JP2012208752A - License management device, license management method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a license management device, a license management method, and a program which can execute license management even when the number of software licenses is determined by other than the number of installations.SOLUTION: For performing license management on target management servers 31 to 33 constructing a virtual machine, a license management device 10 comprises: a virtual machine management unit 11 for associating the virtual machine, software to be used by the virtual machine, and physical information of the target management servers constructing the virtual machine to mange associated information as management information; and a license management unit 12 for determining whether license units of the software are based on the physical information of the server computers. When it is determined that the license units are based on the physical information, the license management unit 12 uses the management information to further determine whether the software is properly used without exceeding the number of possessing licenses.

Description

  The present invention relates to software license management, and more particularly to a license management apparatus, license management method, and program for managing software licenses in a virtual environment.

  In recent years, due to the increase in compliance (legal compliance) of software licenses, companies that use a large number of computers are required to appropriately manage software licenses. However, in a computer system of a company or the like, the number of computers and software used is enormous, and management by an administrator is difficult. For this reason, conventionally, a license management system has been proposed in order to appropriately manage software licenses (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  Specifically, in the license management systems disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the management server collects information that identifies software installed on each computer (hereinafter referred to as “installation information”). Register the installation information in the database. After that, the management server compares the software license information held by the user with the installation information registered in the database, and if the number of installations exceeds the number of possessions, it outputs a warning to the administrator. Arouse.

  Thus, if the license management systems disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are used, it is considered that appropriate license management can be performed even if the number of computers and software is enormous. Further, in the systems disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, it is assumed that the number of software licenses that must be held is determined only by the number of installed software.

JP 2002-333926 A JP 2008-146390 A

  Recently, server virtualization has progressed, and the unit of software license is not limited to the unit of the number of installations, and diversifies such as a physical hardware unit and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) socket unit.

  Here, the physical hardware unit is, for example, a software license form in which any number of physical hardware units may be installed. The CPU socket unit is a license form in which necessary licenses are determined according to the number of CPU sockets, for example, one license is required for every two CPU sockets.

  In the case of software licenses in units of physical hardware and CPU sockets, the number of software licenses that must be held is not determined only by the number of installed software. For this reason, in the conventional license management systems disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, license management is difficult, and a system capable of performing license management in units of physical hardware and CPU sockets is required.

  An example of an object of the present invention is to provide a license management apparatus, a license management method, and a program that can solve the above-described problem and that can execute license management even when the number of software licenses is determined by a number other than the number of installations. It is to provide.

In order to achieve the above object, a license management apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is an apparatus that performs software license management for a server computer on which a virtual machine is constructed,
A virtual machine management unit that associates the virtual machine, the software used in the virtual machine, and physical information of the server computer constructing the virtual machine, and manages these as management information;
It is determined whether the license unit of the software is based on the physical information of the server computer, and when determining that the license unit of the software is based on the physical information, the software exceeds the number of owned licenses using the management information. A license management unit that determines whether or not
It is characterized by having.

In order to achieve the above object, a license management method according to one aspect of the present invention is a method for performing license management of software for a server computer on which a virtual machine is constructed,
(A) linking the virtual machine, the software used in the virtual machine, and physical information of the server computer that constructs the virtual machine, and managing these as management information; and
(B) determining whether a license unit of the software is based on physical information of the server computer;
(C) As a result of the determination in the step (b), when it is determined that the software is based on the physical information, whether or not the software is used beyond the number of owned licenses using the management information Determining a step;
It is characterized by having.

Furthermore, in order to achieve the above object, a program according to one aspect of the present invention is a program for performing software license management for a server computer on which a virtual machine is constructed, by a computer,
In the computer,
(A) linking the virtual machine, the software used in the virtual machine, and physical information of the server computer that constructs the virtual machine, and managing these as management information; and
(B) determining whether a license unit of the software is based on physical information of the server computer;
(C) As a result of the determination in the step (b), when it is determined that the software is based on the physical information, whether or not the software is used beyond the number of owned licenses using the management information Determining a step;
Is executed.

