IBM Products/Cloud Paks Non-Production Installation Identification, Visibility and Licensing

AamerSharif · ‎Nov 06, 2023

Summary

I understand that IBM Products and Cloud Paks can be installed in both production and non-production environments. However, the software identification and discovery signature remain the same, regardless of the environment in which the product is deployed.

It is worth noting that software licensing costs are much cheaper when deployed in non-production environments.

To address this, Flexera ITAM has been extended to provide automatic identification of IBM products and Cloud Paks installations in traditional non-production environments, thereby offering visibility and licensing for both production and non-production environments.

Indeed! The extension of Flexera ITAM to identify IBM Products and Cloud Paks in non-production environments will make license management significantly simpler. This will provide greater visibility into licenses deployed in both production and non-production environments, enabling organizations to manage and optimize their software licensing costs more effectively.

What do I need to do

There are two key components to automatically recognize the IBM product non-production installation using this new feature within Flexera ITAM.

Inventory Device Roles (Mapping of existing roles as production or non-production)
Extension to Application Recognition Library to Identify non-production installations

Flexera ITAM has extended two key components to automatically recognize IBM product non-production installations part of the new feature. The first component is the "Inventory Device Roles" which allows users to manage inventory device role mapping as production or non-production environment. This means that a role other than production can be set for non-production installations. Users can set which device roles will be used for non-production product identification on the "Inventory Device Role" page. By default, the inventory device "Production" role will be treated as a production installation.

The second component is an extension to the Application Recognition Library (ARL) to identify non-production installations. With the latest ARL version 2771 and PURL version 528 updates, Flexera ITAM can automatically identify IBM product installations in non-production environments using non-production software titles. This means that if a user has mapped the inventory device role for non-production installations and has the latest ARL and PURL updates, the IBM product non-production installations will be recognized automatically.

This upgrade not only simplifies the process but also significantly reduces the time-to-value. With the latest extensions to Flexera ITAM, users can now drive maximum value with minimal effort. I have included two screenshots below to give you a better idea of the new functionalities.

Inventory Device Role Mapping to Production and Non-Production Environment

The following page shows, that now users can map the inventory device role mapping as production or non-production.

Application Recognition Libraries (ARL) Extended for Automated Non-Production Installation Identification

Flexera Application Recognition Rules has been extended for Non-Production installation of IBM products/Cloud Paks. The following example show IBM API Connect Enterprise for Non-Production deployments.

Note: This feature will also be available to FlexNet Manager Suite / ITAM On-Prem as part of the 2023 R2 release.

WStephans · ‎Nov 06, 2023

Overall I think this is a good change so that we can accurately account for the different prod vs. non-prod conversion ratios. That said, this is very confusing and I am not sure which steps I need to take as an end user. It seems convoluted.

If I am understanding correctly, Flexera has added a 'require non-production role' check box to the Suite & Member tab of any application that is part of an IBM Cloud Pak? In the example above you show it for IBM API Connect for Non-Production Enterprise. However, when I check IBM App Connect Enterprise for Non-Production 12.0 application (another bundled application of Cloud Pak for Integration), there is no checkbox for the "require non-production role". Shouldn't there be?

AamerSharif · ‎Nov 07, 2023

Thanks, @WStephans for the much-appreciated feedback and the value this feature is going to provide,I have expanded the details, hopefully, that will help. Our content is updating more non-production titles in the coming ARL update.

WStephans · ‎Nov 08, 2023

Thanks @AamerSharif, glad to hear it!

Will there be a 'require non-production role' check box on the Suite & Member tab of ALL IBM applications or will it be only for select IBM applications based on Flexera content team's decision as to which ones should have the check box? I think the former would provide the most flexibility for end users in case they have made any changes to the linked applications / bundling on Cloud Pak licenses from the base bundling that the Flexera SKU library provides.

greg_best · ‎Nov 27, 2023

What version of Flexera do you need for this? I cannot see where the "Inventory Device Role" section is?
Thanks

ChrisG · ‎Nov 27, 2023

@greg_best - this feature is now available in Flexera One ITAM, and is included in the FlexNet Manager Suite on-premises 2023 R2 release.