File Paths for Inventory Beacon

IT Asset Management (Cloud)
Summary of file paths (folders) and their purposes on the FlexNet Beacon.
Path Value Notes
%CommonAppData%\Flexera Software\   A container for many folders and files related to inventory gathering, many of which are further described below.
Important: This is the default value. This default is over-ridden by the first available of the following registry values:
  • DistributionLocation — during installation or update of each inventory beacon, you may have customized this value either through the installer interface, or by adding a variable (DATADIR) in an answer file used for automated installation
  • ImportXMLDirectory
  • BaseDirectory.
If one of these registry values is set on an inventory beacon, all the following child folders will be in your custom file path.
%CommonAppData%\Flexera Software\Beacon  
This folder contains, among other things:
  • The configuration file (config.xml) for the inventory beacon. This file records the connection details for each connection currently configured to run on this inventory beacon.
  • The rules for inventory beacons downloaded from the central application server, called BeaconPolicy.xml.
  • The configuration file for the Business Adapter Studio, called FNMPDataModel.ini.
  • The schedule file, schedule.xml, which stores details of schedules recorded on this inventory beacon, and the links to the connections that should be exercised when each schedule triggers.
  • The file jobHistory.xml which contains the last time each of the inventory beacon activities was run. These include gathering inventory from third-party inventory tools, importing business information, collecting and running the discovery and inventory rules from the central application server, and so on.
  • The file triggerHistory.xml, used to implement run-once triggers, but which overlaps the previous file by also showing the last time each trigger fired.
  • The file FNMPDataModel.ini, containing the data model (or schema) of permitted data objects which the business importer can collect through a business adapter and upload to the central operations (compliance) database.
Note: This base directory (and all its child directories) can be relocated by changing a registry setting, as described in Registry Keys for Inventory Beacon.
%CommonAppData%\Flexera Software\Beacon\BusinessAdapter  

This folder contains business adapters that you have built using the Business Adapter Studio, and have now moved into production.

%CommonAppData%\Flexera Software\Beacon\DDI  
This folder contains downloaded templates for business adapters that you can build using the Business Adapter Studio.
Note: From release 2014R1, individual templates that you can customize replaced a single configuration file mgsbi.xml.
%CommonAppData%\Flexera Software\Beacon\ExampleCSVs  

This folder contains downloaded templates for the CSV part of business adapters. You can use these CSV (comma-separated values) files as a start for preparing raw data for import. The import uses a business adapter run by the Business Importer to extract the data from the CSV file and upload it to the application server. You can also run these adapters from the Business Adapter Studio.

%CommonAppData%\Flexera Software\Beacon\IntermediateData  

The location of all current data packages. On the inventory beacon, this means all data packages that have been generated, and have not yet been uploaded.

For SAP-related packages, the file naming convention is SAP System Identifier\SI[T=Tenant ID][S=SAP System ID] _Inventory Timestamp.zip.

