License Keys Tab

How license assignment works

A license key can only be assigned to one computer or user at a time. It's not possible to assign multiple keys from a single license to the same device or user.

When you assign a license key to a device, the assignment is made to the device itself, not to individual installations. For example:

If your license covers Product A and Product B and both products are installed on a device, you can assign only one license key to that device, not separate keys for each product.
If your license includes Product A versions 1 and 2, and both versions are installed on a device, only one license key can be assigned to the device, not separate keys for each version.

For license types where users are the primary entity, the assignment is made to the user, not to each individual installation.

For example, if a user has Product A installed on both a laptop and a desktop, you can assign a single license key to that user. You cannot assign one key for the laptop and another for the desktop.

Importing a CSV file

If you have only a few license key values, you can enter them directly. For a larger batch, click the Import Keys button to upload a CSV file containing the license keys, which can then be assigned to users or devices. To import a license key file, prepare a spreadsheet in the following format:

Only the first column may contain data.
The first row must contain the literal text LicenseKeyValue.
Other rows may each contain a single license key value, which may contain both letters and numbers.
Do not leave any blank rows.
Save as a comma-separated value file, with the mandatory file extension .csv.

Understanding the grid view

There are two grids to view: License keys and License key assignments. The License keys grid displays all license keys associated with the license, with each key listed in a separate row. The License key assignments grid shows which keys from the above License keys grid are assigned to specific users or devices.

To assign a license key to a user or device, that user or device must be allocated to the license. Therefore, when you assign a license key on the License Keys tab, it may also create an allocation. If the device or user is already allocated, the existing allocation will be updated with the assigned key. If no allocation exists, assigning a license key will create an allocation and then assign the key. As a result, devices or users with assigned keys will be marked as Allocated on the Consumption tab. Additionally, deallocating on the Consumption tab will remove the license key assignment.

Add a new license key

To add a new license key, click the Add button. A flyout dialog titled Add a License Key will appear, allowing you to enter the license key value and an optional expiry date. There is also a multi-line comments field (a text box that preserves spaces and newline characters) for customers with keys that are certificates, where the format must be maintained. After adding the key, it will be displayed in the License keys grid.

Note: It is not possible to add a key with a value that already exists.

Edit a license key

To edit a license key or copy the certificate while maintaining the format from the comments box, click Edit. After making your changes, click Update to apply your edits, and the updated license key will be reflected in the grid.

Remove a license key

To remove a key, select the checkbox next to the key you wish to delete in the License keys grid, then click Remove. A confirmation dialog will appear asking if you are sure you want to delete the key. After clicking OK, the key will be removed from the grid, along with any assignments associated with users or devices.

Assign a license key

To assign a license key, click the Assign button. A flyout dialog will appear, allowing you to search for a computer or user (depending on your license type). Search for the desired computer or user, select it, click Add, and then click Assign. Once you click Assign, the bottom grid (License key assignments) will update, displaying the assigned license key along with the corresponding computer or user name.

Note: Assigning multiple keys to the same computer or user is not permitted.

Unassign a license key

To unassign a key, select the checkbox next to the key in the License key assignments grid, then click Unassign. A confirmation dialog will appear asking if you are sure you want to proceed. Once you click OK, the key and its associated user or device details will be removed from the grid. This action will clear the assigned license key, but will not deallocate the device. As a result, the device will still appear as Allocated on the Consumption tab. If you wish to deallocate the device, you must do so from the Consumption tab.

License keys grid

The following columns are available for the License keys grid. The Comments column is optional and can be accessed through the column chooser.

Column	Notes
Available	This column will display either `Yes` or `No`. If the license is a multi-install key, it is considered unlimited. As a result, it will always appear as available, even if assigned to multiple devices, with the value displaying as `Yes`. For a single-install key, if the key is assigned, the column will display `No`, indicating that it is currently in use.
Expiry date (Optional)	The software license key expiry date when the current license expires. You can optionally set an expiry date when adding the license key.
License key	The license key authorizing each application linked to this license.

License key assignments grid

For device-based licenses, the following columns (listed alphabetically) are available in the License key assignments grid. Additional columns can be accessed via the column chooser, allowing you to adjust the default number of columns displayed.

