In previous versions of Tachyon and SLA Platform, 1E Catalog handled normalization. This used rules that map source Programs and Features data into an accurate standardized form of Vendor, Title, Version and Edition (VTVE) fields. These normalized records can then be referred to with the same signature. Although the rules in the 1E Catalog cover most common software, there's always new software that needs to be manually mapped.
AI Powered Auto-curation first extracts the VTVE from varied raw Programs and Features data by removing excess data and extracting the relevant strings. The AI then standardizes the VTVE fields to a single, accurate form of representation. It also produces a numeric value called the confidence score. This score represents how confident the AI is in its prediction. This score is set to a high threshold through testing and validation across a large data set. This can be calibrated according to the variety of software data at a customer site to optimize the normalization rate, this is controlled by 1E through collaboration with customers.
You can enable AI Powered Auto-curation either during or after installation of Tachyon.
AI Powered Auto-curation is used by all Inventory connectors. Please refer to the Connectors page for more information about how Connectors are used to connect to other 1E and third party systems.
Preparation
Before starting, ensure you've met the Tachyon 5.0 - Requirements and completed the Tachyon 5.0 - Preparation steps.
The minimum total disk space required for the downloaded AI Package ZIP is approximately 12.5 GB at installation. This includes:
- Binary and support files for AI and the directory structure is 8 GB
- AIPackage ZIP file is 4 GB
While the downloaded AI Package is 5 GB, the unzipped contents are approximately 12.5 GB and are extracted to C:\ProgramData\1E\SLA Platform\AI\
Please note, the required disk space reduces to 8.2 GB after the first Catalog sync with the cloud. During the sync a check is made for any newer AI packages. If there is one, it's downloaded and a hash check of the ZIP file is made to make sure it's not corrupted. Once all checks are complete, the AI Package ZIP is deleted from C:\ProgramData\1E\SLA Platform\AI\ leaving an 8 GB disk space requirement.
1E Catalog 2.0 or later is required for the AI to work. 1E Catalog is included in the Tachyon Platform zip, and installed by Tachyon Setup.
Memory requirements
Distinct Software Titles | Extra GB RAM for AI engine |
1 to 5000 | 15 |
10000 | 17 |
20000 | 20 |
30000 | 24 |
40000 | 28 |
50000 | 33 |
60000 | 38 |
70000 | 43 |
80000 | 49 |
90000 | 55 |
100000 | 61 |
110000 | 67 |
120000 | 74 |
130000 | 82 |
140000 | 89 |
150000 | 97 |
160000 | 106 |
170000 | 114 |
If you're only using a System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) connector then use the SCCM database as a guide for how much extra RAM you need before installation. We recommend using the SLA-Data database query after installation to double-check memory requirements. However, additional RAM will be required if you're going to use a Tachyon connector (for Inventory or Patch Success) either on its own, or with other connectors including SCCM. In this case, use the SLA-Data database query after installation and when the connectors are collecting data.
Physical memory for AI Powered Auto-curation is calculated on the basis of the number of records the AI has to process. Use the accompanying table as a quick reference for the memory requirements needed by the AI.
For virtual machines, the AI Engine action will not work if you're using a dynamic memory configuration. You'll need to allocate dedicated memory.
You can also run the following query on your SCCM database to calculate your memory requirements. This is primarily aimed at people who have not already installed Tachyon and want to estimate the required RAM:
Run this query on SLA-Data if you already have Tachyon installed and are considering enabling AI:
Enabling AI Powered Auto-curation
You can enable AI Powered Auto-curation either during or after installation of Tachyon.
Enabling AI Powered Auto-curation during installation of Tachyon
AI is switched off by default in the Tachyon Setup, this is because the feature requires additional memory to run correctly. For more details please refer to the AI Installation requirements on this page.
During Tachyon setup you'll need to check the Enable AI-based auto-curation checkbox on the SLA and Catalog screen of the Tachyon Setup wizard. For more details please refer to the Tachyon Setup and Tachyon Setup: SLA and 1E Catalog.