  As described above, according to the license management apparatus, the license management method, and the program of the present invention, license management can be executed even when the number of software licenses is determined by a number other than the number of installations.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a license management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of software-hardware information used in the present embodiment. FIG. 2A illustrates a relationship between a virtual machine and software, and FIG. 2B illustrates a virtual machine. And the relationship between the server computer. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of owned software license information used in the present embodiment. FIG. 3A shows information about each software, and FIG. 3B shows information about the license. . FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the overall operation of the license management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing details of the license management process shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a computer that implements the license management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

(Summary of Invention)
The present invention is applied to license management of software when using software licensed in units of physical hardware in an environment in which a virtual machine is constructed by a hypervisor in a server computer.

  Similar to the conventional license management systems shown in Patent Documents 1 and 2, in the present invention, information specifying software used by a server computer to be managed is managed. However, in the present invention, unlike the conventional license management system, the physical information of the server computer to be managed is managed together with the information specifying the software. In order to determine the excess or deficiency of software licenses in units of hardware, it is necessary to grasp “which physical hardware has been installed”, and physical information is collected in order to obtain exactly this information.

  Then, it is determined whether or not the software is used beyond the number of owned licenses using a combination of information specifying the software and physical information. As a result, license management can be executed even when the number of software licenses is determined by a number other than the number of installations.

(Embodiment)
Hereinafter, a license management apparatus, a license management method, and a program according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

[Device configuration]
First, the configuration of a license management apparatus and a virtual system using the license management apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a license management apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the license management apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment is an apparatus that performs software license management for server computers 31 to 33 in which virtual machines are constructed. The license management apparatus 10 constitutes a virtual system 40 together with these server computers 31 to 33.

  In the present embodiment, the server computers 31 to 33 are managed by the license management apparatus 10 and are hereinafter referred to as “managed servers”. In addition, corresponding hypervisors (31A, 32A, 33A) are introduced to each of the managed servers 31 to 33, and the hypervisors 31A to 33A construct virtual machines. FIG. 1 illustrates a guest OS (Operating System) operating on each virtual machine.

  As illustrated in FIG. 1, the license management apparatus 10 includes a virtual machine management unit 11 and a license management unit 12. Among these, the virtual machine management unit 11 associates the virtual machine, the software used in the virtual machine, and the physical information of the managed server that constructs the virtual machine, and manages these as management information. The management information managed by the virtual machine management unit 11 is hereinafter referred to as “software-hardware information”.

  The license management unit 12 determines whether the license unit of the software is based on the physical information of the managed server. If it is determined as a result of the determination that the information is based on physical information, the license management unit 12 determines whether the software is used beyond the number of owned licenses using the software-hardware information. .

  As described above, the software-hardware information is a combination of information for specifying software and physical information. Therefore, if the software-hardware information is used, even if the software license unit is a physical hardware unit, it can be easily determined whether the number of used software exceeds the number of owned licenses. According to the present embodiment, license management can be executed even when the number of software licenses is determined by a number other than the number of installations.

  Here, in addition to FIG. 1, the configuration of the license management apparatus 10 in the present embodiment will be described more specifically with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. As shown in FIG. 1, in the present embodiment, a license database (hereinafter referred to as “DB”) 20 is connected to the license management unit 10.

  In the present embodiment, when the corresponding hypervisor (31A, 32A, or 33A) is installed on the managed server, the managed servers 31 to 33 notify the license management apparatus 10 to that effect. Configured to send. At that time, each managed server also transmits information (hereinafter referred to as “software information”) for specifying software used by the virtual machine constructed by the hypervisor and physical information of the managed server.

  Specifically, each managed server associates, as software information, for example, information that identifies an opportunity to use each software and identification information of a hypervisor that operates a virtual OS that uses the software. Information is transmitted (see FIG. 2A). Each managed server transmits, as its physical information, for example, information in which the identification information of the managed server is associated with the identification information of the hypervisor installed therein (see FIG. 2B). .

