QuickStart Guide
Welcome to the QuickStart Guide This QuickStart Guide provides the information you need to install and start using Express Software Manager. For more comprehensive help on using Express Software Manager, consult the online help for the component you are using. Click here to get started. 1
Getting started Getting started checklist The following steps are recommended to help get you started using Express Software Manager. Before installing: Review the requirements for installing Express Software Manager. Familiarize yourself with the components of the product and plan where to install each of them. Analyze your network for any pre-installation issues. If you are upgrading from an earlier version, back up your Express Database. Installing server components: If you are installing all components on one server, see Installing all components on one Windows server for help with the process. If you are installing server components to different servers, see Installing components to different machines for help with the process. After installing: The first time you run the Express Administrative Console, the Setup Wizard starts and walks you through the steps to perform several common tasks. You can also use the Setup Checklist for help getting the most out of your use of Express Software Manager. For more information on using Express Software Manager after installation, see the online help file that accompanies the Administrative Console. Requirements for running Express Software Manager For a description of what's required to use Express Software Manager and its components, please visit: http://www.expressmetrix.com/products/system-requirements/ Components of Express Software Manager Component Administrative Console The primary user interface for configuring and administering Express Software Manager. You can also use the Administrative Console to install the Express Client on client machines. Where to install System administrator s machine, and on any machines where you plan to allow other administrators to have full or limited permissions. See the online Help that accompanies the Administrative Console for information on user 2
Getting started policies if you plan to have multiple administrators. Express Database The Express data store that holds inventory and usage data from client machines, and stores its data in a Microsoft SQL Server 2005 or above format. Reports are generated from the data in the Express Database. Reports Web Site A Web site that presents Express Software Manager data in reports you can view, filter, and save. Express Access Point A conduit that facilitates communications between the client machines and the Express Database. The access point is a Web service that runs under Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS). Express License Analytics A Web application where you can view license analytics information. Express Server A collection of server-resident components that sits between the administrative component and the data store. These components provide the management functionality presented in the Administrative Console. Express Purchasing A Webbased application for tracking your organization's purchasing and licensing information. Windows 2008 Server or above with Microsoft SQL Server 2005 or above (including Express editions). SQL Server 2008 Express Edition is provided with the product and can be installed on a machine running Windows Vista or above for evaluation purposes. Windows 2008 Server or above with Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS). Note: For evaluation purposes, the Express Reports Web Site may be installed on a machine running Windows Vista or above. Windows 2008 Server or above with Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS). Note: For evaluation purposes, the Express Access Point may be installed on a machine running Windows Vista or above. It's recommended that you Install on the machine that runs Express Reports. Recommended locations (in order of preference) are: the system administrator's machine where the Express Administrative Console is installed, the server where you are installing the Express Database, or on a non-database server. Windows 2008 Server or above with Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS). Notes: For evaluation purposes, Express Purchasing may be installed on a 3
QuickStart Guide machine running Windows Vista or above. Express Connector An add-on to Express Software Manager that allows you to utilize data collected by Microsoft s SCCM product. Express Client The software that gathers inventory and software usage data from client machines. The clients pass this data to the Express Access Point, which writes the data to the Express Database. Any machine capable of running the Administrative Console or Express Server. Any machine running Windows XP or above, or any server running Windows 2003 Server or above. Pre-installation considerations There are some general issues to consider before you install Express Software Manager and deploy it to your entire organization or group. These factors will help you think about the best way to plan your installation and deployment. Network environment Gather information such as the network operating system and version used; the network topology; the number of servers, workstations, sites, and users; and if there is a multi-user Windows environment (for example, Citrix or Terminal Server). Workstation characteristics Consider such factors as the workstation operating system, the networking client, if there is a corporate standardized desktop, whether applications are loaded on the workstation or run from the network, what administrative rights Windows users have, and how remote users connect to the network. Deployment schedule Test Express Client deployment first with a group of 25 or so workstations. Once you are sure your deployment will go smoothly, deploy to groups of 50 to100 users a day. Ongoing administration Express Software Manager requires ongoing maintenance and administration to perform optimally and continue to provide you with the information you need. Identify the ongoing administration tasks for your installation and who will be responsible for performing them. Backing up the Express Database If you are upgrading from an earlier version of Express Software Manager, we recommend that you back up your existing Express Database prior to performing the upgrade to this version. Preparing to back up the Express Database Before backing up the Express Database, have the following information handy: The name of your Express Database 4
