License Renewal Comparison Tool

Subtopics

  1. Installing and updating the Comparison Tool
  2. Executing a comparison
  3. Managing files to compare
  4. How to proceed in case of discrepancies
  5. getOrderNumbers tool

The License Renewal Comparison Tool supports you in the annual license renewal process.

The tool allows you to compare the license inventory of your license servers with the License Renewal Portal's download records. These portal downloads (Renewed....csv and To-Be-Renewed....csv) show which licenses were already renewed, and which licenses still need to be renewed.

You must have visited the License Renewal Portal and your license servers before running the License Renewal Comparison Tool, so that those inputs to the tool are already available.

The License Renewal Comparison Tool displays the download records, the license inventory of your license servers, and any mismatching in a tabular format. Having all this information in one place will make any licensing discrepancies visible.

Installing and updating the Comparison Tool

The License Renewal Comparison Tool is written in Java and can be run on a PC running Microsoft (MS) Windows, or on a Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) workstation, including a V93000 system controller or an RHEL workstation serving as a FLEXlm license server.

About this task

Note: Every year, starting 2017, Advantest will provide an updated license product list. You must install this list before using the License comparison Tool.

The installation and start procedures differ between Microsoft (MS) Windows and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Once installed, you can run the Comparison Tool in on-line or in off-line mode in either environment.

Before you begin

Download the installation files for the Comparison Tool from the Advantest web page as follows:

Go to: www.advantest.com/licensing and go to Download License Comparison Tool and GetOrderNumbers Tool.

Download the installation package appropriate for your computer operating system. The available packages are:

  • MS_Windows_Installation_Package_64bit
  • MS_Windows_Installation_Package_32bit
  • Linux_Installation_Package_for_RHEL5

Note: Also download the getOrderNumbers tool appropriate for your system controller operating system. You will need this file later. The available tools are:

  • GetOrderNumbers_Tool_0.91_for_RHEL5
  • GetOrderNumbers_Tool_0.91_for_RHEL7
  • Products_with_features.csv

Note: Check the date on the webpage to make sure that you have the latest version of the Products_with_features.csv file.

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You can download the installation files for the Comparison Tool from the Advantest web page or via the start page of the License Renewal Portal.

  1. To download the tool from the Advantest web page sign on to the Advantest Software Center and go to: Other Software > Active Tools and Files > Licensing > LicensingTools.
  2. Download the appropriate tool for your operating system and the products_with_features.csv file.

Procedures

MS Windows installation and start:

  1. Execute the RenewalComparison.exe file. The installation wizard appears.

  2. To complete the installation follow the instructions.

  3. Save the new Products_with_features.csv file to the following location:

    64 bit: c:\Program Files(x86)\Advantest\Renewal

    32 bit: c:\Program Files\Advantest\Renewal

  4. To start the Comparison Tool on a PC click

    Start > All Programs > Advantest > Advantest License Renewal Comparison Tool > Renewal.bat

    The welcome window with further information appears (see below).

RHEL installation and start:

To install the Comparison Tool on RHEL you must have superuser rights.

  1. Open a Terminal Window and switch user (su) to superuser (root).

  2. Change to the directory where you saved the RenewalComparison*.bin file.

  3. To execute the installation package type

    ./RenewalComparison_el5_x86_64.bin

    This unpacks the installation wizard and launches it.

  4. To complete the installation follow the instructions.

  5. Save the new Products_with_features.csv file to the following location:

    /opt/93000.Renewal/bin

  6. To close the installation wizard click Done.

  7. Exit the superuser mode.

  8. To start the Comparison Tool type

    /opt/93000_Renewal/bin/startComparisonTool

Results

The Comparison Tool starts with the welcome window which provides further information.

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What to do next

If you have the files required for a comparison click OK. If not, click Cancel and restart the Comparison Tool once you have the required input files.

Executing a comparison

The License Renewal Comparison Tool helps you to make any licensing discrepancies visible by comparing the license status of your license servers against the status of the Advantest License Renewal Portal.

About this task

The tool prompts you to load several input files and automatically compares them against each other and a list of Advantest products and features. You can run the tool on a Linux workstation or on a PC running Microsoft Windows.

Before you begin

Before starting the Comparison Tool, you must have downloaded the required portal files from the License Renewal Portal. In addition, you must have run the getOrderNumbers tool on your license servers.

Note: Check the date on the webpage to make sure that you have the latest version of the Products_with_features.csv file.

Before you start a comparison you must have the following files ready:

  • Portal download file of already renewed licenses (Renewed-*-date.csv)
  • License server inventory file or files (*.txt) generated by the getOrderNumbers tool.

The following file is optional:

  • Portal download file of still to be renewed licenses (To-Be-Renewed-*-date.csv)

If you Do not have the required input files you cannot complete the comparison.

Advantest recommends to collect all these files in a single directory. This will ease the task. For details see Managing files to compare.

Procedure

  1. Start the Comparison Tool (see How to install and start the Comparison Tool).

  2. Follow the instructions and load the following files:
    • the portal download file of renewed licenses (Renewed-*-date.csv).
    • optionally, the portal download file of still to be renewed licenses (To-Be-Renewed-*-date.csv).
    • the license server inventory *.txt files generated by the getOrderNumbers tool.

Results

The Comparison Tool's processes and compares all these files against the data displayed in the Product Number Key tab (see below). The process may take a few seconds. When done, the tool displays the result in up to seven tabs. Per default the Matched tab shows up in the foreground.

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The tabs of the tool contain the following data:

  • Product Number Key:

    Maps Product IDs, Product Descriptions, and the relevant Licensing Model. This data is required to map the features of the license inventory files with the product numbers in the portal download files.

