FlexNet Manager Suite Cloud update for November 2020

[mrichardson]

I am pleased to inform you that the November 2020 update (release number 2020 R2) of FlexNet Manager Suite Cloud is now deployed in the UAT environment for testing and familiarization. The update will be deployed to the Production environment over the coming days in the following maintenance windows:

• Maintenance window for FlexNet Manager Suite Europe: Production Release 2020 R2: Scheduled for November 17
• Maintenance window for FlexNet Manager Suite North America: Production Release 2020 R2: Scheduled for November 23

This release is for FlexNet Manager Suite Cloud only and these changes will be rolled into the next On-Premises release – FlexNet Manager Suite On-Premises 2020 R2 which is currently scheduled for December 10.

Here are some highlights of this update.

Support for IBM Cloud Paks

IBM Cloud Paks is an alternative to PVU in how to license your IBM products.  This method of licensing does not use points for the CPUs but instead is based on a Virtual Processor Core (VPC) metric that is assigned to each product.

This release of FlexNet Manager Suite includes a new IBM VPC license type for non-containerized infrastructure that simplifies this form of licensing, as well as licensing traditional bundles or individual products. (Support for containers is planned for a forthcoming release.)

As IBM Cloud Paks may be bundles with multiple primary products, the VPC license Consumption tab is specialized to allow the consumption tree(s) to start from the product(s) attached to the license, below which you can identify the virtual host, any applicable resource pools, and the virtual machines running the software. Alternatively, for those VPC licenses covering only a single primary product, the consumption tree(s) are more familiar, starting with the virtual host(s) where the licensed software is running on a guest VM.

To help go into more details you can either view the features by release page (click on the "Learn more" link below) or view the dedicated blog on this topic - IBM Cloud Paks blog 

Learn more

Inventory Connector for ServiceNow

Our previous integration with ServiceNow focused around 2 way communication with ServiceNow for asset and business data however we are now pleased to add an integration that allows you to import hardware and software inventory data from ServiceNow into FNMS so that it can be merged with inventory data from other sources providing you with a single view of your inventory.

This integration requires you to have the ServiceNow Discovery plugin enabled as a minimum however if you also have the SAM plugin, you will get additional inventory data as well.

To get more details you can either view the features by release page (click on the "Learn more" link below) or view the dedicated blog on this topic - ServiceNow Inventory blog  

Learn more

Improved Inventory for IBM DB2 Editions and Options

We have improved the accuracy of the inventory we collect for DB2 Editions by modifying the FlexNet Inventory Agent to use the db2licm utility as recommended by IBM auditors.  This will increase the trust level in the installed edition for IBM DB2 installations in FNMS.

In addition, we have also added the ability to view the DB2 options are installed on these DB2 editions and display whether these options are Used or not; this allows you to identify candidates for optimization by uninstalling the options which are not Used and this will in turn mean these no longer require licensing.

For more details you can either view the features by release page (click on the "Learn more" link below) or view the dedicated blog on this topic - DB2 Editions and Options blog  

Learn more

Configurable Dashboard Update

Earlier this year we introduced the Configurable Dashboard as an optional alternative to the default Management Dashboard in FlexNet Manager Suite, thanks to the feedback from all of you who tried this, we have made improvements to this Dashboard and in FlexNet Manager Suite 2020 R2 this has become a permanent feature.

You can now switch between the Dashboards and on your next login to FlexNet Manager Suite, your previous choice will be saved and we have also enabled a number of new capabilities such as the ability to share the dashboards with other operators, improved drill-down and drill-through and the ability to import widgets from the Analytics portal.

For more details you can view the features by release page (click on the "Learn more" link below)

Learn more

Scanning of Uploaded Documents

There are several places in FlexNet Manager Suite where you are able to upload supporting documentation such as Purchases, Contracts, Assets and Licenses.

In FlexNet Manager Suite 2020 R2 we have now added automated virus scanning (using ClamAV) to any document that you attempt to upload to the cloud to detect malicious content; if a document is found to have content deemed as unsafe, the upload will be blocked and an error will be displayed.

For more details you can view the features by release page (click on the "Learn more" link below)

Learn more

Additional Changes

In addition to the key features listed above, we've also introduced some additional miscellaneous changes such as:

• HSTS security header is now standard
• Inventory Device Matching Transparency
• Improved recognition of application usage
• Microsoft Azure connector now selects cloud environments
• Oracle options usage tracking enhanced
• jQuery support updated (as discussed in this post)

Where the changes were only minor, we have not created separate blogs for these which is why some of the above don't have hyperlinks.

For more details you can view the features by release page (click on the "Learn more" link below)

Learn more

More Information

Documentation and further information about the update is available on the Flexera Documentation site, including additional details on:

• New and changed features in this update
• Agent change log (including improvements gathering Oracle & Docker inventory)
• Beacon change log
• Resolved issues

We love to hear about your experiences, so let us know how things go with these updates by posting a comment here or in the FlexNet Manager Forum. Of course, the friendly Flexera Support team are also always standing by to take your call, in case you have any queries suited for a more personalized discussion.

Enjoy!

Matt