Snow Ask-Me-Anything: Pay Only for Licenses You Need with SLM (4th May 2022)

How does Snow arrange the licenses of, for example, Autodesk, where you have a collection and individual applications?

• Add-ons and Toolboxes as mentioned are typically not discoverable by the inventory agent and require additional PowerShell Scripts per product. This could result in a workload issue for the agent so Snow has chosen not to pursue this functionality on a global scale at this time. It can be developed through a Services engagement if required by the client. 
• Snow rationalizes the software (and hardware) based on how it was discovered. This means that software will be displayed with the original manufacturer of the software at the time of installation and thus providing insight into the age of the product. This can cause some confusion with publishers procuring each other, however, there are benefits to having the information of the original manufacturer as well. In addition, there is the option to add a Custom Field to track the new publisher name.

Is there a benefit to entering agreements without entitlements?

• Absolutely! Even though without entitlements there is not an option to report compliance, agreements provide the ability to track and receive notifications for upcoming renewals. 

What assets should be metered for usage and reharvesting?

• Snow agents automatically meter software on all end user devices. It is an industry standard to not meter software on datacenter devices.

Where can we go to get detailed information on updates and changes?

• Information on product releases can be found on Snow Globe here . You can also sign up to receive email notifications of when new versions are released so you're always in the know!

Is there a benefit to entering agreements without entitlements?

• Absolutely! Even though without entitlements there is not an option to report compliance, agreements provide the ability to track and receive notifications for upcoming renewals. 

What assets should be metered for usage and reharvesting?

• Snow agents automatically meter software on all end user devices. It is an industry standard to not meter software on datacenter devices.

Where can we go to get detailed information on updates and changes?

• Information on product releases can be found on Snow Globe here . You can also sign up to receive email notifications of when new versions are released so you're always in the know!

Is there a way to prevent closed or renewed agreements from showing as expired on the agreements overview?

• We don’t want to remove the old ones from Snow so that we can refer to them if needed.
• Beginning with SLM 9.8, Snow introduced the ability to Archive Agreements and Licenses. This will remove the Agreement from the active Agreement list, however, you can still view the data when needed. 

Do we have any plan for moving out from Browser based extension to capture cloud/SaaS applications?

• The browser extensions deliver great insight in what actually has been used on managed devices and delivers great insight in optimization potential on your SaaS applications.

If names of my suppliers of applications change, they are still registered under the old supplier name in Snow, which causes confusion.

• Snow rationalizes the software (and hardware) based on how it was discovered. This means that software will be displayed with the original manufacturer of the software at the time of installation and thus providing insight into the age of the product. This can cause some confusion with publishers procuring each other, however, there are benefits to having the information of the original manufacturer as well. In addition, there is the option to add a Custom Field to track the new publisher name.

Does the application have to exist in Snow in order for the application to be detected?

• There's a couple different places to see an "application" within Snow. 
• The first place (and most common) is the Search for Applications list. For an application to show in the list, it must first be a part of the SRS (Snow Recognition Service) database. This means that it has been rationalized by Snow and is a recognized application. 
• The second place is the "Files per computer" report. This report displays all files on the computer whether they have been rationalized or not. This means you can see applications that are not in the SRS database. The "Application" column will display the SRS application name. Keep in mind not all applications will be rationalized by Snow so don't be shocked if a significant number of applications appear to be unrationalized as this is normal.

Can you explain the process for the inventory agent to pick up/record an application that is installed on a computer?

• By default the Windows Agent collects the following information:
  • Add/Remove Program Data
  • File Scan information in the following locations:
  • C:\Users\*\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\*
  • C:\Users\*\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\*
  • C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\*
  • %temp%\*
  • %ProgramFiles%\*
  • %ProgramFiles(x86)%\*
• Additional PowerShell Scripts for SWID Tags, Toad for Oracle, Autodesk, SQL Server, etc
• When metering is enabled, the file paths of the metering are scanned as well during the full scan
• For customization on the inventory process this could be extended by making use of Dynamic Inventory
• All this RAW data will be matched against the recognition rules in the SRS database during the Data Update Job. If the RAW data matches recognition rules, the normalized applications and bundles will be visible in the SLM Web Portal upon completion of the DUJ. For a full list of identified files, please check the standard "Files Per Computer" report

Does it ever get automatically added, or do we have to manually request the addition for those we want to report on?

• Snow is adding new versions of the major publishers, such as Microsoft and Adobe, to the SRS database on a daily basis, however, we always appreciate help from the Snow community to provide information and speed along the process. For the minor publishers we rely heavily on information from our clients submitted through Support tickets. 

How to collect version information on the Snow created .jar files installed with Snow agents and needed for specific recognition. (sios.jar, snowmiddlewarescanner.jar, sijs.jar and siohws.jar)?