The minimum total disk space required for the downloaded AI Package ZIP is 12.5 GB at installation.
While the downloaded AI Package is approximately 5 GB, the unzipped contents are approximately 12.5 GB and are extracted to C:\ProgramData\1E\SLA Platform\AI\
Please note, the required disk space reduces to 8.2 GB after the first Catalog sync.
Verifying AI Auto-curation is working
The AI feature consists of an 1E-AIEngine.exe and AI model files contained in an AIPackage_<version>.zip. The 1E-AIEngine.exe uses the associated AI package files to run the AI. Because of the size of the package, it initially resides on the Catalog cloud to reduce the installer size.
When the AI feature is enabled:
- 1E Catalog checks that it has the latest AI package synced from the 1E Catalog cloud. This is downloaded and saved in: C:\ProgramData\1E\Catalog\CatalogSynchronization\PredictionModel
- Tachyon Inventory checks with 1E Catalog that it has the latest AI package ZIP which is then unzipped to: C:\ProgramData\1E\SLA Platform\AI
The minimum total disk space required for the downloaded AI Package ZIP is approximately 12.5 GB at installation. This includes: While the downloaded AI Package is 5 GB, the unzipped contents are approximately 12.5 GB and are extracted to C:\ProgramData\1E\SLA Platform\AI\ Please note, the required disk space reduces to 8.2 GB after the first Catalog sync with the cloud. During the sync a check is made for any newer AI packages. If there is one, it's downloaded and a hash check of the ZIP file is made to make sure it's not corrupted. Once all checks are complete, the AI Package ZIP is deleted from C:\ProgramData\1E\SLA Platform\AI\ leaving an 8 GB disk space requirement.
You can review the Catalog sync progress in the following logs located at: C:\ProgramData\1E\Catalog\
- Catalog.Integration.UI.log
- Catalog.UpdateService.log
A succesful sync should be similar to the example Catalog.UpdateService.log opposite.
When enabled, a new action called Process AIEngine is created. This is automatically run after the Sync Data action for a supported connector. The sync time for the Process AIEngine action depends on the number of distinct software records being processed, hardware and environment configuration.
AI Powered Auto-curation is used by all Inventory connectors. Please refer to the Connectors page for more information about how Connectors are used to connect to other 1E and third party systems.
You can see the Process AIEngine action in Settings→Monitoring→Process log.
You can review its progress using the Engine.log located at C:\ProgramData\1E\SLA Platform\
In the log you should see something similar to the opposite example.
If you see a red warning triangle in the Process log, this indicates a problem.
The most common reason for the Process AIEngine to fail is due to insufficient memory when it runs, refer to Increase in memory requirements on this page for details.
In this example, clicking on the red warning triangle displays an error message explaining that the Process AIEngine has failed.
You can review the AI logs at: C:\ProgramData\1E\SLA Platform\AI\Log_*.txt
The picture opposite shows an example of a failure logged due to insufficient memory. Log_*.txt
If the AI processing step does fail, the overall inventory consolidation will not. In the event of a failure, the AI processing step is skipped, making sure the rest of the process takes place as expected.
Differences in SLA Inventory screens when AI Powered Auto-curation is enabled
There are some changes to the SLA Inventory UI screens compared with Tachyon 4.1 and SLA Platform 3.3. These screens also differ if AI Powered Auto-curation is enabled or disabled.
The process of setting up connectors, creating inventory repositories and running the basic inventory consolidation remains the same as previous versions of Tachyon.
Basic Summary screen
You can access the Basic Summary screen using the Inventory app and by choosing SLA Inventory from the left-hand menu. The data in this screen is updated by the Basic Inventory Consolidation process.
The Summary table now includes software records curated by AI. The first column in the table shows the total Records Collected. The next three columns are:
- Normalized Records-Direct Catalog Matches (Distinct Products) - corresponds to software records identified using existing rules in the 1E Catalog. Exploring these will show you the normalized entries with enriched data regarding licensability, end-of-support date etc.
