Add a Points Rule

IT Asset Management (Cloud)

You may add points rules to sets that you create locally, or to sets downloaded with the Application Recognition Library.

Individual points rules can be created only within the context of their parent points rule set. Remember that points rule sets are restricted to a specific type of license, and the rules in the set must match the conditions of that license type.

To add a points rule:

  1. Select the points rule set for your new rule from the Points Rule Sets page (details: Points Rule Sets), and open its properties.
  2. Select the Points rules tab.
  3. Start the creation process in either of these ways:
    • If this is the first rule in the set, or completely different from any of the existing rules, click Create.
    • If there is already a rule that is similar to your planned one, select it from the list, and click Create from.
    A new editing area for rule creation opens above the list. The fields in this area depend on the type of license to which this rule applies (for a complete mapping of the controls to each license type, see What Are Points Rule Sets?).
  4. Create a memorable Points rule name that will be meaningful in lists you inspect some time later. (This is a mandatory field.)
  5. Complete the other fields, depending on the license type.
    The list of all possible fields, along with any editing notes to be aware of, is included below. Keep in mind that only a subset of these controls are available for any individual license type.
  6. To specify a particular product to which this points rule may exclusively apply (products must be specified one at a time, although you may repeat as often as required to map multiple products):
    1. On the first page of the properties editor, click Next to open the page to Map products to points rule.
    2. To remove an existing mapped product, first select the appropriate row in the list of products, and then click Remove.
      Tip: There is no confirmation, and no undo. If you delete a product by mistake, search for it and add it again.
    3. Type in values, or use the search controls to populate the two-to-four fields that can identify each product:
      Tip: Although you may type any values in these fields, it is best practice to use the search mechanisms provided because exact matches to the inventoried product details are required before the points rule can be applied.
      • For Product, type in a partial string for its name and click Search. A new list appears with known results that match your input. (You can filter the results on either the product name or publisher name using the filter row in the list; but aware that these filter fields are 'sticky' and may need to be cleared again for your next search). Select one product from the list of results, and click Select product to close the search controls and populate the Product field. Since the selection includes both the product name and the software publisher, the Publisher field is also populated.
      • Skip the Publisher field if it has already been automatically populated from your search for the product name. Otherwise, you may search for a publisher name to ensure that your entry matches the normalized data uploaded from inventory (for example, Microsoft is acceptable, but Microsoft Corp is not).
      • When the first two fields are populated with known product/publisher details, for the Version or Edition fields, click the ellipsis (...) to the right of either field to list values known for your chosen product (collecting the known values may take a few seconds). These values are presented as a list of individual selector buttons — click exactly in the round dot on a button to select it. Remember, your points rule must either match exactly one value for each of these fields, or have no value at all (which means to match any value for Version or Edition, as appropriate). If you want to match (say) either of two different editions, you must make two rules which can be identical in every other respect other than linking to two separate editions that you want to match. When you have selected the appropriate value, click Close to hide the list of known possibilities and populate the field you are working on.
    4. When all four fields are set appropriately, click Add product to insert your specification in the list below.
  7. If you are creating one in a series of similar rules, and want to continue with another rule definition, select the Create another? check box.
  8. Click Add.
    After a moment, your new rules is added to the list of Points rules below the editor. As well:
    • If you had selected the Create another check box, the editor is cleared back default values for you to enter your next rule.
    • If not, the editor closes.
    Tip: The new rules displays in the list, but the modified list is not yet stored in the database.
  9. When you have finished adding rules to this set, click Save for the entire property sheet.
    Tip: If this is the first time creating the points rule set and adding points rules to it, the big blue button instead reads Create, so click that.
    The modified rule set, including your new rule(s), is written to the compliance database. The rule set and your new rule(s) are now ready to use in licenses.

Depending on the license type, the following controls may appear in the rule editor. (For a listing of which license types support which control, see What Are Points Rule Sets?). Possible controls are listed here alphabetically.

