Troubleshooting Agent-Based Collection of Oracle Inventory

FlexNet Manager Suite 2023 R1 (On-Premises)
Before concluding that there is a problem, ensure that you have allowed sufficient time for:
  • A download (checked daily by default, with downloads typically weekly) of the content libraries (ARL, SKU library, PURLs) with your license in place for FlexNet Manager for Datacenters, and the subsequent distribution of the InventorySettings.xml file to target inventory devices
  • Discovery and inventory processes on the target device (check the global schedule for the FlexNet inventory agent)
  • File upload to the inventory beacon, and from there to the central application server (typically within several minutes of the data gathering being completed)
  • Inventory import from the inventory database to the main compliance database (typically scheduled overnight)
  • The license reconciliation calculations (typically scheduled overnight).
In summary, allow 48 hours after the download of the content libraries. After this process has had time to complete, it's time to continue troubleshooting if either of the following is true:
  • The target Oracle server does not appear in Discovery & Inventory > All Discovered Devices.
  • A known Oracle database instance is missing from Discovery & Inventory > Oracle Instances.
The troubleshooting process for Oracle inventory collected by the FlexNet inventory agent locally installed on the Oracle Database server breaks into the following main sections. Use these links to skip directly to your suspected problem:

Checking prerequisites

Prerequisites include:
  • A license for the FlexNet Manager for Datacenters product (in place before the regular library updates)
  • Appropriate accounts are available on the target inventory device (and, if the device is first to be adopted, in the Password Manager on the appropriate inventory beacon)
  • A successful installation of the FlexNet inventory agent on the target inventory device (Oracle server)
  • A current version of InventorySettings.xml correctly located with the FlexNet inventory agent.

To validate prerequisites, choose from the following:

  1. Validate that you have licensed the FlexNet Manager for Datacenters product:
    1. Navigate to the system menu ( in the top right corner) in the web interface, and click FlexNet Manager Suite License.
    2. In the Licensed products section, scroll down to see the card for FlexNet Manager for Datacenters.
    Detailed Oracle inventory cannot be uploaded by the locally-installed FlexNet inventory agent without this license term being registered on the central application server well before the process commences. If it is missing, please contact your Flexera representative for assistance.
  2. Ensure that the required accounts are set up correctly (see Credentials for Local Agent-Based Inventory). In particular, for adoption make sure that the appropriate account is configured correctly in the Password Manager on the appropriate inventory beacon.
    Remember: On UNIX-like devices, the installed FlexNet inventory agent can collect Oracle inventory only when it is running as root.
  3. Validate that the FlexNet inventory agent is installed on the target device. Step through the following until success:
    1. Navigate to the Discovery & Inventory > All Discovered Devices page, looking for a Yes displayed in the Agent installed column for the relevant device.
      • In the Adopted case, the value is updated as soon as the automated adoption process succeeds
      • In the Agent third-party deployment case, the value is retroactively updated after an inventory upload reveals the installer package for the FlexNet inventory agent (which may take a little longer, and obviously requires that at least one inventory upload from the target device has succeeded).
      For adoption, when the device is listed, you can also open its properties, and check the Status tab. Expand the Adoption section to check details.
    2. If this target inventory device was intended for automatic adoption (installation of FlexNet inventory agent), make sure that a discovery and inventory rule that includes adoption and includes the inventory device within its target has been scheduled and run.
      For details, see the topic Adopted: Implementation in Gathering FlexNet Inventory.
    3. If this target inventory device was scheduled for automatic adoption, check that the subnet containing the target device is assigned to the appropriate inventory beacon: navigate to Discovery & Inventory > Subnets, validate the identity of the inventory beacon, and check that Status shows Enabled.
    4. Check for the presence of the FlexNet inventory agent in the following paths on the target inventory device:
      • On Windows, in C:\Program Files (x86)\ManageSoft
      • On UNIX-like platforms, in /opt/managesoft.
    5. Again in the adoption case, check the rule execution results. Navigate to the system menu ( in the top right corner) and choose System Health > System Tasks, identify your adoption rule, and click See details.
    6. If this target inventory device was scheduled for automatic adoption, review the following log files on the device for evidence of any problems with adoption:
      • On Windows: $(TempDirectory)\adoption.log
      • On UNIX-like devices: /var/tmp/flexera/log/ndinstlr.log and ndinstlrsh.log.
    7. Check the following installation log for any errors downloading policy during the install:
      • On Windows: C:\Windows\Temp\ManageSoft\installation.log
      • On UNIX-like devices: /var/opt/managesoft/log/installation.log.
    8. If you are unable to resolve errors specific to adoption or installation, contact Flexera Support with the log files.
  4. Check access to InventorySettings.xml.
    1. Look in the tracker log for messages like this, indicating problems accessing the file: 
      Skipping Oracle database inventory.  Failed to find inventory settings with the Oracle inventory rules.
Invalid inventory settings file found, recognition rules and scripts will not be executed.
      The log file is found:
      • On Windows: $(TempDirectory)\ManageSoft\tracker.log
      • On UNIX-like devices: /var/opt/managesoft/log/tracker.log
    2. Check for InventorySettings.xml in its default location:
      • On Windows: $(CommonAppDataFolder)\ManageSoft Corp\ManageSoft\Tracker\InventorySettings\InventorySettings.xml
      • On UNIX-like devices: /var/opt/managesoft/tracker/inventorysettings/InventorySettings.xml
      Tip: If the file is present, even though (as above) the logs suggest that the inventory component (ndtrack) is not finding the file, review the values for both the CacheDirectory and PkgCacheDirectory preferences under [Registry]\ManageSoft\Launcher\CurrentVersion on the inventory device. Blank values may indicate a corrupted installation of the FlexNet inventory agent, in which case you could try re-installation. The default values are:
      • CacheDirectory = $(CommonAppDataFolder)/launcher/cache
      • PkgCacheDirectory = $(CommonAppDataFolder)/launcher/pkgcache
    3. Check whether the launcher component (ndlaunch) has saved the file in a customized location by reviewing [Registry]\ManageSoft\Tracker\CurrentVersion\InventorySettingsPath.
      Remember that, on UNIX-like platforms, the [Registry] details are saved in the config.ini file. While this value is very unlikely to have changed, use any new value you find here as an alternative location to check for the presence of the InventorySettings.xml file. For more details, see the Gathering FlexNet Inventory PDF.
    4. If the InventorySettings.xml file is missing, check for possible problems with policy updates to the inventory device by reviewing the policy.log and installation.log files, found with the tracker log in the platform-specific paths shown above.
With all prerequisites validated, move on to troubleshooting the remaining aspects of Oracle discovery, inventory gathering, uploading, resolving into the inventory database, and importing into the compliance database.

FlexNet Manager Suite (On-Premises)

2023 R1