# Zoo Cloud

# Introduction

Open iT supports Zoo Cloud usage reporting by polling the license servers at regular intervals to get the current status of its license use and availability.

For this collection, the data source is through an API. The data collector/preprocessor initiates the license status utility every hour using a 5-minute sample interval, triggering the data collection process. The license status utility requests the current license usage data from the license manager portal. After the license manager portal provides the requested data, the license status utility passes this information to the data collector/preprocessor. The data collector/preprocessor processes the data, preparing it for transmission. Finally, the preprocessed data is sent to the Core Server every night, according to the client's timezone, for further storage, completing the license usage data collection and processing.

License Manager Utility Polling Workflow through API

License Manager Utility Polling Workflow through API

This will produce the following aggregated data types used for historical reporting:

The following sections will guide you in setting up the necessary configuration to collect and send the required data to the server.

# Requirements

# Initializing Zoo Cloud Data Collection

These are the required steps to set up data collection from the Zoo Cloud portal.

  1. Open a command prompt with Administrator level privileges.

  2. Go to the bin directory, which is by default in C:\Program Files\OpeniT\Core\bin, run the command:

    Command Syntax
     cd $BIN_DIR
    Example
     cd C:\Program Files\OpeniT\Core\bin
  3. Run the command:

    Command Syntax
    openit_cloudzoo --init --username <zoo_username> --password <zoo_password> 

    where:

    Parameter Description
    --init Use this to set up the Zoo Cloud portal configuration.
    --username <zoo_username> Use this to specify the username for accessing the Zoo Cloud portal.
    --password <zoo_password> Use this to specify the password for accessing the Zoo Cloud portal.
    Parameters for Setting Up Zoo Cloud Data Collection

    Example
    openit_cloudzoo --init --username jsmith@email.com --password cloudzooAdm!n123

    This example shows how to specify the necessary authentication credentials for accessing Zoo Online using the administrator account jsmith@email.com and the password cloudzooAdm!n123.

  1. Go to the bin directory, which is by default in /opt/openit/bin, run the command:

    Command Syntax
     cd $BIN_DIR
    Example
     cd /opt/openit/bin
  2. Run the command:

    Command Syntax
    ./openit_cloudzoo --init --username <zoo_username> --password <zoo_password> 

    where:

    Parameter Description
    --init Use this to set up the Zoo Cloud portal configuration.
    --username <zoo_username> Use this to specify the username for accessing the Zoo Cloud portal.
    --password <zoo_password> Use this to specify the password for accessing the Zoo Cloud portal.
    Parameters for Setting Up Zoo Cloud Data Collection

    Example
    ./openit_cloudzoo --init --username jsmith@email.com --password cloudzooAdm!n123

    This example shows how to specify the necessary authentication credentials for accessing Zoo Online using the administrator account jsmith@email.com and the password cloudzooAdm!n123.

Parameter Description
--debug Use this to turn on debug logging.
-h, --help Use this to display help text.

# Configuring Data Collection

These are the required steps to activate collection of usage data.

  1. Go to the Components directory, which is by default in C:\Program Files\OpeniT\Core\Configuration\Components, and back up the licpoll.xml configuration file.

  2. Open a command prompt with Administrator level privileges.

  3. Go to the bin directory, which is by default in C:\Program Files\OpeniT\Core\bin, run the command:

    Command Syntax
     cd $BIN_DIR
    Example
     cd C:\Program Files\OpeniT\Core\bin
  4. Once in the directory, activate the collection of Zoo Cloud data, run the command:

    Command Syntax
     openit_confinit -c "licpoll.license-types.genericlicense-cloudzoo-sample.active=true"
  5. Set any preferred argument for the openit_cloudzoo binary, run the command:

