Applies To
Express Software Manager version 4.5 through 5.x

Summary
Express Software Manager is capable of correctly allocating a combination of individual and suite licenses. When you correctly configure the suites, Express provides valuable data and recommendations to save you money. This technical note describes how to correctly configure any suite.

Note: The examples in this document refer to the Microsoft Office Pro suite.

Configuring an Application Suite
To enable Express Software Manager to meter applications that were purchased as part of a suite, you must first create the suite in Express Console and then add the configured applications.

To create an application suite in Express Console, follow these steps.

1. On the Add menu, click Suite.

2. On the General tab in the Add Suite dialog box, enter a name for the suite. For example, enter Microsoft Office 97 Pro.

3. In the same dialog box , either enter the number of individual licenses or click Site license. Finally, enter the price per license.

4. Click the Serial Numbers tab to add serial numbers (if applicable) to applications contained in the suite. Note: Each serial number for a given application needs to be unique—you can not use the same serial number for the same application.

5. If your organization participates in the Microsoft Select Volume Licensing Program, click the Volume Licensing tab, and select the appropriate menu options.

6. Click OK. The new suite is displayed in the left pane of the Express Console in the Suites category.

1. Configure the applications that make up the suite, if they have not already been configured. For our example, this means that Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access need to be configured.

When configuring each application, enter the price and number of individual licenses you have for that application. If you do not have any individual applications, enter 0 in the Licenses box.

2. For Express to produce accurate reports, all applications within a suite must be licensed in the same way: either concurrently or nonconcurrently. Confirm that each application is configured similarly.

3. Drag and drop each of the applications composing the suite from the Configured applications list in the right half of the screen to the Suites list (under Applications) in the left half.

• Confirm that the workstations metering to the library are set to the same date and time.

• Confirm that each of the individual applications making up the suite is being metered in the same manner.

• In the Manage licenses settings, configure applications that can only be purchased as part of a suite (for example, the Microsoft Office Toolbar), as "Licensed only as part of a suite". Configure all other applications with 0 Licenses unless non-suite licenses have been purchased.

• Enter appropriate pricing information for each application, as well as the suite.

To insure that this does not happen, open the library folder on the server and add the following switches in the Applib.ini file in the [Express Meter Advanced Options] section:

ClientClockCheckEnabled=1
ClientClockCheckRate=60
ClientClockAllowableError=30

Note: Any pair of workstations whose clocks differ by more than 30 minutes will be recorded in the Exalert.log file in the library directory.

All Applications Must Be Configured to Meter in the Same Manner
Follow these suggestions to confirm that each of the individual applications making up a suite is configured to meter in the same manner:

• If you configure one application within the suite to lock out the next user when all of the available licenses are in use, then all applications within the suite must be configured similarly.

• All applications within a suite should be configured for either concurrent or nonconcurrent licensing.

• All suite applications should be configured to Manage licenses.

• If you attempt to add a group of applications to a suite that are not configured in the same manner an error will be generated warning you to configure all of them in the same manner.

Applications such as Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel should never be configured as "Licensed only as part of a suite." Instead, those applications should be given 0 Licenses under the Manage licenses setting.

Entering Proper Pricing Information Assures Proper Peak Usage Recommendations
Express makes recommendations regarding future purchases of suite applications based upon the peak usage information for applications within suites and upon the pricing information configured for the applications relative to the suite.

Express recommends the less expensive applications based on usage. If you leave the Price blank for either the suite or one of its individually licensed applications, Express will recommend purchasing more of the licenses that have no price.

If both suite and individual application prices are correctly entered, then accurate recommendations will be based upon the actual usage of the applications within the suite.

Related Technical Notes

1557	Configuring Suites in Express Software Manager 6.0
9989	Express Software Manager 6.0 Technical Notes
9991	Express Software Manager Technical Notes (5.x or lower)