Getting started The SQL Server administrative account name (typically "sa") and password If you have a full SQL Server installation, you can use the SQL Server Management Studio to create the backup. If you do not have this tool, you can create a backup by using OSQL, the SQL command line utility. Backing up from the SQL Server machine using OSQL To back up your Express Database using the OSQL command line tool, see Technical Note 2026. You can do the backup from the SQL Server machine itself or from another machine. Important note: The location of the backup file is specified in the context of the machine running SQL Server, NOT the machine on which the OSQL command is issued. This means that: If backing up using a local path specification, the path is on the SQL Server machine If backing up to a network share, the account under which SQL Server is running must have proper credentials to write to that share. Installing components to different machines Before installing Express Software Manager, make sure you review the requirements for running the product, the components of the product, and your network. Also determine where to install each Express component before you proceed. If you want to install different server components to different machines or use an existing SQL Server instance, follow the procedure below. Note that all components, except the Administrative Console and Express Server, should be installed to machines running Windows server; the Administrative Console and Express Server can be installed to a machine running Windows Server or Workstation. To install Express components to different machines: 1. Start with the machine where you want to install the Express Database. 2. Run Esmsetup.exe from the Express Software Manager distribution. Note: If you downloaded Express from the Express Metrix Web site, run esm1100.exe, which will unpackage the installation kit and start the Setup process. 3. Select Normal Install and click Next. 4. Select all the components you want to install on the server; as noted, you should always run Setup on the server where the Express Database will be installed first. Setup verifies that the required Microsoft components are installed on your machine and displays a dialog box that prompts you to install any missing components. Follow the instructions and proceed with the installation. 5. Continue with the Setup program until finished. You may be prompted to reboot the machine after installation. 6. Follow steps 1 5 on the other machines where you want to install each remaining component and adjust your selections in the Requirements Check dialog box. Launching the Administrative Console for the first time 5
QuickStart Guide Once you have completed installation of all non-client components, you are ready to launch the Administrative Console and start using Express Software Manager. If this is a new installation, you will be prompted to enter a license key; you should have received this key via email when you downloaded the Express Software Manager installation package. If you did not receive a key, please contact Express Metrix sales: Via email: sales@expressmetrix.com Via phone: In the United States and Canada, call 206.691.7902 or 888.611.2288. For international calls, see the phone numbers listed at www.expressmetrix.com/support. Enter the license key and click OK to being using Express Software Manager. Installing all components on one Windows server Before installing Express Software Manager, make sure you review the requirements for running the product, the components of the product, and your network. This option is most used when evaluating Express Software Manager. To install all Express Software Manager server components on one machine: 1. From the system administrator machine, run Esmsetup.exe from the Express Software Manager distribution. Note: If you downloaded Express Software Manager from the Express Metrix Web site, run esm1100.exe, which will unpackage the installation kit and start the Setup process. 2. Setup verifies that the required Microsoft components are installed on your machine and displays a dialog box that prompts you to install any missing components. 3. Select Single Server Install and follow the prompts in the subsequent dialog boxes, specifying the information required to perform the installation. The Single Server Install option includes installation of an \ESM instance of SQL Server Express to host the Express Database; if you want to use an existing SQL Server instance, you should use the Normal Install option instead (see below). 4. Continue with Setup until the installation is completed. You may be prompted to reboot your machine at the end of the installation. Installing/upgrading the Express Client When starting the Express Administrative Console, you are prompted to run the Setup Wizard to install the Express Client and perform several tasks to get Express Software Manager and running. This topic describes how to install or upgrade the Express Client outside of the Setup Wizard. In order to inventory and/or meter machines in your network, you need to install the Express Client on each of them. Installing the Express Client on machines There are three ways you can install the Express Client on machines: Use the Express Administrative Console to discover machines on your network and then install to discovered machines. This is the simplest method and is described next. 6
