Data Translation Services

From the toolbar, you can complete the following tasks:

• Refresh list: Refreshes the tree view.
• Edit properties: Allows you edit the properties of a rule. You can edit only the rules you create on your own. With system-generated rules, you must first copy the rule and then edit it.
• Delete: Deletes a rule or group folder and its contents. You can only delete rules you create on your own, not system-generated rules.
• Toggle active/inactive: Makes a rule active or inactive. By making a rule active, the rule automatically runs when the core server receives the scan file. You also need to ensure that the Enable Real-time Processing is on at the DTS toolbar.
• Schedule: Schedules a rule to run now or at a later time against the inventory database. The Schedule icon remains dimmed until you highlight a rule in the DTS tree view. Once you schedule the rule to run, a script is created in the Management Suite console's Scheduled Tasks. The script name is normally <rulename>_<rule idn>.ini. If you want to change the scheduled settings, go into Scheduled Tasks and modify it there. Rules don't have to be active in order to schedule them.
• Export configurations: Exports a rule configuration to an .XML file.
• Import configurations: Imports a rule configuration .XML file into the inventory database.
• Run order: Sets the run order for your active rules. The top rule runs first, and the others follow in descending order. Use the arrow keys to change the run order. Only rules set to active appear on this list.
  
  Run order is important, because some rules are dependent on other rules for information. For example, if you're interested in obtaining warranty data for your Dell devices, you would first run a Dell Warranty rule to scan the data initially into the database, and then run the Last Warranty End Date rule to scan more specific data about that warranty.
• Model attributes: A tool that "models" data usually handled by a catch-all table where unknown or “unmodeled” data in the database is placed. You can model the unmodeled data to its own normalized table for users unfamiliar with SQL or the schema of the database.
• Settings: Turns on/off the Data Analytics software manager service scan that runs the licensed software rules for all vendors. This service runs nightly on the core server when network activity is low.
  
  Because the service is resource intensive and can take hours to complete, by default it's turned on at your child core servers and turned off on your rollup servers. We recommend the default, which ensures your inventory data will be current during your regularly scheduled rollup.
• Enable/disable real-time processing: Enables or disables active mode for rules. Active mode causes a rule to run when the core server receives the scan file. To enable active mode, right-click a rule to set it as "active" and ensure that Enable Real-time Processing is on at the DTS toolbar.

Folders are described below in the order they appear in the tree list.

• Favorites: Organizes the rules you consider favorites. Drag and drop rules into this folder.
• Active: Organizes rules by "active" status, which means they run nightly during the Data Analytics core processor service scan. By default, DTS ships with an active subset of rules that provides data for a number of reports. When you set a rule as active, it automatically appears in this folder as well as remaining in its original folder.
• All types: Contains a list of folders that represent all available rule types.
• System groups: Organizes rules by system type. Drag and drop rules into the appropriate system group folder, where you can run them all at once.
• User groups: Organizes rules by the user groups you've defined. Drag and drop rules into the appropriate user group folder, where you can run them all at once.

The rest of the folders contain rule types. Most of the folders ship by default with rules already configured in their All Rules folders.

• Aggregate data: Creates a rule that performs counts on one-to-many database attributes.
  
