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DEVICE INFO FEATURES

Michael Dürr
Updated

The Slascone.Client.DeviceInfos namespace provides platform-specific helper classes for retrieving hardware and system identifiers, detecting virtualization and cloud environments, and gathering network interface information.

These utilities help generate a stable and unique client_id for SLASCONE license activations and heartbeats.

For background on how device identifiers are used in SLASCONE licensing, see:

WINDOWS DEVICE INFOS

WindowsDeviceInfos is a static class that retrieves Windows-specific device identifiers using WMI.

Platform: Windows only
Namespace: Slascone.Client.DeviceInfos

ComputerSystemProductId

Returns the UUID of the computer system product as reported by the WMI class Win32_ComputerSystemProduct.

public static string ComputerSystemProductId { get; }

Returns

A string containing the UUID of the computer system product.

Remarks

  • This UUID is hardware-based and stable across OS reinstalls.
  • It is a good candidate for use as a client_id.
  • Requires Windows WMI access and is not available on Linux.

OperatingSystem

Returns the name and version of the Windows operating system.

public static string OperatingSystem { get; }

Returns

A human-readable string combining the OS name and version. Returns "Windows" if an error occurs.

Remarks

  • This value can change when the OS is updated and is therefore not suitable as a client_id.
  • Use it for descriptive fields such as operating_system in heartbeats or for analytics.

LogDeviceInfos

Collects and formats available Windows device information into a diagnostic string.

public static string LogDeviceInfos()

Returns

A formatted, multi-line string containing device and network information.

Remarks

  • Useful for log files, support dialogs, or diagnostic reports.
  • Internally uses NetworkInterfacesInfos.MacAddresses and NetworkInterfacesInfos.LogNetworkInterfaces.

LINUX DEVICE INFOS

LinuxDeviceInfos is a static class that retrieves Linux-specific identifiers from system files and command-line tools.

Platform: Linux only
Namespace: Slascone.Client.DeviceInfos

MachineId

Returns the machine ID from /etc/machine-id.

public static string MachineId { get; }

Returns

A string containing the machine ID, null if the file does not exist, or an empty string if an error occurs.

Remarks

  • The machine ID is generated during OS installation and remains stable across reboots.
  • It can change if the OS is reinstalled.
  • It is a common candidate for use as a client_id on Linux, especially when DMI data is not available.

HostId

Returns the hostname via uname -n.

public static string HostId { get; }

Returns

The hostname of the system, or an empty string if the command fails.

Remarks

  • The hostname can be changed by administrators and is not suitable as a client_id on its own.
  • It may be useful as a descriptive label.

Hostname

Returns the value of the HOSTNAME environment variable.

public static string Hostname { get; }

Returns

The value of the HOSTNAME environment variable, or null if it is not set.

Remarks

  • Useful in containerized environments where HOSTNAME is often set to the container ID.
  • Not suitable as a stable client_id because it can change between container restarts.

OSVersion

Returns operating system version information via uname -morsv.

public static string OSVersion { get; }

Returns

A string combining machine hardware name, operating system, kernel release, kernel name, and kernel version.

Remarks

  • This value can change when the kernel is updated and is therefore not suitable as a client_id.
  • Use it for descriptive fields or analytics.

DockerEnvExists

Indicates whether the application is running inside a Docker container.

public static bool DockerEnvExists { get; }

Returns

true if /.dockerenv exists; otherwise, false.

Remarks

  • This is a quick heuristic for Docker detection and is not definitive for all container runtimes.
  • It can help decide which identification strategy to use.

IsDmiAvailable

Indicates whether DMI data is accessible.

public static bool IsDmiAvailable { get; }

Returns

true if /sys/class/dmi exists; otherwise, false.

Remarks

  • DMI data is typically available on physical and virtual machines.
  • DMI data may not be available in containers.
  • Check this property before accessing DmiProductUuid.

DmiProductUuid

Returns the product UUID from /sys/class/dmi/id/product_uuid.

public static string DmiProductUuid { get; }

Returns

The product UUID, null if DMI is not available, or an empty string if an error occurs.