  • Renewed_In_Portal:

    Lists all licenses that were already renewed and also shows if there is any remaining data.

  • To_Be_Renewed_In_Portal:

    Lists all licenses which still need to be renewed. Advantest recommends to use this download data from the License Renewal Portal as it provides insight, in case the renewal process does not run as smooth as expected.

  • License_Server_Output:

    Lists all licenses found by the getOrderNumbers tool on the license servers.

  • Matched:

    Lists those entitlements that were renewed and could be located on the license servers. These entitlements require no further effort.

  • Renewed_Entry_Without_Server_Entry:

    Lists any entitlements that were renewed but have no matching entry in the License Server inventory data. These could have been rehosted or never installed on the license servers. Any entry here represents a discrepancy and requires further investigation.

  • Server_Entry_Without_Renewed_Entry:

    Lists any entitlements found in the License Server inventory data, but not found in the License Renewal Portal. Again, any entry here represents a discrepancy and requires further investigation.

What to do next

You can save the data of any tab in a spreadsheet format. To save a tab move it to the foreground and click Save As.... See also How to save resulting files.

If there are any discrepancies, that is, any entries in the Renewed_Entry_Without_Server_Entry or Server_Entry_Without_Renewed_Entry tabs, please proceed as outlined in How to proceed in case of discrepancies.

Managing files to compare

The License Renewal Comparison Tool requires the following input files:

Optionally, you can load the portal download file of still to be renewed licenses (To-Be-Renewed-*-date.csv).

The comparison tool processes these files against the data in the Product Number Key tab. This data is provided with the yearly updated version of the tool (see How to install and start the Comparison Tool).

License server inventory .txt files

In most cases you will have a single license server inventory file (getOrderNumbers output file).

This is the case if your licensing setup consists of a single FLEXlm license server, if it is a three-license-server redundancy configuration, or for multiple independent license servers in a network. For these configurations you will have one license server inventory file showing the installed licenses for all license servers.

Only in case of multiple license servers in independent networks you will have one license server inventory file per network. In this case you must run the getOrderNumbers tool on a server in each network.

You must use a .txt file name extension for each file, for example license-inventory-server01.txt.

Renewed-*-date.csv files

You must visit the License Renewal Portal before running the Comparison Tool. The portal allows you to download a record file which lists the already renewed licenses (Renewed-*-date.csv).

To-Be-Renewed-*-date.csv files

The License Renewal Portal also allows you to download record file of still to be renewed licenses (To-Be-Renewed-*-date.csv). This file as it provides insight, in case the renewal process does not run as smooth as expected.

Collect in single directory

The License Renewal Portal writes both .csv record files into a License.zip file. For further processing you need to extract them.

Advantest recommends to create a single directory or folder, for example verigy-license-renewal-year, and collect all these files in this directory. If all input files are available in your local file system, you can run the Comparison Tool stand-alone in off-line mode.

The directory of your collected input files may look as follows:

verigy-license-renewal-2009/license-inventory-server01.txt
verigy-license-renewal-2009/Renewed-*-date.csv
verigy-license-renewal-2009/To-Be-Renewed-*-date.csv

How to proceed in case of discrepancies

The Advantest License Renewal Comparison Tool helps you to compare the license status of your license servers against the status of Advantest's license database (reflected in the Advantest License Renewal Portal).

About this task

Solving these discrepancies may be a tedious task. The recommendations below can only be on a general level, as every situation will be different.

Any discrepancies will be listed in the Renewed_Entry_Without_Server_Entry or Server_Entry_Without_Renewed_Entry tabs of the Comparison Tool.

The recommended procedures differ depending on where the unmatched license was found.

Before you begin

Make sure your input files are up-to-date and reflect the current status.

Make sure you have all input files, especially in case of multiple license inventory files.

Procedures

Renewed_Entry_Without_Server_Entry tab:

An entry in this tab means, an entitlement was renewed in the license database, but was not found on any of your license servers. The reason could be one of the following:

If none of the above applies, please contact your Advantest representative.

Server_Entry_Without_Renewed_Entry tab:

An entry in this tab means, a license was found on one of your license servers, but was not renewed in the license database. The reason could be one of the following:

If none of the above applies, please contact your Advantest representative.

What to do next

Once the discrepancy is solved, make sure both your license servers and the license database are up-to-date.

getOrderNumbers tool

The getOrderNumbers tool provides you with a complete list of the licenses installed on your license servers. This output is one of the files required by the License Renewal Comparison Tool and helps you with the annual license renewal process.

CAUTION: Do not run the getOrderNumbers tool under user root. This can lead to longer execution times.

Note: Prerequisite: FLEXlm license server software version: ≥ 11.9.1.1.

Note: The getOrderNumbers tool is available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 and 7. Use the version applicable to your operating system version.

You can run the getOrderNumbers tool either on one of your license server hosts or on any of the SmarTest clients.

Sign on to the Advantest Software Center and go to: Other Software > Active Tools and Files > Licensing > LicensingTools > getOrderNumbers

To install the tool, extract it and copy it to a host in your network, for example at /home/my_name/license-renewal-tools/getOrderNumbers.

Once you copied the file, make sure it is executable.

For the recommended three-license-server redundancy configuration or for multiple license servers within a network, you need to run the getOrderNumbers tool only once, either on one of the license server hosts or on a SmarTest client host.

If you have license servers in multiple independent networks, you must run the getOrderNumbers tool in each network.

Example

For example, for a three-license-server redundancy configuration, the output is one license server inventory file showing the installed licenses for all three servers:
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