Identifying computers as running on public clouds (BigFix scenario)

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Available from 9.2.1.

Computers that run on public clouds must additionally be identified as such. It ensures that proper subcapacity counting rules are applied by License Metric Tool. You can identify a computer as running on a public cloud from the License Metric Tool user interface or by running the Identify Computers on Public Clouds fixlet from the BigFix® console.

Before you begin

You can choose the method that is suitable for your needs. Using the fixlet is better during the environment setup as it ensures proper subcapacity counting rules are applied from the very beginning. Identifying computers from the user interface is better in the following scenarios:
  • Closed appliances that do not allow for running the fixlet.
  • When you did not identify an x86 computer as running on the public cloud from the very beginning as it applies the proper counting rules for the past. In case of other architectures, the computer is considered as running on a public cloud from the day when it was marked as such.

About this task

  • License Metric Tool supports selected operating systems that run on selected public clouds. For more information, see: Licensing on public clouds.
  • Computers that are not identified as public clouds can have the No VM Manager Data or No Scan Data status on the Capacity Scan Health widget on the Dashboard.
  • Marking computers from the License Metric Tool user interface overrides values that you specify by using the fixlet.

Identifying computers by using a fixlet

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You can identify the computer as running on a public cloud by using the Identify Computers on Public Clouds fixlet from the BigFix console.

Procedure

  1. In the navigation tree of the BigFix console, click Sites > External Sites > IBM License Reporting (ILMT) v9 > Fixlets and Tasks.
  2. In the upper right pane, select Identify Computers on Public Clouds.
  3. Choose the type of the public cloud and click Take Action.
    Note: If you incorrectly identified a computer as running on a public cloud, choose Remove existing identification.
  4. Select all computers that run on this type of cloud and click OK.
    Tip: To check which computers are identified as running on public clouds, activate the Identified Public Cloud Computers analysis and open the Results tab.

Results

A computer that runs on a public cloud is assigned the number of PVUs that is specified in the IBM Eligible Public Cloud BYOSL policy.

What to do next

For the changes to take effect, wait for the next capacity scan and import of data. To view what public cloud is defined for a particular computer, see the Public Cloud Type column on the Hardware Inventory report.