  If the source attribute is a number, the rule will total the values of the attribute; for example, counting the available storage of a logical drive will return the total storage available on all computer logical drives. If the source attribute is not a number, the rule will count how many records exist and return the number in the destination attribute; for example, counting removable logical drives will total the number of those drives found on all computers.
• Archive asset: Creates a rule that removes active assets from inventory while archiving a backup copy of the records in Asset Control. Often necessary for policy or legal reasons.
• B2B connector: Creates rules that retrieve data— such as purchase history or software license information—from external vendor websites such as CDW or Microsoft.
• Barcode CSV import: Creates a rule that automatically copies a .CSV file from your barcode scanner or other source for import into inventory.
• Barcode web group: Creates a rule that organizes barcode web forms into logical or functional groups.
• Barcode web form: Creates a web form for importing device barcode data into inventory.
• Bulk input: Creates a spreadsheet for entering custom data "in bulk" for new and existing device inventory records.
• Calculate data: Creates a rule that uses VBScript to combine multiple database attributes to return a single value or do other operations.
• Enterprise aggregators: Creates a rule that imports data from various enterprise databases into inventory so that you can analyze it using Data Analytics.
• Export data: Creates a rule that exports data to SQL, ODBC, Oracle, or .CSV files.
• Import data: Creates a rule that imports data from SQL, ODBC, Oracle, or .CSV and Excel files.
• LDAP import: Creates a rule that enables DTS to connect to an LDAP source and import data into inventory. Data Analytics ships with a number of these rules by default. However, you may want to modify them to gather additional or customized data. An LDAP browser is included to help you find the information you need.
• LDAP export: Creates a rule that enables DTS to connect to a LDAP source and export data from inventory to that source.
• Licensed software: Creates a rule that groups software products together by shared license information, showing exactly how many licenses you need to be compliant.
• Map data: Creates a rule for manipulating data, such as copying a database attribute from one place to another. Data Analytics ships with a number of these rules by default. However, you may want to modify them to gather additional or customized data.
• Map list: Creates a rule for creating a new database attribute based on a different attribute. For example, if you have a number of subnets in your network, each one can be mapped to a particular city. You can then map each default gateway to a city.
• Normalize: Creates a rule for normalizing inventory data by standardizing the names for hardware, software, or vendors to make the data reportable.
• Software license import: Creates a rule that imports software license data from external sources (such as .CSV or Excel files, ODBC, Oracle, or SQL) into the Management Suite software license monitoring (SLM) tool.
• SQL command: Creates a rule that directly writes SQL to modify the inventory database. You can enter any valid SQL command or series of commands.
• Web import: Creates a rule for collecting data from the Internet or an intranet and importing it into inventory. You can specify a vendor website to go to and the information to gather. The most popular of these rules perform manufacturer warranty look-ups, and ship by default with Data Analytics.
• Web custom data: Creates a web form for importing custom device data into inventory.
• VMWare vCenter import: Creates a rule that imports information about VMWare ESX servers and virtual devices from a vCenter database into inventory.
• Datacenter product: Creates a rule that modifies detected licensed software based on a vendor's advanced licensing policies. For example, running SQL Server in a virtual environment requires comparisons between the host and virtual images to determine the actual license that is most cost effective.

Most of the tree-view folders have right-click menus that you can use for various tasks, such as configuring or editing rules, scheduling rules to run, importing/exporting groups or rule data as .XML files, and so on.

• Add group: Creates a group folder that you can use for organizing rules; drag and drop the rules from other folders into this new one. Grouping is useful for running a series of rules together.
• Add licensed software to SLM: Manually runs the Data Analytics software manager service to add product license data to Management Suite’s software license monitoring (SLM) console. The same service runs automatically each night. We recommend that you do not run this process manually unless necessary—it’s resource intensive and could take several hours to complete.
• Add root group: Creates a group folder, at the root of the tree view, that you can use for organizing rules. Drag and drop the rules from other folders into this new one. Grouping is useful for running a series of rules together.
• Add software license lookup entry: Allows you to add a software product to the software license look-up table. The lists that are built for vendor, product, and version come from the licensed software rules. When running a license import, if you receive the message “Product is not defined for row xyz,” the product was not defined in the look-up table, and you must add it.
• Assign computer groups: Lets you use computer groups to limit the scope of a software license. These are groups that you've already defined in the database using the software license monitoring (SLM) tool.
• Assign LDAP groups: Lets you assign licensed software to LDAP groups, ensuring that users in those groups are counted in license compliance. By assigning LDAP groups, you have a way to track license usage accurately in a Citrix or Terminal Server VDI-licensing environment where users remotely access software and aren't using a device with the Ivanti agent installed.
• Copy: Creates a copy of a rule in the same group folder. You can then rename and edit the copy.
• Delete: Deletes a rule or group folder and its contents. You can only delete rules you create on your own, not system-generated rules.
• Delete licensed software data: Completely deletes software data from the inventory database for all devices. This data won't appear again in inventory until you create a new rule that enables the Data Analytics software manager service to detect it again during a scan.
• Delete software license lookup entry: Allows you delete a software product from the software license look-up table.
• Disable/enable group: Disables a group and its rules from running as part of the nightly Data Analytics software manager service scan. When a group is disabled, the service skips that group and doesn’t run its rules.
  
