Sunday, January 17, 2010

Workstations tab in EasyAdmin2

Workstations tab in EasyAdmin2

OpenLM's workstation tab was completely updated in version 1.5.5 of OpenLM. This short article explains the new functionality.

Four new columns are introduced in the workstations panel: "IP Address", "User idle time", "Online" and "Controlled" that replaces the "Managed" column in earlier versions. These columns are added to "Hostname" and "Agent version". "Last Heart Bit" column has been removed.

A short description of each column:

Hostname shows the workstation's name as reported by FLEXlm or other supported license manager.

IP Address is collected when the system is set to resolve stations names (This is an optional setting at OpenLM Configuration form->Advanced).

Last User is the name of the username that was last active on this workstation. This value is only available when OpenLM Agent is distributed to end users workstations.

Agent Version column shows the version of the OpenLM Agent installed on this workstation. This information is very useful when distributing or updating agents on users workstations.

The User Idle Time column displays the number of seconds passed since the user was active on the workstation. This column will only display information when an agent is installed on the end user workstation.

The Online column has two possible values, online (green) or offline (gray). A workstation will always be offline if an agent is not installed on it. When an agent is installed, the workstation will be online when at least one user is logged in. It takes about five minutes before OpenLM switches a workstation's status from online to offline or vise verse.

The Controlled column is only relevant to supported systems, at this stage, OpenLM for ESRI ArcGIS. This column indicates if OpenLM Extension is properly installed on the ESRI Desktop ArcGIS software. When OpenLM Extension communicates successfully with OpenLM server through OpenLM Agent then the workstation is controlled.

The information provided by the updated workstation tab in EasyAdmin2 interface allows system administrators and managers to control license activity. For example:
  • Recognize users that are idle and consume a floating license.
  • Recognize unauthorized access to the floating licenses.
  • Locate workstation that does not have OpenLM installed.
  • Locate uncontrolled installations of ESRI ArcGIS Desktop software.
  • Control the distribution of OpenLM Agent to end users workstations.
  • Etc...