Remarks

  • This is a hardware-assigned UUID and is a good candidate for use as a client_id on Linux.
  • Reading this file may require elevated permissions.
  • It is usually not available in container environments.

RootDeviceSerial

Returns the serial number of the block device that contains the root file system.

public static string RootDeviceSerial { get; }

Returns

The serial number of the root block device, or an empty string if it is not available.

Remarks

  • Requires the lsblk command.
  • This is a hardware-based identifier and can be used as one component of a client_id.

RootPartitionUuid

Returns the UUID of the partition mounted as the root file system.

public static string RootPartitionUuid { get; }

Returns

The UUID of the root partition, or an empty string if it is not available.

Remarks

  • Determined via lsblk by finding the partition with mount point /.
  • Partition UUIDs are stable unless the partition is reformatted.

LogDeviceInfos

Collects and formats available Linux device information into a diagnostic string.

public static string LogDeviceInfos()

Returns

A formatted, multi-line string containing Linux device and network information.

Remarks

  • Useful for log files, support dialogs, and diagnostic reports.
  • Internally uses NetworkInterfacesInfos and block device information.

NETWORK INTERFACE INFOS

NetworkInterfacesInfos provides cross-platform information about network interfaces and adapters.

Platform: Cross-platform. Virtual adapter detection is Windows-only.
Namespace: Slascone.Client.DeviceInfos

MacAddresses

Returns a dictionary mapping network interface names to MAC addresses.

public static IDictionary<string, string> MacAddresses(bool includeVirtual = false)

Parameters

Parameter Type Description
includeVirtual bool If true, includes virtual network adapters. Default is false.

Returns

A dictionary where the key is the network interface name and the value is the MAC address.

Remarks

  • Only interfaces with OperationalStatus.Up are included.
  • On Windows, virtual adapter detection uses WMI.
  • MAC addresses can be used as one component of a composite client_id.

LogNetworkInterfaces

Formats detailed information about all network interfaces into a diagnostic string.

public static string LogNetworkInterfaces(string prefix = null)

Parameters

Parameter Type Description
prefix string An optional prefix prepended to each output line.

Returns

A formatted, multi-line string listing network interface details.

IsVirtual

Determines whether a network adapter is virtual.

public static bool? IsVirtual(string name)

Parameters

Parameter Type Description
name string The name of the network adapter to check.

Returns

true if the adapter is virtual, false if it is physical, or null if this cannot be determined.

Remarks

  • Windows only. Uses WMI to query the virtual adapter status.
  • On non-Windows platforms, this method returns null.

VIRTUALIZATION INFOS

VirtualizationInfos detects whether the application is running inside a virtual machine and identifies the hypervisor type.

Platform: Windows and Linux
Namespace: Slascone.Client.DeviceInfos

Constructor

public VirtualizationInfos()

Creates a new instance. Detection is not performed until DetectVirtualization is called or VirtualizationType is accessed.

DetectVirtualization

Detects whether the current environment is virtualized.

public async Task<bool> DetectVirtualization()

Returns

true if virtualization is detected; otherwise, false.

Remarks

  • On Windows, detection uses WMI classes such as Win32_BaseBoard, Win32_BIOS, and Win32_ComputerSystem.
  • On Linux, detection uses DMI data, CPU information, and system commands.
  • Throws InvalidOperationException on unsupported platforms.

VirtualizationType

Returns a description of the detected virtualization technology.

public string VirtualizationType { get; }

Returns

A string describing the hypervisor or virtualization type. Returns an empty string if no virtualization was detected.

Remarks

  • Accessing this property triggers virtualization detection synchronously if it has not been called yet.
  • Useful for analytics, diagnostics, and determining whether hardware-based identifiers are reliable.

AWS EC2 INFOS

AwsEc2Infos detects an AWS EC2 environment and provides access to the Instance Identity Document through the Instance Metadata Service.

Platform: Cross-platform on EC2 instances
Namespace: Slascone.Client.DeviceInfos

Constructor

public AwsEc2Infos()

Creates a new instance. Detection is not performed until DetectAwsEcs is called.

