System Center Online

AIS 1.5 was upgraded at the end of February and is not in preview mode anymore. In the upgrade we made changes to the client to provide the best possible license reconciliation reports to you.

The client changes are now available from Microsoft update.

It is important that you update your clients to the latest version so your installed software can be reconciled against your licenses.

Client versions

AIS 1.0 - November 2007

Client version 1.0.263.0. Provided software inventory capabilities.

AIS 1.5 preview – November 2008

Client version 1.0.501.0. Collected additional data needed for license reconciliation. We also improved the reliability by changing the way the client was scheduled to run. You should not miss an inventory upload if you have this version of the client.

AIS 1.5 – February 2009

Client version 1.0.575.0. We fine tuned the collection of data regarding the licenses of the installed software. This version also contains the reliability improvements that came in 1.0.501.0.

Upgrade paths

If you are running the AIS 1.0 client you should upgrade to the newest version directly. It contains all the changes.

If you upgraded in November last year, or became a new AIS customer since then, you should also upgrade to the latest version to make sure your license reports are comprehensive.

If you are a new customer and downloaded your client package after Feb 28^th 2009, you already have the latest version.

More information

• KB article:
  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/968994  
• Description of the client update functionality: http://blogs.technet.com/systemcenteronline/archive/2008/05/14/how-does-the-client-in-asset-inventory-service-update-itself.aspx

The client for AIS 1.5 has been available to you to download from the AIS website since the service upgrade on October 31st, and today it is also available for automatic upgrade via Microsoft Update.

As we have said in previous posts, if you want to get this upgrade, you do not have to do anything. The client is designed to upgrade itself.

The upgraded clients will collect additional data that is necessary for the licensing feature and we have also improved how the tasks that run the client are scheduled. You can read more about the changes here.

If you are curious on how the client upgrades itself, read more here!

The AIS team happily announces that AIS 1.5 has been rolled out!  The next time you log into AIS, you will notice a new tab in the 'wunderbar' on the lower left hand corner of the console.  This tab is labeled "Licenses", and it will take you into a brand-new area of the AIS service.  As mentioned in my previous posts, the Licenses area will allow you to efficiently compare your installed Microsoft programs with your licensed quantities.

Remember, to get the most from this new feature, you'll need to upgrade your deployed AIS clients.  There are two ways you can do this:

(1) Do nothing. If you have not disabled the AIS client auto-update feature, your clients will self update through Microsoft Update.  However, this approach may take a little longer, as the AIS client update will only be available in mid-November.  Until then, you will be able to use the new AIS 1.5 features, but the data presented in the License Statement may not be entirely accurate.  This is because the new client collects MPCs (Microsoft Product Codes), which are used to map your installed programs to your licensed programs.

(2) Log into AIS and download your updated client, and deploy it over your existing clients.  The new version of the AIS client may not be available through Microsoft Update just yet, but it is available through AIS.  This may be a little more work, but you'll see results much faster.  If you've disabled the auto-update capability, you'll have to do this each time a new client is released.

Once you've logged in, we encourage you to have a look around, try uploading your license agreement numbers, and run the License Statement report.  We want to know what you think!  If you have comments, questions, feedback, or have uncovered something you feel is a bug in the service, please post it here.  The AIS team will be monitoring this forum for your posts and will respond as soon as they can.

We look forward to hearing from you! 

Last week, I talked about the AIS 1.5 'Preview' release that will be available in early November, and the new features it will include.  This week, I'll be talking about how you can participate in the preview, and how you can help us by giving us your comments, and reporting any bugs you might find.

First, you should know that AIS is part of the bigger MDOP suite of products, which is only available to volume licensing customers who have purchased software assurance benefits on their desktops.  If you're a current AIS user, then you're good to go; the service will be automatically updated and you should see the new features when you log in. 

The AIS clients you have already deployed to your computers will automatically update themselves to the newer version.  They do this by temporarily enrolling on Microsoft Update service, downloading and installing the new client, and then desubscribing (your users should not notice anything). If you've disabled auto-updates, you'll need to log in to AIS and download a new client and then deploy it using whatever technology works best for you, such as SCCM or Group Policy.

That's all there is to it, you can start exploring the new features in AIS.  Of course, to take advantage of the new licensing capabilities, you'll need to upload your Microsoft license agreement numbers.  These are the unique number pairs that identifiy the Microsoft license entitlements you have purchased. This process is covered in detail in the documentation, but basically, it involves creating a CSV file that contains all your agreement numbers and uploading it using the agreement upload wizard you'll find in the Licensing area of AIS.

Once you've uploaded your agreement numbers, your entitlement data will be retrieved and loaded into your license statement so that you can compare inventories to licensed quantities.

So you've done all this, and you want to give us your feedback?  Excellent! We have a couple of tools to help you here: one is a step-by-step scenario guide that will be posted in the AIS library area of the TechCenter site (along with the user documentation). The other is the AIS Preview forum, which will become active shortly before we go live with the AIS 1.5 preview.  I'll provide links to both of these as soon as they become available, so check back for those.

