IBM Endpoint Manager for Software Use Analysis Version 2 Release 2. Scalability Guide. Version 4

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1 IBM Endpoint Manager for Software Use Analysis Version 2 Release 2 Scalability Guide Version 4

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3 IBM Endpoint Manager for Software Use Analysis Version 2 Release 2 Scalability Guide Version 4

4 Scalability Guide This edition applies to versions 2.2 of IBM Endpoint Manager for Software Use Analysis and to all subsequent releases and modifications until otherwise indicated in new editions. Copyright IBM Corporation 2002, US Government Users Restricted Rights Use, duplication or disclosure restricted by GSA ADP Schedule Contract with IBM Corp.

5 Contents Scalability Guidelines Introduction Scanning and uploading scan data Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) Decision flow Planning and installing Software Use Analysis... 7 Hardware requirements Network connection and storage throughput.. 8 Dividing the infrastructure into scan groups Running scans and imports Plan the scanning schedule Avoid scanning when it is not needed Limit the number of computer properties that are to be gathered during scans Ensure that scans and imports are scheduled to run at night Run the initial import Maintain frequent imports Preventive actions Recovering from accumulated scans Disabling collection of usage data Limiting the number of scanned signature extensions Making room for end-of-scan-cycle activities Configuring and maintaining the database Backing up and restoring the database Checking the version of Software Use Analysis 17 Backing up the database Restoring the database Improving user interface performance Using relays to increase the performance of IBM Endpoint Manager Reducing Endpoint Manager server load Appendix. Executive summary Notices Trademarks Privacy policy considerations Copyright IBM Corp. 2002, 2015 iii

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7 Scalability Guidelines This guide is intended to help system administrators plan the infrastructure of IBM Endpoint Manager for Software Use Analysis and to provide recommendations for configuring the Software Use Analysis server to achieve optimal performance. It explains how to divide computers into scan groups, schedule software scans, and run data imports. It also provides information about other actions that can be undertaken to avoid low performance. Introduction IBM Endpoint Manager clients report data to the Endpoint Manager server that stores the data in its file system or database. The Software Use Analysis server periodically connects to the Endpoint Manager server and its database, downloads the stored data and processes it. The process of transferring data from the Endpoint Manager server to the Software Use Analysis server is called Extract, Transform, Load (ETL). By properly scheduling scans and distributing them over the computers in your infrastructure, you can reduce the length of the ETL process and improve its performance. Scanning and uploading scan data To evaluate whether particular software is installed on an endpoint, you must run two scanners. They collect information about files with particular extensions and package data. They also gather information about the running processes to measure software usage. The software scan data must be transferred to the Endpoint Manager server from which it can be later on imported to Software Use Analysis. To discover software that is installed on a particular endpoint and collect its usage, you must first install two scanners by running the Install Scanner and Install Common Inventory Technology Scanner fixlets. After the scanners are successfully installed, the Initiate Software Scan and Initiate Common Inventory Technology Scanner fixlets become relevant on the target endpoint. The following types of scans are available: Catalog-based scan In this type of scan, the Software Use Analysis server creates scanner catalogs that are sent to the endpoints. The scanner catalogs do not include signatures that can be found based on the list of file extensions or entries that are irrelevant for a particular operating system. Based on those catalogs, the scanner discovers exact matches and sends its findings to the Endpoint Manager server. This data is then transferred to the Software Use Analysis server. File system scan In this type of scan, the scanner uses a list of file extensions to create a list of all files with those extensions on an endpoint. Package data scan In this type of scan, the scanner searches the system registry (Windows) or package management system (Linux, UNIX) to gather information about packages that are installed on the endpoints. Then, it returns the findings to the Endpoint Manager server where the discovered packages are Copyright IBM Corp. 2002,