TimeoutSeconds

Gets or sets the timeout in seconds for metadata service requests.

public int TimeoutSeconds { get; set; }

Default: 10 seconds.

DetectAwsEcs

Attempts to detect an AWS EC2 environment by requesting an Instance Identity Document from the metadata service.

public async Task<bool> DetectAwsEcs()

Returns

true if an AWS EC2 environment was detected; otherwise, false.

Remarks

  • Uses IMDSv2 token-based authentication.
  • If this method returns false, all metadata property accessors throw InvalidOperationException.
  • On non-EC2 environments, the metadata request will time out.

Instance Identity Properties

After a successful call to DetectAwsEcs, instance identity properties such as InstanceId, AccountId, Region, InstanceType, and ImageId are available.

The InstanceId is unique within AWS and is a suitable client_id for EC2-based deployments.

AZURE VM INFOS

AzureVmInfos detects an Azure VM environment and provides access to Azure Instance Metadata Service compute metadata.

Platform: Cross-platform on Azure VMs
Namespace: Slascone.Client.DeviceInfos

Constructor

public AzureVmInfos()

Creates a new instance. Detection is not performed until DetectAzureVm is called.

TimeoutSeconds

Gets or sets the timeout in seconds for metadata service requests.

public int TimeoutSeconds { get; set; }

Default: 10 seconds.

DetectAzureVm

Attempts to detect an Azure VM environment by querying the Instance Metadata Service.

public async Task<bool> DetectAzureVm()

Returns

true if an Azure VM environment was detected; otherwise, false.

Remarks

  • Uses the Azure metadata endpoint at 169.254.169.254.
  • If this method returns false, all metadata property accessors throw InvalidOperationException.
  • On non-Azure environments, the metadata request will time out.

Instance Metadata Properties

After a successful call to DetectAzureVm, VM metadata properties such as VmId, Name, SubscriptionId, ResourceGroupName, Location, VmSize, and OsType are available.

The VmId is unique within Azure and is a suitable client_id for Azure VM-based deployments.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT IDENTIFIER

When selecting a value for the client_id parameter in SLASCONE license activations and heartbeats, prefer identifiers that are stable, unique, and difficult to change accidentally.

Environment Recommended Identifier Property Stability
Windows physical machine WMI Computer System Product UUID WindowsDeviceInfos.ComputerSystemProductId Stable across OS reinstalls
Linux physical machine DMI Product UUID LinuxDeviceInfos.DmiProductUuid Stable, may require elevated permissions
Linux without DMI Machine ID LinuxDeviceInfos.MachineId Stable per OS installation
AWS EC2 Instance ID AwsEc2Infos.InstanceId Stable for the instance lifetime
Azure VM VM ID AzureVmInfos.VmId Stable for the VM lifetime
Docker or container HOSTNAME environment variable LinuxDeviceInfos.Hostname Changes per container instance
Any platform MAC address NetworkInterfacesInfos.MacAddresses() Stable for physical adapters

PROPERTIES NOT SUITABLE AS CLIENT_ID

The following properties are descriptive and can change over time. Use them for informational fields such as operating_system in heartbeats or for analytics, but not as the primary client_id:

  • WindowsDeviceInfos.OperatingSystem
  • LinuxDeviceInfos.OSVersion
  • LinuxDeviceInfos.HostId
  • VirtualizationInfos.VirtualizationType

DIAGNOSTIC LOGGING

Both WindowsDeviceInfos.LogDeviceInfos() and LinuxDeviceInfos.LogDeviceInfos() produce a comprehensive dump of available identifiers and system information. Use these methods during application startup or when generating support information to diagnose device identification issues.

// Example: Log device information for diagnostics
if (RuntimeInformation.IsOSPlatform(OSPlatform.Windows))
    Console.WriteLine(WindowsDeviceInfos.LogDeviceInfos());
else if (RuntimeInformation.IsOSPlatform(OSPlatform.Linux))
    Console.WriteLine(LinuxDeviceInfos.LogDeviceInfos());

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