glossary

Term	Definition
Active Directory	Active Directory is a technology created by Microsoft that provides a variety of network services, including: Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), Kerberos-based authentication, DNS-based naming, Central location for network administration and delegation of authority, Information security and single sign-on for user access to networked based resources.
affiliation	Affiliation is a relationship between a user and one or more of the following: a cost center, a location and an organization.
agreement	Agreements are managed within the IT Asset Management Pack to provide visibility into contractual obligations that affect the business and the IT Asset Management practice. Specifically, they are used as follows: help the service desk during incident resolution, since analysts can quickly assess whether or not an asset is covered by a contract; prepare for negotiations with suppliers and vendors; track costs for total cost of ownership (TCO) calculations; and maximize support and service level agreements.
alert	An alert is a flag that is placed on a hardware asset. Use it to mark the asset for review. Alerts remain on assets, on a separate Alerts tab, until they are removed. All hardware assets with alerts are grouped together in the Hardware Assets with Alerts view.
allocation	A software title can be allocated to a location, organization or cost center for the purposes of apportioning licenses. Allocating a software license has no effect on the licensing status calculation. It is only used for reporting purposes; there is no enforcement of allocation limits.
asset	In Provance you manage assets, either hardware or software, which are linked to CIs.
asset manager	An asset manager is the person responsible for tracking and reporting on an enterprise’s or division’s assets. A company may have multiple asset managers, which includes software and hardware asset managers.
asset tag	A physical tag that uses a sequential and unique number, often with bar codes for easy and accurate reading, which can be attached to a device.
assignment	Software licenses, software titles and license keys may be manually assigned to a user or hardware asset. A hardware asset can be manually assigned to a location, a user and/or an organization. Manual software assignments made by you are given priority during licensing status calculation. During the calculation the system can also automatically assign software to a user or hardware asset. System assignments are not persisted between calculations; that is, when the licensing calculation is run again, system assignments may change.
audit	An audit is usually associated with software assets. A self-audit is performed internally, while an external audit may be performed by software publishers or their agents (license enforcement companies).
Authoring Tool	A Microsoft application that allows System Center supported management packs, including the Provance IT Asset Management Pack, to be changed or customized. This includes the ability to add custom fields to forms or to remove fields from view on forms. When making changes with the Authoring Tool, ensure that you do not impair functionality.
Bar Code	Provance Bar Code is a mobile asset scanning software suite. With a minim um of data entry, it gives you the freedom to receive new assets and to perform ad-hoc audits wherever you prefer. Use its simple three-task menu to receive new assets, track the movement of existing assets, and verify asset characteristics. Provance Bar Code is integrated with Service Manager and hence the Provance IT Asset Management Pack.
base currency	A base currency is used as the currency displayed in all the IT Asset reports; this is required when multiple currencies have been entered into your financial data. Regardless of what currencies have been entered, they will be converted to the base currency using a defined exchange rate.
base license	A base license is the primary license required for a particular version of installed software. If a base license does not exist for each discovered (installed) instance of software, the best fit calculation will flag the software as being under licensed. A base license can have downgrade rights, which is the ability to downgrade the license for use with another version. A base license can only be used once to support an instance of software associated with a user or device.
best fit calculation	Best fit is a set of features that improves the calculation of your licensing position. The best fit calculation intelligently distributes your license entitlements across your installations, giving priority to assigned software. For each version of a software title, it first determines the number of base license entitlements. Then it determines, based on the installations for that title, what scenarios need to be satisfied. For example, for MS Office, how many of each of the following versions are installed: 2010, 2007, and 2011. Then best fit uses the upgrade and downgrade paths, combined with the base licenses, to determine how it can satisfy the scenarios. The licensing status for each version of the software title is derived from the results of its calculation.
Certificate of Acceptance (COA) Number	Each lease schedule has a COA which identifies the following: the client has accepted the device and the lease can start. Ideally, lease acceptance occurs before or on the Effective Date for the schedule.
client device license	A client device license is a type of Provance license. It represents a device that is counted towards your license. Any Windows computer in the IT Asset Management Pack that meets the following criteria is considered a client device and therefore added to your device count: • its status is not pending delete • it is not a virtual machine • if it is related to a hardware asset, the asset’s life cycle status cannot be requested, disposed, returned, retired or a child status of one of these, and the asset’s status cannot be pending delete. • it is not already considered a server device
client hardware asset license	A client hardware asset is a type of Provance license. It represents a device that is counted towards your license. Any hardware asset in the IT Asset Management Pack that meets the following criteria is considered a client asset and therefore added to your device count: • its status is not pending delete • its life cycle status is not disposed, retired, returned, or a child status of one of these • if it is related to a CI, then the CI can not be considered a server device
client user license	A client user is a type of Provance license. It represents a user who is counted towards your license. Any user in Service Manager that meets the following criteria is considered a client user and therefore added to your license count: • its status is not pending delete
Configuration Item	A CI is a base CMDB entity. An example of a CI is a Windows Computer CI. Hardware Assets are associated to Computer CIs, while Software Titles are associated to Software Item CIs. Both Computer CIs and Software Item CIs come from an System Center 2012 Configuration Manager discovery process before being stored in the CMDB.
