If software metering has been enabled on your site, the Software Metering Client Agent runs on all clients in the site. This client agent meters the software used by the client and if it is in online mode, allows or denies usage of that software based on the SMS site software metering settings and available licenses.
During setup, Software Metering defaults to offline mode. In offline mode, the Software Metering Client Agent passively monitors license usage. This means that the client agent does not contact the software metering server every time an application is launched. Instead, the information is stored at the client and passed to the software metering server on a periodic basis defined by the Configuration Polling Interval setting on the Timings tab.
At the same time, the client agent downloads from the same server information such as denial lists and excluded program listings. In offline mode, the client is never denied a license, and there is no need for license balancing.
There is only one way to specify that a product is denied to clients while the feature is in offline mode. In the Software Metering console, set the Access times for the product in question so it is never accessible.
You can set the feature to online mode by selecting the Force real-time license verification check box in the General tab.
In online mode, the client agent contacts a software metering server whenever a license is requested. For example, if a user tries to open a software product for which a license currently is not available and for which the Enforce the license limits for this product check box has been selected in the Software Metering console, the client agent prevents the user from opening the product. The client agent then displays a message for the user explaining that a license is currently not available for the product. The message asks if the user would like to receive a callback message when a license becomes available. The Software Metering Client Agent then records the activity in a log that is reported to the site administrators, who can run reports to analyze software product usage within the site.
When configuring the Software Metering Client Agent, you can specify client retries, timeouts, callbacks, and the messages displayed to users when they interact with the software metering system.
Related Topics
Configure the Software Metering Client Agent
Client Agents Configuration Overview