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- Re: Metering and Last Used Date Reporting Incorrectly
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I have heard of that the FlexNet agent can have trouble gathering usage metering for some Adobe products - the MSI installer packages for these products are authored in an unusual way, and do not install executable files in a "normal" way. This results in the agent being unable to match a running executable to an application.
I would always recommend being cautious about automatically and blindly uninstalling software simply based on usage data that is gathered. There are enough scenarios and corner cases that make it difficult to get 100% accurate usage data that using a process that involves some sort of explicit check with end users before installing their software is wise - even if the data gets it right 95% of the time, the last 5% of annoyed users will generate a lot of noise.
Some other things to check when considering usage data flowing through the system are:
- When using the FlexNet agent to gather usage, the usage agent log on client computers gives an information about which running executables are being tracked and which are not.
- Remember that a file evidence recognition rule for the invoked executable must be associated with the application record in the ARL for usage to be tracked.
- You can use the Discovery & Inventory > Discovery > Raw Software Usage page to see low level details of usage data that has been gathered by the FlexNet agent. This can be useful to see what data has been returned by a device, to get a sense of whether "missing" usage being shown against an installation is due to lack of data coming back from the device, or lack of ARL recognition rules.
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I have heard of that the FlexNet agent can have trouble gathering usage metering for some Adobe products - the MSI installer packages for these products are authored in an unusual way, and do not install executable files in a "normal" way. This results in the agent being unable to match a running executable to an application.
I would always recommend being cautious about automatically and blindly uninstalling software simply based on usage data that is gathered. There are enough scenarios and corner cases that make it difficult to get 100% accurate usage data that using a process that involves some sort of explicit check with end users before installing their software is wise - even if the data gets it right 95% of the time, the last 5% of annoyed users will generate a lot of noise.
Some other things to check when considering usage data flowing through the system are:
- When using the FlexNet agent to gather usage, the usage agent log on client computers gives an information about which running executables are being tracked and which are not.
- Remember that a file evidence recognition rule for the invoked executable must be associated with the application record in the ARL for usage to be tracked.
- You can use the Discovery & Inventory > Discovery > Raw Software Usage page to see low level details of usage data that has been gathered by the FlexNet agent. This can be useful to see what data has been returned by a device, to get a sense of whether "missing" usage being shown against an installation is due to lack of data coming back from the device, or lack of ARL recognition rules.
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For reference, here are some other discussion threads on a similar topic to this one:
- Metering Adobe Acrobat Pro DC - Package Updates
- Usage for some Adobe Acrobat DC, but not all of it
- On which basis are software metering usage data are tracked by default
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Chris,
How does one validate the 2nd bullet point: Remember that a file evidence recognition rule for the invoked executable must be associated with the application record in the ARL for usage to be tracked.
Is this something our internal engineer would have to validate for us?
I'm always concerned when reporting "last used date". Especially when the field is blank. I have no idea if it is accurate or not and can cause a lot of issues. I've been told that a blank "LUD" meant they had NEVER used the product. Is this not true?
Shelby
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@shelby_day,
The "file evidence recognition rule for the invoked executable must be associated with the application record in the ARL for usage to be tracked" requirement should be checked by verifying the relevant executables are listed in the discovered evidence, Adobe Acrobat XI Pro example screen shot:
Thanks,
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Take a look at the following new thread I have just posted which has some new insights and suggestions that may be at least partially related to this thread: Application usage metering with FlexNet agent on Windows for non-MSI applications
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@shelby_day - to validate file evidence recognition rules that are configured for an application, open the application record in FlexNet, select the Evidence tab, and click on the File button. Here is an example of what you would see for Microsoft Office Project 2016 Professional:
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In case it helps anybody reviewing this thread, see the following blog that has just been posted for a more extensive review of usage metering capabilities and configuration: Application usage metering using the FlexNet inventory agent
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Hi there,
Just wondering if you get any confirmation on this? I am trying to interpret the meaning of Blank data in the "Last Used Date" field? @shelby_day
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