Terminology

The following is a list of terms and their definitions in the context of License Analytics:

  • Contracts: See Contracts and License Analytics for complete explanation and context.
  • Edition: The (typically functionality based) variant of an application within a family; example: Professional, Small Business, or Standard.
  • LA titles: The software titles for which License Analytics provides licensing information; see License Analytics Titles for a list of titles supported by this version.
  • Entitlements: See How Do I Understand How Entitlements Are Determined? for complete explanation and context.
  • Family (also, product family): All editions and versions of software that Microsoft refers to under a single name; example: Microsoft Office or Windows Server.
  • Installation: An inventory of a specific title (family/edition/version) on a particular machine.
  • License analytics: The process of comparing deployed software/hardware data (inventory and discovery) with entitlement data (including information on purchasing, contracts, and use rights) to determine compliance.
  • License channels: See License Channels for complete explanation and context.
  • License status: Cherwell Asset Management's calculation of the license status based on purchasing and inventory data.
  • MSDN software installations: See MSDN Software Installations for an explanation of how License Analytics handles MSDN software installations.
  • Product use rights: See Product Use Rights for complete explanation and context.
  • Purchase: A reconciled line item representing acquisition of a quantity of a specific title (family/edition/version).
  • Software assurance (SA): A Microsoft maintenance program.
  • Title: The version of a family/edition that defines a single point in an upgrade/downgrade sequence; example: Office 2003 Standard or Visio 2010 Professional.
  • Virtual machines: See Virtual Machines and License Analytics for an explanation of virtual machines in the context of License Analytics.