    Command Syntax
     openit_confinit -c "licpoll.license-types.genericlicense-cloudzoo-sample.status-command.arguments=<argument>"
    Parameter Description
    -c "<zoo_username>" "<zoo_password>", --credentials "<zoo_username>" "<zoo_password>" Use this to specify the Zoo Cloud credentials to access the cloud portal.
    -s, --save-credentials Use this to save the credentials provided from the -c or --credentials option for future use.
    --clear-session Use this to clear any saved browser session.
    -g "<team_name>",
    --group "<team_name>"
    Use this to specify team names to collect data for. (e.g., -g "Team A" "Team B")
    -t "<TEMPDIR>" Use this to specify where the program will store temporary files, where:
    <TEMPDIR> - path to the temporary directory; the default path is C:\ProgramData\OpeniT\Data\temp\CloudZoo
    -o "<OUTDIR>" Use this to specify where the program will save its output, where:
    <OUTDIR> - path to the output directory; the default path is C:\ProgramData\OpeniT\Data\temp\CloudZoo\out
    --headless <options> Use this to activate headless browser mode, where:
    <options> - true or false; the default mode is true.
    -b <browser>, <br/>--browser <browser> Use this to specify which common playwright-supported browser to use (e.g., -b firefox, --browser firefox). The system will automatically install the specified browser if it is not present in the local setup. Chromium, WebKit, and Firefox are supported.

    Make sure that the browser you choose is not blocked or restricted by endpoint security policies, firewalls, or application whitelisting tools in your company's environment.
    --browserpath "<browser_path>" Use this to specify the full path to a local browser executable (e.g., --browserpath "C:/path_to_browser/browser.exe"). Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, WebKit, and Firefox are supported.
    --debug Use this to turn on debug logging.
    -h, --help Use this to display help text.
    Optional Parameters
  6. Run the following command to update the configuration files:

    Command Syntax
    openit_confbuilder --client
  1. Go to the Components directory, which is by default in /var/opt/openit/etc/Components, and back up the licpoll.xml configuration file.

  2. Go to the bin directory, which is by default in /opt/openit/bin, run the command:

    Command Syntax
     cd $BIN_DIR
    Example
     cd /opt/openit/bin
  3. Once in the directory, activate the collection of Zoo cloud data, run the command:

    Command Syntax
     ./openit_confinit -c "licpoll.license-types.genericlicense-cloudzoo-sample.active=true"
  4. Set any preferred argument for the openit_cloudzoo binary, run the command:

    Command Syntax
     ./openit_confinit -c "licpoll.license-types.genericlicense-cloudzoo-sample.status-command.arguments=<argument>"
    Parameter Description
    -c "<zoo_username>" "<zoo_password>", --credentials "<zoo_username>" "<zoo_password>" Use this to specify the Zoo Cloud credentials to access the cloud portal.
    -s, --save-credentials Use this to save the credentials provided from the -c or --credentials option for future use.
    --clear-session Use this to clear any saved browser session.
    -g "<team_name>",
    --group "<team_name>"
    Use this to specify team names to collect data for. (e.g., -g "Team A" "Team B")
    -t "<TEMPDIR>" Use this to specify where the program will store temporary files, where:
    <TEMPDIR> - path to the temporary directory; the default path is /var/opt/openit/temp/CloudZoo
    -o "<OUTDIR>" Use this to specify where the program will save its output, where:
    <OUTDIR> - path to the output directory; the default path is /var/opt/openit/temp/CloudZoo/out
    --headless <options> Use this to activate headless browser mode, where:
    <options> - true or false; the default mode is true.
    -b <browser>,
    --browser <browser>
    Use this to specify which common playwright-supported browser to use (e.g., -b firefox, --browser firefox). The system will automatically install the specified browser if it is not present in the local setup. Chromium, WebKit, and Firefox are supported.

    Make sure that the browser you choose is not blocked or restricted by endpoint security policies, firewalls, or application whitelisting tools in your company's environment.
    --browserpath "<browser_path>" Use this to specify the full path to a local browser executable (e.g., --browserpath "C:/path_to_browser/browser.exe"). Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, WebKit, and Firefox are supported.
    --debug Use this to turn on debug logging.
    -h, --help Use this to display help text.
    Optional Parameters
  5. Run the following command to update the configuration files:

    Command Syntax
    ./openit_confbuilder --client

Refer to the Zoo Cloud Data Collection Configuration table to learn more about Zoo Cloud configuration in licpoll.xml.