8 compared with the software catalog. If a particular package matches an entry in the catalog, the software is discovered. Application usage statistics In this type of scan, the scanner gathers information about processes that are running on the target endpoints. You should run the catalog-based, file system, and package data scans on a regular basis as they are responsible for software discovery. The application usage statistics gathers usage data and can be disabled if you are not interested in this information. When the status of the Initiate Software Scan and Initiate Common Inventory Technology Scanner fixlets shows complete (100%), it indicates that the scan was successfully initiated. It does not mean that the relevant data was already gathered. After the scan finishes, the Upload Software Scan Results and Upload Common Inventory Scan Results fixlets become relevant on the targeted endpoint. It means that the relevant data was gathered from the endpoint. When you run the fixlets, the scan data is uploaded to the Endpoint Manager server. It is then imported to Software Use Analysis during the Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) process. Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) is a process in the database usage that combines three database functions that aim at transferring data from one database to another. The first stage, Extract, involves reading and extracting data from various source systems. The second one, Transform, converts the data from its original form into the form that meets the requirements of the target database. The last stage, Load, saves the new data into the target database, thus finishing the process of transferring the data. In Software Use Analysis, the Extract stage involves extracting data from the Endpoint Manager server. The data includes information about the infrastructure, installed agents and detected software. ETL also checks whether a new software catalog is available, gathers information about the software scan and files that are present on the endpoints. The extracted data is then transformed to a single format that can be loaded to the Software Use Analysis database. This stage also involves matching raw data with the software catalog, and converting information that is contained in the XML files. After the data is extracted and transformed, it is loaded to the database and can be used by Software Use Analysis. 2

9 Extract, Transform and Load Client computer - console Client computer - browser Endpoint Manager server Endpoint Manager file system 1. Extract Infrastructure information Installed agents Scan data files Software use data files Package data files Software Use Analysis server 2. Transform Information from the XML files is processed Data is transformed to a single format Raw data is matched with the software catalog Raw scan files Web user interface Endpoint Manager database Information about files Core business logic Relay High-speed network connection Software catalog Core business logic Software Use Analysis database 3. Load Data is loaded into the Software Use Analysis database tables. Endpoint Manager client on Windows or Linux x86 Endpoint Manager client on UNIX (AIX, HP-UX and Solaris) XML Raw data XML Package data XML Usage data XML Raw data XML Package data XML Usage data The hardest load on the Software Use Analysis server occurs during ETL when the following actions are performed: v A large number of small files is retrieved from the Endpoint Manager server (Extract). v Many small and medium files that contain information about installed software packages and process usage data are parsed (Transform). v The database is populated with the parsed data (Load). At the same time, Software Use Analysis prunes large volume of old data that exceeds the data rentention period. The performance of the ETL process depends on the number of scan files, usage analyses, and package analyses that are processed during a single import. The main bottleneck is storage performance as many small files need to be read, processed, and written to the Software Use Analysis database in a short time. By Scalability Guidelines 3

10 properly scheduling scans and distributing them over the computers in your infrastructure, you can reduce the length of the ETL process and improve its performance. Decision flow To avoid running into performance issues, you should divide the computers in your infrastructure into scan groups and properly set the scan schedule. You should start by creating a benchmark scan group on which you can try different configurations to achieve optimal import time. After the import time is satisfactory for the benchmark group, you can divide the rest of your infrastructure into analogical scan groups. Start by creating a single scan group that will be your benchmark - when you are satisfied with the performance that you achieve for this group, you will create other scan groups on its basis. The size of the scan group might vary depending on the size of your infrastructure, however avoid creating a group larger than endpoints. Scan the computers in this scan group. When the scans finish, upload their results to the Endpoint Manager server and run an import. Check the import time and decide whether it is satisfactory. For information about running imports, see section Running scans and imports on page 9. If you are not satisfied with the import time, check the import log and try undertaking one of the following actions: v v If you see that the duration of the import of raw file system scan data or package data takes longer than one third of the ETL time and the volume of the data is large (a few millions of entries), create a smaller group. For additional information, see section Dividing the infrastructure into scan groups on page 8. If you see that the duration of the import of raw file system scan data or package data takes longer than one third of the ETL time but the volume of the data is low, fine tune hardware. For information about processor and RAM requirements as well as network latency and storage throughput, see section Planning and installing Software Use Analysis on page 7. v If you see that processing of usage data takes an excessive amount of time and you are not interested in collecting usage data, disable gathering of usage data. For more information, see section Disabling collection of usage data on page 12. After you adjust the first scan group, run the scans again, upload their results to the Endpoint Manager server and run an import. When you achieve an import time that is satisfactory, decide whether you want to have a shorter scan cycle. For example, if you have an environment that consists of endpoints and you created a scan group of 6000 endpoints, your scan cycle will last seven days (on assumption that you create seven equal groups). To shorten the scan cycle, you can try increasing the number of computers in a scan group, for example, to It will allow you for shortening the scan cycle to six days. After you increase the scan group size, observe the import time to ensure that its performance remains on an acceptable level. When you are satisfied with the performance of the benchmark scan group, create the remaining groups. Schedule scans so that they fit into your preferred scan cycle. Then, schedule import of data form the Endpoint Manager. Observe the 4