Getting started Use the Express Administrative Console to specify machines using their IP addresses. Click here for details. Install the client manually or use another installation tool. Click here for details. Installing the Express Client from the Administrative Console To install the Express Client to machines from the Administrative Console: 1. Start the Express Administrative Console. 2. Go the Machines panel. 3. From the Tools menu, click Discover Machines and Users. You are prompted to select either Domain or Active Directory discovery. 4. When the discovery process is complete, press F5 to refresh the Machines panel. 5. Select the machine(s) on which you want to install the client. 6. Right-click your selection and select Install/Update Express Client from the contextsensitive menu. The Install/Update Express Client dialog box opens. 7. Select which Express access point these clients should report to and enter the appropriate login credentials for installing the client. 8. If you are upgrading to a new version of the Express Client, mark the Overwrite existing installations check box. Otherwise, keep this check box clear. 9. Click Install. Installing the Express Client using machine IP addresses To install the Express Client to machines by their IP addresses: 1. Start the Express Administrative Console from the system administrator machine. 2. From the Machine menu, select Install/Update Express Client, and then click either Single Machine or Multiple IP Addresses. If you are installing to a single machine, specify the machine's name or IP address If you are installing to multiple machines, specify an IP subnet and then click Display to get a list of machines from which to select. 3. Specify which access point the selected machine(s) will report to, and enter the appropriate credentials. 4. If you are upgrading to a new version of the Express Client, mark the Overwrite existing installations check box. Otherwise, keep this check box clear. 5. Click Install. Installing the Express Client using a command There may be cases where you do not want to or can't install the Express Client to machines from the Administrative Console; for example, you may already use a third-party installation tool or have machines that are not connected to the network. Note: You must have local administrative rights in order to install or uninstall the Express Client. Typically, a domain administrator has local administrator rights on all computers. 7
QuickStart Guide The Express Client is provided as a normal MSI installation package which can be installed directly or via any third-party installation tool. To install the client manually (where no previous version of the client is installed), you'll need to have the installation package available. The installation package file is available on the machine on which the Express Server is installed. By default, it is in the following folder: \Program Files\Express Metrix\Administrative Console\ClientInstallPackage\Windows Once you find this file, do the following: 1. Copy the ClientInstallPackage folder to a shared location where the Setup program will run. 2. Run the Setup.exe file as an administrator. 3. Enter the Access Point URL to which the client will report. The format for the Access Point URL is: http://<ap-machine>/expresssoftwaremanagerap/clientservices.asmx Note: <ap-machine> is the machine on which the Access Point is installed. 4. Select Complete and install the client. Updating/upgrading the Express Client on machines Although you can run earlier versions of the Express Client (8.0 and above) with this version, it's recommended that you upgrade client machines to the current version when possible. To see which version of the Express client is available, see the Express Today page. This page also tells you how many machines are running older versions of the client. Update/upgrade 8.0 and later clients by using any of the methods available for first-time installation of the Express client, as described above. Alternatively, if you have machines running clients 9.5 and higher, you can automate the upgrade process. See "How to set up the client selfupgrade feature" in the help that accompanies the Administrative Console for details. Upgrading overview You can upgrade all non-client components to this version from versions 10.0 and later. When upgrading to this version, you can use the same Express database as in your current installation. As a precaution, you should back up your Express Database before proceeding. After backing up your database, follow the steps in the checklist to get started. Overview: Express Today Express Today is a page that shows a summary of your Express Software Manager configuration. The larger, center portion of the Express Today screen displays information about your current configuration. The links on this page are "live" and will navigate you to the appropriate panel. You can also use the icons in the Express bar on the left to move to other areas of the Administrative Console: 8
Getting started Express Today panel Displays a summary of your Express Software Manager configuration. License Units panel Displays the applications that have been configured into license units so you can view license unit properties and make configuration changes. A license unit is a collection of versions of a single application and represents, in most cases, how a given application is licensed. For many applications, a single license unit groups all versions together; for certain applications (such as those analyzed by the Express License Analytics Console), the grouping may be different. Unconfigured Applications panel Displays any recognized Windows applications that haven't yet been configured into license units, as well as any Mac OS applications found by the Mac OS inventory process. (See the online Help that accompanies the Administrative Console for more information about Mac OS application support.) Files panel Provides a means for searching for files that have been inventoried or metered in your environment. Machines panel Displays all known client computers on your network. Other Assets panel Displays any other assets (non-computer hardware devices) you've manually added to your Express configuration. Users panel Displays all known users in your network. The Setup Checklist on the right-hand side of Express Today can help you get started. Suggested tasks are listed here, and you can click any of the steps for more information on completing them. See the online help that accompanies the Administrative Console for more information on Express Today and the Administrative Console. You can also use the Click here for help link at the top right of each panel in the Administrative Console to learn more. How to discover machines To discover machines and users on your network, do the following: 1. From the Administrative Console's Tools menu, click Discover/Machines and Users. 