Local Software Products

Software applications discovered in an inventory scan are identified by specific files associated with the product. These identifications are kept locally in the ZENworks Knowledgebase, which can be updated by downloading and installing the latest Product Recognition Update (PRU). To identify products that aren’t in the knowledgebase, you can search for files that are associated with an unknown product and use the file information to create a new product identification called a Local Software Product. This Local Software Product information can then be merged with the knowledgebase so that these new products are recognized in subsequent scans. To create, edit, or delete local products, users should have the Create/Delete Local Products rights enabled.

The procedure is as follows:

Collect software files using an inventory scan.
Run a report for software files.
Create Local Software Products based on the collected files.
Update the ZENworks Knowledgebase with the new products.

This panel shows Local Software Products that have already been created, along with the following details:

Manufacturer: The manufacturer of the product.
Product: The name of the product. Click the product name to open the Local Software Product Detail page where you can edit product and file details.
Version: The product version.
File: A list of files associated with the product.
Installations: The number of installations of the Local Software Product in the Management Zone.

Available Tasks

The following table shows you the tasks you can perform to maintain the ZENworks Knowledgebase. The information used to create local software products comes from the latest inventory scan, and the inventory scan needs to be configured to collect software file information.

Task	Steps	Additional Details
Create local software products from software files by machine	Click New > Create from Software Files by Machine. Click Run. Select the files you want to use to create local software products. Click Create Local Products. Click Close to close the dialog box, then close the report.	This runs a report that lists all the software files on each machine in the Management Zone according to the way the inventory scan was configured. After you click Create Local Products, the selected products appear in the Local Software Products panel on the Configuration page.
Create local software products from unique software files	Click New > Create from Unique Software Files. Click Run. Select the files you want to use to create local software products. Click Create Local Products. Click Close to close the dialog box, then close the report.	This runs a report that lists all the software files that are not associated with a known software product as identified in the ZENworks Knowledgebase. The files are identified using Version Recognition Block (VRB) product information. After you click Create Local Products, the selected products appear in the Local Software Products list.
Merge selected local software products	Select the local software products you want to merge. Click Action > Merge Selected Products. Specify the product name in the Target Product field or select it from the list, then click OK.	If you have several files that identify the same product, you might want to consolidate them by merging them into one product. After they are merged, the change is reflected in the Local Software Products list.
Update the knowledgebase with local software products	Click Action > Update Knowledgebase with Local Product Changes. Click OK in the dialog box if you are ready to update the knowledgebase.	This places all the newly identified products in the list into the ZENworks Knowledgebase, which allows those products to be identified in subsequent scans. The Knowledge Base Status panel shows when the last update took place.
Delete a local software product	Select the software product. Click Delete.
Update the knowledgebase with the latest PRU.	Open the Configuration > System Updates page. In the System Update Overview panel, click Action > Download and Install PRU Now.	To see which version of the PRU is installed, go to the Knowledge Base Status panel on the Configuration > Asset Inventory page.