Exemptions

FlexNet Manager Suite 2019 R1 (On-Premises Edition)

Some license agreements specify certain purposes for which an installation may be used without consuming any license entitlements. Typical examples include exemptions for backup machines, or for computers used exclusively for training.

For license types that support exemptions by role, FlexNet Manager Suite automatically takes these exemptions into account when calculating license consumption, provided that you have recorded two kinds of information:

• You must specify the Device role on the General tab of the inventory device properties. (This manual setting is not updated by automatic inventory imports.) Each inventory device may have only one role, chosen from:
  • Backup / Archive — This device cannot be started without first restoring it from an archive copy. Typical publisher terminologies include backup, or archival.
  • Cold Standby / Disaster Recovery — This device is not currently running, but could be started at any time. Typical publisher terminologies include disaster recovery, cold standby, cold disaster recovery, or failover.
  • Development — This device is used exclusively for system development. It does not carry any production load.
  • Hot Standby / Active Failover — This device is running, and probably doing work such as mirroring database changes. Typically, this system requires a license, so that it would be unusual to select this role for an exemption. Typical publisher terminologies include hot standby, active, active clusters, mirroring, HA, standby, or remote mirroring.
  • Production — Specifies that the device is being used in the production environment, and it consumes license entitlements for its installed software. This is the default value for all newly imported devices, and you need to change it to reflect any other specific role.
  • Test — Specifies that the device is being used exclusively in system testing, and does not carry any production load.
  • Training — Specifies that the device is being used for training purposes. Most publishers require that this use is exclusive, and may also require that the device is within a dedicated training facility.
  • Warm Standby / Passive Failover — This device is on, but is idling and not carrying any production load.
  For more details, see General Tab of the inventory device properties.
• You must configure the license to record which exemptions are granted in the license agreement. This step is performed in this Exemptions section of the Use rights & rules tab.
  Tip: Depending on how this license record was created, you may find that the Product Use Rights Library (PURL) has already configured the exemptions by role for this license.

When both steps have been set up, the effects are visible after the next reconciliation.

Tip: Separately from exempting devices automatically based on their defined roles (on this tab), you can also manually exempt an individual device (or, for user-based license types, an individual user) from consuming on this license (regardless of roles), on the Consumption tab. For details, see Exemption Reason.

Exemptions for CALs

Consider the following points while setting exemptions for Client Access Licenses (CALs):

• When the Consume entitlements based on property (in the Use rights & rules tab) is set to Access, exemptions are not applicable.
• If you have a Microsoft Server Core, Microsoft Server Processor, or Microsoft Server/Management Core license for an installation of a server application (such as Microsoft SQL Server), the users and devices accessing this server application do not require a CAL.
• When you exempt an installation of a Microsoft server application (such as a non-production SharePoint Server) from consuming CALs, you are actually exempting users and devices accessing the application from consuming CALs.

To set up exemptions based on inventory device role:

1. Select as many of the listed roles as apply to this license.
   The full list of inventory device roles displays, but it would be most unusual to select the Production check box in this list of Exemption by device role.

   Tip: If you create custom roles, these also appear in this list, in alphabetical order. Selecting your custom role provides the same exemption from consuming entitlements under this license as choosing one of the standard roles. For details about adding custom roles, see Customizable Drop-Down Lists, in the Adding Custom Properties chapter of the FlexNet Manager Suite 2019 R1 System Reference, available through the title page of online help.

   When you select any role, an additional control for roleName exemption limit appears.

2. For the roleName exemption limit, choose either:
   • Unlimited when the license allows for any number of devices (or users) to be exempted for this same role. The setting is now completed.
   • Limited when the license specifies a maximum count of exemptions for this role. When you choose this option, an additional control appears with a default value of one. You must manually adjust this value according to the license agreement.
   For example, for each Microsoft application covered by an Enterprise Agreement, up to 20 copies may be used in a dedicated training facility.
3. In the Number of devices exempted control, enter (or dial up) the maximum number of exemptions that the license allows for this particular role.
   For example, if this is a Microsoft license covered by an Enterprise Agreement, you can select the Training role, select Limited, and enter the maximum value of 20.

   Tip: To comply with the license terms, you must manually ensure that the 20 machines are in a dedicated training facility. You could perhaps track this by assigning these training machines to a Training enterprise group, and using a group assignment to give this group a high priority on this license (but the first 20 such machines will correctly not consume entitlements, because of the exception by role). Such an arrangement would also help to establish an audit trail.
4. Be sure to Save any changes you make to the license properties.

From the next reconciliation, any devices associated with this license (through software installation or use) that have the matching Device role set on the General tab of their properties remain visible on the Consumption tab of this license's properties, but have a Consumed count of zero. If a Number of devices exempted has been set, and there are more devices with the matching role than this limit, the remaining associated devices (over the limit) will consume from this license.

Note: These limitations apply:

• Setting a device role, and setting an exemption reason on a license, does not imply any preferential relationship between device and license. In other words, there is no attempt to match devices with specific roles against licenses with a matching exception. The association between license and device is calculated as usual, and the exemption is applied later. As suggested above, you may use other facilities such a group assignment to influence the link between license and devices.
• When the number of devices with an appropriate role exceeds the Number of devices exempted setting on the license to which they are associated, the ordering of devices (determining which ones are exempted and which are left over to consume) is random. You cannot prioritize (for example) more 'expensive' devices that may consume more license points over others in the race for exemption.

Restriction: Exemptions by device role are not supported for the following license types:

• Microsoft User CAL and Microsoft Device CAL for which the Consume entitlements based on property (in the Use rights & rules tab) is set to Access
• Enterprise
• Evaluation
• SAP Named User
• SAP Packages
• Site.