11 import time. If it is not satisfactory, adjust the configuration as you did in the benchmark scan group. When you achieve suitable performance, plan for end-of-cycle activities. Use the following diagram to get an overview of actions and decisions that you will have to undertake to achieve optimal performance of Software Use Analysis. Scalability Guidelines 5

12 Installation Plan and install Software Use Analysis Configuration Create a scan group (up to computers) Fine tune hardware (if possible) Initiate scans and upload scan results Create a smaller scan group Run an import and check its time Disable gathering of usage data (if you do not need it) Is the import time satisfactory? No Yes Increase the size of the scan group Yes Do you want to have a shorter scan cycle? No Create the remaining scan groups Fine tune hardware (if possible) Schedule the scans to fit into the scan cycle Create a smaller scan group Schedule daily imports Disable gathering of usage data (if you do not need it) Is the import time still satisfactory? No Yes Plan for end-of-cycle activities 6

13 Planning and installing Software Use Analysis Your deployment architecture depends on the number of endpoints that you want to have in your reports. For information about the Endpoint Manager requirements, see the topic Server requirements that is available in IBM Knowledge Center. Hardware requirements If you already have the Endpoint Manager server in your environment, plan the infrastructure for the Software Use Analysis server. Software Use Analysis server stores its data in a dedicated MS SQL database. The following tables are applicable for environments with the following configuration parameters: a weekly software scan, daily imports, and 60 applications that are installed on an endpoint (on average). Table 1. Processor and RAM requirements for Software Use Analysis Environment size Topology Processor Memory Small environment 1 server IBM Endpoint Manager, Software Use Analysis, and MS SQL At least 2-3 GHz - 4 cores 4GB Several hundred computers Large environment Up to endpoints* 3 servers IBM Endpoint Manager 2-3 GHz cores GB Software Use Analysis At least 2 GHz GB cores MS SQL At least 2 GHz - 16 cores 64 GB * For environments with up to endpoints, there is no requirement to create scan groups. If you have more than endpoints in your infrastructure, you must create scan groups. For more information, see section Dividing the infrastructure into scan groups on page 8. Small environments It is possible to use virtual environments for this deployments size, however it is advisable to have dedicated resources for processor, memory, and virtual disk allocation. The virtual disk that is allocated for the virtual machine should have dedicated RAID storage, with dedicated IO bandwidth for that virtual machine. Large environments For large deployments, dedicated hardware should be used. For optimum performance, use an MS SQL server that is dedicated to Software Use Analysis and is not shared with Endpoint Manager or other applications. Additionally, you might want to designate a separate disk that is attached to the computer where MS SQL is installed to store the database transaction logs. Fine-tuning based on the mentioned recommendations might be required. Scalability Guidelines 7

14 Plan and prepare for installation Small environment Size: Several hundred endpoints Small Install Software Use Analysis and MS SQL on one computer Install or reuse IBM Endpoint Manager Software Use Analysis and MS SQL What is the size of your environment? Large Large environment Size: Up to endpoints Install Software Use Install or reuse Analysis and MSSQL IBM Endpoint on two computers Manager Software Use Analysis server MS SQL server A separate disk or storage might be necessary. Network connection and storage throughput The Extract Transform and Load (ETL) process extracts a considerable amount of scan data from the Endpoint Manager server, processes it on the Software Use Analysis server and saves it in the MS SQL database. The following two factors affect the time of the import to the Software Use Analysis server: Gigabit network connection Because of the nature of the ETL import, it is advised to have at least a gigabit network connection between the Endpoint Manager, Software Use Analysis and MS SQL servers. Disk/storage throughput For large deployments, it is advised to have dedicated storage, especially for the MS SQL server. The expected disk speed for writing data should be approximately 400 MB/sec. Dividing the infrastructure into scan groups It is critical for the Software Use Analysis performance to properly divide your environment into scan groups and then schedule scans in those scan groups accurately. If this configuration is not well-balanced, you might experience long import times. For environments larger than endpoints, it is advisable to divide your endpoints into separate scan groups. Then, the system administrator can set a different scanning schedule for every scan group in your environment. Example If you have endpoints, you can create six scan groups (every group contains endpoints). The first scan group has the scanning schedule set to Monday, the second to Tuesday, and so on. Using this configuration, every endpoint is scanned every week. At the same time, the Endpoint Manager server receives data only from 1/6 of your environment daily and for every daily import the Software Use Analysis server needs to process data only from endpoints (not endpoints). This environment configuration shortens the Software Use Analysis import time. 8

