System Center Online : AIS

New update for AIS 1.5 client is now available on Microsoft Update - 3/24/2009

annikae — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 18:31:00 GMT

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^th2009, 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

AIS 1.5 client update is now available from Microsoft Update

annikae — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 22:11:00 GMT

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!

AIS 1.5 is now Live

pbourgeau — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 20:19:00 GMT

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!