Managing Other Database Connections

Use this process in any of the following circumstances:

• You are making a connection to a database other than Microsoft SQL Server (such as a DB2 database for an ILMT adapter)
• A custom connector has been prepared for you
• You need to specify additional connection string details (such as custom ODBC/.NET data provider details) that are not available in the SQL Server Connection Properties dialog box.

Some connections may require drivers installed on the inventory beacon (for example, connections to DB2 for an ILMT adapter require that appropriate drivers are installed). Be sure to check Prerequisites for IT Asset Management Inventory Beacons.

Start this process from the inventory beacon interface, logged in using an account with local administrator privileges.

To manage other database connections:

1. Select the Inventory systems tab in the FlexNet Beacon interface.
2. Choose either of the following:
• To change the settings for a previously-defined connection, select that connection from the list, and click Edit... 
• To create a new connection, click the down arrow on the right of the New split button, and choose Other.
3. Complete (or modify) the values in the dialog that appears, as follows:Complete (or modify) the values in this dialog, as follows:

Property

Description

Connection Name

A descriptive name for this connection that you will recognize later in lists. The name may contain alphanumeric characters, underscores or spaces, but must start with either a letter or a number.

Source Type

When data is imported from this database, the value in this field identifies the import rules to be used.

If you have custom import rules, the custom database types are available for selection.

The default values in the list are:

Altiris

Use for all Symantec™ IT Management Suite (formerly Altiris) inventory.

App-V Standalone

Use for direction connection to the Microsoft App-V application server to import App-V applications and usage details.

Note:Use of the App-V Standalone connector disables the import of App-V inventory from Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (previously Microsoft SCCM). This prevents degrading inventory about these applications.

BigFix Inventory

Use to import inventory from BigFix platform (previously known by a variety of names, including Tivoli Endpoint Manager and IBM BigFix) or its BigFix Inventory component.

Tip:If you use this connector and if your BigFix platform implementation is running on a Microsoft SQL Server back end, connect to the database called BFEnterprise.

Blade Logic Client Automation

Use to import inventory from this BMC product (formerly known as Marimba).

Source Type

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BMC Atrium Discovery and Dependency Mapping

Use to import inventory from BMC Discovery.

Note:Requires installation of an intermediate Microsoft SQL Server database, typically on the inventory beacon server, for temporary storage. For more information, see the documentation included with the download of the BMC Atrium adapter.

Citrix XenApp (EdgeSight)

Choose this to specify your EdgeSight server if you are collecting application usage data from Citrix XenApp versions 6.0 or 6.5.

Tip:If you have an EdgeSight server available, and your XenApp servers (6.x) stream applications from a central file share to deliver to customers, you may like to create two separate connections, one for EdgeSight and one for the XenApp server agent. For streamed applications, EdgeSight does not report key application details needed by IT Asset Management for application recognition. The XenApp server agent in contrast, is able to retrieve such details from the streamed application’s .profile file. IT Asset Management automatically merges the data received from both sources to ensure usage of applications streamed to your XenApp servers is recognized.

Citrix XenApp (Server Agent)

Use this to take inventory of applications available through Citrix Virtual Apps (formerly XenApp). This requires installation of an intermediate Microsoft SQL Server database, possibly on the inventory beacon server, for staging data. The connection details are to this staging database. For more information, see coverage of the XenApp server adapter in the Inventory Adapters and Connectors Reference.

Exchange ActiveSync

Use this for importing mobile inventory from Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync without using Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (previously Microsoft SCCM).

Note:Requires the presence of a staging database, possibly installed on the inventory beacon.

HP Discovery and Dependency Mapping Inventory (DDMI)

Use for imports from the Hewlett-Packard Discovery and Dependency Mapping Inventory tool.

Note:Requires the presence of a staging database, possibly installed on the inventory beacon.

 

HP Universal Discovery

For imports from the Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Universal Discovery tool (formerly HP Universal Discovery).

Note:Requires the presence of a staging database, possibly installed on the inventory beacon.

ILMT

Use for imports from IBM License Metric Tool (ILMT) or TAD4D when these products are using a DB2 database.

ILMT SQL

Use for imports from IBM License Metric Tool (ILMT) or TAD4D when these products are using a Microsoft SQL Server database.

Tip:In a standard implementation, SQL Server may offer two database names for connection:

• TEMADB—Use this database when using ILMT or BigFix Inventory imported through this connection type
• BFEnterprise—Do not use for this connection type (instead see the BigFix Inventory connection type).

Note:Inventory devices marked as deleted in ILMT are not imported into IT Asset Management except when both of the following are true:

• ILMT is the source of truth for your sub-capacity PVU license consumption calculations
• The inventory device was only marked as deleted within the last 90 days (so that for part of the current reporting period, it may have affected the peak consumption figures).

A 'deleted' inventory device imported under these conditions is automatically removed again in the next reporting period, when it is no longer relevant for peak calculations.

ManageSoft

Use for imports from legacy ManageSoft, or Flexera Inventory Manager, databases within your enterprise.

SCCM

Use for imports from Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (previously Microsoft SCCM), or legacy Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager databases.

Important:To collect data saved by Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (previously Microsoft SCCM), the account on the inventory beacon that is running the connection to the SQL Server database requires membership in the db_datareader role.

Connection String

Do one of the following:

• For custom database adapters, enter the value supplied by your Flexera consultant.
• For ILMT (or any other connection you specify using the Other page), enter a connection string.