15 The image below presents a scan schedule for an infrastructure that is divided into six scan groups. You might achieve such a schedule after you implement recommendations that are contained in this guide. The assumption is that both software scans and imports of scan data to Software Use Analysis are scheduled to take place at night, while uploads of scan data from the endpoints to the Endpoint Manager server occur during the day. Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Night ITIC Import Group 1 Import Group 2 Import Group 3 Import Group 4 Import Group 5 Import Group 6 Scan Group 1 Scan Group 2 Scan Group 3 Scan Group 4 Scan Group 5 Scan Group 6 Day Upload Group 1 Upload Group 2 Upload Group 3 Upload Group 4 Upload Group 5 Upload Group 6 Running scans and imports If you have a powerful server computer and longer import time is not problematic, you can create fewer scan groups with greater number of endpoints in the Endpoint Manager console. Remember to monitor the import log to analyze the amount of data that is processed and the time it takes to process it. For information how to create scan groups, see the topic Computer groups that is available in IBM Knowledge Center. After you enable the Software Use Analysis site in your Endpoint Manager console, you should carefully plan the scanning activities and their schedule for your deployment. Plan the scanning schedule After you find the optimal size of the scan group, set the scanning schedule. It is the frequency of software scans on an endpoint. The most common scanning schedule is weekly so that every endpoint is scanned once a week. If your environment has more than endpoints, consider performing scans less frequently, for example monthly. Avoid scanning when it is not needed The frequency of scans depends on how often software products change on the endpoints in your environment and on your reporting needs. If you have systems on which software changes dynamically, you can group such systems into a scan group (or groups) and set more frequent scans, for example once a week. The remaining scan groups that contain computers with a more stable set of software can be scanned less frequently, for example once a month. Limit the number of computer properties that are to be gathered during scans By default, the Software Use Analysis server includes four primary computer properties from the Endpoint Manager server that is configured as the data source: Scalability Guidelines 9

16 Computer Name, DNS Name, IP address, and Operating System. Imports can be substantially longer if you specify more properties to be extracted from the Endpoint Manager database and copied into the Software Use Analysis database during each data import. As a good practice, limit the number of computer properties to ten (or fewer). Ensure that scans and imports are scheduled to run at night Some actions in the Software Use Analysis user interface cannot be processed when an import is running. Thus, try to schedule imports when the application administrator and Software Asset Manager are not using Software Use Analysis or after they finished their daily work. Run the initial import It is a good practice to run the first (initial) import before you schedule any software scans and activate any analyses. Examples of when imports could be run: v The first import uploads the software catalog from the installation directory to the application and extracts the basic data about the endpoints from the Endpoint Manager server. v The second import can be run after the scan data from the first scan group is available in the Endpoint Manager server. v The third import should be started after the scans from the third scan group are finished, and so on. Maintain frequent imports Preventive actions After the installation, the import is scheduled to run once a day. Do not change this configuration. However, you might want to change the hour when the import starts. If the import is longer than 24 hours, you can: v Improve scan groups configuration. v Fine tune the hardware. v Disable gathering of usage data if you do not need it. Software Use Analysis handles overlapping imports gracefully. If an import is running, no other import is started. However, continuously overlapping imports might lead to accumulation of imported data. Thus, ensure that the import time is below 24 hours. Turn off scans if the Software Use Analysis server is to be unavailable for a few days due to routine maintenance or scheduled backups. If imports of data from Endpoint Manager to Software Use Analysis are not running, the unprocessed scan data is accumulated on the Endpoint Manager server. After you turn on the Software Use Analysis server, a large amount of data will be processed leading to a long import time. To avoid prolonged imports, turn off scans for the period when the Software Use Analysis server is not running. 10