- Normalized Records-AI Assisted Matches (Distinct Products) - the software records which AI has automatically matched and normalized. The AI recognizes the vendor, title, version and edition and normalizes them. Over time, the 1E Catalog reviews records identified by AI and enriches them with data regarding licensability, end-of-support date etc. for inclusion in future downloads.
- Non-Normalized Records (With AI Suggestions) - software records which AI has low confidence in automatically matching. AI makes predictions for all source data, but predictions with a low confidence score should be manually reviewed by drilling down to the Unidentified Software Records screen.
The numbered links in brackets allow you to drill down to more detailed screens.
Unidentified Software Records screen
You can access this screen by clicking on the number link in the Non-Normalized Records (With AI Suggestions) column of the Basic Summary screen. This screen shows AI predictions that have a low confidence score preventing them being automatically matched and normalized. These predictions should still be close to accurate, therefore making the task of manually adding rules to the Catalog much easier.
This screen has the following elements:
Overview
Shows a count of distinct software records to be identified, so you can keep track of progress.
- Software Products left to identify - show all records
- AI predicted - records the AI was unable to identify, but was able to provide suggestions
- AI predicted and partially matched - where the vendor or title was identified through previous knowledge from the 1E Catalog, these records have a default high confidence score
- Cannot be identified - these records have insufficient information to recognize the software or make a prediction.
Application Type
Filters by application type.
- Show only Secondary Applications - filters to only secondary applications (for example, updates, hotfixes or language packs)
- Newly discovered (Last 30 days) - filters to applications discovered within the last 30 days
- New to Catalog - filters to applications that are either new vendors or titles previously unknown to the 1E Catalog
- Exclude Secondary Apps - removes any applications considered secondary, like updates, hot fixes or language packs.
AI Prediction Confidence
Confidence scores for predictions are divided into three equal parts below the threshold. High, Medium and Low confidence relate to the ease at which the AI engine suggestions can be manually reviewed and added as rules.
FILTER BY
Use this to add conditional filters for various fields on the Unidentified Software Records Table, for example you could filter on "Vendor Contains Micro" to return results based on Microsoft as a software vendor.
If the AI feature is disabled the Basic Summary screen will differ to when AI is enabled, note the difference in the Overview element.
Unidentified Software Records Table
Each row on this table corresponds to a distinct set of software records. There are four values Install Count, Source Data , AI Prediction , Confidence and a number of actions to perform for each distinct record. The values are:
Action | Explanation |
---|---|
Install Count | The total number of records found with the same source data across the estate. |
Source Data | ARP data extracted into Vendor, Title, Version, Edition, Colloquial Version and Licensable fields. |
AI Prediction | The AI suggestion after attempting to extract Title, Version, Vendor, Edition, Colloquial Version and Licensable fields from source data, Licensability is set to a default of No on the suggestions table, this can be edited before adding. |
Confidence | Abstracted to high, medium or low based on the exact numeric value for prediction confidence, these confidences values will always be lower than the threshold required to automatically normalize records. |
For each record the Actions are:
Action | Explanation |
---|---|
Add | When clicked this will add records directly to 1E Catalog. This option is enabled if AI suggestions for a source Vendor, Title, Version and Edition (VTVE) are generated. In case the product is not Edition based then Vendor, Title and Version (VTV) suggestions are enough. After the record(s) is added to 1E Catalog then whenever you run the next Basic Inventory Consolidation then the same record(s) will be available in the Catalog Matched items. |
Edit | Edit functionality is available for all unidentified records. When clicked, it opens a dialog where you can provide details for the selected software record. You also have the option to add this information to 1E Catalog. |
Exclude | Exclude is available for all Unidentified Software Records except for Partially Matched and Secondary Application types of records. Once excluded, the items are moved to Secondary Applications. You can also Include it again until the next Basic Inventory Consolidation is run, afterwards the Include option will be unavailable and the item will become a part of Secondary Applications. |
You can explore these records to see what the AI has curated by clicking on the related links in the Basic Summary Report .
We have also introduced a new screen for AI suggestions for any software records that remain non-normalized. This is a replacement for the Best Match Screen which allowed you to add rules.