Appendix G: Version Identification for Inventory and GLAS scripts

FlexNet Manager Suite 2023 R1 (On-Premises)

Collection of Oracle inventory by the FlexNet inventory agent (or its core inventory tracker component) relies on the correct deployment of the InventorySettings.xml file. The required location for this file varies across the inventory collection methods, and is described in the preceding sections that cover each of the methods.

If you are using your own (third party) method of deploying [components of] FlexNet inventory agent, you have also assumed responsibility for keeping the related copies of the InventorySettings.xml file up to date. Since updates to the InventorySettings.xml file are delivered as part of updates to the Application Recognition Library, your manual process may require you to keep track of the most recently downloaded version of InventorySettings.xml, and to manually identify when changes occur.

Tip: Not every update to InventorySettings.xml brings a change to the scripts provided by the Oracle Global Licensing and Advisory Services (GLAS). InventorySettings.xml contains other specialized inventory functionality unrelated to Oracle Database, and each change naturally triggers a version change in InventorySettings.xml, whether the change relates to Oracle inventory or not.

To accommodate this need, the process below allows you to identify versions of InventorySettings.xml.

Note: Scripts in InventorySettings.xml are kept backward compatible, such that earlier versions of the inventory component(s) are able to use later versions of InventorySettings.xml without danger. Rarely, an enhancement in the Oracle GLAS scripts may require a matching enhancement to the functionality within FlexNet inventory agent (or its core components); or even to FlexNet Beacon, the code entity on each inventory beacon. In these cases, legacy versions of the FlexNet inventory agent or FlexNet Beacon deployed in your environment simply ignore the new (and for them, unrecognized) functionality, and use earlier, compatible functionality. Two examples (one for each case) of this are:

• Affecting the installed FlexNet inventory agent, an example case is the collection of inventory from standby Oracle database instances, which requires version 12.4 of the tracker (shipped with FlexNet Manager Suite 2017 R3) or later. Versions of the tracker prior to that can run later GLAS scripts, but cannot collect inventory from standby database instances. To ensure the availability of this functionality, check that the versions of FlexNet inventory agent installed on your Oracle servers is version 12.4 or later. To assist with cases like this one, the process below includes identifying the running version of an installed FlexNet inventory agent.
• Affecting the inventory beacon, an example case is the automatic updates of InventorySettings.xml for use on the inventory beacon (as distinct from the update process that refreshes the same file for installed copies of the FlexNet inventory agent, which is a quite separate process and was in place far earlier than the updates for inventory gathering driven by the inventory beacon). This functionality to update InventorySettings.xml for use by the inventory beacon was introduced with FlexNet Manager Suite version 2016 R1, prior to which the same file was installed as part of inventory beacon installation, and could be updated only by a replacement installation of FlexNet Beacon on the same server. This means that any legacy inventory beacons in your enterprise that have not been updated since before version 2016 R1 are locked into the then-current version of InventorySettings.xml. The only remedy is to allow the automatic update of the FlexNet Beacon code (or, in cases where you are manually managing disconnected inventory beacons, to manually update the installed version of FlexNet Beacon). To assist in troubleshooting the versions of inventory beacons in use, the process below includes identifying the running version of FlexNet Beacon.

Normally, it is not necessary for you to go further and track the version of the Oracle GLAS scripts, since these are included in an updated InventorySettings.xml file as soon as they are received from Oracle GLAS. However, if you have some special reason for checking the version of the GLAS scripts in use, the following points are relevant:

• There is no direct mapping from the version of InventorySettings.xml to the embedded version of the GLAS scripts.
• Since the Oracle queries are encrypted within InventorySettings.xml, you cannot inspect the version of the GLAS scripts by examining the delivery file.
• Operations within your enterprise may result in multiple versions of InventorySettings.xml, and more particularly multiple versions of the GLAS scripts, being in use simultaneously. For example, if you have a mixture of installations, some where FlexNet inventory agent is updated automatically by policy (reporting to an inventory beacon), and others where you rely on manual updates to InventorySettings.xml, these may get out of sync. For this reason, the question of which version of the GLAS scripts collected audit data for a particular database instance can only be answered authoritatively at the level of the individual instance, as described below.

