Supplemental Implementation Notes for Flexera Inventory Manager 9.2

[#1]

Summary

This article contains supplemental implementation notes for Flexera Inventory Manager 9.2

Synopsis

This article contains supplemental implementation notes for Flexera Inventory Manager 9.2. It contains the following sections:

• Inventory servers
• Inventory beacons
• AIX managed devices
• HP-UX managed devices
• Linux managed devices
• Mac managed devices
• Solaris managed devices

Inventory servers

Prerequisite software

A number of third-party applications must be installed before Inventory Manager can be used. The Inventory Manager Third Party download image includes redistributable copies of many of these applications, and web links to others that, for legal reasons, cannot be redistributed.

To help you discover which of these applications you must install, and those that you already have, the setup.exe on the Third Party download image also includes a link to the Inventory Manager prerequisite software detector. Run this tool to discover what you need to install. The summary page displayed includes information about all of the remaining applications required.
To run the Inventory Manager prerequisite software detector
1. From the setup.exe title page, click Install.
2. From the install page, click Prerequisite software.
A Web browser opens, displaying the Inventory Manager prerequisite software list, and instructions.
Note: On Windows XP SP2, Windows Server 2003 SP1 and later operating systems, the default Internet Explorer security settings disable the execution of ActiveX controls embedded in local HTML pages. The Inventory Manager prerequisite software detector generates a web page showing what prerequisite software is installed and what is missing. It uses an embedded ActiveX control to initiate the installation of missing prerequisites. On Windows XP SP2 and Windows Server 2003 SP1 and later operating systems, these links may not work.
To use the Inventory Manager prerequisite software detector on Windows XP SP2 or Windows Server 2003 SP1 and later operating systems, either temporarily enable the execution of embedded ActiveX controls in local HTML pages, or use the tool to determine what software needs to be installed and browse the Third Party download image and install the missing prerequisites manually.

VMware discovery and inventory

Inventory Manager can be used to discover virtualization servers and their hosted virtual machines, and gather physical and/or virtual hardware inventory. Supported virtual environments include:

• VMware VirtualCenter 2.0 - 5.0
• VMware ESX Server 3.0 - 5.0
• VMware ESXi Server 4.0 - 5.0

This means that you can report on and manage your use of licenses in virtual environments.

Oracle discovery and inventory

Inventory Manager can be used to discover Oracle database instances, and gather details of the Oracle applications and users associated with those instances.
Oracle databases can be discovered during collection of inventory on devices, from SNMP data for customers that have SNMP implemented, and from listener port scans.
This release of Inventory Manager supports Oracle database versions 8i, 9i, 10g, 11g and 11g Release 2.
This means that you can manage your Oracle licenses to ensure compliance with the complex Oracle licensing conditions.
If you will be using Inventory Manager to discover Oracle devices and perform tasks on those devices, you must ensure that the following servers are configured correctly for operating with Oracle:

• The server on which the Flexera Inventory Server will be installed
• Any servers on which the Flexera Inventory Beacon will be installed, if that server will be involved in Oracle device discovery and remote execution tasks.

These servers must be configured to meet the following requirements:

• Firewalls between the inventory server and inventory beacons, and Oracle servers are configured to allow traffic on the SNMP port (port 161) or the listener port (port 1521, by default). This is required to enable discovery of Oracle devices.

Be aware: If you are not using the default listener port, you may identify a different port to be used in discovery tasks. See the Discovery Guide for details. Also be aware: Oracle does not fully support SNMP on Windows. This means that you must use Inventory Manager port scanning features to discover listener information on Windows systems. Alternatively, listener information can be manually entered into the list of discovered devices in Inventory Manager.

• Remote execution credentials need to be configured on each inventory beacon to access Oracle databases and Oracle listeners. You can use the Password Store Manager to manage remote execution credentials. See the Discovery Guide for details.
• Oracle OLE DB Provider (32 bit), version 10.2.0.3 or later must be installed. You can install this as a standalone item, or as part of a full Oracle client or server product. The version you install must be compatible with all Oracle servers on which discovery or remote execution tasks will be performed.

The provider can be downloaded from: http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/tech/windows/ole_db/index.html.

