Software objects are managed objects, but they are not graphical (i.e. they are not drawn in the Design World). The main purpose of Software objects is to track and manage installed software products on Equipment instances, including a model of their licensing. In IRM, Software are Typed objects, so we'll cover both Software Type and Software instance objects.
Software objects (both Type and instance) are represented in several places throughout the application:
Software and SoftwareType tabs in the Object Grid
Software section in the C&T Tree
Software Type objects
The following images and text explain the Software Type Properties dialog in more detail, highlighting the most important fields / properties:
The dialog is a standard Type dialog similar to others throughout the application, containing only two few tabs:
General tab - Similar to those in other object Properties dialogs, the General tab contains sets of (property) field name - value pairs, grouped into different accordion groups that can be expanded or collapsed. The following are some of the more important properties this tab displays:
Is Operating System? - simple Boolean (Y / N) field that specify whether a particular Type of Software is an Operating System.
License Model - can be one of the following predefined values:
None
Fixed to User - software is licensed to a specific user
Fixed to Machine - software is bound to a specific machine
Floating - floating license that anyone in the organization can use
Site - license for the whole organization
Grouping - license for some department or other subset of the organization
Number of Licenses - total number of licenses available for this Software Type. Most important for Floating licenses, but can also be used for Fixed to User or Fixed to Machine.
Is a subcomponent? - this is a generic Type field that indicates whether this object is standalone or can only exist as a subcomponent of another object. It is normally not used for Software, but can be used to indicate that a given piece of software is dependent on another piece of software. For example, an add-on feature or some downloadable content (DLC) could be modeled as a Software with Is a subcomponent checked.
Attachments tab - enables the user to attach any locally shared or URL accessed file to the selected object. In our example, this means our Software object, along with its standards properties. An Attachment refers to a file that is stored on a Local or Network Drive. An External Asset attachment refers to any data object can only be accessed via a URL.
Note: If the user attempts to manually create an object with a duplicate name or rename an object with a name that already exists, a dialog opens that explains that another object with the same name already exists and provides a hyperlink to that object. The new object creation or rename operation fails.
The following images and text explain the Software Properties dialogs in more detail, highlighting the most important fields / properties:
The Software Properties dialog is very similar to the previously covered Software Type Properties dialog, having a Type tab similar to the General tab in that dialog, while the Category and Attachments tabs are exactly the same.
General tab - This tab is used to track and manage individual software, software bundles and build numbers.
Some of the notable properties assigned to Software objects:
License Key - user-defined alphanumeric value
Software Type - properties of which can be seen either by click on the Type name, or by click on the Type tab
Installed on - Equipment parent object this Software object is installed on. On that Equipment instance, the installed Software can be seen under the Containment Tree tab.
parent OS - OS Software objects that can be manually added / removed by the user
There are two ways for assigning Software to an Equipment instance:
first creating an instance of the Software, copying that object and pasting it into the Equipment Properties General tab. This automatically assigns the Software instance as Equipment's sub-component, which can be seen under Equipment's Containment Tree tab.
The same result can be achieved by pasting a Software Type object, but with the addition of automatically creating a Software instance. The name of the new Software instance is taken from the Software Type name, with an instance number appended, and the Lifecycle Stage is set to "Deployed". In case this operation is done under a MAC the Lifecycle Stage is set as "Planned Design". Other Software instance fields are left at their default values, and the user can easily edit the resulting Software object if needed.
The screenshot image below shows the Software field in Equipment's General tab where Software instance or Type objects can be assigned:
