Information security firm OpenLogic on Wednesday began letting users download its Discovery application, a free software tool that scans Windows, Linux and Solaris machines for all installed open source software.
OpenLogic Discovery identifies more than 5,000 versions of the top 900 open source packages used by enterprises by marking open source fingerprints. By finding installed open source software, OpenLogic Discovery helps enterprise customers manage and support that software.
“Nothing else like this is available. We developed it in response to customers not knowing what open source programs they were using,” Kim Weins, vice president of marketing at OpenLogic, told LinuxInsider.
Customers would guess that they had 15 or 20 open source products on their networks only to discover that workers were using 200 or more open source applications, she said.
Free Analysis
A new feature available through OpenLogic Discovery is a free open source inventory analysis for up to 500 machines. Using OpenLogic Discovery’s command line interface, customers can quickly scan up to 500 computers and send results from the scans to OpenLogic for an inventory analysis.
The analysis includes what open source packages are installed and how many installations of each package are identified. It also lists which products are on specific machines and how often they are used, said Weins.
The free report also details which of the open source packages found have passed OpenLogic’s 42-point certification process and list the open source licenses involved.
The inventory analysis report is free for up to 500 computers. Beyond that, OpenLogic will charge the customer, Weins said. Pricing for the inventory service for more than 500 machines starts at US$5,000.
What It Does
OpenLogic released a beta version of Discovery on May 15. The general availability version is a continuation of that functionality with the additional inventory analysis feature, according to Weins.
OpenLogic Discovery identifies installed open source software through both a graphical interface and a command-line interface. The scanning engine detects open source installations whether they were installed explicitly or bundled with other software products. The software identifies installed programs by digital fingerprints, checking them against a library of more than 5,000 versions across 800 of the most commonly used open source packages, according to company officials.
After scanning a system, OpenLogic Discovery provides a detailed inventory on all of the open source software detected. An XML reporting format lets users aggregate results into a database or reporting system.
Industry Solution
OpenLogic Discovery’s command line interface lets users integrate with existing software deployment or software asset management systems in order to inventory installed open source software on multiple systems.
“Most large organizations have begun, or soon plan to begin, developing open source policies, but the natural first step in this process is to know exactly what packages are already installed,” said Steve Grandchamp, CEO of OpenLogic.
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In addition to scanning for licenses, enterprises should develop policies for what open source licenses are acceptable (ie have acceptable license obligations) and which licenses are not acceptable. For more information about the obligations in various licenses come here: http://souceauditor.com/blog