AIX usage metric data (SLM tags) for IBM License Metric Tool

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The Software License Metric (SLM) tags generated by the AIX® operating system serve as a usage metric data that is used by the IBM® License Metric Tool. The usage metric data records the virtual CPU (vCPU) information that represents the number of virtual CPUs that are online in the system.

To use the IBM License Metric Tool, you must install the slm.rte fileset that is available in the AIX operating system expansion pack and the fileset can also be downloaded from the website.

The IBM License Metric Tool generates a vcpu.slmtag Software License Metric Tag (SLMTAG) file that expands dynamically. The vcpu.slmtag file is located in the /var/opt/slm directory. This file is used by the BigFix Agent (BESClient) to incorporate the IBM License Metric Tool Agent software and to send the file to the IBM License Metric Tool server.

The IBM License Metric Tool can be used with the BigFix Agent (BESClient) that is installed and configured in the system. The BigFix Agent must be separately obtained from IBM License Metric Tool server and installed in the client. If the BigFix agent is not installed in the system, the SLMTAG file is created, but data is not sent to the IBM License Metric Tool server.

You can configure the IBM License Metric Tool with the environment variables that are defined in the /etc/environment file. At the time of installation, these variables are set to default values. The following configurable variables can be configured.

Variable	Details
SLM_VCPU_PERIOD_HOURS	Time period that is specified in hours, for adding a new metric entry. The default value is 720 hours (30 days). This value must be a multiple of 4. If you specify a value that is not a multiple of 4, the next multiple of 4 is considered by the IBM License Metric Tool. The minimum value is 4 hours.
SLM_VCPU_MAX_FSIZE	Maximum file size that is specified in bytes is the maximum size (in bytes) for the record file. If the file size exceeds this limit, the file is archived. The default value is 2097152 bytes (2 MB). The minimum value is 10 KB. If you specify a lower value, the IBM License Metric Tool considers it as 10 KB.
SLM_VCPU_COUNT_ARCH	Number of archives retained by the tool. The default value is 4. The minimum value is 1. If you specify a lower value, the IBM License Metric Tool considers it as 1.

The usage metric data is displayed in the Resource Utilization page of the IBM License Metric Tool Server GUI. The usage metric data is displayed next to the host name as the VCPUmetric type and the COUNT subtype.