user and device allocation

[kathy_allen]

I know you have to manually hard allocated and deallocate users and devices from a license but what about when those users or devices no longer feed into FNMS?

If a user is hard allocated to a license and then become inactive (terminated) and eventually doesn't feed into FNMS from SCCM, will the allocation be removed?

Same kind of question for devices that are hard allocated to licenses.  If the asset is retired and the device becomes ignored status and then eventually is no longer pulled into FNMS via SCCM, will the allocation be removed?

[mfranz]

Hi Kathy,

User and device allocations are just relationships between objects and therefore are removed of one of the related objects is removed from the system. Consumption result may just become effective after reconcile, but the objects won't be shown in the license after they have been removed.

Allocations for inactive users stay in the license, but will not be counted for consumption. At least that's the case in my Named User license test here.

Interestingly the online help states something different:

Inventory devices behave differently:

Best regards,

Markward

[kathy_allen]

Thanks @mfranz.  So if a user or device is no longer in FNMS, the allocation from the license will go away, correct?

In regards to the online help you pasted, for users that are inactive or retired in the system AND still have an install then FNMS will show it as consumption.  HOwever if the user does not have an install, the allocation is only for precedence of consumption but doesn't count towards consumption.  At least that's how I've set it. 

And we very rarely use the option to force all allocations as consumption.  So an ignored device will only consume if installed?

[mfranz]

Correct, they are removed with the allocated user/device. Allocations are stored in the table SoftwareLicenseAllocation, in case you want to check it.

Yeah, that makes sense. I only tested with allocation, no installation.

For your last comment, I would say "an ignored device will only consume if allocated" (and allocations consume entitlements is actived). Otherwise FNMS will just ignore it.

What I just noticed the online help states: there seems to be a difference between "Allocated" and "Permanent" allocation types. I wasn't aware of this.