20.3 Basic Usage Data vs. Detailed Usage Data

You can view basic usage data for a product, such as number of active installations and hours used, through various ZENworks Control Center pages (see Section 23.0, Monitoring Usage).

NOTE:The merging of software usage data for the same product path is disabled by default. This default behavior is now configurable. You can enable it by setting the MergeProductsPath registry key value to 1 in the following paths:

  • 32-bit Agent: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Novell\ZCM\Usage\MergeProductsPath

  • 64-bit Agent: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Novell\ZCM\Usage\MergeProductsPath

If the MergeProductsPath registry key does not exist, perform the following steps:

  • If the subkey does not exist, you should create a subkey. Right-click ZCM, select New > Key, and enter the name Usage.

  • Now create a DWORD. Select the newly created Usage subkey, right-click ZCM, select New > Key, and enter the name MergeProductsPath.

For detailed information, however, you must generate usage reports. Usage reports let you analyze usage data from multiple perspectives, such as the following:

  • Usage by product type (local application, network server application, and Web application).

  • Usage by product, user, or device.

  • Usage over a specific time period.

For information about generating reports, see Section 25.0, Generating Usage Reports.