Control Notes
Applies to

When this points rule set is applied to a license, these settings are tested against the Hosted in value set on the inventory device properties. Where there is a match, this points rule is used to calculate license points consumption for that inventory device.

Select one or more of the following check boxes:
  • On-premises — This rule applies to inventory devices installed within your enterprise, and with this choice, these devices may include either virtual machines running on a locally-installed virtual host, or free-standing physical computers.
  • Any cloud service provider — This rule applies to any inventory device (which, in this case, must be a virtual machine) that has its Hosted in value set to any known cloud service provider.
    Tip: With this selection, the rule also applies to any new cloud service providers who may be added in future (either through an update of the Application Recognition Library or through a local addition as described in IT Asset Management Settings: Cloud Service Providers Tab).
  • Selected cloud service providers — This selection enables the following set of all currently-available cloud service providers. When this check box is selected:
    • You may not also select the Any cloud service provider check box, since having a list of specified service providers means you cannot allow the random matching of any possible provider.
    • You must also select one or more of the cloud service providers (immediately following) that are enabled by this selection. The finished rule applies to inventory devices (virtual machines) hosted by the cloud service provider(s) that you select from this group.
BYOL
Whether this points rule can apply for "bring your own license" (BYOL) scenarios, and in particular for the Microsoft Azure Hybrid Benefit (AHB), or license mobility rights. In the editor, choose one of the following options:
  • Ignored — The BYOL status of an installation has no bearing on whether or not this points rule is applied. (Once your points rule is saved with this setting, the listing of all points rules displays a blank value in the BYOL column.)
  • Disabled — This points rule may be applied only to those installations where BYOL privileges are disabled. (Once your points rule is saved with this setting, the listing of all points rules displays No in the BYOL column.)
  • Enabled — This points rule may be applied only to those installations where the BYOL use right is enabled. This requires two settings:
    1. The installation must be linked to a license where in the license properties, under User rights & rules > License consumption rules > Cloud service provider, the Azure Hybrid Benefit / license mobility check box is selected.
    2. In the Consumption tab of that same linked license, the device must display a Cloud license model value of BYOL.
    (Once your points rule is saved with this setting, its row in the listing of all points rules displays Yes in the BYOL column.)
Computer model no
As well as entering a full model identifier, you may use:
  • A single asterisk (*) character, which matches all model numbers
  • A regular expression.
(For details, see Special Cases and Regular Expressions.)
Earliest purchase date

The earliest date when the server under test could have been purchased to qualify for the license to which this rule set is linked. This property may account for price changes over time for a given license type, for example.

Enter a date, or click the calendar icon at the right of the field to use a date picker. This field may be left blank (or cleared) when it is not relevant to the linked license(s). (Earliest and latest purchase dates may be cleared independently of each other.)

Latest purchase date

The latest date when the server under test could have been purchased to qualify for the license to which this rule set is linked. This property may account for price changes over time for a given license type, for example.

Enter a date, or click the calendar icon at the right of the field to use a date picker. This field may be left blank (or cleared) when it is not relevant to the linked license(s). (Earliest and latest purchase dates may be cleared independently of each other.)

Mapped products

In the list of all points rules in this set, this column shows the end product(s) of any transition to which the given points rule may apply. For example, in the points rule for License mobility - Enterprise Edition to Standard Edition (which starts from on-premises Enterprise Edition), the end product mapped to the points rule is Microsoft SQL Server Standard Edition (regardless of the release version).

To set mapped products, you must move to the second page of the properties editor, as described in the process above.

Max. clock speed (MHz)

The maximum value of the processor clock speed (in MHz) that qualifies for consumption from a license linked to the set containing this rule.

Enter (or spin up) the whole number of MHz that forms the upper bound for this rule. Use zero to represent Any number (which is displayed when you move to a different control).

Max. cores

The maximum number of cores permitted on a server for a software installation on that device to consume from the related license.

