Connecting to External Inventory Systems

FlexNet Manager Suite 2019 R1 (On-Premises Edition)
FlexNet Manager Suite integrates with other, external inventory-gathering tools to give you a single cohesive view of your license compliance. For each such external system, you need to define a connection to allow data collection.
Note: Inventory from FlexNet Manager for SAP Applications (see SAP Systems Page) is managed on a separate page, and connections for this do not appear here.

Supported data import/export connections for inventory data include the following (listed alphabetically):

  • Business reporting portal

    Driven by a Cognos server and collecting snapshots of your compliance data in its own data warehouse, this feature requires that the compliance server can access the data warehouse server.

  • Citrix XenApp and application tracking

    The list of applications available through Citrix XenApp can be gathered by a simple agent (FlexNet Manager Agent for XenApp Server) installed on each XenApp server, or application usage records can be imported from an associated EdgeSite server. Use the process for setting up a Microsoft SQL Server connection for either of these options.

  • Data Platform v5

    The Data Platform product (originally from BDNA and now from Flexera) includes both Normalize v5 and Technopedia. For version 5, inventory import uses a connection to the Normalize database, using the techniques described in Managing Microsoft SQL Server Database Connections.

  • ILMT or TAD4D from IBM

    Connection to the DB2 database underlying these tools is managed using the techniques described below.

  • Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync

    This provides a method of importing inventory from mobile devices such as tablets and smart phones. This integration involves setting up a temporary staging database, and then establishing the connection to that intermediary.

  • Microsoft Office 365 Online Account

    For more information on creating an Office 365 connection, refer to Managing PowerShell Connections as well as Creating Connections to Microsoft Office 365.

  • Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager or SMS

    FlexNet Manager Suite is automatically configured to integrate with this inventory tool’s underlying Microsoft SQL Server database. You may manage these database connections using the techniques for Microsoft SQL Server (see Managing Microsoft SQL Server Database Connections).

  • Salesforce

    For more information on creating a connection to Salesforce, refer to Managing PowerShell Connections as well as Managing Connections to Salesforce.com.

  • SAP from SAP AG

    SAP inventory gathering relies on a web service. Once configured, inventory collection is automatic.

  • Spreadsheets (.csv and .xlsx file formats)
    This allows for the regular import of inventory data in predefined (fixed format) spreadsheets.
    Tip: Importing .xlsx files requires that you have installed a 32-bit version of Microsoft Access Database Engine on the inventory beacon server (or batch server) that is performing the import.

To enable FlexNet Manager Suite to interpret the inventory data being imported from a source database, the inventory beacon needs to know:

  • The type of database in which the data is stored
  • The name of the database
  • The location of the database
  • The security permissions required to access the database
  • When (if ever) the data from this database should be considered stale.
Note: You must create the appropriate connection using the FlexNet Beacon interface on the inventory beacon server, as described in the following topics. The impact on the central application server depends on whether that inventory beacon is a free-standing server or co-installed with your application server (or, in a larger multi-server implementation, your batch server):
  • A co-installed inventory beacon writes directly to the database, so that a connection created here shows up immediately in the Inventory Data tab of the Data Inputs page of the web interface for FlexNet Manager Suite.
  • A free-standing inventory beacon does not communicate its new connection directly to the central application server. Instead, the first upload of inventory from the new connection causes the automatic addition of the connection details to the Inventory Data tab of the Data Inputs page.