2. Specify the type of discovery (Active Directory or NT Domain) and click Discover. You can also limit discovery to specific organization units (OU). See the online help that accompanies the Administrative Console for details. You ll see a message in the status bar of the Administrative Console when the discovery process is complete. Note: In order to use the discovery feature, you must use either Active Directory or domains on your network, and the machine that runs the Express server must be part of the Active Directory or domain. To discover the topology of your virtual machine (hosts and guests) environment, do the following: 1. From the Administrative Console s Tools menu, click Discover/Virtual Machines 9
QuickStart Guide 2. Click Configure to provide information about where virtual machine information is stored. See the online help that accompanies the Administrative Console for details. 3. After providing this information, OK the configuration dialog box and click Discover. After providing any required credentials, the virtual machine discovery process will begin. How to automatically configure applications As you use Express Software Manager, inventory and usage information is collected from all machines where the Express Client is installed. When you start the Administrative Console, Express Software Manager checks whether there are any newly collected files that exactly or closely match known applications in the Express Software Identification Database (ESID). If so, you are prompted to decide whether Express should convert these exact match and close match applications into license units. (You can specify that only exact match files are converted to license units.) In most cases, you should answer Yes to save yourself the work of manually configuring these files into license units later. To later automatically configure any found files while the Administrative Console was open, click Automatically Identify License Units from the Tools menu. Notes: If you are running the Express Software Manager Free Inventory Edition, the automatic configuration process runs once a day; otherwise, this process runs once per week. You can change this behavior using the Schedule tab of the Options dialog box. If you are running the Free Inventory Edition to evaluate with fewer than 10 machines, the automatic configuration process runs when inventory of a machine completes. See the online help that accompanies the Express Administrative Console for more help on automatically configuring license units. Express Software Manager product documentation For a list and description of each Express Software Manager console and their Help systems, please visit: http://www.expressmetrix.com/support/esm/product-help/ 10
Evaluating Express Software Manager Using the Setup Wizard The best way to get started evaluating Express Software Manager is to install the product and then run the Setup Wizard. You don't need to install the Express Client on your own; the Setup Wizard steps you through that process. The Setup Wizard starts automatically the first time you start the Administrative Console. Once it's started, simply follow the on-screen instructions. Using this wizard is the easiest way to discover machines on your network and automatically configure license units so that you can monitor applications on your network and view reports based on collected information. You can also open the Setup Wizard at any time from the Help menu or from the Setup Checklist. Using the Setup Checklist The Setup Checklist helps walks you through a variety of tasks within Express Software Manager to help you better understand using this product. As you complete each listed task, a check mark appears next to it to help you track your progress. You can click any listed task for additional information and detailed instructions on completing it. This information appears just below the Setup Checklist, as do links to other relevant topics. By default, the Setup Checklist is docked to the right-hand side of the Administrative Console and is always visible, but you can change how and whether it is displayed. You can also click Setup Checklist on the View menu to toggle its visibility. Tips for evaluating Express Software Manager Express Software Manager includes several features designed to help you evaluate the product, including a Setup Wizard to help you get started and the Setup Checklist to help you better understand the wide range of features the product provides. The Express Metrix website also includes a set FAQs that commonly arise during the evaluation process at: http://www.expressmetrix.com/trial/faq A test deployment of Express Software Manager It is extremely useful to deploy Express Software Manager to a test group of machines prior to a complete company deployment. A test deployment lets you: Test Express on organization-specific applications. Test Express in the organization s environment. Become familiar with Express and all of its components. 11
