Computers Window

Concept

The computer window displays selected records from the computers table. The computer table contains a record for every computer that has used the KeyAccess client software to connect to the KeyServer - this may include records representing both physical and virtual computers. In addition to the obvious fields necessary to identify distinct computers, numerous hardware attributes are available for display in the Computers window using the customizable columns feature.

The Computers window is included in the "Standard View" from the KeyConfigure Windows menu. It directly supports various reports that summarize computer deployment information including hardware capabilities, internet location, last login, etc. Links to the Computers table from the software Audit and management Policy tables support management of license compliance for specific computers, computer divisions, and computer groups.


Computers Window

Left Side - Display column

The Display column on the left of the Computers window is used to restrict the computer list on the right to a selected subset. The default listing includes all computer records tagged as Dedicated or Leased. These are the records that require a KeyServer ‘seat’ – the number of such records cannot exceed the number of ‘seats’ enabled by your KeyServer license.

The Display column is divided into three panels. Each one classifies the computer records on the right according to various attributes. Multiple check marks within the same panel increase the selection set - the conditions are OR'd together. Check marks in separate panels decrease the selection set - the conditions are AND'd together. Clicking on the double-check icon that appears between the Display column on the left and the Computer list on the right will toggle the current selection back to the default selection.

• Login panel: the four states listed in the login pane classify computers according to which KeyServer services are available or in use.
  
  • Dedicated computers when logging in to KeyServer have access to all services. Whenever a node locked license is assigned to a computer, its login type automatically becomes Dedicated. 
  • Leased computers have access to all KeyServer services except the assignment of a node locked license. If a node locked license is assigned (either explicitly by the administrator or implicitly by an “auto-add” policy) then the Login type will be changed to Dedicated. When KeyServer services are not actually accessed by a Leased client for some period of time (e.g. no activity is reported such as usage logging, hardware audit, software audit, license grant, license return, etc.), then the Login lease will expire and the computer record will be automatically reclassified as Dormant.  
    
  • Dormant computers do not count against the KeyServer client limit so they will not appear on the right when toggled to the default selection. These computers are not currently making use of any KeyServer services. If a Dormant computer connects to KeyServer, reports usage activity, uploads audit info, or uses managed software, the login type will automatically change back to Leased or Dedicated.  
  • Excluded computers do not count against the KeyServer client limit so they will not appear on the right when toggled to the default selection. These computers cannot receive any services and no new information will be recorded by KeyServer. However, the computer name and profile information will remain available for reference from various reports. On Excluded computers, unkeyed programs, even those configured to use a control policy, will be un-managed – they will run but without any interaction with the KeyServer so usage will not even be reported. Note, however, that keyed programs are dependent on an interaction with KeyServer, so these simply will not run on excluded clients just as they will not run on computers that do not have the KeyAccess client software installed.
     
• Divisions panel: by default, there is a single Uncategorized division which includes all computer records. You can split this one division – use the “New Division....” menu item under a right click in the white area. Computers can be separated into the various divisions either explicitly (by dragging selected records) or implicitly based on rules (explained below). Under the column heading “Division”, displayed on the right, the computer records are labeled with their Division membership (except for Uncategorized computers, which display as blank).
   
• Filters panel: by default, there is a single Discovered filter which includes all computer records. Use the “New Filter....” menu item under a right click in the white area to create a new filter – it must include a search criteria. The filter labeled Discovered is actually a Rule – it includes actions that, by default, set newly discovered computers to Login as Dedicated clients with Auditing enabled.

Rules - Filters with Actions

To add or change an action defined in a rule, double click to see the filter details and click the 'triangle button' to disclose its configuration details. Filters with an action, i.e. Rules, always appear with a pink cross-hatch icon above any others in the Filters panel and they appear with small icons to the right of the name as an indication of which actions are active. The Discovered rule appears last, just above the line separating rules from plain filters (if any). You can change the the default Login type and Audit behavior specified in the Discovered rule, but the division assignment, Uncategorized, cannot be changed.

A hierarchy of Rules descending down to the final Rule, Discovered, can be configured so that newly discovered computers are categorized into an appropriate Division and the desired Audit behavior is specified. Computer records are matched against the Rules starting from the top - as soon as a rule matches, that rule's action(s) are applied, and no further rules are checked for that Computer. If the matching rule does not specify both Division and Audit behavior, the unspecified attribute will be set according to the the Discovered rule (acting as the default). A rule can also specify a Login type, but unless the Login type specified in the Discovered rule is changed to "Leased", any attempt to set the login type with other rules appearing above will have no effect.