• To enable Inventory Manager to collect detailed information about Oracle listeners (such as service and instance names), you must set Oracle listener processes with either no security, or full security with password authentication. Inventory Manager will not be able to collect full inventory details for listeners secured with Local OS Authentication only.

IIS 6 Management Compatibility required when using IIS 7.0

To install the Flexera Inventory Server on IIS 7.0, the IIS 6 Management Compatibility role service must be installed. This can be installed by adding this role service to the Web Server role in Server Manager. If this is not installed, the Flexera Inventory Server install wizard will not detect the presence of IIS on the machine.

WebDAV extension required when using IIS 7.0

To install the Flexera Inventory Manager Server on IIS 7.0, the WebDAV extension must be installed and enabled. This is required to enable directory browsing via the HTTP protocol. Instructions for installing and enabling this can be viewed at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=40&p=1&SrcDisplayLang=en&SrcCategoryId=&SrcFamilyId=036269fa-0040-4ccd-ad3d-78da1ee132fb&u=http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=105146. If this is not installed and enabled, the Flexera Inventory Server install wizard will give a warning message stating that the WebDAV extension was not detected. This can be installed and enabled after Inventory Manager is installed. However, until it is installed and enabled, distribution hierarchy synchronize and verify operations will fail on HTTP inventory beacons and distribution locations.

Passive distribution locations with IIS 7.0

In order to use IIS 7.0 to host a passive distribution location (with no inventory beacon installed) using the HTTP protocol, additional configuration of IIS 7.0 will be required. The WebDAV extension must be installed and enabled as noted above. To enable synchronize and verify operations, the Allow anonymous property queries and Allow property queries with infinite depth options must be checked for the web site. These options can be configured by opening Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager, go to the Default Web Site node, select WebDAV, then WebDAV Settings and enable the options.
An additional requirement for operations on a passive distribution location is to add a WebDAV Authoring Rule to the virtual directory. This can be configured by opening Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager, navigating to the virtual directory, select WebDAV Authoring Rules and then the Add Authoring Rule action. Add a rule allowing access to All content, for All users and with all permissions selected.
MIME types also need to be configured on the virtual directory for some Inventory Manager specific file types. These can be configured by opening Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager, navigating to the virtual directory, select MIME Types, and then the Add... action. Add the extension .osd with MIME type application/vnd.ManageSoft and extension .npl with MIME type application/vnd.ManageSoft.policy.
The maximum upload size will also need to be increased from the default of 30Mb. This can be set on the distribution location virtual directory using a command similar to the following:
C:\Windows\System32\Inetsrv\appcmd set config "Default Web Site/ManageSoftDL" -section:requestFiltering -requestLimits.maxAllowedContentLength:104857600 -commitpath:apphost

Uploading to HTTP protocol reporting locations with IIS 7.0

The use of the HTTP protocol for reporting locations on IIS 7.0 where the Inventory Manager web resolvers are not used requires an authenticated user on the web server. This is due to new functionality in IIS 7.0 which disables uploads to the web server by non-authenticated users. This is documented at http://learn.iis.net/page.aspx/360/what39s-new-for-webdav-and-iis-70/. This means that non-domain computers and users will not be able to upload to the reporting location unless it is configured with authentication details in the distribution hierarchy.

WINS Server feature and Computer Browser service required for Windows Browser based device discovery on Windows Server 2008

To install the Flexera Inventory Server on Windows Server 2008, the WINS Server feature must be installed locally or visible on the network and the Computer Browser service must be enabled. This is required to enable discovery of devices via the Windows Browser service. This can be installed by adding this feature to the features of this server through the Server Manager. If this is not installed or already present on the network, discovery of devices via the Windows Browser service will not be possible from this server.

Installing remote consoles

A Flexera Console for Inventory Server package is provided in the software library. Before installing the remote console using this package, ensure that you have the following prerequisites installed:

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 - 8.0
• Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 or later
• Microsoft Data Access Components 2.7
• Microsoft Office 2000, XP, 2003, 2007 Web Components.

If you are unsure whether these prerequisites are met, the Inventory Manager downloader and prerequisite checking tool identifies missing prerequisites. This tool, rlpdet.exe, is located on the Inventory Manager Third Party CD image. Double-click the file and look for the Flexera Software Remote Administration Component heading.

