Auto-Harvesting

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Auto-Harvesting

Auto-harvesting only applies to MSL titles that have been set to assign authorization to the device.

Auto-harvesting allows MSL items to be automatically harvested if the software has not been auto-discovered on the asset for some period of time.  Generally harvesting is done on demand either by the end user or a technician.  Since harvesting generally involves removing authorization, and can trigger an automated removal, it is important that software not be harvested in error.  However, the MIE shows license compliance based on authorized MSL items, and not installed MSL items.  That is, an MSL item may be authorized to be on an asset, however it is no longer physically installed on the asset.  Auto-harvesting is a way to keep the authorized count of MSL items close to the installed count.

Auto-harvesting is controlled by two Consolidate settings:

ConsHarvestDaysSinceLastScan and ConsHarvestDaysBetweenSWandScn.

Setting either to 0 will disable auto-harvesting.  

ConsHarvestDaysSinceLastScan specifies the maximum number of days that may have passed since the last time the machine was scanned.

ConsHarvestDaysBetweenSWandScn specifies the minimum number of days that may have passed between the time the machine was last automatically scanned for software and when the MSL item was actually discovered/validated as being on the machine.

Generally, ConsHarvestDaysSinceLastScan should be set to establish a window that considers only machines that have been recently "touched" by autodiscovery, and ConsHarvestDaysBetweenSWandScn should be set wide enough that several auto-discoveries are likely to have happened (meaning that there is a very high confidence that the MSL item is not installed on the asset).  It is important to set these variables carefully so as not to auto-harvest MSL items that should not be harvested (are actually still installed).

If an item is auto-harvested and is later found, by auto-discovery, to be on the unit, the MIE will re-authorize the MSL item for that unit as a rogue.