Review Software Inventory

[SrinivasRamanu1]

Software Inventory is the core of Software asset management. With correct inventory determination on ServiceNow CMDB, SAM Pro can determine correct license compliance for software deployed on your environment. 

1. Discovery of software installation record: The discovery of software install record includes software name, publisher, product, version and edition; this information is critical for normalization to work 
2. Discovery of key information of installed on : such as CPU core, CPU core count, CPU Core thread count (for virtual machines), Operating System etc. This information helps SAM pro to calculate correct license and is especially helpful in licensing models such as per core or per core (with CAL), per processor licensing where the discovery of these attributes are crucial. 
3. Discovery of the infrastructure on which the installed on is deployed: Software such as Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle DB Server can be deployed on-premises standalone, on premise -clusters and even on cloud platforms. Depending on where they are deployed the software license compliance calculation vary and hence, it is extremely important that the deployed infrastructure and associated relationship on the CMDB are discovered for SAM to correctly function. This is especially critical for data center (server) software deployments. 

Below is the process to review software inventory based on the 3 pillars of CMDB

Explanation of the process:

Activity S.No.	Activity	Activity Details
2.1	Review installs missing key attributes such as discovered version /edition	A software install is discovered with attributes such as Publisher, product, version and edition information. Please make sure that these attributes are discovered for ServiceNow SAM Pro to correctly perform normalization.  Where to find this issue:  This would show up on the License usage analysis- unlicensed entities- Installs with action  Recommended Actions for SAM Managers/Analysts:  Determine from discovery admin- and check to discover these key attributes  If for some reason, discovery is not possible for key attributes like Edition- use the edition override and manually add the edition on the discovery models. Details here
2.2	Review Installs not normalized	The normalization process compares the discovered publisher, discovered product, and discovered version and edition values against the ServiceNow repository of normalized equivalents. Matches are added to the corresponding normalized fields (publisher, product, version, and edition) of the Discovery Model table. The normalized fields are then used to reconcile entitlements purchased and to compute license positions.  More details here  Where to find this issue:  This would show up on the License usage analysis- unlicensed entities- Installs with action  Recommended Actions for SAM Managers/Analysts:  The action for the same would be covered in Section 3.0
2.3	Review Installs ignored from Licensing	In some cases, certain software installs are ignored from licensing. The reason could vary from the software installation being an inactive install, or that previously someone had created a software model with License under management= false.  Where to find this issue:  This would show up on the License usage analysis- progress indicators- ignored installs  Recommended Actions for SAM Managers/Analysts:  Review these installs and make sure that these installs are ignored by ServiceNow correctly. If they are raised through License under management as false, check those software models and check if the installation conditions on the software model are set correctly.   If these installs are ignored automatically and you disagree, raise a case with ServiceNow.
2.4	Review Installs with no or low license utilization	Licensable software installs should essentially be consumed by entitlements. If they are not being consumed- it may point to issues with your entitlement/software model/or issues with installs.  Where to find this issue:  To get a bird’s eye view of your install- license consumption you can either check license operations- product with installs or License usage analysis- product with installs (tab). Herein, you can search for the product and check the install count, install license utilization, and other specs. You can thereby open a mind map of the license usage for that product  More details here  Recommended Actions for SAM Managers/Analysts:  Review these installs license tree for a specific product and get a sense of the spread of install and where (which software models) are being consumed.  Thereby check the unlicensed and the requiring action nodes for different installs and take consolidated action for them
2.5	Review Installs missing entitlement	Licensable software installations require entitlement for consumption. In some cases, SAM managers/analyst forget to add a software entitlement (with a respective software model) that can cover these software installations.  Where to find this issue:  This would show up on the License usage analysis- unlicensed entities- Installs with action- Installs without a software entitlement. Make sure to click on the specific software product and then check the installation with action for that product.  Recommended Actions for SAM Managers/Analysts:  Please create entitlements for those installations using the right publisher's part numbers, which would automatically create the right software models to cover these installations. To validate results, run reconciliation again.
2.6	Review Inferred Installs	Suite Inference is a ServiceNow SAM Pro feature that helps determine if the software (installed or subscribed) is a part of a software suite, so that it can be licensed efficiently.  Please check this video to understand the details for the same.  Where to find:  Open software installations and check for all software installs where the inferred suite is not empty.   Recommended Actions for SAM Managers/Analysts:  If you believe that inference of the component install has not happened correctly you can   change the inference percentage/number  or select property- if you want to use component software licenses when suite licenses run out​ (only applicable for Microsoft software)  or create a product /software model install condition to change licensing conditions. Read about it here
