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K2 – Getting Started
Installation Guide & Technology Overview |
Introduction
• Documentation Overview
• Components & Terminology
• Web Updates
• License Certificate File
Quick Setup & Demo Tour
• Server, Admin, Client Install – on a single host computer
• Explore KeyConfigure – basic functionality
• Program Actions – Logged or Controlled
• License Types – Floating versus Node Locked
• Group Definitions – node list, divisions, network location, authentication
• Key an Application –file modification for Secure Control
• Software Audits –scheduled, centralized, data collection
• Computer Divisions, Program Folders – discover / acknowledge / filter / hide
• Clean-up –removing the K2 demo files
Installation
• Server
• Shadow
• Admin
• Client
Upgrades
• Additional Clients
• Upgrade KeyServer
• Move KeyServer – New Host
• Upgrade KeyConfigure
• Upgrade KeyAccess
• Upgrade KeyShadow
Appendix: OS Details
Introduction
Welcome to K2 from Sassafras Software. The K2 license management toolkit integrates software and hardware auditing with active license management in a single package. The KeyAuditor functionality allows for automatic, scheduled audits of all client computers while KeyServer functionality lets you log, meter, and control usage of all application programs regardless of where the software is used or stored. A comprehensive collection of summary and detail reports is built into the administrative program, KeyConfigure. An optional web server component, KeyReporter, it included for automating the periodic execution of reports, and for publishing K2's reports for web browser access.
A single admin program allows you to control all aspects of both the auditing and usage management functions. Flexible (but optional) integration with other management tools such as help desk , purchase database, authentication services, software distribution, etc. is facilitated through standards based data streaming & export, authentication, and database query interfaces. K2 has been carefully designed to facilitate license management for Windows and Macintosh software deployed on laptops, desktops, file servers, and thin client servers.
K2 is a powerful, simple tool that will help you optimize software asset utilization throughout your entire enterprise:
- Conduct automated software audits
- Discover new applications as soon as they are installed or used
- Profile the essential hardware properties of each Windows or Macintosh client
- Monitor and report online and offline software usage
- Manage software license compliance
- Enforce any license policy: node-locked, concurrent-use, site, etc.
- Integrate management of desktop, laptop and thin-client computing on multiple platforms
- Export usage and inventory data through ODBC to any SQL database
- Explore usage and deployment patterns with interactive built-in reports
- Build custom external reports using MS Access, Seagate Crystal Reports, etc.
- Schedule periodic reports for automatic execution
- Publish reports on for web viewing with public or authenticated access
- Reclaim abandoned software assets for redeployment elsewhere
- Track each program’s usage history and last use on each computer
- Disable prohibited programs or obsolete versions
- Control program access based on location, name & password, etc.
- Secure costly or proprietary programs against piracy or use off site
- Reserve access to programs for specified users at scheduled times
- Manage auditing & license management from anywhere on the Internet
In this Getting Started document, “you” refers to the K2 Administrator, the person who will be setting up the K2 server and configuring its services. You will find that K2 greatly simplifies software license management while promoting efficient utilization of the software assets that have been purchased for your site. It gives you the technology to enforce multiple license agreements and monitor usage patterns, while it gives licensed users transparent access to managed software.
The “Quick Setup & Demo Tour” section at the end of this chapter will get you up and running as quickly as possible. If you are impatient, try skipping ahead to the tour but then come back for a more complete overview.
Versions & Updates
K2 is distributed as a downloadable archive from the Sassafras web site (~75 MB). Installers for Server, Admin, Reporter, and Client can also be downloaded individually for each target platform, but usually a download of the completed image (including all installers) will make it easier to keep things organized. Each release is named following this pattern: “K2 v6.1 (yyyy-mm-dd image)”. The date stamp which is part of the folder name is called the “image date” (e.g. 2006-04-20) and it is used to identify the complete set of installers and documentation assembled together to form a complete release of the “K2 image”.
