Known Issue: Random files and applications may be recognized as installed on inventory devices imported by the BMC Discovery (ADDM) connector when BMC Discovery is configured to gather file inventory (IOJ-2225964)

[#1]

Symptoms

When BMC Discovery (previously known as BMC Atrium Discovery and Dependency Mapping, or ADDM) is configured to gather file inventory that is subsequently imported into FlexNet Manager Suite using the out-of-the-box connector, inspection of data reported by FlexNet Manager Suite associated with imported inventory device records may show:

• Files installed that are not actually present on the devices.
• Applications recognized as installed based on file recognition rules matching files that are not actually present.
• Applications intermittently being recognized and derecognized as installed (that is, linking and unlinking) over time.

Cause

A logic error in the BMC Discovery (ADDM) inventory reader procedures results in installed file inventory records associated with computers that have a "Last inventory date" value that is unchanged from the previous import being corrupted in random and unpredictable ways.

Corrupted records for a computer will be corrected if and when fresh inventory is imported for that computer. However the data may be subsequently corrupted again if another import is performed where the computer's "Last inventory date" is unchanged.

The effect of this is that incorrect file evidence (and consequently application installations that are recognized based on file evidence) may be shown as installed on computers.

Diagnosis

The following SQL query can be executed against a FlexNet Manager Suite On-premises compliance database to identify applications and associated installation counts which may be incorrectly recognized due to this issue: 

SELECT Publisher, SoftwareTitleName, ProductName, InstallsAssociatedWithADDMFileInventory = COUNT(*)
FROM dbo.InstalledApplicationInfo aia
WHERE
    EXISTS(
        SELECT *
        FROM dbo.ImportedComputer ic
            JOIN dbo.ComplianceConnection cc ON cc.ComplianceConnectionID = ic.ComplianceConnectionID
            JOIN dbo.ImportedInstalledFileEvidence iife ON iife.ComplianceConnectionID = ic.ComplianceConnectionID AND iife.ExternalID = ic.ExternalID
            JOIN dbo.ImportedFileEvidenceMapping ifem ON ifem.ComplianceConnectionID = ic.ComplianceConnectionID AND ifem.ExternalFileID = iife.ExternalFileID
            JOIN dbo.SoftwareTitleFileEvidence stfe ON stfe.FileEvidenceID = ifem.FileEvidenceID AND stfe.EvidenceExistenceRuleID IN (1 /* required */, 4 /* at least one */)
        WHERE ic.ComplianceComputerID = aia.ComplianceComputerId
            AND stfe.SoftwareTitleID = aia.SoftwareTitleID
            AND cc.SourceTypeDisplayName = 'BMC Atrium Discovery and Dependency Mapping'
    )
GROUP BY Publisher, SoftwareTitleName, ProductName
ORDER BY Publisher, SoftwareTitleName, ProductName

 Be aware of the following considerations in relation to data returned by this query:

1. Some installations counted by this query are likely to be correct, and while others are likely to be incorrect. Due to this issue, it is not feasible to distinguish correct vs incorrect installations. However this query may allow you to gain insight into an upper bound of the breadth of the problem by understanding which applications are potentially affected by this issue in your environment.
2. This query does not identify installations which should have been recognized, but have not been recognized due to this issue.
3. If this query returns no records, it is likely that you are not currently affected by this issue. However that does not guarantee you won't be affected by the issue in the future or have been affected in the past - especially if you have a small number of computers in ADDM.

Additional information

The default configuration of BMC Discovery does not gather file inventory for FlexNet Manager Suite to import. This issue only affects imported data where the optional "FileEvidence" pattern described on the following page has been configured in BMC Discovery: Inventory Adapters and Connectors Reference > BMC Discovery (ADDM) Adapter > Choosing a Configuration > Components Explained > Optional Patterns.

This issue does not affect installer evidence, or application installations that are recognized based on installer evidence imported from BMC Discovery.

This issue is specifically related to the connector that imports data directly from BMC Discovery. There is a separate but related issue (IOJ-2217797) covering this behavior in the adapter that imports data that has been extracted from BMC Discovery into a staging database.

Fix status

This issue has been fixed in the following FlexNet Manager Suite releases: 2021 R1.3 / Dec 2021 (Cloud), 2022 R1 (On Premises)

Other information

Affected components: Integration: BMC Discovery/ADDM

Master issue ID: IOJ-2225964

Also known as: FNML-74419