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3 weeks ago
How to select and on what basis we need to select License metrics and metric group in software Entitlement. As there is list of License metric so how can we select.
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a week ago
Hi @akashgujar
License Metric & Metric Group in SAM Pro - Complete Guide
Understanding the Two Fields:
Before selecting anything, it helps to understand what each field does:
Metric Group is the framework - it defines which publisher's licensing model you're working within. It controls what license metrics become available for selection.
License Metric is the unit of measure - it tells SAM Pro exactly how to count consumption during reconciliation (by user, by device, by core, etc.).
The two fields work together. You first set the Metric Group, which then filters the relevant License Metrics for that publisher or model type.
Metric Groups Available in SAM Pro
Common - The default group available without any additional plugins. Used for standard, straightforward licensing that isn't publisher-specific.
Publisher-Specific Groups — These are activated by installing Publisher Pack plugins. Each group unlocks metrics specific to that vendor's licensing model:
- Microsoft - for products like Windows, SQL Server, Office, M365
- Oracle - for Oracle Database, Middleware, and options
- IBM - for IBM software using PVU or RVU-based licensing
- Adobe - for Creative Cloud and standalone Adobe products
- SAP - for SAP applications using named user or engine-based models
- VMware - for virtualisation and infrastructure products
- Citrix - for virtual desktop and application delivery products
Concurrent Licenses - Used when software is licensed based on simultaneous active usage rather than named users or devices.
Subscription / Consumption - Unlocked when SaaS License Management is installed. Used for cloud-based and SaaS software like M365, Adobe CC, DocuSign.
Custom - Used when no standard metric covers the publisher's licensing model. Requires a custom script and the sam_developer role.
Resource Consumption - A special metric under the Common group that performs a simple 1:1 calculation between a manually entered usage value and licenses required. Useful for metrics that cannot be automatically calculated from discovery data.
The 6 Common License Metrics - What Each One Means
These are available out of the box without any publisher pack:
Per User - Licenses a user across all devices they use. SAM Pro counts distinct users with the software installed or assigned. Best for software where users roam between devices.
Per Named User - Similar to Per User, but licenses a specific, identified user. The entitlement is tied to that individual. Often used for software where the contract names the authorised users explicitly.
Per Device - Licenses the device regardless of who uses it or how many users access it. SAM Pro counts distinct devices with the software installed. Ideal for shared workstations or kiosk environments.
Per Named Device - Licenses a specific, identified device. The entitlement is locked to that particular CI, not just any device.
Per Core - Licenses based on the total number of CPU cores on a server or VM. SAM Pro calculates this as CPU count multiplied by core count per CPU. Commonly used for server-side software.
Per Processor - Licenses based on the number of physical processors (sockets) on a server, not the cores within them. Less common today but still used by some vendors.
How to Decide Which Metric Group and Metric to Select
The decision should always come from your contract, invoice, or vendor agreement - not from assumption. Here is the logic to follow:
Step 1 - Identify the Publisher If the software belongs to a major publisher (Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, Adobe, SAP, VMware, Citrix), always use that publisher's Metric Group rather than Common. This ensures the reconciliation engine applies the publisher-specific calculation rules accurately.
Step 2 - Read What Your Contract States Your contract, ELP, or purchase order will describe how you are licensed. Map that language to SAM Pro as follows:
- Contract says "per named user" or "user subscription" → Per Named User or User Subscription (SaaS)
- Contract says "per device" or "device licence" → Per Device
- Contract says "Client Access Licence" or "CAL" → Microsoft Metric Group → User CAL or Device CAL
- Contract says "per core" (e.g. SQL Server, Windows Server) → Microsoft Metric Group → Per Core
- Contract says "Processor Value Unit" or "PVU" (IBM) → IBM Metric Group → PVU or Sub-capacity
- Contract says "Named User Plus" or "NUP" (Oracle) → Oracle Metric Group → Named User Plus
- Contract says "per processor" (Oracle DB) → Oracle Metric Group → Per Processor
- Contract says "concurrent" or "floating" → Concurrent Licenses Metric Group
- SaaS subscription (M365, Adobe CC, DocuSign) → Subscription Metric Group → User Subscription
Step 3 - Use Publisher Part Number (PPN) When Available If you have the vendor's part number from the invoice or price list, enter it in the PPN field on the entitlement form. SAM Pro will automatically populate the Software Model, Metric Group, and License Metric based on the content library. This is the most reliable and fastest approach when PPNs are available.