To identify versions of InventorySettings.xml, the GLAS scripts, FlexNet inventory agent, and FlexNet Beacon in use:

1. Watch for the emails that announce updates to the Application Recognition Library, as these may announce an update to the version of InventorySettings.xml that is included in the download.
   In the absence of an announcement, or to validate a particular copy of InventorySettings.xml, continue with this process.
2. Open your current version of InventorySettings.xml in a flat text editor.
   Copies of InventorySettings.xml are available:

   • On managed inventory devices (where the FlexNet inventory agent is locally installed), in the folder identified in the InventorySettingsPath preference. This preference is saved in [Registry]\ManageSoft\Tracker\CurrentVersion, and the default values are:
     • On Windows platforms: $(CommonAppDataFolder)\ManageSoft Corp\ManageSoft\Tracker\InventorySettings\
     • On UNIX-like platforms: /var/opt/managesoft/tracker/inventorysettings.
   • On an inventory beacon, in the folder $(CommonAppDataFolder)\Flexera Software\Beacon\InventorySettings. This is the file that is packaged and distributed to installed copies of FlexNet inventory agent. (The file used for direct inventory collection by the inventory beacon from Oracle database instances is separate, and is saved in Program Files (x86)\Flexera Software\Inventory Beacon\Remote Execution\Public\Inventory.)
3. Inspect the first line of the file.

   <InventorySettings RevisionNumber="nn" ...

   The value of the RevisionNumber attribute identifies the version of InventorySettings.xml.
4. To identify the revision of the Oracle GLAS scripts used to report an Oracle database instance, inspect its properties:
   1. Navigate in the web interface to Discovery & Inventory > Oracle Instances.
   2. If necessary, use filtering to find your chosen database instance, and validate that the Audit evidence column for this instance displays Yes.
      This indicates that the Oracle GLAS scripts have been run on your chosen database instance, and the results uploaded.
   3. In the Instance column, click (or Ctrl-click) the name of your database instance to open its properties (in a new tab).
   4. Select the Attributes tab, and scroll down to the LMS_DETAIL_RL_SCRIPT_VERSION attribute.
      The associated value is the version of the Oracle GLAS scripts used to report on this Oracle database instance.

      Tip: You can also find this information by downloading and exploring the GLAS archive files, or by capturing and reading the .ndi file generated for Oracle inventory. However, both of these methods involve much more effort than just looking at the attributes reported for the Oracle database instance.

      Remember: If you used the direct collection method for your Oracle inventory, only the SQL queries for database inventory from the Oracle GLAS scripts have been executed automatically. Since GLAS hardware scripts cannot be run by this method of inventory collection, you may need other methods to run the hardware GLAS scripts and integrate the results with your GLAS audit data. For more details, see the topic matching your preferred discovery method used with direct inventory collection, under Direct Collection of Oracle Inventory.
5. To verify the version of the FlexNet inventory agent in use:
   Tip: This relies on a completed installation process for FlexNet inventory agent. If you have used other methods to distribute only the core components (such as the tracker, ndtrack), this individual file is not traceable in the following way. Only completed installations (on either Windows platforms or UNIX-like platforms) produce the installer evidence records visible as described here.
   1. On the License Compliance > Installed Applications page, filter the application Name column for names that contain Inventory Manager Agent.
      This listing shows all installed versions that are in use within your enterprise, together with the installation count for each version.
   2. Click the hyperlinked value of Name for the release you want to investigate.
      The Application Properties page opens.
   3. Select the Evidence tab, and ensure the Installer evidence type is selected at the top of this page.
      One row covers the FlexNet Inventory Agent (in very old legacy versions, known as ManageSoft for managed devices), and the Version column provides the "inner" version of the FlexNet inventory agent. For example, if you navigated to the properties for Inventory Manager Agent 2017 R3, the associated installer evidence record shows FlexNet Inventory Agent version 12.40.%, a wild-card match for all minor updates to the 12.4 release of FlexNet inventory agent.
   An alternative path when you are interested in the version of FlexNet inventory agent running on a specific inventory device is:

   1. Find the target inventory device (for example, in the All Inventory or Active Inventory listings).
   2. Click the device Name to open its property sheet.
   3. Select the Applications tab to find the entry for Inventory Manager Agent.
   4. Click that Product name to open the application properties.
   5. Choose the Evidence tab to identify the version of FlexNet inventory agent.
6. To identify the version of FlexNet Beacon running on an individual inventory beacon:
   1. On the inventory beacon, start the Registry Editor.
      Tip: If you are not already logged in as an administrator, you may be prompted for privilege escalation at this point.
   2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\ManageSoft Corp\ManageSoft.
   3. Examine the ETDPVersion key, which provides a major.minor.build version for the installed FlexNet Beacon software.
      Any version number earlier than 12.1 requires an update to allow for automatic updates of InventorySettings.xml for use by the inventory beacon.