17 Recovering from accumulated scans To recover from a situation when you have a large amount of accumulated scan data, you need to clean up the Software Use Analysis scans and then verify whether the data was removed correctly. About this task It's important to take a recovering action in the following two cases: Software Use Analysis has been reinstalled and scans were run in the past. With each reinstallation of Software Use Analysis, a new instance of Software Use Analysis database is created. Fresh installation triggers the import of all historically collected scan files. Migration from Software Use Analysis version 1.x to version 2.x During the migration, a fresh SUA 2.x installation is performed, which triggers the import of all historically collected scan files. Procedure 1. Stop the Software Use Analysis server: a. Click Start > Administrative Tools > Services b. Right-click IBM Endpoint Manager for Software Use Analytics, and then click Stop. To stop the Software Use Analysis server from the command line, enter the following command. sc stop tema 2. Modify the contents of line 37 in raw_datasource_file.rb by adding the string 0=1 and after the where statement. Example (change in bold type): line 36: u.basedirectory = ua.basedirectory line 37: where 0=1 and line 38: u.basedirectory = 1 The file raw_datasource_file.rb is in the SUA_install_dir\wlp\usr\servers\ server1\apps\tema.war\web-inf\app\models. 3. Start the Software Use Analysis server. a. Click Start > Administrative Tools > Services b. Right-click IBM Endpoint Manager for Software Use Analytics, and then click Start. To start the Software Use Analysis server from the command line, enter the following command. sc start tema 4. Run a data import (ETL) to Software Use Analysis. 5. Stop the Software Use Analysis server. 6. Undo the changes in line 37 from the raw_datasource_file.rb by removing the string 0=1 and after where statement. Example (change in bold type): line 36: u.basedirectory = ua.basedirectory line 37: where line 38: u.basedirectory = 1 7. Start the Software Use Analysis server. 8. Schedule incremental imports to Software Use Analysis. 9. Distribute scans across the days of the week. Scalability Guidelines 11

18 What to do next Perform the following steps: 1. Rescan computers. 2. Upload new scan files. 3. Run an import. Repeat the procedure for every computers. Tip: Avoid importing more than or scans within one Software Use Analysis import. Such an import takes hours even on systems that meet the Software Use Analysis hardware requirements. Disabling collection of usage data Software usage data is gathered by the Application Usage Statistics analysis. If you do not need usage data or the deployment phase is not finished, do not activate the analysis. It can be activated later on, if needed. If the analysis is already activated, but you decide that processing of usage data takes too much time or you are not interested in usage statistics, disable the analysis. You can also select a group of computers from which usage data is to be gathered. Procedure 1. Log in to the Endpoint Manager console. 2. In the navigation tree, open the IBM Software Inventory > Analyses. 3. In the upper-right pane, right-click Application Usage Statistics, and click Deactivate. Limiting the number of scanned signature extensions 12 The software inventory tool scanner scans the entire infrastructure for files with particular extensions. Because the scan results are not matched against the software catalog beforehand, irrelevant data might be uploaded to the Endpoint Manager server. It can in turn lead to performance issues during the import. To reduce the amount of data that is uploaded to the server, you can narrow down the list of file extensions that are scanned by the software inventory tool scanner. Files with the excluded extensions will be scanned by the Common Inventory Technology scanner instead. Because this scanner matches the discovered files against the software catalog before uploading scan results, only information about files that produce matches is uploaded to the Endpoint Manager server. As a result, the import time is shorter. Procedure 1. To obtain a list of signatures that were matched with the software catalog, run the following SQL query. SELECT LOWER(SUBSTRING(ff.name, len(ff.name) - CHARINDEX(., REVERSE(ff.name)) + 1, CHARINDEX(., REVERSE(ff.name)) + 1))AS extension, COUNT(*) AS extension_count FROM sam.file_facts ff LEFT JOIN sam.file_rule_matches frm ON frm.file_fact_id = ff.id WHERE frm.file_fact_id IS NOT NULL GROUP BY LOWER(SUBSTRING(ff.name, len(ff.name)- CHARINDEX(., REVERSE(ff.name)) + 1, CHARINDEX(., REVERSE(ff.name)) + 1)) ORDER BY extension_count DESC The returned list is grouped according to software extension. Based on this list, decide which extensions should be omitted by the software inventory tool scanner.

