Computers Window

Concept

The computers window can display every computer which has connected to the KeyServer. Computers are an important asset to track for obvious reasons. They allow us to know not only how many copies of a program are installed on the entire network, but also WHERE they are installed. Likewise, they allow us to define license policies based not only on concurrent use, but also on WHICH computer is trying to use a license.

Right Side

The main part of the computers window is the right hand side. It contains a list of the currently filtered subset of all computers known to the KeyServer. The list can be sorted by each of the four column headers.

• The Computer column shows the name of each computer, as defined by the computer itself. As such, more than one computer may have the same name. However, KeyServer uses additional characteristics to distinguish between two different machines with the same name. To display the unique computer identifier in this column instead of the name, use the context menu item, "Display Computer ID". See Computer ID Order for more on this topic.
  
  
• The Division column shows which division each computer belongs to. The column is blank if the computer is Discovered or Uncategorized.
  
  
• The Version column has a platform icon (Windows or Mac) and KeyAccess Client version number.
  
  
• The Last User column shows the logon name of the user account that has most recently connected to the KeyServer from this computer. If the computer is connected to the KeyServer with an active session, there will also be a "current user" icon, which indicates that the session will be currently listed in KeyConfigure's Users Window.
  
  
• The Last Session column shows whether a computer is allowed to login to the KeyServer, and the date and time at which the computer was last logged in to the KeyServer. Computers which are not allowed to login are indicated by an icon of a red circle with a slash through it, which appears to the left of the last login date.
  
  
• The Last Audit column shows the date and time at which an audit was last performed on the computer. When viewing the audit information for the computer, it will be accurate as of this time but incremental changes in installed software since then will only be reported to KeyServer at the time of the next audit. If an icon with a slash appears in this column, it means that automatic audits for this computer have been disabled (e.g. "Exclude from Audit" has been selected in the context menu).
  
  

More information is available from the Computer Details Window brought up by a double click on each selected computer. Note: hardware details for each client computer are always reported by client versions 6.0.2.8 or better, but older client versions will not report this information for computers that have never been audited.

Left Side

The left side of the computers window allows the computers which are displayed in the Right Side to be filtered. This will be very useful for large sites that need to focus on just a subset of computers.

• The Login section at the top separates those computers that are enabled for Full login from those that are Prohibited. You can drag items from the computers list into one category or the other. Toggle the check marks in front of each category in order to control which items are displayed.
  
  
• The Divisions section accumulates newly discovered computers in its Discovered category. The context menu for newly Discovered computers lets you specify Login "Full" or "Prohibited" and "Audit" or "Don't Audit" as the default action. When a discovered computer (pink) is acknowledged, the color changes to black and it will be moved into Uncategorized. Right-click anywhere in the Divisions pane in order to add your own custom Division names. To properly categorize computer items, select one or more in the Computers list on the right and then drag into the appropriate Division.
  
  
• The Filters section shows any user defined filters. Click in front of a filter – a check mark will appear to indicate that the list of Computers displayed on the right has been restricted to only show those that satisfy the filter selection criteria.

Context Menu Actions

Right-clicking on a computer in the computers window allows you to Show Audit or Request Audit.

• Show Audit will bring up a window that lists every program on the machine, as of the time of the last audit. Selecting this menu item is equivalent to pressing the Show button in the Audit pane of the computer details window.
  
  
• Request Audit will make KeyServer perform a new audit on the machine as soon as it is able to. Selecting this menu item is equivalent to pressing the Now button next to Next Audit Attempt in the computer details window.

Right-clicking anywhere in the filters section allows you to create a new filter (New Filter...)
Right-clicking on a filter allows you to edit the filter (Edit Filter...) or show computers which satisfy the filter in a separate window (Show in Window).

Drag and Drop Actions

Computers in the computers window can be Dragged and Dropped to the following locations:

• Into either Access folder on the left hand side of the window (Login Allowed or Login Prohibited). This has the effect of allowing or denying future login attempts from the computer.
• Into any custom Division category that has been defined in the Divisions section on the left. Each computer is a member of exactly one division.
• Onto any node-lock license in the Licenses Window. This will add the computer to the Computer List for the License.
• Into any “Computer Node List for xxx” window.
• Onto any group in the Groups Window. This will add the computer to the Nodes list for the group.
• Into the Nodes list of any Group Details window.

Related Topics