The information on this page refers to License Statistics v6.11 and newer, which redesigned license server administration, resulting in replacing gathering type with multiple data sources. If you are using a version previous to v6.11, see documentation for previous versions. |
License Statistics lets you track and report software license usage gathered from supported Usage Monitor retrieves license usage data from the license serversand writes it the usage statistics data to a MySQL database.
The Usage Monitor runs an embedded http server, which handles requests for HTML pages that contain usage statistics tables and graphs, and makes them accessible from a web browser. Web pages are automatically generated, updated and refreshed, so no user interaction is required to generate and maintain the latest statistics. See Viewing and managing your usage statistics for details on using the web application.
In addition to usage statistics, the Usage Monitor gathers data for denied user requests, as described in Denied Requests Log.
Ways of gathering data
License Statistics can gather data from multiple sources, including Remote, Import, and End User (Agents).
| Data Source | Description |
|---|---|
| Remote Monitoring | Data gathered from the license server at specified query intervals. |
| Imported | Data gathered from license server log files. |
| End User | Data gathered from Agents installed on the End User hosts. |
Gathering remote data
License Statistics remote monitoring lets you see usage information from the time the license server was added to License Statistics to be monitored.
Gathering imported data
Denied Requests Log lets you view the history for servers that were added to License Statistics.
With imported usage, License Statistics does not need to query the license server. Therefore, it does not matter if the session started and stopped between two subsequent update intervals. Logs record information about all activities regardless of how long these activities lasted.
Since imported usage reporting doesn't require a connection to the license server, it can be used for:
- Billing purposes, where the license servers are at the customer's site and License Statistics software is at the vendor's site, making this feature especially helpful for companies that do back-billing or pay-per-use billing.
- Analyzing data from remote license servers in departments that run on separate networks.
Note: In addition to gathering usage data, License Statistics lets you generate data for denied user requests (LM-X License Manager, FLEXlm/FlexNet, Reprise License Manager (RLM) or IBM LUM license servers only).
Gathering end user data
License Statistics end user monitoring lets you see usage information received directly from an Agent installed on end user hosts, which gathers data and sends it back to the License Statistics server for further processing.
Accessing License Statistics usage data
License Statistics provides visually rich charts and graphs and makes the pages accessible to view and manage from a web browser using a web-enabled mobile device (tablet or phone) or a desktop or laptop computer.
Usage The statistics are time-sensitive; that is, they are updated based on your system clock time. It is recommended that both the license server and the Usage Monitor server use Because data usage is time-based, a License Statistics administrator should ensure that the machine hosting the monitored license server uses NTP (Network Time Protocol). Ideally, so the time is updated regularly and accurately across the machines. Otherwise, the time between the license server and the Usage Monitor server may be out of sync, which affects statistics.between the machine on which License Statistics is installed and the machine hosting the monitored license server should be in sync.
Before using License StatisticsBefore using the Usage Monitor, you must configure it for your site, including specifying the http HTTP server port, as described inRunning the . License Statistics Usage Monitor. The Usage Monitor runs as a service on Windows or as a daemon on UnixLinux. Because the Usage Monitor License Statistics runs as a background process, it will run even when no user is logged into the Usage Monitor License Statistics server machine.
Important: The Usage Monitor does not have to be installed on the license server machine to generate consistent usage data, however, it should be installed on a machine that has a stable network connection to the license server. Similarly, if statistics are gathered from a network with heavy loads, you should ensure you do not have frequent network problems. While network problems are not critical to gathering statistics, they may make the usage statistics output less preciseFor definitions of terms that are specific to License Statistics and feature usage monitoring, see the License Statistics Glossary.