Top > Preparing Software Asset Data > How software licensing status is calculated > Best fit, step by step
The best fit calculation determines the licensing path of active titles using the following process. The process is also represented in diagram form on the software title form (under Software Versions, click Details).
It removes all existing best-fit, or system, assignments, i.e., those assignments that were automatically made to hardware assets or users during the last calculation. Manual assignments made by you are left intact.
Determine the base licenses available (i.e., those you are entitled to, excluding those that have expired).
This is calculated from the license and the SKU, which designates a license as a base or an upgrade. A version is associated with the base license. So you are entitled to have X number of base licenses of a particular version. Excluded from your base licenses are those that have expired (based on their start and end dates).
Determine what versions you are entitled to upgrade from or downgrade to.
Based on what is installed, determine the start and end points (i.e., start and end versions). In other words, how many software titles and versions do we need to satisfy our installations? It determines what is installed through the connector to System Center 2012 Configuration Manager. Removed from the installed list are those software items that have been installed on a hardware asset with an excluded life cycle status, see Exclude installed software through life cycle status.
It finds and satisfies all manually assigned licenses or license keys. It does not matter if the user or hardware asset assignee actually has the software installed, it will still assign a license. If the correct version and software that we are attempting to satisfy is installed on the asset or associated with the user, then that is the version used. However, if the incorrect version is installed, best fit determines how best to satisfy that version. It will go through all the versions until it finds a path that will satisfy the installed version.
Next it finds and satisfies manually assigned software titles to users or hardware assets. If an assignee does not have the software installed, best fit assigns a license, but it could be for any version. If the software is installed, then best fit finds and assigns the matching license and version.
Best fit now finds and satisfies all other users and assets who do not have an assignment, but who have the software installed. Best fit automatically assigns them a temporary license, You may wish to change these to manual assignments so they are given priority during the next calculation.
Summarize findings on the software title and in reports. The software title has two summaries: in table format in the Software Versions sections and in diagram format through the Details button. For a description of the values presented in the findings, see Interpreting licensing values on a title.