CI	Configuration Item
Configuration Management Database	The CMDB is the Microsoft database used by System Center applications.
CMDB	Configuration Management Database
Configuration Manager	Microsoft^® System Center 2012 Configuration Manager is part of the System Center platform. It is responsible for gathering and storing device information during the automated discovery process or through manual updates by administrators. Information is transferred from System Center 2012 Configuration Manager to Service Manager via a connector.
CM	Microsoft^® System Center 2012 Configuration Manager
connector	A connector is a specialized interface which facilitates standard data imports. In the Service Manager platform, there are connectors to Active Directory, Configuration Manager and Operations Manager.
cost event	A cost event is single expense that can be associated with a specific asset or agreement. Tracking expenses helps calculate total cost of ownership (TCO).
cost center	A cost center is an accounting construct used to designate a budget or account responsible for financing the asset.
cube	An OLAP cube provides self-service report and dashboard authoring. OLAP, or online analytical processing, is a smarter way of storing and accessing data that allows you to quickly perform multi-dimensional data analysis. For example, a single cube allows you to analyze data from different viewpoints, such as the number of defects for each model, the number of defects for each quarter of last year, and what the trend has been for those defects over the last six months.
Data Management Pack	Data Management is a data import management pack. Use its wizards to migrate data into Service Manager and control how the data gets created. It supports CSV, Microsoft SQL and LDAP as data sources.
data warehouse	The data warehouse is used by the IT Asset Management Pack for high performance reporting based on current and historical data. Selective information is sent from Service Manager and the IT Asset Management Pack to the data warehouse on a regular basis (usually 2-4 hours).
discovered data	Data obtained by System Center 2012 Configuration Manager as it scans your network for software and hardware assets.
disposal agreement	A disposal agreement is a contract with an external company to dispose of IT assets, either through a resale or a recycle process.
disposed asset	Assets that have reached the end of their life (EOL) and are no longer useful to an organization should be marked as disposed. Disposal may be done by an external company to ensure that the assets are disposed in accordance with applicable legislation. Disposed assets are still available for historical and reporting purposes.
effective date	The start date usually associated with a contract or agreement.
entitlements	All the base licenses for the software title, plus cross title base licenses that result from competitive or edition upgrades.
expiry date	The end or termination date usually associated with a contract or agreement.
hardware asset	A hardware asset is an item managed by Provance, such as a server, desktop, laptop, a PDA, or a printer. Every hardware asset usually has a corresponding hardware catalog item and in most cases a corresponding CI.
hardware catalog	A hardware catalog is created to provide standardized manufacturer, model and supplier information for assets. Usually the creation of a hardware catalog precedes the creation of the hardware asset. In fact, a best practice is to create the hardware catalog prior to adding hardware assets.
hardware maintenance & support agreement	This is an agreement with an external company to repair hardware. It usually comes into effect after the warranty period expires.
installed asset	A life cycle status that indicates an asset is in use. A hardware asset is installed when it is delivered to its assigned person and deployed at its final location. A software asset is considered installed once it has been loaded on a device.
IT asset management	IT asset management is the process used to track and manage hardware and software assets, assignments and states. Asset Management (AM) links financial and configuration information over the life time of a device or software application.
IT Asset Management Pack	Provance has developed a process management pack that adds IT Asset Management functionality to Microsoft System Center Service Manager. This is an optional management pack installed under Service Manager which facilitates asset management and integrates with incident and change management.
lease agreement	A lease agreement is a contract with an external company to use hardware and/or software for a specific period of time.
lease schedule	A lease schedule is a specific schedule associated with a group of assets. A single lease agreement may have multiple lease schedules, each with their own effective and expiry dates.
license key	A license key is the publisher supplied activation string or text file that is used by the software to validate its operation and feature set. Some products have a single use key, while others may share a single key across multiple instances.
license reconciliation	The process of matching purchased license quantities to installed license counts.
life cycle	The life cycle is the segmentation of the life of a hardware asset based upon its availability for productive use. By default, the life cycle of a hardware asset within the Provance IT Asset Management Pack consists of several states or statuses as follows: Ordered, Shipped, Received, Installed, Stored, Retired, Disposed and Returned.
managed asset	A managed asset refers to a hardware or software asset being tracked and managed under the Provance IT Asset Management Pack. A managed asset is a hardware asset that may or may not have an associated Windows Computer CI.
manufacturer	A company used to identify a hardware asset supplier.