Column	Notes
Computer name	The device associated with this license. The Computer name is not editable, and is received as part of inventory.
Inventory device type	Specifies the type of the inventory device, which may be any of the following values: `Cluster` — A cluster of several computers, typically managed by Kubernetes and with consumption reported by the IBM License Service (which does not allow for further breakdown, for example to individual hosts or VMs within the cluster) `Computer` — A computing device like a desktop, laptop, workstation, or a non-virtualized server. `Mobile device` — A mobile device like a tablet or smart phone. `Product` — Not a device type, but a pseudo-value used only in IBM VPC licenses to identify rows showing the licensed IBM product. This value may appear only if the Bundle consumption rules (in the license properties Use Rights & Rules tab, under License consumption rules) have the option Consume for each product on a device selected. `Remote Device` — The device is a remote device (not appearing in inventory) known to have accessed virtualized applications. This value is created automatically. `VDI Template` — The VDI template used to create the virtual desktop instance that was accessed from an inventory device (see Virtual Desktop Templates). This value is created automatically. `Virtual Machine` — A virtual machine running on a physical host machine. A physical host can run multiple virtual machines using virtualization technologies from VMWare, Oracle, Microsoft, and so on. Note that this value is also used for a record fabricated to represent an Oracle Database running on Amazon Relational Database Service (RDS). `VM Host` — A physical virtual host running one or more virtual machines using any virtualization technology, such as VMWare. Editable in the Inventory device type field in the General tab of the inventory device properties. The value may be overwritten by incoming inventory.
Last inventory date	The date when the most recent inventory information was collected by the Last inventory source for this inventory device. The inventory process generates the value of this field.
License key	The license key authorizing each device linked to this license.
Manufacturer	The manufacturer of the inventory device. Tip: If the device is a virtual machine (such as Linux KVM), this column may display the publisher of the software that is running the VM. Editable in the General tab of the inventory device properties (for manually-created records).
Model	The manufacturer’s model name or number for this device. Editable in the Model field in the General tab of the inventory device properties (for manually-created records). If the value is gathered from inventory, it cannot be edited, but it can be overridden by entering a new value in the Overridden field in General tab of the inventory device properties. The original value continues to display on the General tab, alongside the overridden value, and may be restored at any time.
Serial number	The serial number of the device, attempting to uniquely identify either the hardware (for a stand-alone device) or the virtualization container (for a virtual machine), as reported in inventory. Tip: This displays `Flexera SaaS Manager` with a numerical suffix in the special case where the inventory device is a dummy record created for linking with imports through your Flexera One SaaS Management connector. For manually-created inventory device records, this value is editable in the General tab of the inventory device properties. This value is not editable for records created or updated from collected inventory.
Status	Indicates the current state of a device. It can have any of the following values: `Active` — A device for which the inventory information is received from an inventory source. `Archived` — There are two different scenarios that lead to an inventory device entering the `Archived` status: The device is in transition pending deletion, but is currently held because of its historical impacts on IBM PVU sub-capacity retrospective calculations. The device is linked to an asset which is set to retired or disposed, and has installs of software which are covered by an IBM PVU or VPC license. `Awaiting Inventory` — This device is a place-holder that has not yet appeared in imported inventory from any source. `Ignored` — The device that is not managed. An ignored device is not considered in license consumption calculations. Tip: If an inventory device is linked to an asset record, and that asset is given a status of either `Retired` or `Disposed`, and the device does not have installs of software which are covered by an IBM PVU or VPC license, this `Ignored` value is automatically set for the linked inventory device. Provided that the inventory device has not [yet] been linked to an asset record, this value is editable in the General tab of the inventory device properties (although `Awaiting Inventory` is no longer available once inventory has been collected for the device, and `Archived` can never be set manually).

For user-based licenses, the following columns (listed alphabetically) are available in the License key assignments grid. Additional columns can be accessed via the column chooser, allowing you to adjust the default number of columns displayed.

Column	Notes
Account name	The user's login name.
Corporate unit	The corporate unit responsible for the device.
Cost center	The cost center responsible for all costs incurred for this user.
Email	The user's email address. Editable in the Details tab of the user properties.
Full name	The first, middle, and last names of a user. Note that you can modify the user's full name, for example, to exclude a middle name or patronymic. Remember: If a user record was added manually, it contains the user's first and last names, plus the middle name if any. If imported from another system through a business adapter, then the value displayed in the Full name field would depend on the data source and structure of the adapter. Editable in the General tab of the user properties.
License key	The license key authorizing each user linked to this license.
Location	The name of the related enterprise group. To edit group names and relationships, navigate to Enterprise > `groupType`.
Status	The user's operational status within the enterprise. Editable in the General tab of the user properties.