The compressed image archive is available either as K2arch.zip (a zip archive for expansion on Windows) or as K2arch.dmg (a disk image for mounting on Macintosh). Regardless of which download format you use, it will expand to an image folder that includes complete documentation and a complete set of installers for all platforms. You can easily copy the entire contents (~75 MB) onto a hard disk or file server volume, or you can duplicate individual installers as needed.
Updates for the various components of the K2 toolkit are released as required to repair bugs, to add requested features, and to maintain compatibility with new operating system releases. The admin component, KeyConfigure, has the typical version check functionality built in. This feature will inform you of new versions for all components, not just KeyConfigure itself. While it is generally recommended to keep all components up to date with the latest minor bug fix release, compatibility between server, admin, and reporter only requires that they all are version 6.1.x.y.
Documentation Overview
The Administrator’s Reference ("help" documentation) is viewable online from the Sassafras web site. Additions or corrections to the documentation are made frequently so www.sassafras.com web is the best source for the most up to date information. Note: the admin installer also creates a static local copy of theses documents in its Help folder.
The descriptions below give an overview of where to find information on various aspects of K2:
• Getting Started
This is the document you are reading. It includes several of the beginning chapters from the complete Administrator’s Reference. In addition to installation instructions, it will give you a conceptual framework for thinking about various K2 configurations and for troubleshooting. The section describing some typical license management strategies should help you decide which K2 features will be useful at your site.
When you need to go beyond the most basic K2 operation, and for details on how to fully implement a particular management strategy, the chapters included in the Getting Started book may not be sufficient. Consult subsequent chapters of the Administrator’s Reference, the Appendices, and also the on-line help documentation.
• Upgrades
Owners of KeyServer 5.2, and K2 version 6.0 should definitely read the “Upgrades” chapter. It contains specific instructions on how to import existing license management data while being careful to avoid disabling programs or losing client support as you upgrade.
• Help
The K2 admin program, KeyConfigure, includes a help menu that will display the K2 documentation in your default browser. A right-click anywhere in the KeyConfigure interface will bring up a context menu that always has Help as the top item. Select this menu item to display the specific help document appropriate to the context.
 Whenever the documentation refers to a “right-click”, Macintosh users with a one button mouse must substitute the phrase “ctrl-click”. Better yet, buy a two button mouse for your Mac!
• Search
The Html help system formats all help pages with a blue “navigation bar” on the left. Mouse over this bar to expose a popup window showing related links and a search form. Click the “?” icon for an explanation of the search syntax.
• README.html
Every K2 image contains a README.html file which documents the date of release (the “image date” ) as well as important warnings and revision information. Use a browser to open the readme whenever you get a new K2 image. As explained below in the “Web Updates” section, you should also open the readme whenever you want to check current revision status of the installers. Unlike other documentation, the readme is changed for every new image and therefore lies outside of the Administrator’s Reference – you will find it at the top level of every image folder.
• www.sassafras.com
In addition to documentation included with every image, you should occasionally check the Sassafras web site for new information. While the readme in each K2 image gives you a convenient way to check on the revision status of all the included installers, there may be warnings, news, supplemental documentation, or new components that are announced and made available only from the web site.
Whenever possible, K2 documentation is generic so it applies to all supported platforms. Fortunately, the both the server process (KeyServer) and the reporter process (KeyReporter) work without any visible interface on Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and NetWare. Hence for these processes, the only platform specific documentation needed is for installation. Windows and Macintosh installation is documented in the Getting Started booklet while details for other host platforms are covered in the appendix, “OS Details”. But remember - you choose only one of these platforms to host your KeyServer!
K2’s Administrative and Client components are restricted to Windows and Macintosh, where they are licensed for use on multiple administrative and client computers. Component file names and directory locations differ between operating systems, but most often these differences are slight and can be ignored.
  When it is necessary to explicitly document operating system differences, the Windows and Macintosh icons will be used to tag the system specific details. You may want to treat the operating system icons as a signal to skip over the text, depending on your platform focus.