Custom installation command required to install without Domain Administrator privileges

Security groups are created in Active Directory when the Active Directory integration option is selected during the installation of a Flexera Inventory Server. If the user installing the product does not have Domain Administrator privileges, the creation of the groups will fail.
If the groups have previously been created in Active Directory by someone who has permissions, the following command line can be used to skip the attempt to create the groups and install the Flexera Inventory Server without the need for Domain Administrator privileges. Replace the custom mgs ... strings with the names of the appropriate security groups in your environment:
msiexec /I "Flexera Inventory Server.msi" /l*v c:\install.log GROUPS_ALREADY_CONFIGURED="TRUE" ADMINISTRATORSGROUP="custom mgs admin" DATAMODIFIERSGROUP="custom mgs mod" DATAREADERSGROUP="custom mgs read" DISTRIBUTORSGROUP="custom mgs dist" REPORTSGROUP="custom mgs report"

Remote execution timeout for adoption of managed devices

If you alter the Timeout for remote execution commands setting (using the Inventory Manager Configuration tool under the Remote Execution section), be careful to ensure that you allow sufficient time for adoption commands to execute. This includes the time to download the adoption package to the managed device as well as the installation of the managed device software.
If the timeout occurs during the installation, the managed device may not be completely configured. In particular the Mac OS X installation may enter a never-ending state if the timeout occurs while it is installing. This is a limitation of the native packaging technology on this platform.

Inventory beacons

For active inventory beacons

• Microsoft has released a supported fix for the task scheduler (MSTask) on Windows 2000 (Knowledge base article Q272022 - MSTASK fails to run scheduled jobs). We recommend you install this fix before installing the Flexera Inventory Beacon on Windows 2000.

This hotfix is not required on Windows 2000 SP2 and later.
This hotfix is available on the Inventory Manager prerequisite software CD image in the following location:
Third Party\Win32\EN\mstask_hotfix.exe.
A German language version of the hotfix is also provided in:
Third Party\Win32\DE\mstask_hotfix_de.exe.

• Inventory Manager task scheduling (Windows XP)

Microsoft has released a supported fix for the task scheduler (MSTask) on Windows XP (Knowledge base article Q329769 - Scheduled tasks may not run in Microsoft Windows XP). We recommend you install this fix before installing Flexera Inventory Beacon on Windows XP.
This hotfix is not required on Windows XP SP2 and later.

• Security Update for Windows 2000 (KB835732)

Required to perform discovery and remote execution tasks on Windows 2000 systems.

VMware discovery and inventory

Inventory Manager can be used to discover virtualization servers and their hosted virtual machines, and gather physical and/or virtual hardware inventory. Supported virtual environments include:

• VMware VirtualCenter 2.0 - 5.0
• VMware ESX Server 3.0 - 5.0
• VMware ESXi Server 4.0 - 5.0

This means that you can report on and manage your use of licenses in virtual environments.

Oracle discovery and inventory

Inventory Manager can be used to discover Oracle database instances, and gather details of the Oracle applications and users associated with those instances.
Oracle databases can be discovered during collection of inventory on devices, from SNMP data for customers that have SNMP implemented, and from listener port scans.
This release of Inventory Manager supports Oracle database versions 9i, 10g, 11g and 11g Release 2.
This means that you can manage your Oracle licenses to ensure compliance with the complex Oracle licensing conditions.
If you will be using Inventory Manager to discover Oracle devices and perform tasks on those devices, you must ensure that the following servers are configured correctly for operating with Oracle:

• The server on which the Flexera Inventory Server will be installed
• Any servers on which the Flexera Inventory Beacon will be installed, if that server will be involved in Oracle device discovery and remote execution tasks.

These servers must be configured to meet the following requirements:

• Firewalls between the inventory server, inventory beacons, and Oracle servers are configured to allow traffic on the SNMP port (port 161) or the listener port (port 1521, by default). This is required to enable discovery of Oracle devices.

