FAQ: How are Applications / Groups / Bundles triggered in SLM?

Title

Applications:

In the DIS database, all standalone applications aim to have recognition rules applied to them. If recognition rules are applied, then a device reporting a data row , on a device, which matches the rule applied by DIS, an application should be visible in the customers environment.

Utilising the Files Per Computer Report in SLM (Available from SLM 9.7.0) will allow customers to see all data rows reporting on a specified HostName device, and if recognition exists, The column "Application" will show results for the normalised DIS Application Name.

If an application is not recognised in the Applications list on a device in a customers environment, it may be due to a few factors:

DIS Rule does not match the data for an application reporting on a device.
- If this is the case, new rules, or a new application, may need to be created.
Application has recognition in SMACC, but not showing in SLM.
- If this is the case, then a DUJ may be required to sync rule recognition from SMACC to SLM.
Application is reporting in SLM, but does not show metering / usage.
- The application rule created may be based on a Registry Key. Registry Key recognition does not contain executable information, and therefore running processes usage statistics cannot be collected. This is common for Plug-In's, Extensions, Add-On's, Modules, or Utilities.

Groups:

Groups trigger similarly to Standalone applications, except 2 or 3 components may be required to trigger a grouped application. In simpler terms, the components assigned to a group MUST all be recognised for a group to trigger.

DIS will not use Grouped Applications unless necessary to combine particular sets of data to trigger the correct version or edition.

As an example, some executables, for "Application A" may have an executable reporting with version 1.0 in the executable row, but the actual version of the product installed is 2021. However, the registry key file reports without an executable, but has the correct version of 2021, maybe even edition information.

If the above scenario is valid, then DIS can group the Registry Key as one mandatory registry key trigger, which will provide the correct version or Edition. This is also combined with a mandatory Executable trigger, which provides metering / usage information. Both components must trigger for a group to show in the applications list.

In the above image, the "Application" column shows the standalone application components triggered. The column "Application Group (DIS)" shows which visible Grouped application the individual components belong to.

If a Grouped application is not recognised in the Applications list on a device in a customers environment, it may be due to a few factors:

Grouped application not visible in Customers application list.
- This may be caused by the mandatory triggers of a group to not be fully present on a device. (e.g. missing a registry key / executable)
  - This may be a result of a full uninstallation process not being completed, and residual data being left on a machine, so only one component is present.
  - New version of a product has been released and no longer has the same data reporting as previous versions.
  - Certain data required for recognition is reported in Snow through the use of a PowerShell script, and the required script is not deployed to report specific data which should trigger additional information than what the Agent can natively report.
    - This is a common scenario for solutions of Microsoft (Office, SQL Server), Autodesk (Network Licensing), Adobe (SWID-tags), and more.
Grouped application uninstalled but still visible in the Application list.
- This may be a technical issue in the SLM application logic.
- From a DIS side, if one of the components for a grouped application is removed, the Grouped Application should move to "IsInstalled" = 0, and moved to historical metering quarantine (application shown in Red in SLM)

Bundles:

Bundles operate a bit differently to a Standalone Application or Grouped application. The difference is that not all components need to be present for a bundle to trigger.

Bundles use a different configuration, where DIS flag the "Mandatory Components" and "Requires Optional Components" bit flags on the necessary application within the Bundle.

What do these terms mean?

Mandatory Component
- The applications within a bundle, that have a Mandatory Component flag, MUST be recognised on a device.
Requires Optional Component
- All Mandatory Components still require to be triggered, regardless of the "Requires Optional Component" flag.
- Requires Optional Components mean, the Mandatory Component must still be recognised, however, one additional component in the bundle not marked as mandatory must also be triggered.
  - This flag does not specify which application must be present, only that a single additional component within the bundle must be recognised.

In the above image, Microsoft SQL Server 2017 Developer (reg) is the only Mandatory Component, and also has a Requires Optional Component flag for the bundle, Microsoft SQL Server 2017 Developer to be recognised.

If only Microsoft SQL Server 2017 Developer (reg) is recognised on a device, this Bundle will not trigger.

If Microsoft SQL Server 2017 Developer (reg) is triggered, and any other component in the bundle is also trigger, then the bundle should be visible on a device in SLM.

In the below image, Microsoft SQL Server 2017 (exe) is also present on the device, and therefore the bundle is recognised correctly.

If a Bundle is not recognised in the Applications list on a device in a customers environment, it may be due to a few factors:

Not all component triggers are recognised.
- In this scenario, some changes to the bundle may be required from DIS to configure the mandatory flags in a different way.
Bundle has Mandatory Flag triggers for the same application, across multiple versions.
- This configuration is usually by design. Customers will need to Override a global bundle, to configure their bundle locally.
  - While this is not an ideal scenario, some Bundles cannot be configured accurately for all customers from a global perspective.
    - For example, Autodesk Bundles/Collections, may allow a user to use any version of a suite of products, from the current version released, or the 3 previous versions.
    - This makes it impossible for DIS to cover all global configurations, as some Snow users may have Autodesk products with a version of 2019, some with 2020, and some with 2021.

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Snow Software Recognition Service

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Technical Recognition

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FAQ-Applications-Groups-Bundles

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