2.7	Review Installs of supported software missing cloud license type (only for server software)	Server software like Microsoft Windows Server, SQL Server, Oracle DB, RHEL can be deployed on cloud providers like AWS, Azure, Google Cloud with Bring your own license. Hence, it is important to discover the License type as BYOL, or license included for these software installs discovered.  Details about discovery: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-G-HCKV0zI  Details about BYOL license support on SAM Pro: https://www.servicenow.com/community/sam-blog/bring-your-own-license-support-on-servicenow/ba-p/2284...  Where to find this issue:  This would show up on the License usage analysis- unlicensed entities- Installs with action- Installs without a software entitlement  Recommended Actions for SAM Managers/Analysts:  If using ServiceNow discovery:   ServiceNow discovery support cloud license type determination for  Microsoft Windows Server on AWS, Azure and GCP  Microsoft SQL Server on Azure only (AWS when integrated with cloud cost management)  Oracle DB Server on AWS and Azure  RHEL on AWS, Azure and GCP  If using other discovery sources:   In case discovery is not possible for some reason, you can create tags on the cloud VM and those will be discovered. The tags must be created on the cloud providers using a particular format:  <software-product>_License_Type_automatic and a Value of either License Included, BYOL, or BYOS.
2.8	Review the Installed on for CPU Details discovered	Review the Installed-on CI for details related to CPU. This is important especially for licensing models such as per core, per core (with CAL), per processor etc. which are used by major data center software such as Microsoft Windows Server, SQL server, Oracle DB server etc.  Physical CI: Ensure that Physical Server machines are discovered, with Is Virtual flag as false​. Ensure that CPU Count and CPU Core Count fields on the server have values discovered​.  Virtual CI: Ensure, Virtual machines are discovered as a Server (example - Windows or Linux Server); with is Virtual flag as True  Herein three attributes are important CPU Core count, CPU Count, CPU Core thread (>1 indicates hyperthreading enabled)  Where to find this issue:  This would show up on the License usage analysis- unlicensed entities- Installs with action and even on the health check  Recommended Actions for SAM Managers/Analysts:  Work with your Discovery admin to discover these important attributes before SAM can determine license compliance
2.9	Review the installed on deployed on a stale/retired CI and is consuming a license	Software installation on a retired or stale CI indicates an inaccurate CMDB configuration. As a result, the license consumption for that CI or device may be incorrect and must be reviewed. In some scenarios, the related CI—such as a virtual machine running on a retired host—may also introduce complexity.  ServiceNow SAM Pro automatically removes software installations when the underlying software process no longer exists. You can read more about this behavior [here].  These issues typically arise when CMDB best practices are not followed:  Recommended Actions for SAM Managers/Analysts:  Issue 1: Software installed on a retired or stale CI is consuming a license  SAM Pro will display a message when you click on “License Required,” due to one of the following reasons:  The CI is marked as Retired, but was recently discovered on the network, triggering license consumption. Ensure that the proper retirement process is completed to prevent this.  The CI is Stale—it was last discovered more than 90 days ago—and is still consuming a license. Please verify whether it should be marked as retired according to your organization’s process.  Issue 2: Related CI is retired  For example, a VM may still be active, but its underlying Host is marked as Retired.  Please check if the VM is also retired. If so, update its state to Retired to maintain CMDB accuracy and ensure correct license calculations.
2.10	Review Installed on missing environment	Many publishers like Microsoft provide special licensing rules related to the environment used. For example: Microsoft SQL Server can be used In production, but Microsoft Visual Studio can be used only on development environment. Hence, it is critical to map the environment on the CI. To understand how to setup Microsoft Visual Studio check here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mK3vxJgUciQ&t=333s  Where to find this issue:  This would show up on the health check for Microsoft.  Recommended Actions for SAM Managers/Analysts:  Work with your CMDB manager to demarcate the environment on the CI as production, development, test this will help SAM Pro to license your software correctly  Note: One potential check can be also done to check if any server software like SQL Server is on a client machine (Operating system= Windows 10/11) and consuming a production license. This can be investigated; client machines typically are non-production and need to be licensed by Visual Studio. Hence, the environment field needs to be configured for these client machine Cis too