Microsoft^® System Center Service Manager	One of the Microsoft applications that runs under the System Center platform. This is the prerequisite application under which the Provance IT Asset Management Pack is installed.
milestone	Milestones act as a historical record of important events that occur during the life of a contract. When entered in advance, milestones can spin off e-mail reminders that one is about to occur, such as a software audit due next month. Cost events can also be associated with a milestone. All cost events associated with a milestone are also added to the related contract.
moved asset	A move is performed on a hardware asset that is changing its location. It may be moving to another building, office, or to storage.
notifications	Notifications are used to inform IT Asset Management Pack users, as well as external users, when hardware contracts are coming up for renewal. Notifications are sent through e-mail.
ordered asset	Ordered assets are assets that have not arrived from a vendor. Ordered is a life cycle status of a hardware asset.
Organization	An organization represents a functional group within a company that is responsible for an asset.
Over licensed	A software title is over licensed if there are more purchased licenses than there are installed instances of the title. While a small degree of over licensing is expected due to license granularity, and is desirable to allow for immediate service, a high degree of over licensing represents a cost for unused capacity.
Ownership information	The owner is the person or end user who is in possession or responsible for a hardware or software asset. Business owners refer to those who are responsible for the financial or business management of a collection of assets.
Parent-child relationship	Parent and child relationships are used to connect related assets together, where one asset can have a set of assets directly associated with it. These relationships can be used when relating a computer and its peripherals, the assets in a lab, or even assets that are assigned to a specific user. In the event the parent asset changes, for example when a user receives a new PC, all child assets can be quickly reassigned to a new parent. Change activities, such as install, move, swap, retire and dispose, may have parent-child implications. The IT Asset Management Pack enables you to set up these relationships so that when a change occurs, the relationship can be reassigned or kept as necessary.
Physical Inventory	An internal process to verify location, ownership and configuration of a hardware asset and optionally its related software assets.
PoP	Proof of Purchase
Process Management Pack	A Process Management Pack adds data structures, forms, workflows and reporting to extend the functionality of one or more System Center applications like Service Manager.
product title	A product title is used to monitor your compliance with the license for a particular Provance product. A workflow links the title to all of the server and client devices and users that are applicable to your licenses. The product title monitors the number of devices and users you are managing against the number permitted by your license. If you are managing more than you are licensed for, then you cannot create or save hardware assets. For more details. see What happens when I reach my license limit?. There is one product title per product, such as one for the IT Asset Management Pack, regardless of how many licenses you may have.
Provance™ IT Asset Management Pack for Microsoft^® System Center	See IT Asset Management Pack.
Product Usage Rights	Product Usage Rights refer to the terms under which you are entitled to use the software. These rights include a term, usually perpetual, as well as conditions, such as installed on a specific machine or CPU. The PUR can be specific to a product SKU (how the product was purchased). In other words, a SKU holds a specific license type which defines your PUR.
Proof of Purchase	Proof of Purchase is an invoice or receipt identifying a specific software SKU from a supplier and attached to a software license. In case of an audit it shows how the license (and its quantity) is valid.
Publisher	A term used to identify a software vendor.
PUR	Product Usage Rights
received asset	A received asset is one that has been received from a vendor, but has not yet been stored or installed. With Provance Bar Code, receiving personnel use only a bar code scanner to scan each item received, and enter a minimum amount of information about each shipment. The Receive task on the scanner is used to perform this operation
refresh cycle	The refresh cycle is an enterprise standard period that is specified in the hardware catalog item associated with a model. It is used to indicate when a hardware asset should be replaced. This period is usually associated with “evergreen” policies. The initial refresh date for an asset is calculated by adding the refresh cycle to the install date.
retired asset	An asset is retired when it is being placed into storage prior to disposal, or if it is at the end of its life cycle.
returned asset	An asset that has been returned under a lease agreement has a life cycle status of returned. In a leased asset, returned replaces disposed as the final life cycle status.
server device	A type of Provance license and an actual device that is counted towards your license. Any Windows Computer CI that meets the following criteria is considered a server device and therefore added to your server device count: • its status is not pending delete • it is not a virtual machine. If it is a virtual machine, it does not have a related physical computer. • if it is related to a hardware asset, the asset has a life cycle status of disposed, returned, retired, or any children of these • its operating system matches Provance’s list of server operating systems
server hardware asset	A type of Provance license and an actual device that is counted towards your license. Any hardware asset in the IT Asset Management Pack that meets the following criteria is considered a server asset and therefore added to your device count: • its status is not pending delete • is life cycle status is not one of the following: disposed, returned, retired, or any children of these • it is related to a server that matches the criteria for a server device
service catalog	A set of service offerings and request offerings provided by IT to users. Offerings are items that users can select from the IT service portal. A service offering is a service provided by IT, such as purchasing new software. A request offering is a request offered by IT, such as a request to increase the size of your mailbox.
