License audit reporting Windchill 12 - reporting use of higher license than allocated

[WFD]

Now that Windchill 12 has license reporting, we can get reports per user of which license they actually used, only the reports do not make sense to me, and I hope anyone here can explain it to me (will file a PTC call as well). In the (3 month) report I see a user being reported as using: PTC Contributor License 21 times, PTC View and Print Only License 7 times and PTC Windchill Advanced License 1 time. But this user is in the PTC Contributor license group (and has been for the past 3 months), so it should be impossible he used the advanced feature... can anybody explain this?

I'm trying to use the license reporting to match if users actually use the feature they have the right to based on the license, but this way it makes no sense.

Kind regards,

\/\/outer...

[joe_morton]

I currently have a call open with PTC as well for licensing reporting that doesn't seem right (a different kind of issue for Windchill 11.1 in my case).

I've noticed that a lot of the Windchill licensing access is limited via hiding commands in the user interface. I have found a few instances where the user can access a function they're technically not supposed to have access to by using more obscure UI selections. My guess would be that your user managed to access a function that somehow falls under the Advanced license in that way, and then the licensing reporting found it. Just my guess though!

[Pascal_Brunet · Accepted solution]

Hello,

I'm glad to see other administrators in same situation. Our License usage report shows hundreds of users entitled with View & Print license who triggered registration of PDMLink, Advanced, base and Premium licenses.  It's no sense because we never had Premium license and we don't have PDMLink license anymore. The profile of View&Print license must avoid this situation. After many investigations, i understood that if a View & Print user completes a workflow task, then the system records multiple licenses . Example: 

Last week, the tech support informed me that it is a problem known since 2 years and R&D fixed it in version 12.1. The SPR number is  11171327 (https://support.ptc.com/appserver/cs/view/spr.jsp?n=11171327) . This issue should be fixed in all other versions.

Waiting for this fix, my workaround is to entitle Base license to all View & Print users who complete workflow tasks. I made a SQL script to list all of these users in the past 6 months. (i counted 238 users). I made another SQL script to monitor the table INDIVIDUALLICENSEUSAGE in the database.

Its only a workaround because i can't fix  the damage in the database. I can't remove all the wrong records in this table.

A new article about this use case has been published last week here: https://www.ptc.com/en/support/article/CS383953 

I found a new use case: the Notebook. If a View & Print user opens its Notebook for the first time, then multiple licenses are recorded. I opened a call to Tech support and R&D is currently investigating it.

A third use case; the Classification search: 

Really, the License usage report is not reliable and this could be a source of big troubles if you have an audit. Be careful !

[Pascal_Brunet]

I forgot 2 additional information: 

1) The PTC article about "evolution" of View & Print license in version 12.1 which will not allow anymore to complete workflow tasks: https://support.ptc.com/help/wnc/r12.1.0.0/en/#page/Windchill_Help_Center/NewandChanged/NewandChanged_12_1_00_RestrictingWorkflowFunctionality.html 

2) A new idea to ask for better tools to monitor and optimize licenses: https://community.ptc.com/t5/Windchill-Ideas/Need-a-report-that-shows-who-has-NOT-used-a-PTC-License-in-a/idi-p/825893 . Every members of this community shoud vote for this important idea because it can avoid you troubles if you have an audit with PTC Compliance team (believe me).