  And in the management server 10, the virtual machine management part 11 receives each information while receiving a notification. Then, the virtual machine management unit 11 associates the software information with the physical information and generates the software-hardware information illustrated in FIG. Further, the virtual machine management unit 11 stores the generated software-hardware information in the license DB 20.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of software-hardware information used in the present embodiment. FIG. 2A illustrates a relationship between a virtual machine and software, and FIG. 2B illustrates a virtual machine. And the relationship between the server computer. In FIG. 2A, software is described as “SW”.

  The “software-hardware information” created in this way is information for specifying the relationship between the software subject to license management and the physical hardware. By this information, for example, each software in the virtual environment The physical hardware that is actually installed is identified.

  In the present embodiment, the virtual machine management unit 11 starts up each guest OS of each of the managed servers 31 to 33, moves the guest OS between physical servers, and removes the management target of the hypervisor. Also perform actions such as.

  However, before executing these actions, the virtual machine management unit 11 creates an update image of software-hardware information when the actions are executed. Then, the virtual machine management unit 11 transmits the created update image to the license management unit 12 and suspends the action until a response is received from the license management unit 12.

  In the present embodiment, in addition to the software-hardware information described above, the license database 20 includes software license information (hereinafter, “owned software license information”) held by the virtual system 40 as shown in FIG. Is also stored. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of owned software license information used in the present embodiment. FIG. 3A shows information about each software, and FIG. 3B shows information about the license. . In FIG. 3A, software is described as “SW”.

  In the present embodiment, the license management unit 12 compares the software-hardware information shown in FIG. 2 with the owned software license information shown in FIG. 3, and determines whether the software is used beyond the number of owned licenses. (Whether a license violation has occurred) is determined.

  In addition, when the virtual machine management unit 11 has created an update image of software-hardware information, the license management unit 12 compares this update image with the owned software license information and makes a determination.

  As a result of the determination, if the license management unit 12 determines that the software is used exceeding the number of licenses held, the virtual machine management unit 11 is limited to using the software in the virtual machine (guest OS). give. For example, as described above, when the action is suspended, the virtual machine management unit 11 stops the action and further sends a warning to the managed server.

[Device operation]
Next, the operation of the license management apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described using FIG. 4 and FIG. In the following description, FIGS. In this embodiment, the license management method is implemented by operating the license management apparatus 10. Therefore, the description of the license management method in the present embodiment is replaced with the following description of the operation of the license management apparatus 10.

  First, the overall operation of the license management apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the overall operation of the license management apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  As a premise, it is assumed that each of the managed servers 31 to 33 transmits a notification that the hypervisor has been installed, software information, and physical information. As shown in FIG. 4, first, in the license management apparatus 10, the virtual machine management unit 11 receives the notification and also receives the software information and the physical information (step A1).

  Next, the virtual machine management unit 11 associates the received software information with the physical information, generates software-hardware information (step A2), and stores the generated software-hardware information in the license DB 20 ( (Refer FIG. 2 (a) and (b)).

  Next, the virtual machine management unit 11 instructs the virtual system 40 administrator to perform actions such as guest OS startup processing, guest OS migration processing between physical servers, and hypervisor unmanaged processing. (Step A3). If the action is not instructed as a result of the determination in step A3, the virtual machine management unit 11 enters a standby state.

  On the other hand, if the action is instructed as a result of the determination in step A3, the virtual machine management unit 11 creates an update image of the software-hardware information when the action is executed, and the created update image is displayed. It transmits to the license management part 12 (step A4). Then, the virtual machine management unit 11 suspends the action until there is a response from the license management unit 12.

  Next, when step A4 is executed, the license management unit 12 performs a license management process (step A5). Specifically, the license management unit 12 determines whether or not the software is used beyond the number of owned licenses based on the update image. Then, the license management unit 12 notifies the virtual machine management unit 11 of an NG response when software exceeding the number of owned licenses is used in the update image, and otherwise returns an OK response. Notice.

  Next, when the virtual machine management unit 11 receives the notification, the virtual machine management unit 11 determines whether the notification is an NG answer (step A6). As a result of the determination in step A6, if the answer is NG, the virtual machine management unit 11 stops executing the suspended action and sends a warning to the managed server (step A9).

