Allocated, available, and discovered license capacity

To determine if you have enough available license capacity to fulfill a user request, the Licenses application provides field information about the license capacity that is currently allocated and the capacity that remains available. A core multiplier group field is available for use in determining discovered capacity for software on specific computer or partition assets. This information summarizes, for each license, how the current capacity assignments affect the available capacity of the license.

Allocated and available license capacity are provided as values in the following two read-only fields in the Scope section of the License tab:
Allocated Capacity
This field displays how much of the license capacity is currently distributed. The field displays a numeric value that is an aggregate of all the individual allocation capacities for the license. The allocation capacities are specified on the Locations, Computer Assets, Partition Assets, Application Users, and GL Accounts tabs in the Allocations section of the License tab. Each tab represents an allocation type that might be applicable to the current license.
Note: License capacity can be overallocated. Typically the total capacity for all internal allocations and reserved capacity should be less than or equal to the license capacity. However, some licenses permit a capacity realignment based on an evaluation of capacity growth over some period of time before the license agreement expires. A license record with overallocated license capacity displays a negative value in the Available Capacity field.
Available Capacity
This field displays how much of the license capacity remains to be allocated. The field displays a numeric value that is the allocated capacity subtracted from the overall license capacity. A license record with overallocated license capacity displays a negative value.
Also provided in the Scope section are fields for the overall license capacity, the capacity unit for the license, and the core multiplier group, the latter being associated with one or more multicore values. This information is displayed in the Capacity, Capacity Unit, and Core Multiplier Group fields, respectively.

A core multiplier group contains all the core multipliers, or multicore values, referred to in licenses with PROC or PROCCORE capacity units. The core multiplier group is typically the name of a manufacturer, vendor, or software product, but it is not restricted to one of those. Any name relevant to the type of core multiplier can be used. Note that the core multiplier is used in audit reports to calculate discovered capacity. It is not used to calculate allocated capacity.

Each multicore value, usually a decimal number, is used to calculate the discovered capacity for software on specific computer or partition assets. The license explains where to find this number, which is often published by the manufacturer or vendor on an Internet Web site. It is up to the user to obtain this number.

The discovered capacity is calculated as the number of processors identified on the computers where the software is installed, multiplied by the core multiplier value. (In cases where the processor has multiple cores, the result is additionally multiplied by the number of cores.) The discovered capacity calculation result appears in the Processor Based Audit report, which you can run from the Licenses application.
Note: Before license capacity calculations can be performed for processor-based licenses, a core multiplier group must be created and one or more core multipliers defined.
Available license capacity is a simple calculation that yields valid data provided that the capacity values entered are logically appropriate for the applicable capacity units and allocation types. Table 1 offers some tips about providing capacity values for common licenses and the capacity units and allocation types that apply to them:
Table 1. Allocating license capacity
License Applicable capacity units Tips on allocating license capacity and additional information on the capacity calculations
Base license INSTINST
MIPS
MSUS
VALUNITS
AUTHOUSER
Allocation Types
All
For a base license, the allocated capacity calculation is a simple sum of all allocated capacity for a license, regardless of allocation type. Capacity can be allocated among one or more locations, computer assets, partition assets, application users, or GL accounts. The scope of the license determines which of these internal entities you should allocate capacity to. The capacity value must be specified for each applicable allocation in order to return a valid value in the Allocated Capacity field of the Scope section. Blank allocation values have a value of zero (0) for purposes of the allocated capacity calculation. The calculation shows the amount of capacity that has been allocated for the license.
Related reports:
  • PVU based audit
  • PVU based audit report by customer
  • RVU based audit
  • Install based audit
  • Install based audit report by customer
  • MSU based license audit
  • MSU based license audit by customer
  • PVU based audit
  • PVU based audit by customer (for Service Providers only)
  • RVU based audit
  • RVU based audit by customer (for Service Providers only)
  • Install based audit
  • Install based audit by customer (for Service Providers only)
  • MSU based license audit
  • MSU based audit by customer (for Service Providers only)
Concurrent license CONCUSER
CONNODELOCK
CONSESSION
FLOATUSER
Allocation Types
Locations and GL Accounts
Use the Locations or GL Accounts allocation to indicate how you plan to allocate the license. For example, if you have a 20 concurrent-user license, you could allocate ten concurrent users to one location and ten to another. The Allocated Capacity field will then indicate 20, but the number only reflects a planned value. Note that a concurrent user license is not one that can be precisely allocated, because it depends on the number of people actually logging in at any given time. You can plan to assign ten of the 20 concurrent users to a certain location, but that might not have any bearing on how many users actually use the software. That is, even with all capacity allocated, it still might be okay for an additional user to access the software, depending on the overall usage level at that time.
Computer Assets and Partition Assets
Not recommended. A concurrent license entitlement is based on actual usage of the software rather than who is using it, so usually it does not make sense to allocate capacity to specific computers or partitions.
Application Users
Because a concurrent license entitlement is based on actual usage of the software rather than who is using it, usually it does not make sense to allocate capacity to individual users by name. However, the Application Users tab still might be used to list the names of all of the users that might run the software. For a concurrent license, however, there is no way to indicate which specific users actually log in. Therefore, if you do enter user names, overwrite the default capacity value in the Capacity field with 0 on the Application Users tab. Then the Allocated Capacity value for Application Users is simply zero.
Processor-based license PROCCORE
PROCS
Allocation Types
Computer Assets and Partition Assets
When allocating for processor-based (PROCCORE, PROCS) capacity units, in the Allocations section enter the number of processor cores or processors into the Capacity field on the applicable Computer Asset and Partition Asset tabs. When you click Save, the Allocated Capacity field (Scope section) displays the sum of all capacity values entered on the Computer Asset and Partition Asset tabs in the Allocations section.

