Setting up data collection (BigFix scenario)

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After you install License Metric Tool, ensure that you properly set up collection of software and capacity data from all required systems. If you completed the All-in-One installation or enabled the default scan schedule, basic software and capacity data is collected automatically. In other cases, you need to manually set up collection of this data. Apart from that, you need to set up collection of data from virtual machines and public clouds. Depending on your infrastructure, you might also want to perform advanced configuration of scans, for example set up scanning of shared disks or Docker containers.

Collecting basic software and capacity data

Basic software and capacity data is collected by the scanner. The scanner is an independent, well-defined component that is used by License Metric Tool. It is installed and managed through the BigFix® client. Software and capacity scans collect data that is later on displayed on the License Metric Tool reports.

If you complete the All-in-One installation or enable the default scan schedule in an environment with up to a few thousand computers, a number of actions required to collect basic software and capacity data is triggered automatically. The actions are triggered on computers that are subscribed to the License Metric Tool site and include activation of analyses as well as setup of scans and uploads of their results. For more information, see: Default scan configuration (BigFix scenario).

If you have a larger environment, it is advisable to divide the computers into groups, and then manually configure a separate scan schedule for each group to avoid performance issues. For more information, see the following links:

Collecting capacity data from virtual machines and public clouds

Apart from the data that is collected by the software and capacity scans, additional setup is required to collect data from virtual machines and public clouds. For more information, see: Collection of capacity data from VMs and public clouds (BigFix scenario).

Advanced scan configuration

Depending on your environment, you might also want to perform advanced configuration of scans, for example set up scanning of shared disks or Docker containers. You can also optimize scans by excluding directories from scanning or optimizing scanner cache configuration. For more information, see: Advanced scan configuration (BigFix scenario).