Active Roles uses a scheduled task to count the number of managed users in each Active Directory domain, AD LDS instance, Azure tenants, and SaaS applications registered with this product. Every Administration Service in your Active Roles environment runs that task on a daily basis, saving the obtained results in the Active Roles database. The statistical data collected by running that task over time is used to calculate managed object statistics, and can be exported by clicking Export raw counters.
The scheduled task in question is located in the Configuration/Server Configuration/Scheduled Tasks/Builtin container in the Active Roles console, and has the name Export raw counters. Changes to this task are not allowed, except for changing the start time. You can change the start time on the Schedule tab in the task’s Properties dialog box in the Active Roles console.
The area where Active Roles collects product usage statistics is referred to as managed scope. By default, managed scope comprises all Active Directory domains and AD LDS instances registered with Active Roles. This means that by default product usage statistics includes all enabled user accounts in all managed domains and instances. However, if you don’t use Active Roles to manage a particular domain or instance, or a part of a domain or instance (for example, individual Organizational Units), then you can exclude the entire domain or instance, or a part of a domain or instance, from managed scope.
Active Roles provides a built-in Policy Object allowing you to exclude entire AD domains, AD LDS directory partitions, individual Organizational Units (OUs), or even Managed Units (MUs) from managed scope. This Policy Object is located in the Configuration/Policies/Administration/Builtin container in the Active Roles console, and has the name Built-in Policy - Exclude from Managed Scope. When applied to a container such as an AD domain, AD LDS directory partition, OU or MU, this Policy Object:
- Stops product usage statistics from counting objects held in that container, and
- Prevents any changes to the objects held in that container, making the objects available for read access only.
Thus, you can exclude a certain domain from managed scope by applying a Policy Object: Choose the Enforce Policy command on the domain object under the Active Directory node in the Active Roles console, click Add, and select the Built-in Policy - Exclude from Managed Scope Policy Object. This stops product usage statistics from counting objects in that domain, and makes all objects in that domain available for read access only. You will not be able to create new objects (users, groups, computers, and so forth) or make changes to existing objects in that domain by using Active Roles.
After you have excluded a domain from managed scope, you may need to make a particular OU in that domain available for read/write access. You can accomplish this by blocking policy inheritance: In the Active Roles console, choose the Enforce Policy command on the OU and then select the Blocked option next to Built-in Policy - Exclude from Managed Scope. Doing so removes the read-only restriction from the OU and objects it contains, while causing product usage statistics to start counting objects held in that OU.
When you apply the Built-in Policy - Exclude from Managed Scope Policy Object to a Managed Unit, all objects that match the membership rules of that Managed Unit are excluded from managed scope. You can use this option to prevent product usage statistics from counting objects that satisfy certain conditions (for example, user accounts that have a particular country or department setting): Create a Managed Unit with the appropriate membership rules and then apply the Built-in Policy - Exclude from Managed Scope Policy Object to that Managed Unit. Doing so stops product usage statistics from counting objects that match the Managed Unit’s membership rules, while making those objects read-only.
You can determine whether a given object is excluded from managed scope by looking at the Managed field on the Object tab in the Properties dialog box for that object in the Active Roles console or on the General Properties page in the Active Roles Web Interface. If the object is excluded from managed scope, the Managed field reads No; otherwise, the field reads Yes.
By default, Active Roles does not limit the number of managed objects. However, as Active Roles’ license fee is based on the managed object count, you may need to verify if the object count is under a certain threshold. You can perform this task by specifying a threshold value for the number of managed objects. The scheduled task that counts managed objects then raises an alert each time it detects that the current number of managed objects exceeds the threshold value. The alert makes the Product Usage Statistics section red on the root page in the Active Roles console, and can send a notification over e-mail.
To configure thresholds and notification for the managed object count
- Log on as Active Roles Admin, and open the Active Roles console.
Only members of the Active Roles Admin account are authorized to configure thresholds and notification for the managed object count.
- In the console tree, select the root node: Active Roles.
- On the page in the details pane, expand the Product Usage Statistics section, and then click Set License threshold value to update the threshold.
- In the Threshold Value dialog box that appears, specify the desired threshold value for Active Directory domains (AD DS), AD LDS directory partitions (AD LDS), Azure tenants, or SaaS applications.
You can specify an AD DS threshold value, AD LDS threshold value, Azure tenant threshold value, and SaaS threshold value independently from each other. Active Roles raises an alert if the total number of managed objects in AD DS, AD LDS directory partitions, Azure tenant, or SaaS application exceeds the corresponding threshold value. If the threshold value is specified for any of these, then Active Roles does not evaluate the managed object counts at all.
- If you want Active Roles to notify of the threshold violation alert over e-mail, then, in the Threshold Value dialog box, configure the notification settings as follows:
- Select the Notify of threshold violations by e-mail check box.
- Click the button next to the Recipients field, and specify who you want to receive the notification messages. You can select recipients from an address book (requires Microsoft Outlook to be configured), or supply individual e-mail addresses.
- Click the button next to the E-mail server settings field. Then, on the Mail Setup tab in the dialog box that appears, supply the server name and other settings specific to your outgoing SMTP server.
If multiple mail configuration objects exist in your Active Roles environment, then you may first need to select the appropriate object from the E-mail server settings list. Mail configuration objects can be created in the Configuration/Server Configuration/Mail Configuration container in the Active Roles console.
- When finished, click OK to close the Threshold Value dialog box.
The Active Roles console allows you to set a text label that helps you identify your Active Roles installation in the Managed Object Statistics report—a report that lists the managed object counts (see Viewing product usage statistics). You can use the installation label to distinguish, for example, between production and non-production or pilot installations. The label text is displayed in the title of the Managed Object Statistics report.
To set or change the installation label
- Log on as Active Roles Admin, and open the Active Roles console.
Only members of the Active Roles Admin account are authorized to set or change the installation label.
- In the console tree, select the root node: Active Roles.
- On the page in the details pane, expand the Product Usage Statistics section, and then click the Change link next to the Installation label field.
The console does not display the Change link unless you are logged on as Active Roles Admin.
- In the Installation Label dialog box that appears, type the label text you want, and then click OK.