Introduction
This document is a user guide for the Snow Management and Configuration Center, the administration tool of Snow License Manager.
Software Asset Management
Software Asset Management (SAM) is the process of managing, controlling, and protecting software assets within an organization. SAM includes management of the entire life cycle of software, from need assessment, purchase, installation, and maintenance to removal.
Platform overview
The Snow License Manager platform includes a number of system components with dedicated functions.
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INVENTORY SOURCES |
Computers, mobile devices, and servers in the IT environment are inventoried by the Snow Inventory Clients and Snow Device Manager, or information can be collected from third party inventory solutions and virtualization technologies. |
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SNOW INVENTORY |
The Inventory Data Receiver (IDR) receives inventory data from all inventory sources. The Snow Integration Manager (SIM) is required to integrate data from third party inventory solutions and virtualization technologies. After processing by the Inventory Data Processor (IDP), the inventory data is stored in the SNOWDB database. |
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DATA UPDATE JOB |
The Data Update Job is a daily recurring SQL job, which processes the information in the SNOWDB into a more usable format for software asset management. The Data Update Job re-populates the Snow License Manager database with new and updated inventory information, applies software recognition rules, and calculates usage, and alerts. |
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SNOW UPDATE SERVICE |
The Snow Update Service updates installed Snow software by downloading update files from Snow’s central update server. The Snow Update Service is not illustrated in the Platform Overview. |
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SOFTWARE RECOGNITION SERVICE |
Any unrecognized software is automatically sent to the Software Recognition Service (SRS) Desk for analysis. When an application has been identified, the SRS team creates new software filtering rules, and updates the central SRS database. Snow License Manager retrieves updates from the SRS database on a daily basis via Snow Update Service. |
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SNOW MANAGEMENT AND CONFIGURATION CENTER |
Snow Management and Configuration Center is used to manage the technical and administrative parts of Snow License Manager. |
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SNOW LICENSE MANAGER WEB USER INTERFACE |
The Snow License Manager Web User Interface (SLM Web UI) is the main user interface for Snow License Manager. This is where all information on software installations, usage, users, computers, mobile devices, licenses, and agreements is managed, as well as some administrative tasks. |
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AUTOMATION PLATFORM |
The Automation Platform is used for automation of processes, such as SAM including software requests and re-harvesting based on usage or subscriptions. |
Responsibility of the user
Snow License Manager is designed to efficiently manage large volumes of data and to provide competent tools for license compliance analysis, resource planning, cost administration, and much more. A lot of the information, such as inventory data and software recognition rules, is automatically fed into the system.
However, Snow License Manager also heavily relies on information not available through the inventory, in particular information on licenses. If the information entered by the user is incorrect or incomplete, the output will not be accurate.
Understanding central concepts is vital in order to achieve reliable results from Snow License Manager. All users of the Management and Configuration Center User Guide are advised to read and understand Concepts, terminology, and features.