19 extension extension_count.exe sys 7847.com 276.swt 111.bin 11.ocx 6.lic 2 Tip: There is no universal rule about how many extensions should be excluded to improve the import time. Firstly, exclude all extensions that were not returned by the query. Then, exclude a few extensions with the smallest number of matches and observe the import time. If it is still too long, exclude more extensions. 2. Stop the Software Use Analysis server by running the following command: sc stop tema 3. Remove extensions that you want to be omitted by the software inventory tool scanner from the following files: v v <SUA_install_dir>\work\tema\webapp\WEB-INF\domains\sam\config\ file_names_all.txt <SUA_install_dir>\work\tema\webapp\WEB-INF\domains\sam\config\ file_names_unix.txt v <SUA_install_dir>\work\tema\webapp\WEB-INF\domains\sam\config\ file_names_windows.txt 4. Start the Software Use Analysis server by running the following command: sc start tema 5. Create a custom copy of the Install Scanner fixlet and remove the extensions that produce a small number of matches from that fixlet. a. Log in to the Endpoint Manager console. b. In the left navigation tree, open Sites > External Sites > IBM Software Inventory > Fixlets and Tasks. c. In the upper right pane, right-click Install Scanner, and click Create Custom Copy. d. Change the name of the fixlet. e. Open the Actions tab. From the Windows and UNIX sections, remove the extensions that you want to exclude. For example, if only four extensions produce a significant number of matches: exe, sys, com, and swt, remove all other extensions apart from these four. m/.*\.exe$/ m/.*\.sys$/ m/.*\.com$/ m/.*\.swt$/ f. To save the fixlet, click OK. 6. Uninstall the software inventory tool scanner from all computers by running the Uninstall Scanner fixlet. 7. Install the scanner on all computers by running the custom fixlet that you created in step 5. The scanner will now scan the infrastructure for a limited number of extensions. 8. Update the catalogs of the Common Inventory scanner. a. In the top navigation bar of Software Use Analysis, click Management > Catalog Updates. Scalability Guidelines 13

20 b. To download the fixlet file to your computer, click CIT Catalog Download Fixlet. Choose the location where you want to save the catalog_download.bes file and click Save. c. Copy the file to the computer where the Endpoint Manager server is installed. d. Log in to the Endpoint Manager console. e. To import the fixlet, click File > Import. A new dialog window opens. f. Open the directory where you are storing the catalog_download.bes file, select the file and click Open. The file is imported. g. In the left navigation tree, click Sites > External Sites > IBM Software Inventory > Fixlets and Tasks. h. To run the fixlet on the endpoints, select Get Common Inventory Technology Catalog, and click Take Action. i. Select the computers on which you want to run the fixlet, and click OK. Making room for end-of-scan-cycle activities Plan to have an import from SmartCloud Control Desk through IBM Tivoli Integration Composer at the end of 1 or 2-week cycle. Include in your end-of-scan-cycle activities the catalog update and the time for extracting Software Use Analysis compliance reports. Configuring and maintaining the database To avoid performance issues in large environments, properly configure and maintain the MS SQL database. Review the following table to become familiar with recommendations on database configuration and maintenance, frequency of performing the actions and links to additional information. Recommendation Change the transaction log model to simple. Shrink the transaction log. Comments More information View or Change the Recovery Model of a Database (SQ LServer) Frequency Small environment: monthly Large environment: after every import More information How to: Shrink a File (SQL Server Management Studio) Configure the location of the database transaction log. More information Move the Database Transaction Log to Another Drive 14

21 Recommendation Update statistics. Comments Frequency Small environment: before every import Large environment: before every import More information sp_updatestats (Transact-SQL) Example USE tem_analytics; GO EXEC sp_updatestats; Scalability Guidelines 15

22 Recommendation Rebuild indexes. Comments Frequency Small environment: weekly Large environment: after every import SQL commands Use the following script to generate SQL commands to rebuild all indexes in all tables in the Software Use Analysis database: use tem_analytics SELECT ALTER INDEX ALL ON + t.[table_schema] +. + t.[table_name] + REBUILD; FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES t USE tem_analytics go IF EXISTS(SELECT * FROM dbo.imports WHERE success IS NULL) BEGIN PRINT N CANNOT RUN index rebuild. SUA import is running! PRINT N Wait until SUA import finishes END ELSE BEGIN DECLARE table_cursor CURSOR FOR SELECT table_schema, table_name FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES WHERE table_type = BASE TABLE OPEN table_cursor SYSNAME SYSNAME FETCH next FROM -1 BEGIN PRINT N START alter index all on + N. + N rebuild ; EXECUTE ( N alter index all on + N. + N rebuild ) PRINT N END alter index all on + N. + N rebuild ; FETCH next FROM END CLOSE table_cursor DEALLOCATE table_cursor PRINT N START sp_updatestats ; EXECUTE sp_updatestats PRINT N END sp_updatestats ; END go 16