Step 4 - Use the Reference Icon in the UI Next to the License Metric field on the entitlement form, there is a small reference icon. Clicking it gives you an inline description of what that metric calculates. Use this whenever you are unsure what a metric does before saving.
Step 5 - Fall Back to Custom or Resource Consumption If none of the standard metrics reflect your contract terms (for example, revenue-based licensing, headcount-based, or project-based metrics), use the Custom metric group to write a script-based metric. If you simply need to manually input a usage value with no automated calculation, use Resource Consumption under the Common group.
Why Getting This Right Matters
Selecting the wrong metric group or metric will produce incorrect reconciliation results. For example, selecting Per Device instead of Per Named User for the same entitlement will give you an entirely different compliance position one may show you over-licensed, the other may show a shortfall. The metric also controls what Metric Attributes get auto-populated on the Software Model, which further influence how the reconciliation engine counts and groups consumption.
The simple rule is: what your contract says is what you configure in SAM Pro. Everything else reconciliation, compliance position, optimisation opportunities flows from that single configuration decision being correct.
If this helped sort things out, please mark it as Helpful and Accept it as the Solution much appreciated.
Regards,
Abby
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3 weeks ago - last edited 3 weeks ago
Hi @akashgujar,
Selecting the correct License Metric and Metric Group in SAMP entitlements is critical for accurate reconciliation and compliance reporting. The key is matching the vendor’s licensing model to SAM’s predefined options.
Metric Group
Metric Group determines the set of available license metrics for a specific publisher / licensing model:
- Adobe: e.g., Named User, Package
- Citrix: e.g., Concurrent User, Virtual Desktop
- IBM: e.g., PVU, IFL
- Microsoft: e.g., Per User, Per Device, E3/E5
- Oracle: e.g., Named User Plus, Processor
- SAP: e.g., Named User, Engine Measurement, FUE
- VMware: e.g., CPU, Core
- Custom: For everything else
License Metric
Once the Metric Group is set, select the specific License Metric that matches your contract.
Hope this helps!
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a week ago
Hi @akashgujar
License Metric & Metric Group in SAM Pro - Complete Guide
Understanding the Two Fields:
Before selecting anything, it helps to understand what each field does:
Metric Group is the framework - it defines which publisher's licensing model you're working within. It controls what license metrics become available for selection.
License Metric is the unit of measure - it tells SAM Pro exactly how to count consumption during reconciliation (by user, by device, by core, etc.).
The two fields work together. You first set the Metric Group, which then filters the relevant License Metrics for that publisher or model type.
Metric Groups Available in SAM Pro
Common - The default group available without any additional plugins. Used for standard, straightforward licensing that isn't publisher-specific.
Publisher-Specific Groups — These are activated by installing Publisher Pack plugins. Each group unlocks metrics specific to that vendor's licensing model:
- Microsoft - for products like Windows, SQL Server, Office, M365
- Oracle - for Oracle Database, Middleware, and options
- IBM - for IBM software using PVU or RVU-based licensing
- Adobe - for Creative Cloud and standalone Adobe products
- SAP - for SAP applications using named user or engine-based models
- VMware - for virtualisation and infrastructure products
- Citrix - for virtual desktop and application delivery products
Concurrent Licenses - Used when software is licensed based on simultaneous active usage rather than named users or devices.
Subscription / Consumption - Unlocked when SaaS License Management is installed. Used for cloud-based and SaaS software like M365, Adobe CC, DocuSign.
Custom - Used when no standard metric covers the publisher's licensing model. Requires a custom script and the sam_developer role.