Enter or spin up a number, using zero to represent Any number (that is, all installations will match this criterion within the overall rule).

Max. cores per socket

The maximum average number of processor cores per socket permitted on a server for a software installation there to match this rule. The number of cores per socket is calculated by dividing the computer's inventoried number of cores by the number of sockets.

Enter or spin up a number, using zero to represent Any number (that is, all installations will match this criterion within the overall rule).

Max. processors

The maximum number of processors permitted on the server for a software installation on that device to consume from the related license.

Enter or spin up a number, using zero to represent Any number (that is, all installations will match this criterion within the overall rule).

Max. resource

The maximum number of the particular resource specified by the linked license to match this rule.

Enter a decimal value (or spin up the integer part), using zero to represent Any number (that is, all installations will match this criterion within the overall rule).

Max. sockets

The maximum number of sockets that may be available on the server for a software installation on that device to consume from the related license.

Enter or spin up a number, using zero to represent Any number (that is, all installations will match this criterion within the overall rule).

Max. users

The maximum number of end-users specified by the linked license to match this rule.

Enter or spin up a number, using zero to represent Any number (that is, all installations will match this criterion within the overall rule).

Min. clock speed (MHz)

The minimum value of the processor clock speed (in MHz) that qualifies for consumption from a license linked to the set containing this rule.

Enter (or spin up) a numerical value. For minima, zero has no special value, but just sets the lower bound to zero.

Min. cores

An inventory device must have this number of cores (or more) for a software installation on that device to consume from the related license.

Enter or spin up a number. For a minimum value, zero is just zero and has no special meaning.

Min. cores per socket

The minimum average number of cores per socket on a server before a software installation there will match this rule. From inventory, the total number of cores is divided by the total number of sockets to get the average for each server.

Enter or spin up a number. For a minimum, zero is just zero and has no special meaning.

Min. processors

The minimum number of processors that must be available on the server before a software installation there may consume from the related license.

Enter or spin up a number. For minimum values, zero has no special meaning (and is just zero).

Min. resource

The minimum number of the particular resource specified by the linked license to match this rule.

Enter a decimal value (or spin up the integer part). As for all minima, zero has no special meaning, but sets the lower bound of the rule to zero.

Min. sockets

The minimum number of processor sockets that must be available on the server before a software installation there will match this rule, and consume from the related license.

Enter or spin up a number. As for all such minima, zero has no special meaning, and simply sets the lower bound of the rule to zero.

Min. users

The minimum number of end-users specified by the linked license to match this rule.

Enter or spin up a number. As for all such minima, zero has no special meaning, and simply sets the lower bound of the rule to zero.

Points

The number of points consumed from the associated license if an installation matches this rule from the set.

It would be unusual for this value to be left at zero. License that allow for installations to consume zero points usually do so on the basis of the business purpose of the particular server (such as backup), and these installations should be given a clear Exemption reason to prevent points consumption.

In most licenses, the Points value is a whole number, and is normally determined by the software publisher. However, there are cases where you may need to enter a fraction of a point, and fractions can be listed as decimal numbers. For example, if a license entitlement (or a point) authorizes software running on two VMs, then each VM that matches this rule consumes half a point, which may be entered as 0.5 in the Points value. For these special cases, you may enter up to two decimal places (such as 0.25).

Points rule name

Remember the value you enter may be truncated in lists, and try to keep the unique part of the description up first.

Processor type

An expression used to test for matching processors.

Enter an expression that will match against one or more processor types identified in inventory. As well as the plain text name of a particular processor, you may use:
  • A single asterisk (*) character, which matches all process types
  • A regular expression.
For more information, see Special Cases and Regular Expressions.
Source
The origin of this rule. Values are:
  • Local for a rule created within your enterprise (you may edit these rules)
  • Flexera for a read-only rule provided by Flexera through the Application Recognition Library
  • Shared for a rule created by a managed service provider (MSP) and shared across its customers

Not editable.

IT Asset Management (Cloud)

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