23 Recommendation Back up the database. Comments Frequency Small environment: weekly Large environment: after every import More information Backing up and restoring the database Check the health of the database. More information Download Microsoft SQL Server Best Practices Analyzer and run it on the MS SQL server where the Software Use Analysis database is stored. For MS SQL 2012: details.aspx?id=29302 For MS SQL 2008 R2: download/details.aspx?id=15289 For MS SQL 2005: details.aspx?id=23864 Separate the database transaction logs from the data files into separate disk arrays. Increase the amount of memory that is available to MS SQL and ensure that the database uses it. Because Task Manager does not report MS SQL memory usage correctly, use Perfmon to verify whether MS SQL uses the allocated memory. Use at least MS SQL 2008 x64 (MS SQL 2008 R2 Enterprise Edition is recommended for large deployments), Do not use storage area network (SAN). Defragment the database drives. Frequency Small environment: monthly or quarterly Large environment: monthly or quarterly Backing up and restoring the database Frequency Small environment: weekly Large environment: after every import Checking the version of Software Use Analysis You can back up and restore the database only within one version of Software Use Analysis. Use one of the following methods to check the version of the application. Procedure v In the top navigation bar, click Help > About. v Open the C:\Program Files (x86)\bigfix Enterprise\TEMA\work\tema\webapp\ WEB-INF\config\version.rb file and check the value of DSS_VERSION: Scalability Guidelines 17

24 DSS_VERSION = { :build => 24, :full_string => , :build_date => DateTime.parse( Tue Sep 17 14:11: ) } Backing up the database You can make a copy of your database by saving it to a backup file. Before you begin v Software Use Analysis and Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio must be installed. v Stop the tema service. Open the command prompt and run net stop tema. Procedure 1. Log in to the computer that hosts the database that you want to back up. 2. Open Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio. 3. In the left navigation bar, expand Databases. 4. Right-click the database that you want to back up and then click Tasks > Back Up. 5. Review the details of the backup and then click Add to specify the target location of the copy. 18

25 6. Click OK. Results If the database was backed up successfully, you can find the bak file in the location that you specified in step 5. Restoring the database If you encounter any problems with your database, you can use a backup file to restore the database. Before you begin v Software Use Analysis and Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio must be installed. v Stop the tema service. Open the command prompt and run net stop tema. Procedure 1. Log in to the computer on which you want to restore the database. 2. Open Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio. 3. In the left navigation bar, right-click Databases and then click Restore Database. 4. In the Source section, select Device and browse for your backup file. 5. In the Destination section, choose a new name for the database. Scalability Guidelines 19

26 Important: When restoring the database, its name must differ from the name of the already existing database. You can rename your database later. 6. Click OK. 7. After the database is restored, you must change the database name to the one that you used when configuring Software Use Analysis. In the left navigation bar, right-click your database, and then click Rename. 8. Go to C:\Program Files (x86)\bigfix Enterprise\TEMA\config and edit the database.yml file. Update the content of the file so that it corresponds with the restored database. Improving user interface performance If you experience problems with the performance of the user interface while working with reports, increase the number of rows that are loaded into the user interface. Adjust the number of rows to the size of your environment. About this task When you open a report, 50 rows of data are loaded to the user interface by default. When you scroll past those 50 rows, next 50 rows must be loaded. To improve the response time of the user interface, you can increase the number of rows that are loaded to the user interface. Procedure 1. Stop thesoftware Use Analysis server. 2. On the computer where the Software Use Analysis server is installed go to the sua_installation_dir\tema\work\tema\webapp\javascripts\report_components directory and open the grid.js file. 3. Find the following lines: $.widget("bigfix.grid", {options: {pagesize: 50, gridoptions: {} } 4. Increase the value of the pagesize parameter according to the size of your environment. Table 2. Number of rows loaded into Software Use Analysis user interface Environment size Value of the pagesize parameter computers computers 1600 over computers Start the Software Use Analysis server. 6. Clear the cache in the web browser. 20