To determine discovered capacity, during discovery the network is searched and the number of processors where the licensed software is actually found is counted. The count is multiplied by the multicore value obtained from the group named in the Core Multiplier Group field to yield the discovered capacity. This discovered capacity is compared to your license capacity, and this information, along with the variance, is made available when you run a Processor Based Audit report from the Licenses application. In these discovery calculations, allocated capacity is not used.

Locations, Application Users, and GL Accounts
Usually it does not make sense to allocate processor-based licenses to locations, application users, or GL accounts. If you do, the same calculation noted in Computer Assets and Partition Assets occurs. The results, however, might not be valid.

Related reports: Processor based audit and Processor based audit by customer.

Related reports: Processor based audit and Processor based audit by customer (for Service Providers only).

Points-based license POINTS Allocation Types
Locations and GL Accounts
Use the Locations and GL Accounts allocations to indicate how you plan to allocate the license. For example, if you have a 500 points license, you could allocate 200 points to one location and 300 to another. This is only for planning purposes and does not indicate levels of actual usage or numbers of different people who might have access to run the software.
Computer Assets and Partition Assets
To reflect the correct allocation for computer or partition assets, you must manually determine the allocation amount:
  1. For the first software product listed in the Associated Products section of the License tab, select Go to Software Catalog.
  2. On the Software tab, Details section, note the value displayed the Points field.
  3. Repeat these steps for each additional software product listed in the Associated Products section on the Licenses tab.
  4. Total the points values that you obtained for each of the associated software products. This total is the capacity value that you will enter (in the next step) for each computer asset or partition asset that the license is allocated to.
  5. In the Allocations section, enter the total points value in the Capacity field for each allocated asset or partition listed on the Computer Assets or Partition Assets tab.
The Allocated Capacity field in the Scope section will display the sum all the capacity values from the Computer Asset or Partition Asset tab (Allocations section).
Application Users
It does not typically make sense to allocate a points-based license to individual users, since the points come from the products that reside on computers and partitions. If you do, the allocation is similar to the Locations allocation, and is for planning purposes only.

Related reports: Points based audit and Points based audit by customer.

Related reports: Points based audit and Points based audit by customer (for Service Providers only).

User Based License AUTHOUSER Allocation Types
Application Users
For a user based license, the license entitlement is defined by the specific number of users who are authorized to have the software. Unlike a concurrent user license, there must be enough capacity to cover all users. When allocating capacity, the Application Users tab can be used to specify the individual users of the software. While this is not typically a requirement, it enables the license manager to understand who should be using the software and how much capacity is available. Determining who actually uses the software by means of discovery is difficult; typically user IDs are not available and even if they are, would need to match the application user values to make a valid comparison. If desired, capacity allocation can be accomplished as part of the implementation process.
Locations and GL Accounts
Use the Locations or GL Accounts allocation to indicate how you plan to allocate the license. For example, if you have a 20-authorized-users license, you could allocate ten users to one location and ten to another. The Allocated Capacity field will then indicate 20, but the number only reflects a planned value.
Computer Assets and Partition Assets
If the software is typically installed on individual desktop or laptop computers, and those reflect a one-to-one relationship to users, then capacity can be assigned for planning purposes using the Computer Assets and Partition Assets tabs.