Acknowledged vs. Unacknowledged

Rules are evaluated every time a client computer establishes a session with the KeyServer. You can disable the dynamic influence of Rules completely for a specific computer – simply drag a computer into the desired division, or if it is already there, use right-click to "Acknowledge" the current state. More generally, any change you make explicitly as the administrator to the Division, Login type, or Audit setting will Acknowledge the computer record. An Acknowledged computer record is no longer subject to any of the automatic actions specified in Rules. Its Division and Audit state will remain fixed unless subsequently changed by an administrator. The Login state, however, may still vary in response to which KeyServer services are accessed as explained above.

Computer records that are subject to rules (i.e. unacknowledged computers) are indicated in the computer list on the right using the same pink cross-hatch icon that signifies a rule on the left. When a computer is removed from the influence of the rules (i.e. it is acknowledged), the pink icon is removed. In order to bring an acknowledged computer back under the influence of rules, drag it onto the Discovered rule (filter). You will see the pink icon reappear for this computer, indicating that it is once again unacknowledged. Whenever rules are changed and reapplied, they will affect all such unacknowledged computers, in order to easily re-categorize them.

Right Side - Computer records

The columns shown on the right display various hardware characteristics and other attributes for each computer (or virtual computer) that has connected to the KeyServer using the KeyAccess client. Use right-click in the column header in order to customize which columns are included for display. The few columns displayed in the Computers window by default are described below:

• 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, right-click a column header and select “Customize Columns...”, then drag “Computer ID” from the list on the right to the list on the left. 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 Uncategorized. A pink "filter" icon is drawn if the computer has had the login type and division set by the configured discovery rules. If there is no pink "filter" icon, an Administrator has explicitly placed the computer in a division, or has changed the Login type for the computer.


• The Version column displays an icon indicating the platform of the computer (Windows or Mac) along with the 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 Connected Clients Window.


• The Last Session column shows the date and time at which the computer was last logged in to the KeyServer and an icon corresponding to the Login type for this computer is also displayed to the left of the date.


• The Last Audit column shows the date and time at which a software audit was last uploaded from the computer. When viewing the installed software information for the computer in various reports, it will be accurate as of this time but changes since then will only be reported to KeyServer at the time of the next audit. The Audit icon is also shown when the computer is configured to update audits automatically. If a computer has a last audit date, but no audit icon, it means for this computer that an administrator has disabled future audit updates or automatic audits were never enabled but an explicit one time audit was requested.

When you double-click on a computer record, its Computer Details Window will open showing all the field values for this record along with panels that show related Policy and Audit information. 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 uploaded a software audit.

Reports are available via right-click that summarize computer data for the set of currently displayed records – however, Audit reports (for software) will never include Dormant or Excluded computers. To report on a single computer record, select just this one record and use right-click, or use right-click from its Computer Details window.

Computer list windows

Double-click on any selector (Login type, Division, Rule or Filter) in the left column of the Computers window and a separate window opens listing all the matching computer records. In the case of a filter (or rule), you can show or hide the filter conditions under the disclosure triangle icon at the top. Note: the main Computers window can have its entire left column hidden, making it appear much like these other sub-selection windows. Drag or double-click on the small dot shown within the stripe outlining the left side of the main Computer window to show or hide its 'Display' column.

Context Menu Actions

Right-clicking on a computer in the computers window will allow you to configure or show audit information, depending on how the computer is currently configured. It will additionally show any reports that can be run for just this computer.

Right-clicking anywhere in the filters section allows you to create a new filter (New Filter...).

In addition to context menus, whenever you see the icon representing a computer anywhere in the KeyConfigure interface, it will generally be clickable to expose relevant context or detail and it will be dragable into other user interface elements whenever such a drag has an obvious meaning.

Drag and Drop Actions

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

• Into any Login type on the left hand side of the window (Dedicated, Leased, Dormant, or Excluded). This will set the login policy for the computer.
• Into any Division in the Divisions section on the left. Each computer is a member of exactly one division.
• Onto any node-lock policy in the Policies Window. This will add the computer to the Computer List for the Policy.
• 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.