2.11	Review Installed on missing assigned to user (mainly for user subscription type products)	In some licensing models such as user subscription for subscription products, the assigned to user discovery is important for SAM Pro to apply the correct licensing terms.  Many SaaS subscription products allow installation on a user's device. In some cases, these installations are relevant to license compliance—especially when the installation could fall under a different licensing model than the subscription itself. For example, Microsoft 365 (M365) offers both true SaaS and non–true SaaS subscription-based products.  True-SaaS Products:  True-SaaS products have the Ignore installation flag set to true. This means that even if the software is installed on a desktop device, it does not impact license compliance. License entitlement for these products is determined solely via subscription data retrieved from the M365 Admin Center. Discovery of the Assigned to user is not required for these products. Examples: Visio Online, Zoom, Dropbox   Learn more about M365 True SaaS products here:   https://support.servicenow.com/kb?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB2019260  Non–True SaaS Products:  Non–True SaaS products have the Ignore installation flag set to false, meaning the installation is considered in license compliance calculations. In these cases, discovering the Assigned to user is critical, as it helps determine if the install is covered under a valid subscription.  Examples: Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Adobe Acrobat  Note: ServiceNow Content Services automatically flags products with the appropriate Ignore installs value.  Where to find this issue:  This would show up on installs requiring action and Health check  Recommended Actions for SAM Managers/Analysts:  Option 1:  Work with your discovery team to identify the Assigned to user. This information is often discoverable and can help verify if the assigned user has a valid subscription.  Option 2:  If discovering the Assigned to user is not feasible (e.g., the install is on a server), and you're confident that the installation is for only a user subscription product, you may:  Create a dedicated software model for this software installation.  Set LUM = false to exclude it from license consumption.  This will move the installation to the Ignored Installs view in the License usage view and will not count the installs for only user subscription products for license compliance determination.
2.12	Review the Installs on user having no subscription assigned (only for SaaS subscription products)	In some cases, the software install of a SaaS subscription product exists, but the user is not found on the subscription record. This may be because the user has left the organization or other reasons.          Recommended Actions for SAM Managers/Analysts:  Look at the install requiring action on the License usage and thereby determine who the install was for. If the user having the install is not present in the SaaS Portal, it may be because they don’t have the valid license or have left the organization.  In either of the cases, this install may be deleted from the system. Please work with your organization software administration team for the same  Please note that this install will not consume any license
2.13	Review software products with no usage pulled	Software usage determination for Client software (such as Microsoft project) or SaaS subscription software (such as Microsoft 365, Adobe) helps ServiceNow SAM pro determine usage and thereby create reclamation candidates to optimize license usage. Hence, accurate discovery of usage is critical. Usually, usage is determined through tools such as SCCM or through the APIs from the SaaS Subscriptions.  Read more about Understand Software usage  and SaaS Software usage  For M365 last activity check here  Recommended Actions for SAM Managers/Analysts:  Verify the necessary tables for software usage and Microsoft 365 app usage to ensure usage data is being captured correctly after configuration.  Confirm whether reclamation rules have been created—usage data is only collected if such rules exist.  If reclamation rules are in place and discovery sources are correctly configured, but usage data is still not appearing in ServiceNow, consult your discovery administrator for further investigation.
2.14	Review of underlying infrastructure (for server software)	Datacenter (server) software is typically deployed either within on-premises datacenters or across cloud platforms. Therefore, it is critical to discover the underlying infrastructure where these deployments reside. For instance, server software might be installed on standalone on-premises servers, within on-premises hypervisor clusters, or hosted on public cloud platforms such as AWS, Azure, or GCP. Each of these environments follows a specific and expected data model within the CMDB, which must be accurately discovered and maintained.  Recommended Actions for SAM Managers/Analysts:  Review the health check or the install record along with any recommended actions and collaborate with your discovery administrator to ensure the relevant infrastructure components and their relationships are correctly discovered and populated in the CMDB.  For On premise hypervisor clusters and for cloud providers, you can refer to some examples of the expected CMDB data model (in figure below) to be discovered as per best practices.   For more details CMDB data model requirements refer to the specific infrastructure resource discovery under ServiceNow docs. For example, Discovery of VMWare, Hyper-V, Nutanix, AWS, AWS RDS (PaaS) Azure, GCP and more  Please note that for discovery of server software it is best to use ServiceNow discovery  Resources to check:  On-premises:  For Cluster (on-premises): Video showcases SAM Pro license compliance support for software deployed on clusters using an interesting feature Cluster 360  For Cloud  Video: ServiceNow discovery in action to support BYOL use cases  SN Docs: SAM Pro BYOL concepts  Video: SAM Pro BYOL in action

FAQs on Software Installations:

Q1. Which discovery source should I use for data center software vs client software so that my SAM use cases are covered for license compliance?

Ans. In most cases it is always recommended to use ServiceNow discovery for data center software discovery such as MS SQL Server, MS Windows Server or Oracle DB Server. For client software like M365, Adobe etc. you may use the respective Service Graph connector (ex. SG- SCCM ) or ACC-V

Q2. Do all discovery sources for data center software need to abide by the data model if they are deployed on hypervisor virtualization technologies like VMware, Hyper-V etc.

Ans. Yes. ServiceNow provides a recommended Data model on CMDB which need to be adhered to by any discovery solution so the SAM pro can determine the license compliance accurately.

Q3. Do you have an end to end explanation of discovery for a particular software?

Ans. Yes, you can check here

[LisaDG]

Great job.  Love this @SrinivasRamanu1