  This feature is useful if the default rules for a vendor don't represent the specific license agreement your organization has with that vendor. For example, if you have a deal with Microsoft that's different from their standard license downgrade rights, you can disable the Licensed Software > All Vendors > Microsoft group and create a new group called "YourCompany Microsoft." In that group, you would configure new rules that are specific to your organization's use of Microsoft products, reflecting the true nature of your license agreement with Microsoft.
• Edit: Allows you edit the properties of a rule. You can edit only the rules you create on your own. With system-generated rules, you must first copy the rule and then edit it.
• Export: Exports a rule as an .XML file. To export multiple rule configurations, select them in the list view and click Export.
• Export computer groups: Exports your SLM-defined computer groups as an .XML file for use in another database's software license look-up table, which is useful in a multi-core environment. Use computer groups to limit the scope of a software license.
• Export group: Exports a group folder as an .XML file, which is useful in a multi-core environment. This action doesn't export the group's rule configurations, just the definition of which rules are in the group. You must export the rule configuration files separately.
• Export LDAP groups: Exports an LDAP group as an .XML file, which is useful in a multi-core environment.
• Export software license lookup information: Exports data from the software license look-up table, which is useful in a multi-core environment.
• Import computer groups: Imports your SLM-defined computer groups as an .XML file from another database's software license look-up table, which is useful in a multi-core environment. Use computer groups to limit the scope of a software license.
• Import group: Imports a group folder from an .XML file, which is useful in a multi-core environment. This action doesn't import the group's rule configurations, just the definition of which rules are in the group. You must import the rule configuration files separately into the target databases; otherwise, you'll be importing an empty group folder.
• Import LDAP groups: Imports an LDAP group from .XML file, which is useful in a multi-core environment.
• Import software license lookup information: Exports data from the software license look-up table, which is useful in a multi-core environment.
• Modify approved software: Enables you to choose which products are part of the corporate standard for your network environment by setting the Computer.Software.Licensed Software.Approved attribute to "Yes." This setting is useful when you want to ensure all devices are standardized and running company-approved software.
• New rule: Opens a wizard for creating a new rule configuration.
• Run now: Runs the selected rule immediately.
• Schedule: Schedules a rule to run as a task against the inventory database. The task will show up in the DTS Scheduled folder, and a script is created in the Management Suite console's Scheduled Tasks. The script name is normally <rulename>_<rule idn>.ini. If you want to change the scheduled settings, go into Scheduled Tasks and modify them there. Rules don't have to be active in order to schedule them.
• Set active/inactive: Sets a rule as active, so that it will run when an inventory scan is received (keeping your inventory data as current as the last inventory scan). When you set a rule as active, you'll be prompted to run it against the entire inventory database to update the data for existing devices; we recommend that you do this. Once a rule is set as active, it automatically appears in the Active folder.
  
  Active mode also requires you to turn on Enable Real-time Processing at the DTS toolbar.
• Set group run order: Sets the run order for rule configurations in this group. The top rule runs first, and the others follow in descending order. Use the arrow keys to change the run order.
  
  Run order is important, because some rules are dependent on other rules for information. For example, if you're interested in obtaining warranty data for your Dell devices, you would first run a Dell Warranty rule to scan the data initially into the database, and then run the Last Warranty End Date rule to scan more specific data about that warranty.
• Set targets: Lets you specify which types of devices a rule runs against. For example, you wouldn't run a Dell warranty rule on HP devices. A target can be a device group, individual devices, queries, scopes, or any combination of these.
• Show all licensed software detected: Shows an up-to-date list of all scanned, licensed software.

1. Right-click the rule and select Set Targets.
2. Drag an item from the right (Available Devices) to the left (Selected Devices).
3. Select Check database only if you want the query to check the database but not run against the scan file. This option is important if the attributes being used are not in the scan file, such as data brought in by other rules that may not have run.
4. Click OK.

1. In the Data Analytics toolbox, open Executive Report Pack.
2. In the tree view, click ERP > Software Compliance. You'll find several reports to choose from in this folder.