What Are Points Rule Sets?

Points rules

Points rules are another way that software publishers measure license consumption.

A number of license types allocate points to different ways of using related software. You purchase a given number of points, and the license points are consumed according to a set of rules. For example:

Some licenses give points to different kinds of processors on which the software is running.
Other licenses award points to classes of users who run the software.

Points rule sets

Points rules are collected in sets that closely relate to one another. For example, a license may allocate .5 pt for processor A, and 30 points for processor B. These related rules will be part of a set that lists all the points breakdowns that the software publisher has declared for the license.

Points rule sets are specific to a particular type of license. Within the same license type, you can reuse the points rule set for several separate licenses as required, even if those licenses represent products from different publishers. To allow this reuse, points rule sets are managed from their own page (see Points Rule Sets).

Whenever you change a points rule set, you affect all licenses that are linked to that rule set.

Tip: A rule set must exist before it can be linked to any licenses, so create any rule sets you need first.

Sources

In FlexNet Manager Suite, sets of rules are downloaded with the Application Recognition Library.

You may also add rule sets of your own, or augment an existing rule set with additional points rules of your own.

For example, all points-based licenses may have points rules that allow matching against the Hosted in set for each inventory device. A standard rule set for IBM PVU licenses is supplied through the Application Recognition Library; and you may add rules to this, or create your own points rule set that reflects the license terms for other license types.

Tip: If you augment a standard rule set and create an overlapping rule, the local rule that you create takes precedence in compliance calculations.

Surviving updates

If you add a custom points rule to a points rule set, and the Application Recognition Library updates the rule set, your custom rule is preserved.

If you create a points rule set named, say, PRS00123, and the Application Recognition Library (ARL) later adds a new points rule set with the identical PRS00123 name for the same license type, the rule set is 'adopted' by the ARL, and the rules originally created in your enterprise are appended as extensions to the rules prepared in the factory. As already noted, locally-created rules have precedence. The combined points rule set has a type of Flexera (extended).

Properties of points rules and points rule sets

Because software publishers choose to measure many different things, the properties available in a points rule vary from one kind of rule set to another (that is, from one license type to another). The following table shows the license types that measure consumption by points rules, and the properties available for each type.

Tip: Microsoft Server/Management Core licenses are points-based licenses, but do not have a visible points table. Cores are licensed in pairs (one point for every two cores), and minimum counts apply for each processor and device (for details, see Microsoft Server/Management Core (license type)).

Table 1. Points rule properties by license type
Property/name	Core points	IBM PVU	IBM RVU	IBM UVU	Microsoft Server Core	Oracle Processor	Processor Points
Applies to	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Computer model No	Y	Y				Y	Y
Earliest purchase						Y
Latest purchase						Y
Max clock speed						Y (or Oracle Named User Plus)
Max cores	Y	Y				Y
Max cores per socket	Y	Y			Y	Y
Max processors						Y	Y
Max resource			Y
Max sockets	Y	Y				Y
Max users				Y
Min clock speed						Y (or Oracle Named User Plus)
Min cores	Y	Y				Y
Min cores per socket	Y	Y			Y	Y
Min processors						Y	Y
Min resource			Y
Min sockets	Y	Y				Y
Min users				Y
Point rule name	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Points	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Processor type	Y	Y			Y	Y	Y
Source	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y