Object Name Accepted Value Description
active Boolean (true or false) Setting this to true activates Zoo Cloud usage data collection.
type String (i.e., GenericLicense) The license manager type.
interval Timespan (e.g., P30S, P5M, P1H) The span of time between each polling round (it is recommended to set a value no less than P1M).
offset Timespan (e.g., P30S, P5M, P1H) The span of time the aligned poll time decided by interval is shifted.
product-name String (e.g., server;daemon) This object is defined if a vendor license name other than the default GenericLicense=%hosttype% will be used.
license-server String (e.g., hou105lin) The Zoo Cloud License Server name.
status-command FileName (e.g., ${OpeniT.directories.bin}/openit_cloudzoo.exe) The binary used to obtain status from the license manager.
status-command.arguments String (e.g., --debug) The arguments used for the status command.
Zoo Cloud Data Collection Configuration

# Verifying Data Collection

After configuration, you can verify that the data is collected by following these steps:

  1. Open a command prompt with Administrator level privileges.

  2. Go to the bin directory, which is by default in C:\Program Files\OpeniT\Core\bin, run the command:

    Command Syntax
     cd $BIN_DIR
    Example
     cd C:\Program Files\OpeniT\Core\bin
  3. Run the command:

    Command Syntax
     openit_licpoll -# 4
  4. Verify that the temp directory, which is by default in C:\ProgramData\OpeniT\Data\temp, contains a LicPoll directory containing .data and status-*.log files.

  1. Go to the bin directory, which is by default in /opt/openit/bin, run the command:

    Command Syntax
     cd $BIN_DIR
    Example
     cd /opt/openit/bin
  2. Run the command:

    Command Syntax
     ./openit_licpoll -# 4
  3. Verify that the temp directory, which is by default in /var/opt/openit/temp, contains a LicPoll directory containing .data and status-*.log files.

# Sample Reports

# Historical Reports

# Max Available vs Max in Use

This sample report compares max in-use licenses against max available licenses.
It offers several key benefits:

  • Optimized License Allocation – helps ensure you are not over-purchasing licenses you don't need or under-provisioning.
  • Cost Savings – identifies opportunities to downgrade or redistribute licenses, reducing unnecessary expenses.
  • Usage Trends & Capacity Planning – shows peak usage patterns, allowing better forecasting for future needs.
  • Avoiding Service Disruptions – helps prevent situations where users cannot access software due to reaching the license limit.
  • Compliance & Audit Readiness – provides a usage record to ensure compliance with vendor agreements and avoid penalties.
  • Performance & Productivity Insights – helps assess whether certain teams or departments are under-utilizing or over-utilizing software.

Max Available vs Max in Use Licenses per Feature

Max Available vs Max in Use Licenses per Feature

# Feature Elapsed Time per User

This sample report gives you helpful insights into software use, performance trends, and user behavior.
It offers several key benefits:

  • User Efficiency Analysis – tracks how much time users spend on specific features to help assess productivity.
  • Identifying Workflow Issues – highlights any delays or inefficiencies in processes that could be improved.
  • Usability & UX Insights – points out features that take longer to use, which could indicate design or functionality improvements.
  • Training & Support Guidance – helps identify users who might need extra training to use a feature more effectively.
  • Compliance Tracking – makes sure users are spending the right amount of time on regulated tasks.
  • Resource & License Optimization – finds underused features or areas where too much time is spent, helping with better resource allocation.

Feature Elapsed Time per User

Feature Elapsed Time per User

# Real-time Report

This sample report shows a drilled-down feature view of the online licenses in use and the licenses available.

Drilled Down Feature View

Drilled Down Feature View

# Next Steps?

   Renaming Vendor License    Renaming Features    Create and Add Report    License Monitor

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