  On the other hand, if the result of determination in step A6 is not NG, the virtual machine management unit 11 executes the suspended action (step A7), and overwrites the software-hardware information with the updated image (step A8). ). After execution of step A8 or A9, the processing in the license management apparatus 10 ends.

  Next, the license management process in the license management unit 12 will be specifically described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing details of the license management process shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 5, it is assumed that the license management unit 12 determines whether the license unit of software is a physical server unit or an instance unit. In FIG. 5, the software is represented as “SW”.

  As shown in FIG. 5, first, the license management unit 12 extracts the license management target software shown in FIG. 2 without duplication (step S1). As a result, software-1 and software-2 are extracted.

  Next, the license management unit 12 executes the following steps for each software extracted in Step S1 (Step S2). In step S3, the license management unit 12 specifies each license unit for each extracted software based on the owned software license information shown in FIG.

  Specifically, if the processing target is software-1, the license management unit 12 specifies the license unit of software-1 as a physical server unit. Therefore, the license management unit 12 executes Steps P1 to P5.

  First, the license management unit 12 aggregates the number of software-1 used for each physical server based on the software-hardware information shown in FIG. 2 (step P1). Specifically, in this example, as a result of step P1, the license management unit 12 determines that the number of uses for the physical server 31 is “3”, the number of uses for the physical server 32 is “1” for the software-1 It is determined that the number of uses for 33 is “1”.

  Next, the license management unit 12 determines whether or not the number of software used exceeds the “usable number within the license unit (see FIG. 3B)” for each physical server that has been aggregated (see FIG. 3B). Steps P2-P4). Specifically, in this example, as shown in FIG. 3B, the number of uses exceeds “4”, which is the “usable number within the license unit” of the license type A for software-1. Absent. Therefore, in step P2, the license management unit 12 determines that “does not exceed”.

  Next, the license management unit 12 compares the number of physical servers using software-1 with the number of owned licenses, and determines whether the number of physical servers does not exceed the number of owned licenses (step). P5). Specifically, in this example, since the number of uses “3” does not exceed the number of owned licenses “5” shown in FIG. 3A, the license management unit 12 indicates that the number of physical servers indicates the number of owned licenses. Judge that it does not exceed.

  If the processing target is software-2, the license management unit 12 identifies the license unit of software-1 as an instance unit. Accordingly, the license management unit 12 executes steps T1 and T2.

  First, the license management unit 12 aggregates the number of uses of software-2 in units of instances based on the software-hardware information shown in FIG. 2 (step T1). Specifically, in this example, as a result of step P1, the license management unit 12 determines that the number of uses is “2” for software-2.

  Next, the license management unit 12 determines whether or not the number of use of software-2 exceeds the product of “the number of usable in the license unit” and “the number of owned licenses” (step T2). Specifically, in this example, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the product is 10, and the number of software-2 used does not exceed “10”. , “Decease” is determined.

  After that, when the above steps are completed for all license management target software extracted in step S1 (step S4), the license management unit 12 notifies the virtual machine management unit 11 of an OK response and ends the processing. (Step S5).

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the number of owned licenses is insufficient (“exceeded”) at an intermediate branch step, that is, steps P 3, P 5, T 2, the license management unit 12 notifies the virtual machine management unit 11. On the other hand, an NG answer is notified, and the process is terminated (step Q1).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, if software-hardware information is used, does the number of software used easily exceed the number of owned licenses even if the software license unit is a physical hardware unit? Can be determined. Therefore, it is possible to ensure compliance with the license contents.

  Further, the license management apparatus 10 does not become a burden on the administrator in operation, and even if the license management apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment is introduced into a general virtual system, the burden on the administrator increases. There is nothing.

  Furthermore, since the license management apparatus 10 can target a plurality of server computers, it can be applied to a plurality of systems. In addition, even when a license is shared across a plurality of departments, the license management apparatus 10 can be appropriately managed. It can be performed. As a result, the operating cost of the system can be reduced.