Moving from an evaluation to a production environment Moving from an evaluation to a production environment During evaluation, all Express Software Manager non-client components (Administrative Console, Express Database, Express Reports, Express Access Point, Express Server, Express Purchasing, and Express License Analytics) are often installed on a single server. Once you have completed your evaluation, you may want to move one or more of these components to other machines or, depending on the size and network topology of your organization and the people involved in your software asset management processes, install additional Express Access Points or instances of the Administrative Console and Express Server. This topic presents basic guidelines for moving from an evaluation installation to a production one. Before starting the processes described below, you should take a few minutes to plan your production system. Express Software Manager gives you great flexibility in where each of its nonclient components is installed. Where you install depends on the number of clients, your server(s) hardware, and your network topology. Here are some general guidelines: A server running full SQL Server is recommended for most installations above 500 seats. SQL Server provides more extensive tools and greater scalability than SQL Server Express and your system will perform better and be easier to maintain. You will need a machine running a server version of Windows (Windows 2008 Server or above) to host the Express Database, Express Access Point, Express Reports, Express Purchasing, and Express License Analytics components. (Workstation installations of IIS do not allow enough simultaneous connections manage anything other than a small evaluation installation.) An Express Software Manager installation consists of a single database. Depending on the size of your installation and where your clients are located, you may wish to install one or more Express Access Points to best facilitate client communication. It's recommended that you install Express License Analytics on the same machine as Express Reports. In most environments, you should install the Express Server on the same machine(s) running the Administrative Console. This provides the best performance in transferring data between these two components. The process of moving to a production installation varies widely depending on how you set up your evaluation. If you used the Single Server Install option in Setup, one likely change you ll want to make is to move to full SQL Server. To do this, you can either: Start with a new Express Database : Run Setup on your production SQL Server to create the new Express Database. (If your production database is on the same machine, but just uses a different SQL Server instance, you need to uninstall the Express Database component and reinstall it to the new SQL Server.) In this situation, you will lose all your evaluation data. Back up your evaluation database and restore it to a different SQL Server. In this situation, you will retain your existing evaluation data moving forward. 12
Moving from an evaluation to a production environment In either case, you need to make changes to the four web application (Express Access Point, Express Purchasing, Express Reports, and Express License Analytics) configuration files to point to the new database. Further, when you next launch the Administrative Console, you need to: 1. Open the Tools/Connection/Express Database dialog box and provide the Express Server with the new database information. 2. Restart the Administrative Console. 3. Reenter your license key. If you choose to reinstall any of the web application components, you will be prompted for the database location as a part of that installation process. However, as noted above, for any that are not reinstalled, you ll need to update their configuration files. For details, see Technical Note 2023. If you reinstall the Express Access Point, you also need to update any clients to specify its new location. You can do this from within the Administrative Console: 1. Click on Machines to view the Machines panel; then, click the Installed node in the tree on the left to view a list of machines on which the client is installed. 2. Select all machines, right-click your selection, and choose Installed/Update Express Client. 3. Make sure the new Access Point URL is shown in the drop-down list. 4. Make sure the Overwrite existing installations checkbox is left unchecked. 5. Provide the required credentials. 6. Click Install. This will not reinstall Express Clients; rather, it will update the Access Point information each client uses to communicate with the Express Database. These instructions are not exhaustive; they do not cover every possible scenario, but should give you a general sense of how to go about implementing your production system. Once you've moved to a production installation, you can clean up your evaluation environment. After moving from an evaluation to a production environment This topic describes some tasks to perform when to clean up your evaluation environment after you roll out Express Software Manager to your production environment. Deleting the original Express evaluation database If you choose to redeploy your Express system to a new database or you restored your evaluation database to a production SQL Server, you may safely delete the original Express evaluation database. To remove a database you are no longer using, use SQL Server Management Studio to issue the following SQL command to the database server on which the database was installed: DROP DATABASE <database-name> You must access the database server using administrator credentials to perform this operation. Alternately you can use the OSQL tool and issue the following command: osql.exe /S <database-server> /U <admin-username> /P <admin-password> /Q "DROP DATABASE <database-name>" 13
QuickStart Guide where: <database-server> the name of the machine on which your evaluation database is installed <admin-username> the SQL Server administrator account, normally "sa" <admin-password> the administrator account password <database-name> the name of your evaluation Express Database Uninstalling SQL Server Express If you performed a single server install, you may also want to uninstall SQL Server Express from the machine you used for your evaluation. Other vendors do use SQL Server within their applications, so make sure that it is not being used by any other programs before uninstalling. Uninstalling Express Software Manager components If you've moved other Express Software Manager components to other machines, you may want to uninstall those components from the evaluation machines. 14