A typical connection string for ILMT running a DB2 database is similar to the following (but all on one line):

Provider=IBMDADB2.DB2COPY1;Password=password;

Persist Security Info=True;User ID=fnmsservice;

Data Source=TLMA;Location=servername:50000;

Extended Properties=""

where

• The Provider value consists of:
• A fixed string literal determined by the driver (for example, IBMDADB2 using the IBM driver, or DB2OLEDB using the Microsoft driver)
• A period (separator)
• The database copy registered name (typically TEMADB).
• Password is the password that the inventory beacon should use when accessing the DB2 database
• User ID is the account name that the inventory beacon should use when accessing the DB2 database (DATAACCESS privileges are required, since later versions of ILMT drop and recreate database tables)
• Location includes the name of the server running the database, and the access port (typically 50000, unless locally reconfigured).

Note:Including the database copy name may be optional after DB2 Version 9.7 Fix Pack 8 is applied, but its use resolves an earlier problem with accessing DB2.

Connection is in test mode (do not import results)

Controls the uploading and importing of data from this connection:

• When this check box is clear, the connection is in production mode, and data collected through this adapter is uploaded to the central server and (in due course) imported into the database there.
• When the check box is set:
• The adapter for this connection is exercised, with data written to the intermediate file in the staging folder on the inventory beacon (%CommonAppData%\Flexera Software\Beacon\IntermediateData) 
• The immediate upload that normally follows data collection is suppressed, so that you can inspect the contents of the file
• The catch-up process that retries stalled uploads, normally scheduled overnight, runs as usual and uploads the file to the central server
• At the central server, the file contents are discarded (and not imported into the central database).

Overlapping Inventory Filter

If you use more than one inventory source, it is possible to get overlapping inventory (records about the same endpoint device from multiple inventory tools). Because of differences between inventory tools, the overlapping inventory records may contain slightly different data. You may nominate one inventory source as Primary, which gives its collected data priority for hardware properties imported from target inventory devices. The choices here give another, separate axis of control, based on whether or not the data from this particular source is to be considered "stale". This is different from the Primary setting in the following ways:

• It is assessed first (before the primary setting is taken into account), and so may even modify the effect of your Primary setting. It is best practice to make sure that your chosen primary inventory source is not marked as stale with the following settings.
• It affects not only imported hardware properties, but also software inventory (installer evidence, file evidence, and so on), as follows:
• With two inventory sources (when neither one is considered stale), the total software inventory is a union (merging) of the results from both sources. This is useful when two different inventory tools have different specializations for software detection: the union means you are not blind-sided by a software inventory tool that missed something you should have licensed. This is considered the 'normal' operational case in a stable environment using multiple inventory sources.
• When one of the two available sources is declared "stale" (using either of the first two choices below), all of its overlapping software inventory is excluded from the possible union of data sources (hardware inventory too, but here we're considering software). This behavior is valuable, for instance, when a target inventory device has migrated from one inventory source to another (perhaps by moving offices), but has not yet been obsoleted from this first source. Imagine that, as part of the office move, the MyApp application had also been uninstalled from the inventory device. You do not want the old and stale record from this source insisting there's an installation of MyApp when in fact it's no longer on the device. Of course, best practice is to obsolete the device from this stale source so that it is no longer reported in this inventory source; but these first two settings allow a quick control of all the overlapping data from this source, rather than having to obsolete devices one by one in the source tool. Another common scenario is when you are migrating over time from an old version of your chosen inventory tool to a newer version (on a new connection), and during transition both systems are still running. Declaring the old version's connection as "stale" means that as soon as a record appears in the new version's inventory for a particular device, the old device import is automatically superseded, and updates rely entirely on the new version of your inventory tool.

Overlapping Inventory Filter

(Continued)

Each of the following settings only takes affect when IT Asset Management is comparing the inventory dates of a device from this current inventory source and an overlapping record from another inventory source:

• Ignore the device’s inventory from this data source—When you have more recent inventory from another source for the same target inventory device, the record from this source is completely ignored. (Technically, the device record is deleted from the staging table in the database, and so can never be imported.)
• Ignore this device’s inventory if older than nn days—If you select this option, overlapping inventory collected by this source more than the set number of days before the import is ignored. Fresher overlapping data is still imported and considered for data merging.

In the interests of keeping inventory current, this control has a maximum value of 60 days.

• Import the inventory from this source for possible merging—Choose this option (the default) to declare that overlapping inventory collected from this connection is never considered stale. This is the normal operating setting when you are not trying to manage transitions from one inventory source to another. With this setting, overlapping records are merged in this way:
• If a data point exists in the Primary inventory source, it is used
• If two equal-priority sources have different inventory dates, the data point is taken from the most recent inventory
• As a tie-breaker, the connection ID for this source recorded in the database is used (normally meaning that the earliest-created inventory source has priority).
4. Click Test Connection.
• If the inventory beacon can successfully connect to the nominated database using the details supplied, a Database connection succeeded message displays. Click OK to close the message. Click Save to complete the addition. The connection is added to (or updated in) the list.
• If the inventory beacon cannot connect, a Database connection failed message is displayed, with information about why that connection could not be made. Click OK to close the message. Edit the connection details and retest the connection.

You cannot save the connection details if the connection test fails. If you cannot get the connection test to succeed, click Cancel to cancel the addition of these connection details.