Deduplicating IBM software installations

  • Release version: Washingtondc
  • Updated February 1, 2024
  • 2 minutes to read
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    Summary of Deduplicating IBM Software Installations

    This document explains how to deduplicate IBM software installations when integrating with various Software Asset Management providers, such as IBM License Metric Tool (ILMT) or BigFix Inventory. Deduplication is essential to manage duplicate records created from different discovery sources for the same software installation.

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    Key Features

    • Integration with authorized Software Asset Management providers, ILMT, or BigFix Inventory.
    • Ability to resolve duplicate software installation records through the SAM - Deduplicate Install Table scheduled job.
    • Prioritization of records based on discovery source, with ILMT and BigFix Inventory taking precedence by default.
    • Support for changing the priority of discovery sources via a system property.

    Key Outcomes

    When you run the deduplication job, the following occurs:

    • Records from ILMT or BigFix Inventory are marked as active, while those from authorized Software Asset Management providers are marked as inactive if duplicates exist.
    • If an installation is discovered only through an authorized provider, that record remains active.
    • Customers can customize their integration by updating the Use Servicenow Software Asset Management and Discovery for IBM license compliance property to prioritize authorized Software Asset Management providers.

    This functionality ensures accurate tracking and management of IBM software licenses, ultimately leading to improved compliance and reporting efficiency.

    To track and manage your IBM licenses, you can integrate the IBM publisher pack with an authorized Software Asset Management provider, IBM License Metric Tool (ILMT), or BigFix Inventory. If you are switching between an authorized Software Asset Management provider integration and either an ILMT or BigFix Inventory integration, you can deduplicate software installations that have the same edition, version, and language but are discovered through different sources.

    If you discover the same IBM software installation through multiple sources, such as Anglepoint and ILMT, the Software Asset Management application creates a separate software installation record for each discovery of that software installation. You can resolve these duplicate software installation records by running the SAM - Deduplicate Install Table scheduled job, which ensures that only one duplicate software installation record is marked as active and included in reconciliation. See Duplicate software installations in the Software Asset Management application for more information on deduplication.

    By default, the Software Asset Management application prioritizes IBM software installations that are discovered through ILMT or BigFix Inventory. When you run the SAM - Deduplicate Install Table scheduled job, records for all IBM software installations that are discovered through ILMT or BigFix Inventory are marked as active, while records for the same software installations that are discovered through an authorized Software Asset Management provider are marked as inactive. If an IBM software installation is discovered through an authorized Software Asset Management provider only, the corresponding record is marked as active.

    To prioritize IBM software installations that are discovered through authorized Software Asset Management providers instead, you can update the value of the Use Servicenow Software Asset Management and Discovery for IBM license compliance property (com.snc.samp.ibm.use_samp_ibm_licensing) by navigating to All > System Properties > All Properties. From the list of available system properties, search for and select the com.snc.samp.ibm.use_samp_ibm_licensing property. When the system property record opens, set the Value field to true and then select Update. Each time you subsequently run the SAM - Deduplicate Install Table scheduled job, records for all IBM software installations that are discovered through an authorized Software Asset Management provider are marked as active, while records for the same software installations that are discovered through ILMT or BigFix Inventory are marked as inactive. If an IBM software installation is discovered through ILMT or BigFix Inventory only, the corresponding record is marked as active.
    Note:
    The Use Servicenow Software Asset Management and Discovery for IBM license compliance property supports domain separation.