Software Metering 

Understanding Software Metering

Endpoint Central's Software Metering capabilities allows you to monitor and gain visibility of the usage of software on the Windows and Mac computers present in your network. With the Software Metering feature, IT administrators can achieve the following:

• Derive the usage statistics of software used in computers in your network

• List prohibited software applications in your network(Applicable for only Windows)

• Detail the usage of software that help you plan your software license renewals and purchases

• Arrive at the license compliance status for effectively used software

What are Software Metering Rules

Software Metering rules define the criteria used to track application usage on managed devices. These rules must be configured before usage data can be collected and analyzed.

Below are the key parameters to consider when defining a software metering rule:

1. Software Name: The Software which you are metering needs to be provided in the Software Name field. Select the software from the list, which lists the inventory of installed software applications. This ensures the rule targets an application already discovered in your environment.
2. Rule Name: Provide a unique and descriptive name for the software metering rule. This helps in identifying and managing multiple rules efficiently.
3. File Name: To monitor a software application accurately, you need to provide the application's exact file name along with its file extension. For Windows the file extension should be .exe. For Mac the file extension should be .app

How to identify the File Name for Windows and Mac?

Steps to determine the Software File Name for Windows

1. Open the application you want to monitor. For example, if you want to track the usage of Google Chrome, open Google Chrome.
2. Open the Task Manager tool and navigate to the Details tab.
3. Locate the application you want to monitor by scrolling through the list or by searching the software application using the search bar.
4. Under the Name column, you will find the exact file name of the application.

Steps to determine the Software File Name for Mac

• Open the application you want to monitor. For example, if you want track the usage of Brave Browser, open it from the Applications folder or Dock.
• Open the Activity Monitor by navigating to Applications > Utilities > Activity Monitor. You can open the Activity Monitor by pressing Command+Space to open Spotlight, type Activity Monitor and press Enter.

• Locate the running application from the list shown in the CPU tab by scrolling through the list or by searching the software application using the Search bar in the top-right corner.
• Verify the process name by making sure the process name matches the application you are trying to monitor. Some applications may have helper processes, so ensure you are selecting the main application process.

• To get the .app Name, right click the process name and choose Sample Process or Open Files and Ports.Look for the file path of the application to retrieve the file name.
  For example, look for a path like: "/Applications/Brave Browser.app/Contents/MacOS/Brave Browser".  Note that the file name here is Brave Browser.app
• Copy the above file name and provide it in the File Name field. This is the exact file name of the software application that you want to track usage.

How to add Software Metering Rules?

Note: The name you enter for the rule should be unique and descriptive. For example, if you have selected Adobe Flash Player, you can enter Monitoring Adobe Flash Player Usage as the name of the rule. Once you have used this name, you cannot use it as a name for any other rule. You cannot add software metering rules for groups of software.