  The program in the present embodiment may be a program that causes a computer to execute steps A1 to A9 shown in FIG. 4, S1 to S5, P1 to P5, T1 to T2, and Q1 shown in FIG. By installing and executing this program on a computer, the license management apparatus 10 and the license management method in the present embodiment can be realized. In this case, the CPU of the computer functions as the virtual machine management unit 11 and the license management unit 12 to perform processing. The license DB 20 can be constructed by a storage device such as a hard disk provided in the computer, or a storage device connected to the computer via a network.

  Here, a computer that realizes the license management apparatus 10 by executing the program according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a computer that implements the license management apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the computer 110 includes a CPU 111, a main memory 112, a storage device 113, an input interface 114, a display controller 115, a data reader / writer 116, and a communication interface 117. These units are connected to each other via a bus 121 so that data communication is possible.

  The CPU 111 performs various calculations by developing the program (code) in the present embodiment stored in the storage device 113 in the main memory 112 and executing them in a predetermined order. The main memory 112 is typically a volatile storage device such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory). Further, the program in the present embodiment is provided in a state of being stored in a computer-readable recording medium 120. Note that the program in the present embodiment may be distributed on the Internet connected via the communication interface 117.

  Specific examples of the storage device 113 include a hard disk and a semiconductor storage device such as a flash memory. The input interface 114 mediates data transmission between the CPU 111 and an input device 118 such as a keyboard and a mouse. The display controller 115 is connected to the display device 119 and controls display on the display device 119. The data reader / writer 116 mediates data transmission between the CPU 111 and the recording medium 120, and reads a program from the recording medium 120 and writes a processing result in the computer 110 to the recording medium 120. The communication interface 117 mediates data transmission between the CPU 111 and another computer.

  Specific examples of the recording medium 120 include general-purpose semiconductor storage devices such as CF (Compact Flash) and SD (Secure Digital), magnetic storage media such as a flexible disk, or CD-ROM (Compact Disk). Optical storage media such as Read Only Memory).

  Part or all of the above-described embodiments can be expressed by (Appendix 1) to (Appendix 12) described below, but is not limited to the following description.

(Appendix 1)
An apparatus for managing software licenses for a server computer on which a virtual machine is constructed,
A virtual machine management unit that associates the virtual machine, the software used in the virtual machine, and physical information of the server computer constructing the virtual machine, and manages these as management information;
It is determined whether the license unit of the software is based on the physical information of the server computer, and when determining that the license unit of the software is based on the physical information, the software exceeds the number of owned licenses using the management information. A license management unit that determines whether or not
A license management apparatus comprising:

(Appendix 2)
The supplementary note 1, wherein when the license management unit determines that the software is used beyond the number of licenses held, the virtual machine management unit restricts the use of the software in the virtual machine. License management device.

(Appendix 3)
The license management apparatus according to appendix 1 or 2, wherein the virtual machine management unit acquires the management information from the server computer every time the virtual machine is built on the server computer.

(Appendix 4)
When there are a plurality of target server computers, and the license unit of the software is for each server computer, and the number of owned licenses is defined by the number of the server computers that are permitted to use the software,
The license management unit uses the management information to identify the server computer that is using the software, and determines whether the number of identified server computers does not exceed the number of owned licenses.
The license management device according to any one of appendices 1 to 3.

(Appendix 5)
A software license management method for a server computer on which a virtual machine is constructed,
(A) linking the virtual machine, the software used in the virtual machine, and physical information of the server computer that constructs the virtual machine, and managing these as management information; and
(B) determining whether a license unit of the software is based on physical information of the server computer;
(C) As a result of the determination in the step (b), when it is determined that the software is based on the physical information, whether or not the software is used beyond the number of owned licenses using the management information Determining a step;
And a license management method.

(Appendix 6)
(D) In the step (c), when it is determined that the software is used beyond the number of owned licenses, the method further includes a step of restricting the use of the software in the virtual machine. 5. The license management method according to 5.

(Appendix 7)
(E) The license management method according to appendix 5 or 6, further comprising a step of acquiring the management information from the server computer each time the virtual machine is constructed on the server computer.