Use the scenario guide to walk through common tasks in the license area of AIS 1.5, and use it as a handy reference on how to perform the steps.  This ensures that all the new features in AIS are being touched and reviewed.  If you run into issues, things that you don't like (or things that you do), please post them in the AIS 1.5 preview forum.  The AIS team will monitor the forum, and respond to your posts.  They will also take your feedback and review it with the team, and make necessary corrections to the service.  A little while later, we'll apply any necessary updates to the service and switch it to a full release.  Note that while this is being called a 'preview', we feel it is robust, production-ready code.

That's it!  We are looking forward to your participation and comments.

It's been a while since our last post, and hopefully you'll all find it worth the wait!  The AIS team is excited to announce that a new version of the service will be shipping in approximately one month.  AIS 1.5 is expected to be available in early November, and will offer new capabilities to help you better track your Microsoft volume licenses.  Initially, AIS 1.5 will be available in 'preview' form, which will include all the new features.  During the preview phase, we are inviting customers to try it out and provide their feedback and input on their experience.  We hope to use this feedback to improve the service further before making the final release available.  Note that this is not beta quality software, but is ready for-primetime!

Here's a summary of  new features:

·         You can now upload your Microsoft volume license agreement numbers. This will retrieve your Microsoft licensing data from the Microsoft licensing repository and load it into your AIS account.

·         Once your entitlement information is retrieved, it can then be compared to your current inventory to give you a good understanding of your license position.

·         You can assign license agreements to groups that correspond to groups you have created in your inventory

·         You can then generate a license statement, that breaks out your applications by channel (volume licensing or OEM, for example), and compares them to the correct licensed quantities.

·         You can also save  statements for future reference and any view any previously generated/saved statements

As anyone who has worked with volume licensing knows, comparing inventory data with licensed quantities is a classic example of comparing apples with oranges.  AIS 1.5 aims to alleviate this pain by making it possible to map your inventory directly to your licensed quantities.  This reporting is intended to be a gauge and is not absolute but should be of great help to you in managing your software assets.

Who can use it?

AIS is available exclusively to Microsoft volume licensing customers who have purchased software assurance and MDOP.

How do you get it?

This is the best part...you don't have to do anything to upgrade to version 1.5.  One of the really cool things about subscribing to a service is that it is updated on the service side.  The AIS client was designed to self-update through Microsoft Update (see the previous post on how this happens).  So when the new version is available, you'll see new areas on the AIS console when you next log in, and depending on how long it takes for all your clients to upgrade themselves (typically about 24 hours), you'll have a fresh inventory and you'll be able to start uploading your license agreement information.

Stay tuned for my next post, where I'll talk a little about how to submit your AIS 1.5 feedback, and some of the other new features in AIS.

Want to know more about MDOP and the products it offers?  Have a look at the MDOP blog.

This blog entry will give you an insight into the self-initiated update functionality of the System Center Online Client.

The SC Online client you have installed on your computers does not only perform inventory scans, it also makes sure it is up-to-date with the latest released version of its software.

How does the Client update itself? 

The System Center Online Client can update itself either through the standard Windows Update experience or by self initiating the update directly through the System Center Online Client.

Updated via Microsoft Update: 

The SC Online client can automatically update itself through the Windows Update experience.  If a system is “opted-in” to Microsoft Update and is set to download and install Recommended and Important updates, your SC Online clients will be updated depending on your client settings (e.g.  Automatically download and install or notify). 

Self-initiated update:

For systems not opted into Microsoft Update, or not set to download Recommended updates, the System Center Online Services client can still update itself to the latest version.   

When the client runs it looks for updates to itself.  

If a new update is found, it will be downloaded and installed after the current session has finished, to make sure there is no reboot required when the update is installed.

If the update system in Windows is set to get updates from an internal server (ex. WSUS), it will look there first.

The client stops looking if the internal server does not have any updates. However, if the server is not reachable the client connects to Microsoft Update. This functionality can be turned off if you do not want clients to connect to Microsoft Update as a backup if they are outside of the corporate network. A laptop that is connecting to the internet from home is a perfect example of this situation.

Use the Administrative Template if you wish to turn off direct access to Microsoft Update. We recommend that you only turn it off if you are using a separate update server (ex. WSUS) or if the computer is running Vista and opted-in to Microsoft Update. In the other cases, the clients will not be updated if direct access is turned off.

What classifications does the Client use?

Client updates can come in these classifications:

-          Security Update in case a vulnerability is found. Designated as Important.

-          Update to improve  the current version. Designated as Recommended.

-          New functionality. Designated as Optional, but very recommended by the product team!

The frequency of updates for the client will be low. We estimate it to be up to two per year.

Why self-initiated update?