• In fact, jar files contain (open one with 7-zip) a manifest file with metadata, including the version number. this is how we collect that info in Linux. To collect that info with SIAW, we need to implement the functionality, there is an enhancement request for it.

I've found a community post, where people talk about moving the SLM SMACC from SLM Server to a local computer. It seems that works. Do you support this? And could you put it in the documentation on doc.snowsoftware.com?

• By default the SMACC is installed as part of the installation for Snow License Manager. When you would like to use this on another server, the folder can be copied to another server, however this also requires access to the database from that machine (which is not always allowed). Be aware that whenever you update the SLM Server which includes SMACC updates, these updates also need to be applied on the other location (copy the folder content from the updates SLM server).

Do you need additional software to trigger uninstallation of unused software, or can it be done entirely through SLM and AP?

• SLM alone cannot trigger the uninstallation of unused software but it can be done using AP (now called Productivity Optimizer) and a distribution tool such as SCCM.

Have you already thought about how you deal with licenses in Snow that are included in a collection or subscription, but can also be installed separately? How can you tell the difference that a user has bought and installed a separate license compared to an installation from a collection or subscription. If this is not properly arranged or detected in Snow, you will receive incorrect costs and license overviews.

• This is something I commonly refer to as a licensing bundle versus a pricing bundle. A licensing bundle would be something such as Microsoft Office or Oracle Database where there is a defined set of products or a base product (Oracle DB) that is required before the additional products can be added. This is much easier for a SAM tool to configure because there is a defined method for identifying the bundle. 
• A pricing bundle is much more difficult. The Adobe All Apps is a pricing bundle example. There is not defined set of products that must be installed to make up the bundle. Any combination can be installed. 
• In addition, the same set of products can be installed on a system of a user that does not have the All Apps license. This causes a significant problem from a discovery perspective because the inventory data does not identify how the software is licensed. Snow is working through the different pricing bundle scenarios and enhancing our product where possible.

With Snow Atlas, how do I know the different rules configured for a specific application as part of SRS which we can see in OnPrem via SMACC? This info helps to know what evidence are used by library when application is normalized using the rules.

• This can be accomplished by making use of the "Files per Computer" report. This reports show for applications or specific machines what executables/reg keys have lead to the recognition of applications.

Why does multiple application versions still appear in in the users application list? As this causes confusion suggesting that multiple versions of the application is installed on the machine.

• Multiple versions exist when there's still usage data available for the old version on that computer. If software is removed and no usage data (metering) exists, the application should 
• be removed after the scan following the deletion. By default we keep 3 months of metering data in the system, after the 3 months the old application versions will not be visible anymore. If applications are only available based on usage data, the remark field of that application (on computer level) shows UI (uninstalled) in the remark field and the background of that application is changing to amber.

With Snow Atlas, how do I know the different rules configured for a specific application as part of SRS which we can see in OnPrem via SMACC? This info helps to know what evidence are used by library when application is normalized using the rules.

• This can be accomplished by making use of the "Files per Computer" report. This reports show for applications or specific machines what executables/reg keys have lead to the recognition of applications.

Why does multiple application versions still appear in in the users application list? As this causes confusion suggesting that multiple versions of the application is installed on the machine.

• Multiple versions exist when there's still usage data available for the old version on that computer. If software is removed and no usage data (metering) exists, the application should be removed after the scan following the deletion. By default we keep 3 months of metering data in the system, after the 3 months the old application versions will not be visible anymore. If applications are only available based on usage data, the remark field of that application (on computer level) shows UI (uninstalled) in the remark field and the background of that application is changing to amber.

Are there job aids on how to perform upgrades (SLM, Inventory, SIM, etc.) including best practices.

• The Snow Update Service will tell you if there are any specific needs for the version you're about to install, which includes dependencies, DB growth and prerequisites. Always make sure to have a snapshot of the application servers and database backups before upgrading. For the SIM always make sure to read to release notes to see which connectors have changed in that version and then verify for each connector if there's anything you need to prepare before the upgrade.

Can we have a commandline tool to encrypt the Passwords for Oracle Database Instance User in the Oracle Scanner Configfile? Actually, we have only the Admin Console on Snow Inventory Server to do that, but the Oracle Admins have normally no access to the Snow Inventory Server.

• No, the password encryption has been included in the SI Admin Console to make sure all our customers have the ability to make use of a GUI to generate the config files containing encrypted passwords. We encourage the team responsible for Snow to interact with the different stakeholders, since know what changes are present whilst requesting new packages. This provides them to combine multiple changes at the same time and implement the latest versions of e.g. the Snow Inventory Oracle Scanner on password expiration occasions