Solution
Using NI VLM and NI License Manager it is possible to:
- Generate reports showing the usage of specific license files, including Disconnected Licenses.
- Parse the local license files used by NI License Manager to check the individual software components included in a Disconnected License file.
However, NI VLM does not include a feature that collects information about which software components within a Disconnected License file are actively being used on a client PC. To do this, a custom solution that combines the points above must be implemented.
Refer to the relevant sections below for more details.
Using VLM Reports
NI VLM allows you to create utilization, allocation and compliance reports.
A License Activity Report allows you to determine how clients use a specific license file. Once generated, this report can be exported to XLSX, CSV, HTML, MHG or PNG files.
The image below is an example of how a License Activity Report appears when a Disconnected License file has been generated for specific client. Since a Disconnected License is offline, and usage is not checked in/out of the VLM server, the Hours Used value will always be 24 hours for each full day that the Disconnected License is installed.
A limitation of this approach is that the License Activity Report does not detail the client's usage of individual software components e.g. LabVIEW Real-Time, LabVIEW Application Builder, TestStand etc.
Parsing Local License Files
NI License Manager uses locally installed license files to determine licensable software components. Local licenses are stored on the client system at C:\ProgramData\National Instruments\License Manager\Licenses.
When a Disconnected License file is installed on a client system, it too will be saved to this location on disk. Therefore, it is possible to parse this file to identify specific NI software components that are activated. An example of this can be found in Is It Possible to Query the NI Licenses Information Programmatically?
A limitation of this approach is that the license files must be parsed on each individual client system, since the VLM server does not have direct access to the local licenses.