Be aware: If you are not using the default listener port, you may identify a different port to be used in discovery tasks. See the Discovery Guide for details. Also be aware: Oracle does not fully support SNMP on Windows. This means that you must use Inventory Manager port scanning features to discover listener information on Windows systems. Alternatively, listener information can be manually entered into the list of discovered devices in Inventory Manager.

• Remote execution credentials need to be configured on each inventory beacon to access Oracle databases and Oracle listeners. You can use the Password Store Manager to manage remote execution credentials. See the Discovery Guide for details.
• Oracle OLE DB Provider (32 bit), version 10.2.0.3 or later must be installed. You can install this as a standalone item, or as part of a full Oracle client or server product. The version you install must be compatible with all Oracle servers on which discovery or remote execution tasks will be performed.

The provider can be downloaded from: http://www.oracle.com/technology/software/tech/windows/ole_db/index.html.

• To enable Inventory Manager to collect detailed information about Oracle listeners (such as service and instance names), you must set Oracle listener processes with either no security, or full security with password authentication. Inventory Manager will not be able to collect full inventory details for listeners secured with Local OS Authentication only.

IIS 6 Management Compatibility required when using IIS 7.0

To install a Flexera Inventory Server on IIS 7.0, the IIS 6 Management Compatibility role service must be installed. This can be installed by adding this role service to the Web Serverrole in Server Manager. If this is not installed, the Flexera Inventory Server install wizard will not detect the presence of IIS on the machine.

WebDAV extension required when using IIS 7.0

To install a Flexera Inventory Server on IIS 7.0, the WebDAV extension must be installed and enabled. This is required to enable directory browsing via the HTTP protocol. Instructions for installing and enabling this can be viewed here. If this is not installed and enabled, the Flexera Inventory Server install wizard will give a warning message stating that the WebDAV extension was not detected. This can be installed and enabled after Inventory Manager is installed, however until it is installed and enabled distribution hierarchy synchronize and verify operations will fail on HTTP inventory beacons and distribution locations.

Passive distribution locations with IIS 7.0

In order to use IIS 7.0 to host a passive distribution location (with no inventory beacon installed) using the HTTP protocol, additional configuration of IIS 7.0 will be required. The WebDAV extension must be installed and enabled as noted above. To enable synchronize and verify operations, the Allow anonymous property queries and Allow property queries with infinite depth options must be checked for the web site. These options can be configured by opening Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager, go to the Default Web Site node, select WebDAV, then WebDAV Settings and enable the options.
An additional requirement for operations on a passive distribution location is to add a WebDAV Authoring Rule to the virtual directory. This can be configured by opening Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager, navigating to the virtual directory, select WebDAV Authoring Rules and then the Add Authoring Rule action. Add a rule allowing access to All content, for All users and with all permissions selected.
MIME types also need to be configured on the virtual directory for some Inventory Manager specific file types. These can be configured by opening Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager, navigating to the virtual directory, select MIME Types, and then the Add... action. Add the extension .osd with MIME type application/vnd.ManageSoft and extension .npl with MIME typeapplication/vnd.ManageSoft.policy.
The maximum upload size will also need to be increased from the default of 30Mb. This can be set on the distribution location virtual directory using a command similar to the following:
C:\Windows\System32\Inetsrv\appcmd set config "Default Web Site/ManageSoftDL" -section:requestFiltering -requestLimits.maxAllowedContentLength:104857600 -commitpath:apphost

Uploading to HTTP protocol reporting locations with IIS 7.0

The use of the HTTP protocol for reporting locations on IIS 7.0 where the Inventory Manager web resolvers are not used requires an authenticated user on the web server. This is due to new functionality inIIS 7.0 which disables uploads to the web server by non-authenticated users. This is documented at http://learn.iis.net/page.aspx/360/what39s-new-for-webdav-and-iis-70/. This means that non-domain computers and users will not be able to upload to the reporting location unless it is configured with authentication details in the distribution hierarchy.

WINS Server feature and Computer Browser service required for Windows Browser based device discovery on Windows Server 2008

To install a Flexera Inventory Server on Windows Server 2008, the WINS Server feature must be installed locally or visible on the network and the Computer Browser service must be enabled. This is required to enable discovery of devices via the Windows Browser service. This can be installed by adding this feature to the features of this server through the Server Manager. If this is not installed or already present on the network, discovery of devices via the Windows Browser service will not be possible from this server.

