Manual Updates of Library Data

The downloadable Application Recognition Library, Product Use Rights Library, EOSL library, and SKU Library are intended for automated updates delivered directly to your application server (or, in a multi-server implementation, the server hosting the batch server functionality). This automated process naturally relies on the server having direct Internet access.

However, in some secure environments, the applicable server may not be permitted to have Internet access. For such environments, the process of updating these critical libraries must be maintained manually. The manual process is outlined below; but first there are the following preparations.
  • On your applicable server, navigate to the Microsoft Task scheduler and disable the Recognition data import task (in the FlexNet Manager Platform group).

    This prevents the server from attempting to connect to the Internet to start downloads.

  • Ensure that you have a username and password for the Flexera Community website (https://community.flexera.com). If you do not yet have these credentials, you can apply as noted in the process below. (There is a delay for account validation.)
  • Once your account is valid, subscribe to the FlexNet Manager Release blog, located on the https://community.flexera.com/t5/FlexNet-Manager-Release-blog/bg-p/FlexNet-Manager-Release-Notes-blog web page, to track updates to the FlexNet Manager Suite Content Library. You can receive email notifications for this and other content by modifying the subscription and notification settings for your account.

When these preparations are completed, you can use the following process to manually update each of the downloadable libraries for your new installation, and again as new editions are released (as advised in your email notifications).

In summary, in this process you download several different files to which you are entitled, saving them into staging locations on your batch server (or the server hosting that functionality). When the downloads are all completed successfully, you import the files into the compliance database as required. The staging locations are subdirectories of %PROGRAMDATA%\Flexera Software\FlexNet Manager Platform\DataImport\Content. This default pathway is referenced throughout the description below. If necessary, you may customize the default path by saving your preferred path in the registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\ManageSoft Corp\ManageSoft\Compliance\CurrentVersion\Recognition\ContentImportDirectory.

For details of log files, see the end of the following procedure.

To manually download and deploy current libraries:

  1. Log into a computer where you are permitted to access the Internet and download files.
  2. Download the ARL from https://www.managesoft.com/support/Compliance/RecognitionAfter82.cab and save it temporarily.
    Its eventual destination is %PROGRAMDATA%\Flexera Software\FlexNet Manager Platform\DataImport\Content\ARL on your batch server.
  3. If you have licensed the EOSL (End of Service Life) product, also download https://www.managesoft.com/support/Compliance/EOSL.cab.
    This is eventually saved in %PROGRAMDATA%\Flexera Software\FlexNet Manager Platform\DataImport\Content\EOSL on your batch server.
  4. Download the SKU library from https://www.managesoft.com/support/Compliance/PURL.cab (despite the filename, being PURL.cab, this is not a typographical error).
    Later you will save this in %PROGRAMDATA%\Flexera Software\FlexNet Manager Platform\DataImport\Content\SKU on your batch server.
  5. To collect your PURL entitlements, navigate to the appropriate download page in the Flexera Customer Community website:
    1. On https://community.flexera.com/, use the account details emailed to you with your order confirmation from Flexera to log in (using the Login link in the top right).
      Tip: Access requires your Customer Community user name and password. If you do not have one, click the Let's go! button on the login page to request one. Your credentials are configured for access to content you have licensed.
    2. Select Find My Product and choose FlexNet Manager from the top menu. Now click the button PRODUCT RESOURCES - PRODUCT INFORMATION which will expose the Download Products and Licenses link. Click on this option.
      A routing page appears to let you Access Product and License Center, displaying lists of products from Flexera.
    3. In the lists of products, identify FlexNet Manager Platform, and immediately below it, click LET'S GO.
      The Product and License Center site displays.
    4. In the Your Downloads panel, select one of the products that you have licensed to open the Download Packages page (for example, FlexNet Manager for Datacenters).
    5. Click on the productName Content Libraries link to download the related PURL file.
    6. If necessary, loop back and repeat the download for each of the products you have licensed for FlexNet Manager Suite.
    All downloaded PURL files are eventually to be saved in %PROGRAMDATA%\Flexera Software\FlexNet Manager Platform\DataImport\Content\SKU (again, not a typo) on your batch server.
  6. Log in to your batch server (or the server hosting that functionality, such as your application server in a single-server implementation) as a user in the FNMS Administrators security group.
    This is the security group recommended during installation. A suggested account to use is fnms-admin.
  7. If this is not the first time you have downloaded the libraries, run the following command to clean out the disk cache on your batch server (or equivalent): 
    cd InstallDir\DotNet\bin
"ShadowHostWin.exe" "BatchProcessTask.exe" run ARLCleanup
  8. On your batch server (or equivalent), navigate to %PROGRAMDATA%\Flexera Software\FlexNet Manager Platform\DataImport and create the Content directory and its subdirectories ARL, SKU, and EOSL.
    Use exactly these names to allow for subsequent automated tasks. (These folders are all removed each cycle by the ARLCleanup task.)
  9. Copy the downloaded files to your batch server, placing each one in the appropriate subdirectory under the \Content path, as identified in the downloading steps described earlier.
  10. Still on your batch server, navigate to the Microsoft Task scheduler, and in the FlexNet Manager Platform group:
    1. Validate that the Recognition data import scheduled task has indeed been disabled.
    2. Create a new import scheduled task with the following command line to execute in the InstallDir\DotNet\bin directory: 
      "ShadowHostWin.exe" "BatchProcessTask.exe" run ARLImport
      It is appropriate to schedule this daily at 1am. This schedules an import from the disk cache where you have placed the files into the compliance database (and on the daily schedule, if there is nothing new in the cache, exits quickly). The import is scheduled as soon as possible, and run when there are no conflicting tasks. You can also trigger this scheduled task manually if need be, without needing to memorize a command line.
When the import scheduled task is triggered, all the downloaded libraries are loaded into the compliance database by the ARLImport task. When the process is complete, you can log into the web interface of FlexNet Manager Suite, and navigate to the system menu ( in the top right corner) and choose System Health > System Health Dashboard. The summary cards there display the versions and date/time of the last successful updates to the ARL, PURL, and SKU library. (The cards do not update automatically once the page is open. Use F5 to refresh the display.) Errors display an additional alert icon with some explanatory text.
In case of errors, check the following log files, located in %ProgramData%\Flexera Software\Compliance\Logging\Content (where the asterisk in each file name is replaced with the appropriate date):
  • mgsImportRecognition*.log
  • recognition*.log (for the Application Recognition Library)
  • importPURL*.log.
Tip: Each log file is configured through a matching .config file saved in the same directory. Note that by default, 30 dated copies of each log file are preserved, and thereafter the oldest file is automatically removed to make room for the next log file (see maxSizeRollBackups in the .config files). You cannot modify the file path for logging within the .config files, but you could if necessary customize the file name(s). If you really need a different file path for these logs, you can change the value used for %property{ComplianceLoggingPath} in the .config files by creating a REG_SZ registry key at SOFTWARE\WoW6432Node\ManageSoft Corp\ManageSoft\Compliance\CurrentVersion\LoggingBaseDirectory on your batch server (or in smaller implementations, the server hosting this functionality), and setting the registry key to your preferred path. (Removing this key again restores the default value.)