This folder can contain the following sub-folders:
  • ...\BadPackages — Contains any packages that are invalid, could not be read, or can’t be processed for some reason.
  • ...\RemoteFailures — If a data source fails when executing on the inventory beacon, the details of the failure are recorded in the package. When this package is processed on the compliance server, it is moved to the RemoteFailures folder.
  • ...\Staging — A temporary area used by ComplianceUpload.exe while it is uploading each data package.
%CommonAppData%\Flexera Software\Compliance\ImportProcedures   The default location for storing the importer configuration files. These files are downloaded from the compliance server. They are used by the compliance reader when it executes an inventory connection import. There are sub-folders here for factory-supplied (Tier 1) inventory adapters (Inventory) and for locally-developed inventory adapters (CustomInventory). On the inventory beacon, the contents of these two folders are always overwritten by downloads from the central application server. In the same place is also the ObjectAdapters folder, in which locally-developed adapters are stored. This folder is not over-written by the central application server.
%CommonAppData%Flexera Software\Compliance\ImportProcedures\ AdapterStudioTemplates\Spreadsheet   This folder contains .csv and .xlsx templates you can populate with inventory data. These are accessible through the FlexNet Beacon interface for the Spreadsheet type of inventory import. They may be used in the Inventory Adapter Studio.
%CommonAppData%\Flexera Software\Compliance\Logging   The default location to store all log files and logging configuration.
Tip: This folder contains a file called BeaconEngine.config, which contains settings for logging by the inventory beacon engine. (Do not confuse this file with one of the same name that lives below the FlexNet Beacon executables and controls engine behavior, as described below.)
%CommonAppData%\Flexera Software\Compliance\Logging\BeaconEngine   Location for log files of inventory beacon activities. For example, logs from the Business Adapter Studio running on the inventory beacon can be found in BeaconEngine.log.
%CommonAppData%\Flexera Software\Incoming\  
The Incoming folder contains a number of other folders used for the administration of FlexNet inventory. Some of these folder names may also be configured by registry entries. Subfolders include:
  • ActionStatus
  • ActiveDirectory
  • ActivityStatus
  • BeaconStatus
  • ClientAccess
  • Discovery
  • Distributor
  • Inventories (see below)
  • Logs
  • PolicyComplianceLogs
  • RemoteApplication
  • SecurityAnalysis
  • SecurityEventLogs
  • SMSStatusMessages
  • UsageData
  • VdiAccess.
%CommonAppData%\Flexera Software\Incoming\ClientAccess   The staging folder for FlexNet access evidence (.swacc files), collected either by the FlexNet Inventory Agent installed on target devices, or by the FlexNet Inventory Scanner.
%CommonAppData%\Flexera Software\Incoming\Inventories   The staging folder for FlexNet inventory data, collected either by the FlexNet Inventory Agent installed on target devices, or by the FlexNet Inventory Scanner.
%CommonAppData%\Flexera Software\RemoteExecution\Public   Shared as ManageSoftRET$ and mgsRET$, and used for remote execution activities including adoption of inventory devices (automated installation of the FlexNet Inventory Agent) and zero footprint inventory collection by the inventory beacon. The shares are created during installation (or automatic update) of the inventory beacon.
Tip: A similar pair of shares (ManageSoftREA$ and mgsREA$) were useful in legacy versions of the product, but are now no longer used.
%CommonAppData%\Flexera Software\Replication\ The Replication folder may contain one or more other folders where you have chosen to save certain uploaded files temporarily for inspection. The collection of possible folders is similar to those available under its peer Incoming folder. For more details about this feature, see Replication Tab.  
%CommonAppData%\Flexera Software\Repository   A legacy container folder.
%CommonAppData%\Flexera Software\Repository\TNSNames\   Any files in this folder that have the file extension .ora are used by the inventory beacon whenever it is triggered to collect Oracle inventory. The inventory beacon processes all such files in turn, using the connection information they contain to connect to Oracle systems and collect inventory. (Credentials for connection to these Oracle systems must exist in the Password Manager at inventory time.)
%CommonAppData%\Flexera Software\Staging\Common\  
The folder where the inventory beacon stores files that may be required by the FlexNet Inventory Agent installed on target inventory devices. Subfolders include:
  • ClientConfiguration — basic set-up, especially of the registry path to use on targeted devices. Includes InventorySettings.xml for handing off to child inventory beacons.
  • ClientSettings — failover settings, which give the FlexNet Inventory Agent access to all known inventory beacons, are stored below this folder.
  • InventorySettingsConfiguration — how the FlexNet Inventory Agent should implement all the rule settings when collecting inventory.
  • Packages — all platform-specific files required for adoption of targeted devices, and for self-updating of the installed FlexNet Inventory Agents when required.
  • Policies — policy files are generated for targeted devices, which may request policy updates from this inventory beacon.
  • Schedules — the schedule for the FlexNet Inventory Agent to gather inventory on targeted devices.
%ProgramFiles%\Flexera Software\Inventory Beacon\DotNet\conf  
Tip: On 64-bit systems, this path (and the ones in following rows) are under Program Files (x86).
This folder contains a file called BeaconEngine.config, which contains settings for the inventory beacon engine itself. (Do not confuse with the file of the same name that controls logging.)
%ProgramFiles%\Flexera Software\Inventory Beacon\RemoteExecution\MgsIPScan  
This folder stores the files necessary for the inventory beacon to perform network discovery. These include:
  • MgsIPScan, a version of nmap
  • Several nmap files referenced by MgsIPScan.
%ProgramFiles%\Flexera Software\Inventory Beacon\RemoteExecution\Public\Inventory  

Storage for FlexNet inventory core components used in the Zero-footprint case of discovery and inventory collection driven by the inventory beacon. The copy of InventorySettings.xml used for Zero-footprint inventory collection is stored here.

%ProgramFiles%\Flexera Software\Inventory Beacon\Tracker  

Storage for the inventory tool ndtrack.exe and its associated files, including the configuration file wmitrack.ini.

IT Asset Management (Cloud)

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