Consumption rule evaluation
Consumption rules control which installations or users can consume a license. After you link a consumption rule to an entitlement, the license metric type determines how the system evaluates the rule during allocation.
Consumption rules restrict license consumption to specific organizational entities, such as a company, cost center, department, or country. You use consumption rules to allocate licenses to particular groups or locations within your organization. For example, a consumption rule could limit a license to users in the Finance department or devices in a specific company.
After you create consumption rules, you must link them to entitlements. When the system allocates a license, it evaluates each software installation against the linked consumption rule to determine whether that installation can consume a license from the entitlement.
The field that the system evaluates depends on the license metric allocation type configured on the entitlement. The system reads this field from the Software Installation [cmdb_sam_sw_install] table.
| License metric allocation type | Field evaluated on the Software Installation record |
|---|---|
| Device-based (for example, Per Core or Per Device) | Installed on |
| User-based (for example, Per User or User Subscription) | Assigned to |
The license metric on the linked entitlement determines which field the system evaluates, regardless of the consumption rule values you set such as country, company, or cost center.
Evaluation scenarios
-
Per Device evaluation scenario
An entitlement uses the Per Device license metric and is linked to a consumption rule that specifies a company. When a software installation attempts to consume a license from this entitlement, the system checks the device's company. That device is the one referenced in the Installed on field of the Software Installation record.
If the device's company matches the consumption rule's company, the installation can consume a license from the entitlement. If it doesn't match, the installation can't consume against that entitlement.
-
Per User evaluation scenario
An entitlement uses the Per User license metric and is linked to a consumption rule that specifies a department. When a software installation attempts to consume a license from this entitlement, the system checks the user's department. That user is the one referenced in the Assigned to field of the Software Installation record.
If the user's department matches the consumption rule's department, the installation can consume a license from the entitlement. If it doesn't match, the installation can't consume against that entitlement.
Parent Topic:Exploring Software Asset Management
Related topics
---
title: Consumption rule evaluation
description: Consumption rules control which installations or users can consume a license. After you link a consumption rule to an entitlement, the license metric type determines how the system evaluates the rule during allocation.
locale: en-US
canonical_url: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/it-asset-management/software-asset-management/consumption-rule-evaluation.html
release: brazil
product: Software Asset Management
classification: software-asset-management
topic_type: concept
last_updated: "2026-09-30"
reading_time_minutes: 2
keywords: [Consumption rule, software asset management consumption rule, device based metrics, user based metrics]
breadcrumb: [Exploring Software Asset Management, Software Asset Management, IT Asset Management, Asset Management]
---
# Consumption rule evaluation
Consumption rules control which installations or users can consume a license. After you link a consumption rule to an entitlement, the license metric type determines how the system evaluates the rule during allocation.
Consumption rules restrict license consumption to specific organizational entities, such as a company, cost center, department, or country. You use consumption rules to allocate licenses to particular groups or locations within your organization. For example, a consumption rule could limit a license to users in the Finance department or devices in a specific company.
After you [create consumption rules](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/it-asset-management/software-asset-management/create-consumption-rule.md), you must [link them to entitlements](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/it-asset-management/software-asset-management/link-consumption-rules.md). When the system allocates a license, it evaluates each software installation against the linked consumption rule to determine whether that installation can consume a license from the entitlement.
The field that the system evaluates depends on the license metric allocation type configured on the entitlement. The system reads this field from the Software Installation \[cmdb\_sam\_sw\_install\] table.
|License metric allocation type|Field evaluated on the Software Installation record|
|------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------|
|Device-based \(for example, Per Core or Per Device\)|Installed on|
|User-based \(for example, Per User or User Subscription\)|Assigned to|
The license metric on the linked entitlement determines which field the system evaluates, regardless of the consumption rule values you set such as country, company, or cost center.
## Evaluation scenarios
- **Per Device evaluation scenario**
An entitlement uses the Per Device license metric and is linked to a consumption rule that specifies a company. When a software installation attempts to consume a license from this entitlement, the system checks the device's company. That device is the one referenced in the **Installed on** field of the Software Installation record.
If the device's company matches the consumption rule's company, the installation can consume a license from the entitlement. If it doesn't match, the installation can't consume against that entitlement.
- **Per User evaluation scenario**
An entitlement uses the Per User license metric and is linked to a consumption rule that specifies a department. When a software installation attempts to consume a license from this entitlement, the system checks the user's department. That user is the one referenced in the **Assigned to** field of the Software Installation record.
If the user's department matches the consumption rule's department, the installation can consume a license from the entitlement. If it doesn't match, the installation can't consume against that entitlement.
**Parent Topic:**[Exploring Software Asset Management](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/it-asset-management/software-asset-management/explore-sam-workspace.md)
**Related topics**
[Create consumption rules](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/it-asset-management/software-asset-management/create-consumption-rule.md)
[Link consumption rules to entitlements](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ServiceNow/ServiceNowDocs/brazil/markdown/it-asset-management/software-asset-management/link-consumption-rules.md)
| title | Consumption rule evaluation |
| description | Consumption rules control which installations or users can consume a license. After you link a consumption rule to an entitlement, the license metric type determines how the system evaluates the rule during allocation. |
| locale | en-US |
| canonical_url | https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/it-asset-management/software-asset-management/consumption-rule-evaluation.html |
| release | brazil |
| product | Software Asset Management |
| classification | software-asset-management |
| topic_type | concept |
| last_updated | 2026-09-30 |
| reading_time_minutes | 2 |
| keywords | Consumption rulesoftware asset management consumption ruledevice based metricsuser based metrics |
| breadcrumb | Exploring Software Asset ManagementSoftware Asset ManagementIT Asset ManagementAsset Management |