"Unspecified" edition for "Toad for Oracle" versions 9 to 13

[ImIronMan]

Hello,

In our customer estate, we observed there are lots of "unspecified" editions for "Toad for Oracle" versions from 9 to 13.1  and Toad Data Point 4.3.

Can you please suggest how to get the correct edition for all these products

Regards

Rajesh Ponnala

[Natalie]

Hi @ImIronMan ,

The information you are looking for can be found in the Information field for each application in question - just open up the application record to find it. 

Best,

Natalie

[ImIronMan]

Hi @Natalie No, I just checked the information field, it does not show the edition name, instead it says "This application is for an unspecified edition of this software. Most inventory systems do not return sufficient information to be able to accurately determine details of what edition of the product has been installed" Is there any work around ?

@ChrisG 

@DAWN @mfranz @mpeters 

[mfranz]

Hi,

I would like to clarify, if the original evidence would allow for edition recognition or not.

Famous example  would be MS SQL Server, where the installer alone would include version details, but not editions. For such applications additional data needs to be collected. Adobe DC is similar in that regard.

To see the original evidence, you either need a FNMS Reporting enhancement or look into the database or NDI file. Here is a sample query:

SELECT
	ic.ComputerName
	,iie.DisplayName
	,iie.Version
	,iie.Publisher
FROM ImportedComputer ic
JOIN ImportedInstalledInstallerEvidence iiie
	ON ic.ExternalID = iiie.ExternalComputerID
		AND ic.ComplianceConnectionID = iiie.ComplianceConnectionID
JOIN  ImportedInstallerEvidence iie
	ON iiie.ExternalInstallerEvidenceID = iie.ExternalInstallerID
		AND iiie.ComplianceConnectionID = iie.ComplianceConnectionID
WHERE iie.DisplayName LIKE '%toad for oracle%'

If you can make out editions in the evidence, there could just be a recognition issue and some changed/addition patterns maybe fix it.

If you cannot make out editions from the data, you have a data quality issue and will need to look into alternatives. Some examples:

• Does the existence of a file indicate a specific edition, e.g. swidtag?
• Does resgistry hold additional data?
• Can you improve the deployment process to either change the installer details or include a "helper file" to asist in the recognition process?

Depending on your findings, you could then look into a technical solution.

Best regards,

Markward

[Natalie]

Hi @ImIronMan ,

What are you using as an inventory source? Using FlexNet Inventory for this may yield better results - would be worth testing. 

The message in the application suggests there is a known limitation with many inventory sources in terms of gathering the required information. That said, I don't know if FlexNet Inventory is the solution and would welcome others who have worked with Toad for Oracle recognition. 

[ChrisG]

Quest Toad is one of those applications which require additional application-specific data to be gathered and interpreted in order to identify what edition is installed.

I have worked with one organization who has sought to automate this with the following dance moves:

1. Configure SCCM to gather Toad license key details from QSAuth11.key and ProductLicenses.xml files that different versions of Toad use, along with details of the path and version from the WinPE EXE header in corresponding Toad.exe files.
2. Ask Quest (the vendor) to provide a mapping showing which Toad edition each discovered license key value corresponds to. This was required because Quest advised there was no other way (and the organization themselves could find no other way) to determine which edition each license key corresponded to.
3. Configure a bespoke import process in FlexNet to combine the information from steps 1 and 2 to fabricate installer evidence details which contain edition information and can be used to recognize application installations.

The following logic was used in fabricating installer evidence:

1. Match QSAuth11.key license files against Toad.exe files with version at least 6 but less than 10.
2. Match ProductLicenses.xml license files against Toad.exe files with version 10 or higher.
3. Set the fabricated installer evidence DisplayName to Toad for Oracle - <Edition>, where <Edition> is:
   • Freeware - If the Toad.exe file's full path contains the word “freeware” or “read-only”
   • Trial - If the Toad.exe file's full path contains the word “trial” or the license file identifies the license as a trial license.
   • Pirated copy - If the license key->edition mapping identifies the key as a pirated key.
   • The edition from the license key->edition mapping if specified.
   • Otherwise Unknown
4. Set the fabricated installer evidence Version to the <Major>.<Minor> version from the Toad.exe file WinPE header information.

Of course, sending a list of license keys found to be used across the organization to the vendor can raise some questions, especially as it is common for Toad software to be used with pirated license keys. See the following posting for some thoughts on engaging with vendors: Oracle LMS Services.

Note that this solution was put in place some years ago (~2011), so there is every possibility that it may not be relevant for newer Toad releases. I hope this helps, but please do your own research and post here if you discover more current information.