Components & Terminology
The software component files created by various K2 installers fall into four main categories depending on function:
• KeyServer – server process
KeyServer and related components implement the central auditing and license server process that runs from a single host. KeyServer is compiled for Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and NetWare. The server process, keyserver, supports both license management (KeyServer) and auditing (KeyAuditor) functions.
• KeyConfigure – administrator's console
KeyConfigure and related components implement remote management and configuration of the KeyServer from a Windows or Macintosh computer. KeyConfigure includes hundred's of built in templates for displaying software usage, license compliance, hardware, and software audit reports.
• KeyAccess – client
KeyAccess and related components implement communication from each client computer to the KeyServer process. Windows and Macintosh client computers (laptop, desktop, and server) are supported as well as virtual machines and thin-client sessions.
• KeyReporter – reporter process
The optional KeyReporter component implements a dedicated web server process that can be scheduled to produce management reports automatically and publish them in html format. It can be installed either on the same host as the KeyServer or on a separate host computer. KeyReporter is compiled for Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and NetWare.
The names KeyServer, KeyConfigure, KeyAccess, and KeyReporter are used to refer to the software which implements server, administrator, client, and reporter functions respectively. K2 refers to the complete system of components that implement the auditing, license management, and reporting functions.
On Windows, each function is typically implemented by several files with 8.3 formatted names. Shortcuts with long names are used to reference these files where appropriate. On the Macintosh, the file name of the component implementing each function typically matches the name. For a complete list of component file names with version information, consult the Component History document referenced from the readme.
The word “server” is used to refer to the KeyServer process running on a single computer. Whenever the KeyServer program is activated (launched as a program, started as a service, or launched as a daemon), client computers can connect, upload audit data, and exchange license management information. There is no “network operating system” or file server requirement. Simply install the KeyServer component on some host computer in order to turn it into a “license control and audit server” . Install the client software on all computers that you want to manage.
The KeyServer computer may be a computer dedicated to running the KeyServer program, or it may be a general purpose network services computer that is simultaneously acting as a file server, print server, ftp server, web server, router, etc. The KeyServer process listens to the network wire much like a router process. It can respond to each client using the appropriate protocol.
The word “network” refers to the physical system of wires, modems, wireless devices, hubs, repeaters, bridges, routers, and other hardware that conveys data packets from computer to computer. The phrase “network connection” does not imply the existence of any file server or other network services. In particular, we are not implying the existence of a “network operating system” (NOS).
A mixed network of Windows, Thin Client, and Macintosh computers can communicate without any NOS and KeyServer does not require one. The common phrase “log onto the network” is actually a source of some confusion and usually it should be more accurately stated “log onto the network file server” or “log onto the file server” . KeyServer does not require a file server logon nor any network operating system. Again, for us, the word network is just the physical system of wires, etc.
While the server, administrator, and client functions are often thought of as running on three separate computers, this is not a requirement. A single computer can have software installed to perform all three functions plus the optional reporter function. It is typical for the KeyConfigure administrative software to be installed on several computers that are also functioning as clients.
It may be convenient to install KeyConfigure on the computer functioning as the KeyServer, but this is not necessary – and it is only possible in cases where the KeyServer is hosted on Windows or Macintosh.
In addition to the main component files described above, the K2 Package includes several utility components including:
• KeyVerify
The KeyVerify client utility is useful as a diagnostic tool to verify the connection between a client computer and the KeyServer. When launched, its interaction with KeyServer is similar to any controlled program. When KeyVerify is running, it displays information about the KeyServer connection.
• KeyCheckout
The KeyCheckout client utility is installed by the “mobile” client installers. It is used primarily on portable computers that need to check out a license for off-line use. For many license control policies, KeyCheckout functionality is actually unnecessary since controlled programs are allowed to run off-line by default. Usage data is uploaded when the computer comes back online.
• KeyShadow
The KeyShadow server utility is actually just the KeyServer software enabled by a shadow license instead of the standard license. A KeyShadow process provides a fail-safe backup to the KeyServer process. It will take over service in case the KeyServer is unreachable due to network, software, or hardware failure.