27 Using relays to increase the performance of IBM Endpoint Manager To take advantage of the speed and scalability that is offered by IBM Endpoint Manager, it is often necessary to tune the settings of the Endpoint Manager deployment. A relay is a client that is enhanced with a relay service. It performs all client actions to protect the host computer, and in addition, delivers content and software downloads to child clients and relays. Instead of requiring every networked computer to directly access the server, relays can be used to offload much of the burden. Hundreds of clients can point to a relay for downloads, which in turn makes only a single request to the server. Relays can connect to other relays as well, further increasing efficiency. Reducing Endpoint Manager server load For all but the smallest Endpoint Manager deployments (< 500 Endpoint Manager clients), a primary Endpoint Manager relay should be set for each Endpoint Manager client even if they are not in a remote location. The reason for this is that the Endpoint Manager server performs many tasks including: v Gathering new fixlet content from the Endpoint Manager server v Distributing new fixlet content to the clients v Accepting and processing reports from the Endpoint Manager clients v Providing data for the Endpoint Manager consoles v Sending downloaded files (which can be large) to the Endpoint Manager client, and much more. By using Endpoint Manager relays, the burden of communicating directly with every client is effectively moved to a different computer (the Endpoint Manager relay computer), which frees up the Endpoint Manager server to do other tasks. If the relays are not used, you might observe that performance degrades significantly when an action with a download is sent to the Endpoint Manager server (you might even see errors). Setting up Endpoint Manager relays in appropriate places and correctly configuring clients to use them is the most important change that has highest impact on performance. To configure a relay, you can: v Allow the clients to auto-select their closest Endpoint Manager relay. v Or manually configure the Endpoint Manager clients to use a specific relay. For more information, see the topic Managing relays that is available in IBM Knowledge Center. Scalability Guidelines 21

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29 Appendix. Executive summary Table 3. Summary of the scalability best practices Step Activities 1. Environment planning Review the summary information that matches your environment size: Small v Several hundred endpoints v Scan groups (optional) v Software Use Analysis and MS SQL installed on one computer v It is possible to use virtual environments for this deployments size, however it is advisable to have dedicated resources for processor, memory, and virtual disk allocation. Large v v v v Up to endpoints Scan groups (required) Software Use Analysis and MS SQL installed on separate computers, dedicated storage for MS SQL Fine-tuning might be required 2 Good practices for creating scan groups v Plan the scan group size v Create a benchmark scan group v Check the import time and decide whether it is satisfactory v When you achieve an import time that is satisfactory, decide whether you want to have a shorter scan cycle v When you are satisfied with the performance of the benchmark scan group, create the remaining groups 3 Good practices for running scans, imports and uploads v Run the initial import before scanning the environment v Plan the scanning schedule v Avoid scanning when it is not needed v Limit the number of computer properties to the ones that are relevant for software inventory management v Ensure that scans and imports are scheduled to run at night v Disable gathering of usage data in the initial rollout phase v Carefully plan for gathering of usage data in large environments. Testing is required. v Configure regular imports (Daily imports are advisable.) v Review import logs v Maintain frequent imports v Ensure that scans and imports are run at night v Run imports once a day v Configure upload schedule (daily) 4 End of cycle activities v Regularly import a new software catalog, for example monthly v Periodically import data from SmartCloud Control Desk through IBM Tivoli Integration Composer, for example at the end of the 1 or 2-week cycle Copyright IBM Corp. 2002,

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31 Notices This information was developed for products and services offered in the U.S.A. IBM may not offer the products, services, or features discussed in this document in other countries. Consult your local IBM representative for information on the products and services currently available in your area. Any reference to an IBM product, program, or service is not intended to state or imply that only that IBM product, program, or service may be used. Any functionally equivalent product, program, or service that does not infringe any IBM intellectual property right may be used instead. However, it is the user's responsibility to evaluate and verify the operation of any non-ibm product, program, or service. IBM may have patents or pending patent applications covering subject matter described in this document. The furnishing of this document does not grant you any license to these patents. You can send license inquiries, in writing, to: IBM Director of Licensing IBM Corporation North Castle Drive Armonk, NY U.S.A. For license inquiries regarding double-byte character set (DBCS) information, contact the IBM Intellectual Property Department in your country or send inquiries, in writing, to: Intellectual Property Licensing Legal and Intellectual Property Law IBM Japan, Ltd , Shimotsuruma, Yamato-shi Kanagawa Japan The following paragraph does not apply to the United Kingdom or any other country where such provisions are inconsistent with local law: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION PROVIDES THIS PUBLICATION AS IS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Some states do not allow disclaimer of express or implied warranties in certain transactions, therefore, this statement may not apply to you. This information could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically made to the information herein; these changes will be incorporated in new editions of the publication. IBM may make improvements and/or changes in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this publication at any time without notice. Any references in this information to non-ibm Web sites are provided for convenience only and do not in any manner serve as an endorsement of those Web sites. The materials at those Web sites are not part of the materials for this IBM product and use of those Web sites is at your own risk. Copyright IBM Corp. 2002,

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