Software Installations on devices pending disposal

[Mary Gleason]

We are just beginning to use SAM Pro.  I've noticed that when we use the refresh process to retire a laptop, the software installation records on the old device that is pending disposal are still reporting as active and therefore using up a license in SAM for that software product.  Is there something we don't have configured correctly?   

[fknell]

Hi @Mary Gleason ,
Please have a look to the following post, which describes why the software installations are still active. https://www.servicenow.com/community/sam-forum/significance-of-quot-active-install-quot-field-on-the...
 
This is expected SAM Pro behavior and not a configuration issue. When you refresh a laptop (retire → new device), the software installs on the old device remain active in SAM because the refresh process does not automatically deactivate cmdb_sam_sw_install records on retired hardware.
 
Pending disposal CIs are still “active” in SAM until install_status changes to Retired/Decommissioned, and the SAM exclusion job runs to mark installs as inactive.
 
Hope this helps!

[Mary Gleason]

Thank you for this info. We tend to hold on to devices at certain locations for quite a while before actually disposing them.  It sounds like if we stick with the way this is designed, we will be showing a higher license utilization than our actual utilization.  I'd be surprised if we're the only company with this issue.  It seems like we could solve for this by creating a business rule to set the exclude device flag when the asset substate is pending disposal, but I was hoping to keep to OOB as much as possible.  Any thoughts on this?

[fknell]

There is a couple of options:

a) You could use the sys property from the article referenced and verify the 'SAM - Adjust installs for excluded CIs' job sets the active_install = false on installs for excluded CIs. 

b) Modify the refresh workflow to set the old CI to retired / decommissioned and the ootb job will handle the software installs. 

c) BR on the computer table to set the corresponding software installations active_install = false.

d) Combination of a, b and c.

I would also recommend to verify if this is in line with the EULA for all deployed applications or if you have to anyway purge the device to avoid in-compliance.