FMAudit Technical White Paper - Toshiba

FMAudit
Technical
White Paper
FMAudit Software
Welcome to
FMAudit, the
most complete
tool set for
growing a print
management
business.
Technical White Paper
With the requirement to reduce the cost of usage
based billing for both standard and managed printer
programs, automation is critical. The most accurate
way to collect the usage information is to request
information directly from the device that’s doing
the printing. FMAudit is one of the few tools that
accomplishes this in a reliable and efficient way.
The FMAudit product line is designed to accurately
collect device information including usage and status
information. The result is that it no longer takes a
skilled technician to install software and then spend
time on configuration and maintenance of the system.
The FMAudit utilities can be deployed by a technician
with minimal software and networking experience.
FMAudit Technical White Paper
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Toshiba America Business Solutions
How it works
Four Components in FMAudit’s Suite of Tools:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Onsite – user installed software gathers device information
WebAudit – performs print assessments without installing software
Agent – assists in gathering information about local devices
Central – device management tool and customer portal
Scheduled Meter Collection
Collect meters
from both
networked
and locally
connected
FMAudit Onsite is the core engine at the heart of every
FMAudit solution, which correctly identifies all networked
printers, copiers, and MFP’s using the Simple Network
Management Protocol (SNMP). Once identified,
information is extracted using a mixture of multiple
protocols (SNMP, HTTP, etc.) depending on the device’s
architectural design.
Determining Fleet Makeup and Usage
for Encompass Assessments
FMAudit WebAudit allows assessment data to be collected
without the installation of any software. This is accomplished
once a Toshiba analyst sets up an account in FMAudit Central.
The customer will then follow a link to a preconfigured
webpage, where an ActiveX control can be downloaded and
the assessment scan is initiated. After the scan is complete,
the data will be sent to Toshiba via an SSL connection.
Gathering Meters on Locally Connected Printers
FMAudit Agent is used to extract information from local
printers that are attached to any Windows port (USB, parallel,
Bluetooth, or infrared). It does this without interrupting or
processing the job stream to determine the number of pages
printed. During a scheduled meter collection (Onsite) or
Assessment scan (WebAudit), the Agent service wakes up
and communicates directly over the ports where printers are
attached and extracts any information that the attached
printer supports, which in many cases, includes the serial
number and lifetime meters.
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Toshiba America Business Solutions
How it works
(Continued)
Management Interface
FMAudit Central is the deployment, update and management interface that is used by the Toshiba analyst to configure and
distribute the Onsite and WebAudit tools. Central also allows the customer to view the data that has been collected at their
location and to run basic reports on the data.
Basic Assumptions & Requirements
Minimum requirements for proper function of FMAudit:
1. Target devices must reply to a ‘ping’.
2. SNMP (port 161) related
a. Active on each device
b. Read Community is consistent across all equipment.
The default Read Community name is ‘public’.
c. Allowed to pass through switches and routers
3. Onsite must communicate with the following external servers:
a. https://*.gttechnologies.com
b. http://gsp.toshiba.com & https://gsp.toshiba.com
c. http://*.toshibameters.com & https://*.toshibameters.com
4. Onsite must be run from a computer or VM with Microsoft 2000/XP/Vista/2003 operating system. The Microsoft .NET Framework version 2.0 or higher. Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) must be installed.
5. Agent may be deployed to the workstations using a solution such as Microsoft SMS. Reconfiguration of antivirus or software firewalls may be required if blocking the SNMP port 161 or the alternative Agent fallback port 33333.
Best Managed Print Cost
Recovery Solution
Security
Although SNMP commands support both read and write operations, FMAudit applications only read networked devices
and do not modify any default or custom device settings. FMAudit Onsite allows audit information to be sent from the
target network to a remote destination via an XML stream (default port 80 and 443). By default, this information is
encrypted, and requires a user and pass combination for authentication. Only the information that is extracted during an
audit, may be saved or transferred to the FMAudit applications. The end-users’ confidential data files are not read, viewed, or
saved by any FMAudit applications. The FMAudit Onsite pages display the main user interface in a web page fashion. It
does not communicate over the internet except for obtaining a license, or during use of the included dynamic reports. For
the action of performing audits on end-users’ networks, you do not require internet access.