The purpose of having the client to update itself is to provide updates for only this product, while using the reliable Microsoft Update channel. The computer does not have to opt-in for updates from other Microsoft products. It is also the only way Recommended and Optional updates will be available for Windows 2000 and XP. Automatic update agent will only install Important updates on those operating systems.

A client that initiates the search for and installation of new updates enables the full functionality for all operating systems supported by AIS, not just Vista.

What’s coming?!

When Microsoft Volume License Reconciliation is added to your Asset Inventory Service later in 2008, we will also release a new version of the client. It will be available when the preview is released. A Product Family and Category will be published so it will be visible in WSUS servers.

The update will contain improvements that make the client gather more detailed data about the licensing information to enable the new addition to the service. It will also improve the reliability of the scheduling of the tasks that run the client.

We really appreciate if you take the time to participate in the Preview of our upcoming release and provide feedback on the service addition that can go into the official release! Look for a new tab in the Web UI, and use the TechNet forums to provide feedback.

Annika Elias

Program Manager

System Center Online

Hello,

The following is a contribution by John Ellis, one of our senior program managers.  He is responsible for one of the most important aspects of our service: the Software Catalog.  This exerpt describes in detail how our Catalog operates, and how it can lend value to your repoting experience.

=======

“This posting is provided “As Is” with no warranties, and confers no rights. “

I thought we would start this blog by beginning at the beginning: a walk-through of how your AIS account gets activated.  As you probably know, an AIS account gets created automatically through an integration with the Microsoft volume License Service site.  Typically, your company's MVLS administrator logs into MVLS, and either makes him or herself the AIS admin, or designates another person.  There are one or two gotcha's that are good to know about.  I asked our program manager responsible for the account creation and activation part of the service to write a piece to explain in more detail, as follows.  I hope this clears it up for folks.

==================================

Here is a quick overview of the AIS registration process:

Your company has purchased the MDOP Asset Inventory Service subscription on its Microsoft volume license agreement. The Volume license agreement administrator receives an invitation e-mail to visit https://licensing.microsoft.com to activate your AIS subscription. During activation the agreement administrator is asked to designate a subscription contact who will administer the AIS subscription by specifying their Passport/Windows Live ID. If they do not know the Passport/Windows LiveID then they are asked to provide the e-mail address for the subscription contact. The subscription contact receives an e-mail  to login to AIS and must login with the Passport/Windows Live ID specified by the agreement administrator.

In case, you get the message “Login Error: Sorry, we do not have an AIS account associated with this LiveID. If you are logging in for the first time then please try back after 24-48 hours. For additional help and support, please visit the AIS TechCenter. “

Please try these two steps:

1)      Create a Passport/Windows Live ID for the e-mail address on which you received the e-mail and try to log back in to AIS. This can be done by clicking the ‘Windows Live ID’ link on the AIS login page. Click ‘Sign Up’ on the top left hand side of the sign-up page. Select the option “Yes, use my e-mail address” and specify the e-mail address on which you received the invitation e-mail from Microsoft Volume Licensing. Please create a strong password as Asset Inventory Service requires usage of a strong password for security purposes.

2)      If you still get the login error, check with your agreement administrator and ask him/her for the Passport/Windows LiveID that was specified during activation.

Welcome!

Welcome to the System Center Online Services, Asset Inventory Service forums.  If you are participating in our current  Asset Inventory Service Technology Preview,  you are already one of our best customers with Windows Client, Software Assurance and the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack. You may have questions that others have had before you, or you may have suggestions for the Microsoft development team for the next version of the service.    If you don’t have all that, you may be here because you want to hear about other people’s experience with the service, or register for our upcoming technology preview. 

In both cases we want to welcome you and encourage you to post your ideas, feedback, questions, input and comments.

What is it?

Asset Inventory Service is a hosted service that allows you to download a small client and install it on your PCs, upon which the client will register and report the software inventory of that PC to a web-based service.  The service compares the list with the AIS central software title catalog, rationalizes the publisher, names and version numbers, and categorizes the software in your report.  You (and your designee’s) can then securely access the reports through a simple-to-use webpage after providing proper credentials.  You can use these reports to simply count your installations, prepare for your next round of procurement, or check the successful deployment of applications.

In the future, you will also be able to compare this information to your Microsoft software licenses and automatically build your license reconciliation reports.

How is the service available?

Currently in beta, the Asset Inventory Service ‘Community Technology Preview' is a beta program available only to Software Assurance customers who have purchased the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP).   The CTP program provides a pre-release opportunity to deploy the final release candidate of the AIS service before the final release to MDOP for SA customers later this year.

We will be expanding the availability of the Asset Inventory Service offering to more customers in future releases.

More information about MDOP and Asset Inventory Service:

For more information on Asset Inventory Service, find our datasheet here.  A video and other information about the service can be found under this link: www.windowsvista.com/optimizeddesktop.  Here, you will also find information about the other components of MDOP.

Thank you and we look forward to your participation in these forums for our new AIS service.

The AIS team

“This posting is provided “As Is” with no warranties, and confers no rights. “