Software inventory filters

BMC Client Management - Inventory comes with a predefined filter for the software inventory that contains a quite large list of the most common software programs. However, it become necessary to modify this filter and adapt it to the software used in your infrastructure, which might not include a number of these programs but some other branch or company specific software. In the same way as for the hardware inventory, filters can be defined and customized for your needs about software inventory collection. The Software Inventory node displays the list of all software inventory filters that were created.

Related topics

Hardware inventory filters

Creating software filter definitions

Similar to hardware, software inventory filters are completely customizable to be adapted to the specific needs of the different devices within your infrastructure. Software inventory objects can have one or several instances and attributes providing further information. These objects are completely customizable about name, number of instances, number of attributes and their types and contents.

Software filter definitions

This node displays a number of predefined filters of software programs for the swinvcfg.xml file. This file is part of the software inventory collection and is made to suit the users needs. Inventory collection is done by "passing" the list of executable files through this configuration file. The file is an XML formatted text file supplied with the agent and can be modified or added to as required.

A software filter definition is an object that describes a specific software used in an enterprise. You can use an object to hold information or control an aspect of your enterprise, such as licensing issues. Software filtering is done in two steps:

In the MATCHFILE Tag tab conditions are specified which need to be fulfilled for an executable being translated into a software package.
If all conditions are fulfilled, and the action defined in the General tab is Accept, the CREATE Tag tab contains information on how to create a new installed software entry from information in the executable file.

To add software filter definition

To add new software definition to a software inventory filter, proceed as follows:

Select the object to which a new attribute is to be added in the left window pane.
Click Edit> Create Filter Definition.
The Select a Software Filter Definition pop-up menu appears.
Enter the data for the new definition in the respective text boxes.
Click OK to confirm and close the window.

To create software inventory filters

It is possible to create new inventory filters for the software inventory. These filters will then replace the configuration filters in the form of an xml file on the devices to which the newly created filters will be assigned. To create a new software inventory filter proceed as follows:

With the Software Inventory node selected in the left window pane select Edit> Create Filter .
The Properties pop-up menu appears.
Enter the name for the new software inventory filter into the provided field.
Click OK to confirm the new object and close the window.

Software inventory filter cleaning rules

After the translation of executable files into installed software entries has taken place, the list of software entries is processed by passing it through another translation cycle which just acts on the software list. The aim of this second pass is to clean up and possibly cause the merging of the created software entries. No new software entries can be created as a result of this second translation process. The translation of software entries is slightly different to that of executable files in that whereas the translation of files is a single pass process, the software translation process repeats itself until no changes occur during a pass. This allows fairly complicated processing to take place by using fewer more focused translation entries.

To create a cleaning filter

To create a new cleaning filter, proceed as follows:

Click Edit> Create Cleaning Filter.
The Properties pop-up menu appears.
Enter the data for the new filter in the respective boxes.
Click OK to confirm and close the window.

MATCHFILE Tag

The MATCHFILE Tag tab contains the match conditions for the translation entry of the XML file. This tag also specifies conditions an executable file must satisfy in order for the requested action being done. The matching operator is an AND operator which means that all of the specified criteria must be satisfied for a match.

Attribute	Description
PATH	Specifies the path criterion for matching an executable file. The value supplied for the tag is interpreted based on the tag parameters and used to compare against the full path of an executable file.
Value	Select the value criterion for matching a software attribute. The value supplied for the attribute is interpreted based on the attribute parameters and used to compare against the value filed of a software attribute. Text - The value should be compared with the software entry name as is. Pattern - The value of a tag is a software name pattern containing optional * and ? wildcards. This is the default value. Regex - The value of the tag is a full regular expression which is applied to the software name to see if it matches or not.
Operator	Select the comparison operator to apply when performing the match. eq - The value matches the name being checked. If the value is a pattern or a regex this means the pattern or the regex successfully matches the attribute value. This is the default setting. ne - The value does not match the name being checked.
Case	Define whether the comparisons done between the value and the attribute value are case sensitive or not. This is an integer value where a non-zero value means true and 0 means false.
Data	Enter the data value to which the attribute must correspond.
Test	Verifies a regular expression. Clicking this button opens the Regular Expression Helper dialog box. The Native Regular Expression field displays the data of the Data box of the Properties window. Enter the expression to verify in the Test field and click Test. If the expression is correct, the Matching Groups field displays the list of results.
SIZE	Specifies the size criterion for matching an executable file. The value supplied for the tag is expected to be an integer which is compared against the size of the executable file being translated.
Operator	Select the comparison operator to apply when performing the match. eq - The value matches the name being checked. If the value is a pattern or a regex this means the pattern or the regex successfully matches the attribute value. This is the default setting. ne - The value does not match the name being checked. lt - The value is less than the file size being checked. le - The value is less than or equal to the file size being checked. gt - The value is greater than the file size being checked. ge - The value is greater than or equal to the file size being checked.
Data	Enter the data value to which the attribute must correspond.

CREATE Tag

If the match criteria defined in the MATCHFILE Tag tab were all satisfied and the action was to Accept the file, the CREATE Tag tab determines the characteristics of the software entry to be created. The attributes contained within this tag are used to set and define individual fields of a newly created software entry. This is in contrast to the attributes within the MATCHFILE Tag which are used as comparison criteria.

Attribute	Description
Name	Sets the name of a created software entry. In simplest form the tag value is used as is to set the name of the new entry. If this field is empty the name of the software entry is blank.
Manufacturer	Sets the manufacturer name of a created software entry. Apart from the field that it sets, the tag has the same characteristics and optional parameters as the NAME tag.
Version	Sets the version text of a created software entry. Apart from the field that it sets, the tag has the same characteristics and optional parameters as the NAME tag.
Type	Sets the type text of a created software entry. This is simpler than the other tags in that it has no parameters such as the value parameter to access versions fields in the matched executable. As such whatever value is given to the tag is the one used for the created software entry type field.