Configure FlexNet Beacon to Connect with Tanium

IT Asset Management (Cloud)

To configure FlexNet Beacon to connect with Tanium:

1. Log into the inventory beacon interface as an administrator (for example, in the Windows Start menu, search for FlexNet Beacon, right-click it, and select Run as administrator).
   Tip: Starting the FlexNet Beacon interface requires that you are logged in with administrator privileges.
2. Select the Inventory systems page and click the down arrow on the right of the New... split button, and choose PowerShell.
   Tip: Alternatively, you can edit a connection you have defined previously, by selecting it from the list of connections and clicking Edit....
3. In the dialog that appears, complete (or modify) the following required fields:
   • Connection Name: The name you give this inventory connection is also used in the web interface of IT Asset Management to name the data import task. The name may contain alphanumeric characters, underscores or spaces, but it must start with either a letter or a number, for example Tanium.
   • Source Type: Select Tanium from the drop-down list.
4. Optionally, if your enterprise uses a proxy server to enable communication between FlexNet Beacon and Tanium, select the Use Proxy check box, and complete the following additional details:
   • Proxy Server: Enter the address of the proxy server using HTTP, HTTPS, or an IP address. Use the format https://ProxyServerURL:PortNumber, http://ProxyServerURL:PortNumber, or IPAddress:PortNumber). If the protocol is omitted, it defaults to http:. If the port number is omitted, it defaults to :80 for http, or 443 for https.
   • Fetch credentials from CyberArk (for proxy settings): When this check box is selected, the Query field appears, allowing you to enter the CyberArk query string to retrieve the vault for the username and password.
   • Username and Password: If your enterprise is using an authenticated proxy, specify the credentials to access the proxy server you just identified.
5. In the Tanium section, complete the following fields:
   • Tanium Server: Enter the IP address of your Tanium instance, for example 10.20.300.40. Do not include the http:// or https:// protocol with the IP address.
   • Authentication Flow: There are two Authentication Flows to choose from.
     • Client Credentials: When you select Client Credentials in the Authentication Flow dropdown, the integration uses a username and password for authentication instead of an API token. This method allows the connector to establish a secure session with the Tanium server using the provided credentials.
       • Username: Enter the Tanium account username that has appropriate API access permissions.
       • Password: Enter the corresponding password for the Tanium account.
     • ApiToken: Provide the API Token for the Tanium instance. For CyberArk integrations, when Fetch credentials from CyberArk (for specific connection type) is selected, the following hint will appear in this field: Enter CyberArk field name or leave empty for password. This allows you to specify the CyberArk vault field name. If left empty, the password will be used by default. For connection settings that do not display this hint, the locally stored value will be used.
       Note: The Refresh button, when selected, will only refresh the existing token with a new token if it is active. If the new token has expired, then selecting Refresh will not refresh the token. In this case, you will need to go to the Tanium site and reactivate the expired token or create a new token.
   • Enable Usage Tracking: This option allows customers to view Tanium usage data in IT Asset Management. When enabled, the Beacon extends the PowerShell adapter to collect usage information. By default, this setting is disabled (unchecked). If enabled, customers can view the Last Used Date for tracked applications on the Inventory Device Properties page. The data is sourced directly from Tanium.
   • Inventory Cleanup: This drop-down allows you to select Yes or No, determining whether stale inventory should be excluded during import.
     • If Yes is selected: An additional field, Stale Inventory Period, will appear. You can choose a threshold of 30, 60, or 90 days. Inventory older than the selected period will be cleaned up and excluded from visibility in the system.
     • If No is selected: All inventory will be imported, regardless of age.
6. Click Test Connection to make sure that your specifications are correct (adjusting as necessary for success).
   When FlexNet Beacon has successfully accessed the Tanium APIs using the details supplied, a Test connection succeeded message displays.
7. Click OK to close this dialog, and you may also click Save.
   The new connection is added to the connections list in the Inventory Systems tab.
8. If you do not already have a suitable schedule for this connection available on this inventory beacon, select the Scheduling page and click New... to open the Edit Schedule dialog and define one.
   For more details see Scheduling a Connection in the online help.
9. Back on the Inventory systems page, select the new connection in the list, click Schedule... to select your appropriate schedule in the Select schedule dialog and then click OK to confirm your selection.
10. In the main FlexNet Beacon interface, click Save to store your newly scheduled connection.
11. Select the newly-added connection and click Execute Now.
    The Execute Now confirmation dialog displays and the import of Tanium inventory data commences.
12. Click OK to confirm.

The resulting import (which follows immediately) may take some time to complete. You may monitor progress in the web interface for IT Asset Management — go to the System Tasks page (Data Collection > IT Assets Inventory Status > System Tasks), and periodically refresh this page. When the process is complete, you can inspect the inventory imported from Tanium in the All Inventory page on IT Asset Management.

Tip: In the All Inventory page:

1. Add the Connection name column to the page.
2. Display the simple filter bar.
3. Filter for the name you have your Tanium connection (the example given was Tanium).

After a successful data import, the hardware and software inventory data from Tanium Asset are visible in the appropriate pages of IT Asset Management. For tracking software usage data, you can view the Last Used Date for tracked applications on the Inventory Device Properties page.

Note: To know more about the operations available on the Inventory Systems page of FlexNet Beacon, see Inventory Systems Page in the online help. For scheduling data imports through this connection, see Scheduling a Connection, also in online help.