AIX managed devices

Installing Inventory Manager on managed devices

Browse the installation CD image to familiarize yourself with the resources available.
The Discovery Guide (available as a PDF file on the installation CD image) provides a detailed explanation of the remote adoption based installation process, including necessary modifications to the Managed Device Adoption package to allow adoption of multiple different platforms from a single adoption task.
The Implementation Guide (available as a PDF file on the installation CD image) provides a detailed explanation of the manual installation process. It covers planning and implementation of the inventory server, the distribution hierarchy, and managed devices.
To manually install Inventory Manager on a IBM AIX computer:
1. Copy the .bff file from the CD image to the computer on which it is to be installed (for example, use ssh)
2. With root privileges, install the .bff file (for example, use /usr/sbin/installp -aYF -d managesoft.9.0.0.0.bff managesoft.rte)
3. When the install completes, run /opt/managesoft/bin/managesoft-configure to configure Inventory Manager.
Alternatively for unattended installs, a /var/tmp/mgsft_rollout_response file may be created on the computer prior to installation. If found, this file will be used by the installer to configure Inventory Manager at installation time. The ManageSoft/Managed devices/AIX/Examples/mgssetup.sh script on the installation CD image may be used to create a sample/var/tmp/mgsft_rollout_response file containing further instructions for customization.
Flexera Software professional services consultants are always available to help you through the planning and implementation phases as well as providing support to your IT administrators as they gain confidence in their skills with the product.

Removing Inventory Manager from managed devices

To remove Inventory Manager from an IBM AIX computer, run /usr/sbin/installp -u managesoft.rte with root privileges. This command may also be run by remote execution from 8.0 and later versions of Inventory Manager.

HP-UX managed devices

Installing Inventory Manager on managed devices

Browse the installation CD image to familiarize yourself with the resources available.
The Discovery Guide (available as a PDF file on the installation CD image) provides a detailed explanation of the remote adoption based installation process, including necessary modifications to the Managed Device Adoption package to allow adoption of multiple different platforms from a single adoption task.
The Implementation Guide (available as a PDF file on the installation CD image) provides a detailed explanation of the manual installation process. It covers planning and implementation of the inventory server, the distribution hierarchy, and managed devices.
To manually install Inventory Manager on a HP-UX computer:
1. Copy the .depot file from the CD image to the computer on which it is to be installed (for example, use ssh)
2. With root privileges, install the .depot file (for example, use /usr/sbin/swinstall -s /tmp/managesoft-9.0.0.depot managesoft)
3. When the install completes, run /opt/managesoft/bin/managesoft-configure to configure Inventory Manager.
Alternatively for unattended installs, a /var/tmp/mgsft_rollout_response file may be created on the computer prior to installation. If found, this file will be used by the installer to configure Inventory Manager at installation time. The ManageSoft/Managed devices/HP-UX/Examples/mgssetup.sh script on the installation CD image may be used to create a sample/var/tmp/mgsft_rollout_response file containing further instructions for customization.
Flexera Software professional services consultants are always available to help you through the planning and implementation phases as well as providing support to your IT administrators as they gain confidence in their skills with the product.

Removing Inventory Manager from managed devices

To remove Inventory Manager from a HP-UX computer, run /usr/sbin/swremove managesoft with root privileges. This command may also be run by remote execution from 8.0 and later versions of Inventory Manager.

Linux managed devices

Removing Inventory Manager from managed devices

To remove Inventory Manager for managed devices from a @for managed devices from a GNU/Linux computer, run rpm -e managesoft with root privileges. This command may also be run via remote execution on 8.0 and later versions of Inventory Manager.

OS X managed devices

Removing Inventory Manager from managed devicesTo remove ManageSoft for managed devices from a Mac OS X computer, open a terminal window and run the following command:
/opt/managesoft/bin/uninstall-managesoft.command

Solaris managed devices

Removing Inventory Manager from managed devices

To remove ManageSoft for managed devices from a Solaris computer, run pkgrm ManageSoft with root privileges. This command may also be run via remote execution on 8.0 and later versions of Inventory Manager

Additional Information

Q210685