0 (or later)
running as root
, or the inventory beacon running zero footprint inventory collection as root
. If, for some reason, you choose to
execute FlexNet inventory agent as some other, non-root
account, only those guest VMs to which that account has access are included in
inventory.
FlexNet inventory agent unique identifier
The FlexNet inventory agent now creates a unique identifier on a device when it
executes for the first time. This unique identifier, called the AgentID, is used
when resolving the inventory data from a device to determine which computer
record matches the inventory (earlier versions relied on the domain name and
computer name, which are still the fallback used if the AgentID is missing).
With the AgentID, multiple devices with same domain name and computer name can
now be distinguished from one another, so that separate computer records are
created in the inventory database. This feature works for any deployment of the
ndtrack
executable, including the locally installed
FlexNet inventory agent, zero footprint inventory collection managed by an inventory beacon, or the lightweight FlexNet Inventory Scanner.
Java inventory also on UNIX-like platforms
Collection of additional inventory for Java, already supported on Microsoft Windows, is now added for all supported UNIX-like platforms. In the file /var/opt/managesoft/etc/config.ini, the includedirectory preference must be correctly set to allow scanning of the folder where Java is installed – this is set automatically when the installer for FlexNet inventory agent is run; but if you are using third-party deployment, you may need to manage this separately. And as always, with the FlexNet Inventory Scanner, you must include the appropriate setting in the command line, overriding its default value of not doing any file scanning.
Enhanced inventory from Microsoft Azure VMs
Although inventory could be collected from VMs on Microsoft Azure since the earlier 2018 R1 (13.0.0) release, those intermediate releases relied on the parallel use of the Microsoft Azure adapter to complete the inventory picture (especially the host/guest relationships). From this release, the FlexNet inventory agent locally installed on the guest instance reports the full set of Microsoft Azure VM data, so that running the separate adapter is no longer mandatory (however, the Microsoft Azure adapter remains useful for identifying inventory gaps, where the FlexNet inventory agent has not been installed on a guest).
Auto-upgrades of FlexNet inventory agent work in custom installation paths (AIX/Linux)
With previous versions of FlexNet inventory agent on either AIX or Linux operating systems, upgrades (or downgrades) driven by downloaded device policy were available only when the installation was in the default location. From this release, policy-driven upgrades or downgrades are extended to cover installations in custom locations on either AIX or Linux operating systems.
Signing of Linux RPM packages
Signing of Linux RPM (Red Hat Package Manager) packages gives you an additional layer of security if you are managing your own installation of Linux RPM packages for FlexNet inventory agent. (Only RPM packages are now signed, with DEB packages unchanged.) The public key is available from the Product and License Center as a separate download titled Inventory agent 13-1-0+ Linux RPM installer public key.zip. Your company password for the Flexera Customer Community is required to access this download. The fact that the key must be downloaded from a separate, password-protected source gives you some improvement in security.
Release 2018 R1 (13.0.1)
Local inventory from Oracle pluggable databases
- The full FlexNet inventory agent, whether deployed by ‘adoption’ or by third-party tools
- The lightweight FlexNet Inventory Scanner
- Zero-footprint inventory gathering, where an inventory beacon temporarily installs the inventory component on the target server, runs it, and removes it again (leaving zero installation footprint).
Release 2017 R3 (12.4.0)
Gathering inventory from standby Oracle database instances
The FlexNet inventory agent, locally installed on an Oracle Database server, collects software inventory from any operational Oracle database instances (as well as collecting hardware inventory, as required for certain license types). From this release, it also gathers inventory from Oracle instances that are in standby (that is, instances that are in MOUNT mode but not READ mode). This includes Oracle Data Guard instances that are in standby, awaiting a possible switch into production.
However, Oracle advises that certain inventory queries are impossible on a standby Oracle database instance. Therefore, the inventory data from an Oracle instance that is only ever inventoried while in standby is less complete than the inventory collected from active Oracle database instances. If the same (standby) database instance is subsequently inventoried while in MOUNT mode, the missing inventory values are added to the instance record in FlexNet Manager Suite. Conversely, if an Oracle database instance has been inventoried while active, and is subsequently inventoried while in standby, the additional values are removed for consistency with the latest inventory.
This functionality is also available in the lightweight FlexNet Inventory Scanner, and in zero footprint inventory collection, where an appropriate inventory beacon downloads and runs the inventory core components on a target device.
Release 2017 R2 (12.3.0)
Support for IPv6 address families
- Both IPv6 and dual stack (IPv6 and IPv4) networks are supported, in addition to existing IPv4 support.
- Includes both the full FlexNet inventory agent and the lightweight FlexNet Inventory Scanner.
- Note that link-local IPv6 addresses, which are valid and unique only on a single network link, are not supported, since these are contrary to the policy-driven nature of managed devices. However, both global and unique local scopes are supported.
- The FlexNet inventory agent uses the first IP address returned after a DNS request, by default – regardless of its address family. There is also a preference you can set to favour either IPv6 or IPv4, for those situations where manual configuration is desirable.
- Files downloaded to all FlexNet inventory agents cannot use the IPv6 address family, since such details may reach legacy versions of FlexNet inventory agent that cannot process the new address format. Examples include the fail-over list of all inventory beacons, or the networkname property in the C:\Program Files (x86)\Flexera Software\Inventory Beacon\DotNet\conf\BeaconEngine.config file that configures the web server on the inventory beacon. Instead, use either the hostname or fully-qualified domain name of the inventory beacon, so that inventory devices rely (as normal) on DNS results to contact an inventory beacon appropriate for them.
- CAL device license consumption is only supported using the IPv4 address family
Release 2017 R1 (12.2.0)
Remediation of security vulnerability
The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) identifier of this vulnerability is CVE-2017-6885. To understand the potential consequences of this vulnerability, please refer to the Common Consequences section of Common Weakness Enumeration CWE-426. The Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base score for this vulnerability is 7.8 and the temporal score is 7.0.
This fix applies to both the full FlexNet inventory agent and the lightweight FlexNet Inventory Scanner, and also requires updates of FlexNet Beacon.
Release 2016 R1 SP1 (12.1.0)
Improved HTTPS support on UNIX-like platforms
Communication between the FlexNet inventory agent and inventory beacons may be secured with the HTTPS protocol. For typical (maximum) security, this requires the exchange of server certificates, and checking by the FlexNet inventory agent that the server certificate has not been revoked by the Certificate Authority (CA).
On Windows platforms, certificate checking is determined by Group Policy. In previous releases for FlexNet inventory agent running on UNIX-like platforms, revocation checking was supported using Certificate Revocation Lists (CRLs). This can be time-consuming, since each check can require downloading the entire listing of revoked certificates.
A newer technology is to use OCSP revocation checking. The Online Certificate Status Protocol allows a much faster request to the OCSP server for the revocation status of a single certificate.
This release allows administrators to prioritize OCSP and CRL checking for UNIX-like platforms. It also allows failover from one system to the other with a simple preference setting for the FlexNet inventory agent.