(Appendix 8)
When there are a plurality of target server computers, and the license unit of the software is for each server computer, and the number of owned licenses is defined by the number of the server computers that are permitted to use the software,
In the step (c), the server information using the software is specified using the management information, and it is determined whether or not the number of the specified server computers exceeds the number of owned licenses. ,
The license management method according to any one of appendices 5 to 7.

(Appendix 9)
A software license management program for server computers on which virtual machines have been constructed,
In the computer,
(A) linking the virtual machine, the software used in the virtual machine, and physical information of the server computer that constructs the virtual machine, and managing these as management information; and
(B) determining whether a license unit of the software is based on physical information of the server computer;
(C) As a result of the determination in the step (b), when it is determined that the software is based on the physical information, whether or not the software is used beyond the number of owned licenses using the management information Determining a step;
A program that executes

(Appendix 10)
(D) If it is determined in the step (c) that the software is used beyond the number of licenses held, the step of restricting the use of the software in the virtual machine is further performed, The program according to supplementary note 9 to be executed.

(Appendix 11)
(E) The program according to appendix 9 or 10, further causing the computer to execute a step of acquiring the management information from the server computer each time the virtual machine is built on the server computer.

(Appendix 12)
When there are a plurality of target server computers, and the license unit of the software is for each server computer, and the number of owned licenses is defined by the number of the server computers that are permitted to use the software,
In the step (c), the server information using the software is specified using the management information, and it is determined whether or not the number of the specified server computers exceeds the number of owned licenses. ,
The program according to any one of appendices 9 to 11.

  As described above, according to the present invention, license management can be executed even when the number of software licenses is determined by a number other than the number of installations. The present invention is useful for a virtual system in which a plurality of virtual machines are constructed on one physical server.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 License management apparatus 11 Virtual machine management part 12 License management part 20 License database 31, 32, 33 Managed server (server computer)
31A, 32A, 33A Hypervisor 40 Virtual system 110 Computer (License management device)
111 CPU
112 Main Memory 113 Storage Device 114 Input Interface 115 Display Controller 116 Data Reader / Writer 117 Communication Interface 118 Input Device 119 Display Device 120 Recording Medium 121 Bus

Claims (6)

An apparatus for managing software licenses for a server computer on which a virtual machine is constructed,
A virtual machine management unit that associates the virtual machine, the software used in the virtual machine, and physical information of the server computer constructing the virtual machine, and manages these as management information;
It is determined whether the license unit of the software is based on the physical information of the server computer, and when determining that the license unit of the software is based on the physical information, the software exceeds the number of owned licenses using the management information. A license management unit that determines whether or not
A license management apparatus comprising:   The virtual machine management unit restricts the use of the software in the virtual machine when the license management unit determines that the software is used beyond the number of licenses held. The license management apparatus described.   The license management apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the virtual machine management unit acquires the management information from the server computer every time the virtual machine is built on the server computer. When there are a plurality of target server computers, and the license unit of the software is for each server computer, and the number of owned licenses is defined by the number of the server computers that are permitted to use the software,
The license management unit uses the management information to identify the server computer that is using the software, and determines whether the number of identified server computers does not exceed the number of owned licenses.
The license management apparatus according to claim 1. A software license management method for a server computer on which a virtual machine is constructed,
(A) linking the virtual machine, the software used in the virtual machine, and physical information of the server computer that constructs the virtual machine, and managing these as management information; and
(B) determining whether a license unit of the software is based on physical information of the server computer;
(C) As a result of the determination in the step (b), when it is determined that the software is based on the physical information, whether or not the software is used beyond the number of owned licenses using the management information Determining a step;
And a license management method. A software license management program for server computers on which virtual machines have been constructed,
In the computer,
(A) linking the virtual machine, the software used in the virtual machine, and physical information of the server computer that constructs the virtual machine, and managing these as management information; and
(B) determining whether a license unit of the software is based on physical information of the server computer;
(C) As a result of the determination in the step (b), when it is determined that the software is based on the physical information, whether or not the software is used beyond the number of owned licenses using the management information Determining a step;
A program that executes

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