JetDirect and Compatibles
FMAudit’s core engine supports HP JetDirect and compatible devices. During the query, FMAudit first identifies the
attached device for the purpose of determining whether it supports the PJL or PML languages. The consequence of
querying a printer not supporting one of these languages could mean printing numerous garbage pages and/or leaving the
printer in a non-responsive error state. During an SNMP query on the network, the FMAudit core engine
communicates with the JetDirect or compatible device and extracts the hardware reported lifetime meters, serial
number, toner coverage’s, toner levels, service alerts, and more.
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Toshiba America Business Solutions
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What data will be returned to Toshiba’s server?
The data is transferred from the local customer’s network to the external server via encrypted XML over an SSL (port 443)
connection. The data contains:
1. Device identifiable fields such as Manufacturer, Model, Serial Number, and IP Address
2. Meters such as Total Pages, Mono Pages, Color Pages
3. Device consumable status, i.e. 10% remaining Black Toner
4. Customer identifiable information such as Account Name.
Does FMAudit Onsite require Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS)?
No. FMAudit Onsite includes its own server to display the web pages and is set up automatically during the installation.
Can you install FMAudit Onsite on a computer which already hosts another IIS website?
Yes. FMAudit Onsite uses port 33330 by default, but this may also be configured to use a different port if required.
How much ongoing maintenance does FMAudit Onsite require?
FMAudit Onsite is a service which runs in the background and performs audits and exports to configured destinations on
predefined schedules. It’s recommended to use subnets (IP ranges) instead of fixed IP’s so that when adding new devices
to the network, they will be discovered and included in the audit results, limiting manual intervention.
Can you access FMAudit Onsite remotely?
Yes. From within the customer’s network; it is not accessible from outside the customer’s firewall. FMAudit Onsite
may be accessed from another PC on your network using accessing that PC on port 33330 i.e. http://<IP>:33330
Will the scan increase network traffic?
FMAudit Onsite and WebAudit are run locally and send the
collected data to the billing application. The billing application is
not able to initiate communication with Onsite or WebAudit.
Do FMAudit products work with Internet proxies?
Yes. FMAudit Onsite is a local application and uses the Internet
Explorer (IE) settings. In Internet Explorer on the Tools menu ->
Internet Options -> Connections TAB -> LAN Settings button -> place
a check mark in the “Bypass proxy server for local addresses” box.
“Secure” settings must also be configured to license FMAudit products.
In Internet Explorer on the Tools menu -> Internet Options ->
Connections TAB -> LAN Settings button -> Advanced button -> add
the appropriate “Secure”- value for “Proxy address to use” and “Port”.
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Toshiba America Business Solutions
(FAQs)
(Continued)
Are there any virus concerns?
The FMAudit application files have been digitally signed to prevent execution if a virus has infected the file integrity.
This method ensures the virus is not activated, and prevents spreading the virus from one network to another.
Will it slow down our server?
FMAudit applications use default timeout settings of 1000ms. Using unicast settings, each IP within the configured ranges
will be queried and if no response is received within 1 second, a timeout will occur. The audits use an intelligent system that
extracts minimal information for each printer, copier, or MFP, usually just a few kilobytes per device. Unlike similar products
that send a fixed set of queries (a superset of all possible queries) to every networked device, the FMAudit Onsite only sends
the relevant queries based on the printer being queried. To further reduce the amount of network bandwidth used during a
discovery, the FMAudit core engine communicates with no more than 20 devices at a single time. As a result, the amount of
network traffic at any given time is minimal.
Do firewalls interfere with communication?
FMAudit Onsite can use a mixture of algorithms to discover and communicate with the different network elements
such as the current workstation or server, routers, hubs switches, and other network hardware to automatically
determine the network topography; this option is disabled by default. Firewalls and other network hardware may
prevent or limit the discovery of the network configuration. Networks with multiple physical locations typically have
firewalls in between each Local Area Network (LAN) and the public internet that connects these locations via a Wide
Area Network (WAN), in these cases the network IP ranges
(segments) are manually added to the FMAudit products.
For more information, please go to:
www.copiers.toshiba.com/tbs
© 2009 Toshiba America Business Solutions, Inc., Electronic Imaging Division
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Toshiba America Business Solutions