Resource Consumption - A special metric under the Common group that performs a simple 1:1 calculation between a manually entered usage value and licenses required. Useful for metrics that cannot be automatically calculated from discovery data.
The 6 Common License Metrics - What Each One Means
These are available out of the box without any publisher pack:
Per User - Licenses a user across all devices they use. SAM Pro counts distinct users with the software installed or assigned. Best for software where users roam between devices.
Per Named User - Similar to Per User, but licenses a specific, identified user. The entitlement is tied to that individual. Often used for software where the contract names the authorised users explicitly.
Per Device - Licenses the device regardless of who uses it or how many users access it. SAM Pro counts distinct devices with the software installed. Ideal for shared workstations or kiosk environments.
Per Named Device - Licenses a specific, identified device. The entitlement is locked to that particular CI, not just any device.
Per Core - Licenses based on the total number of CPU cores on a server or VM. SAM Pro calculates this as CPU count multiplied by core count per CPU. Commonly used for server-side software.
Per Processor - Licenses based on the number of physical processors (sockets) on a server, not the cores within them. Less common today but still used by some vendors.
How to Decide Which Metric Group and Metric to Select
The decision should always come from your contract, invoice, or vendor agreement - not from assumption. Here is the logic to follow:
Step 1 - Identify the Publisher If the software belongs to a major publisher (Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, Adobe, SAP, VMware, Citrix), always use that publisher's Metric Group rather than Common. This ensures the reconciliation engine applies the publisher-specific calculation rules accurately.
Step 2 - Read What Your Contract States Your contract, ELP, or purchase order will describe how you are licensed. Map that language to SAM Pro as follows:
- Contract says "per named user" or "user subscription" → Per Named User or User Subscription (SaaS)
- Contract says "per device" or "device licence" → Per Device
- Contract says "Client Access Licence" or "CAL" → Microsoft Metric Group → User CAL or Device CAL
- Contract says "per core" (e.g. SQL Server, Windows Server) → Microsoft Metric Group → Per Core
- Contract says "Processor Value Unit" or "PVU" (IBM) → IBM Metric Group → PVU or Sub-capacity
- Contract says "Named User Plus" or "NUP" (Oracle) → Oracle Metric Group → Named User Plus
- Contract says "per processor" (Oracle DB) → Oracle Metric Group → Per Processor
- Contract says "concurrent" or "floating" → Concurrent Licenses Metric Group
- SaaS subscription (M365, Adobe CC, DocuSign) → Subscription Metric Group → User Subscription
Step 3 - Use Publisher Part Number (PPN) When Available If you have the vendor's part number from the invoice or price list, enter it in the PPN field on the entitlement form. SAM Pro will automatically populate the Software Model, Metric Group, and License Metric based on the content library. This is the most reliable and fastest approach when PPNs are available.
Step 4 - Use the Reference Icon in the UI Next to the License Metric field on the entitlement form, there is a small reference icon. Clicking it gives you an inline description of what that metric calculates. Use this whenever you are unsure what a metric does before saving.
Step 5 - Fall Back to Custom or Resource Consumption If none of the standard metrics reflect your contract terms (for example, revenue-based licensing, headcount-based, or project-based metrics), use the Custom metric group to write a script-based metric. If you simply need to manually input a usage value with no automated calculation, use Resource Consumption under the Common group.
Why Getting This Right Matters
Selecting the wrong metric group or metric will produce incorrect reconciliation results. For example, selecting Per Device instead of Per Named User for the same entitlement will give you an entirely different compliance position one may show you over-licensed, the other may show a shortfall. The metric also controls what Metric Attributes get auto-populated on the Software Model, which further influence how the reconciliation engine counts and groups consumption.
The simple rule is: what your contract says is what you configure in SAM Pro. Everything else reconciliation, compliance position, optimisation opportunities flows from that single configuration decision being correct.
If this helped sort things out, please mark it as Helpful and Accept it as the Solution much appreciated.
Regards,
Abby