• KeySentry
The KeySentry administrative utility can be installed on a few computers to give an early warning of any problems with the network connection to the KeyServer. It is an optional component used along with shadow servers and automatic e-mail notifications to give robust service.
• Reporting Tools & ODBC connectivity
The KeyConfigure admin program includes several built in reports which send SQL queries to KeyServer using the proprietary “ks” protocol. Many of these reports have a customizable counterpart contained in the External Reports folder. On Windows, these example reports can be viewed and customized using either Microsoft Access or Seagate Crystal Reports.
The KeyServer ODBC driver, “ksODBC”, is supplied to support connections directly to the KeyServer from third party reporting tools (e.g. Crystal Reports, MS Access, FileMaker, etc.). If instead, KeyServer is configured to export its data to a remote SQL server (e.g. Oracle, SQL Server, MySQL, etc.), then both internal and external reports can connect to the remote data server using its ODBC driver (and a correctly configured DSN).
Web Updates
There is a readme file at the top level of every K2 image folder that links to a document describing the latest revision details (current as of the image date) for every component that may be installed using one of the installers. If your browser is connected to the internet when you open the readme, icons will inform you which, if any, of the installers in the image folder have become obsolete.
The readme includes a link to the Sassafras web site for downloading a compressed archive (~25 MB) containing the most recent K2 image. The README.html inside each particular K2 image gives you a quick way to check on revision status and to obtain updates when necessary.
License Certificate File
When you purchase K2 and submit your e-mail address as the registered contact, a custom License Certificate file, server.lic, containing serial number and a client account limit will be e-mailed to you. Without this file, any installer from the Server Installers folder (inside the K2 image folder) will create a KeyServer operating only in “evaluation mode” – the functionality and number of client sessions supported will be limited.
To upgrade your KeyServer from evaluation mode to a full function KeyServer supporting your licensed number of client accounts, you must place your custom server.lic file into the KeyServer Data Folder and restart the server process. Read the “Server Install – KeyServer” section of the “Installation” chapter for detailed instructions.
Even though the K2 image contains installers for creating the server process on several different platforms, you must choose only one computer to host the KeyServer and then install your custom server.lic file only on this computer. Regardless of the host platform chosen, KeyServer will manage Windows, Macintosh, and thin clients computers.
The License Certificate, server.lic, and the KeyServer serial number are authorized for use on one single computer. You may not make copies except for backup purposes. It is the obligation of the licensee to protect the license certificate from theft, from unauthorized use or copying, and from use on more than one single computer.
In addition to the legal prohibitions, usage of the same server.lic file on more than one computer can lead to erratic and unpredictable behavior for both client and administrative software components.
The server.lic file is readable as text so you can inspect the number of client accounts it supports (“feature.seat”), the server versions supported (“license.range”), etc. The first two significant digits of the KeyServer version number must be supported within the license range specified in the certificate. The license certificate provided with K2 has license.range=5.2-6.1 so it will support the previous KeyServer versions 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, and 6.0 as well as KeyServer 6.1 (and subsequent revisions, 6.1.x.x, but not 6.2.x.x).
A version 5.2 or 6.0 license certificate used with a 6.1 KeyServer will be ignored. Unless there is some other valid license certificate present (such as an unexpired evaluation license), the 6.1 KeyServer will not support any clients.
If the KeyServer executable does not find a valid server.lic file in the KeyServer Data Folder, it will instead use the file named eval.lic which is created by default as part of the server install. As the name implies, the eval.lic file will enable KeyServer to run only in “evaluation mode” . You can read the text of the eval.lic file for particular features restricted by the “evaluation license” , but typically evaluation mode supports only 7 clients, some features are disabled, and you can control only a limited number of programs. The evaluation license created by the server installer has a fixed expiration date (“feature.expires” ) so you may have to download a more recent installer to replace one that was built months ago.
Except for the limitations imposed by the eval.lic, installation and operating instructions for a K2 evaluation are the same as for the fully licensed version. If you need to evaluate K2 without any size or feature restrictions, contact Sassafras Software.
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