Service Manager	Microsoft^® System Center 2012 - Service Manager
Service Manager	The base application for the Provance IT Asset Management Pack.
Service Manager Console	The user interface that is used to perform Service Manager functions, such as incidents, changes, and tasks as well as Asset Management. This is automatically installed when you deploy a Service Manager Management Server. Additionally, you can manually install the Service Manager console as a stand-alone application on a computer. There can be many consoles connected to the Service Management Server.
shipped asset	A shipped asset is one that has been ordered but not yet received from a supplier.
SKU	Stock Keeping Units, or SKUs, represent what has been bought via a vendor-specific number. They establish the link between a software license and the software title and represent a specific software version. For a given title, the SKU links license purchases with product usage rights. In Europe, a SKU is referred to as a European Article Number (EAN).The two terms are identical, but SKU is used throughout the IT Asset Management Pack.
software asset	A software asset is a single instance of a software title.
software catalog	The software catalog is a list of managed software titles and versions.
software installs, excluded	Software titles are removed from the Installed count when they are installed on a hardware asset whose life cycle status indicates that it is not being used; for example, software installed on a Disposed asset should not be included. Because these software titles are no longer considered installed, the licensing status of the software title changes for the positive.
software items	Software items are discovered instances of software provided by Service Manager.
software license	A software license represents the purchase of a SKU. You link a software license to a SKU and a license agreement. Licenses purchased through different SKUs may have different product usage rights.
software license, excluded	A software license is excluded automatically from the best fit calculation when its start or end date makes it ineligible for use towards your licensing position.
software license agreement	A software license agreement (also known as a EULA) identifies the terms and conditions associated with a software title through the SKU and License.
software maintenance & support agreement	A software support agreement defines the terms and conditions or type of support that a software product has.
software metering	Software metering provides you with the ability to monitor and collect information about software usage from Configuration Manager clients. Some of this information is presently imported into the IT Asset Management Pack. The last used date for software is shown on the hardware asset’s Software tab as well as when you View Related Hardware Assets from a software version (through a title).
software title	A software title is a software application you can manage with the IT Asset Management Pack. A software title has one or more versions assigned to it. Each version can be linked to one or more software items that were discovered.
software usage	This is the data that is collected through the System Center 2012 Configuration Manager software metering facility and related to a software version by mapping an enabled metering rule.
subscription	Creating a subscription to a notification allows you, and anyone else included in it, to receive the notification via e-mail.
supplier	A term used to identify the company from whom you purchased a hardware or software asset.
swap asset	A swap occurs when a user’s hardware asset is replaced with another. The swap retires the original asset, while the new asset automatically inherits the software assignments, location, cost center, organization, assigned to and child assets. The original asset retains its cost center, organization and all other relationships.
under licensed	A software title is under licensed if there are not enough licenses to cover the number of installations. This means the enterprise is not in compliance with the product licensing.
upgrade license	An upgrade license permits you to upgrade to or downgrade from a specific version of software. An upgrade license is applied during best fit calculation to satisfy any versions that do not have the requisite base license. An upgrade license cannot be applied to a version without an available base license. An upgrade license can only use its ‘downgrade to’ or ‘upgrade from’ once, and it cannot use them both.
user	A user is synonymous with an owner, the person in possession of an asset.
user client	See client user license.
user defined agreement	A user defined agreement allows you to manage a contract that is outside the predefined types of contracts provided with the IT Asset Management Pack. User defined agreements can be associated with other agreements and with CIs. Only a user defined agreement can be the parent of another user defined agreement. All CIs related to a user defined agreement can be seen with the View Related Configuration Items task.
warranty	Vendor specific terms and conditions for the repair or replacement of a damaged or broken hardware asset.
workflow	A sequence of activities (workflow activities) that automate a business process, such as automatic resolution or automatic e-mail response. Workflows are comprised of workflow activities.
workspace	A workspace is an area of the Service Manager interface that provides access to related functions. Workspaces in Service Manager include management packs, administration items, configuration items, library and work items.

Glossary