Category: Licensing Hints

101 License Models – Token-Based License Models

A while ago, we wrote a blog post entitled 101 license models.  Since that time we followed up with posts on unrestricted license models, nodelocked license models, and floating license models.  In this post, we explore the fourth set of license models described in that post – the Token-Based License Models.

   Token-Based License Models

To review, token-based licenses are a special case of floating licenses which allow aliasing of a license or multiple license checkouts per request.  These are usable by anyone who can contact the license server.  Token-based licenses can have any of the following attributes:

Ways to use Token-Based License Models

Token-based licenses are a special case of floating licenses, and they have 3 main uses:

  • packaging together a number of products and distributing a single license
  • creating an alias from one product name to another
  • allowing newer software to run and consume licenses distributed with older software (a special case of #1)

In the first case, packaging together a number of products, let’s say you have product a, b, and c.  Create static token-based licenses for each of a, b, and c which map to a checkout of “d”.  Now you distribute the “d” license, and all 3 products, a, b, and c can run with this license.  Different modes of operation are possible by changing the sharing attributes on the “d” license.

To create an alias, the token definition maps one license checkout request to a different request.  This is useful to transition a product’s license name.

For the 3rd case, a generic token name is the only license you deliver.  All products have token license definitions which map to the generic license name.  As you add new products, they use licenses which your customer already has, thus creating contention for these licenses (meaning increased sales).  This allows your customers to demo your new products while consuming existing licenses – no more free demos!

 

RLM and RLM Activation Pro – what’s the difference?

RLM and RLM Activation Pro – what’s the difference?

Sometimes people are a bit confused by the Reprise product line, in particular, wondering about the difference between RLM and RLM Activation Pro. The two products work together, and both products involve a server component, so that’s the basis for the confusion.

Let’s start with a couple of definitions:

  • RLM (the Reprise License Manager) is a software license manager. You (a software publisher) integrate RLM into your product, and RLM keeps track at runtime who is using your product licenses. RLM can do this entirely within the client library (linked into your application), or, more commonly, your application makes a request of the RLM License Server to “check out” a license. The license server runs either on computers in your customer’s network, or in the cloud if you are using our RLMCloud service. Your application uses RLM every time it runs to verify that the license rights are still present, thus enabling use. RLM, however, never gets involved in the issuing of the actual license files to your customers.
  • RLM Activation Pro, on the other hand, is a Software Activation product. Software Activation’s purpose in life is to generate and dispense the license files for your product to your customers with minimum fuss. Activation Pro also has a server component which we call the activation server. Your application contacts the activation server and supplies a short text activation key, and in exchange, the activation server returns the license which enables your product. Generally, this is done once, right after your customer purchases your software, not every time your software is invoked.

So in summary, RLM provides runtime checking that your application is licensed to run and that the current usage of your application is within the limits you have set, every time your application runs. Activation Pro is used once at the time your customer purchases your software in order to retrieve the license file which is specific to that customer.

Using a License Manager as a Load Balancer

(or, if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail)

Introduction – The Problem

At Reprise Software, our main product, the Reprise License Manager (RLM) runs on many different platforms (19 at last count). Since our product is a client-server product with an API, we have a set of regression tests that we run both during development and at each release.

One issue of testing a license manager is the desirability to run tests that both succeed in checking out licenses from a license server as well as tests that fail. Given that our product (RLM) is inherently a network-based product, and also given that clients can broadcast to discover a license server, our experience is that running regression tests on multiple machines on the same network at the same time will result in some number of checkouts succeeding that should have failed.

In the past, we have worked around this problem by timing the starts of our regression tests suites so that the individual tests would not overlap each other and yield incorrect results (in this case, incorrect results from the test environment, not from software faults). While this works fine in a development environment, it is extremely awkward during a release cycle when the goal is to build and test many platforms simultaneously.

The Solution – License Management

Since the regression tests are primarily run by a single user, the solution was to create a set of licenses, one per test, then use the License Manager as a Load Balancer to serve them with a single instance per license, nodelocked to the username of the person running the test. Each test checks out it’s own license, and if the license request is queued, the test waits until granted. Now, the tests synchronize across all platforms with the same test never running on multiple platforms at the same time. Different sets of licenses are served for different network segments.

We serve the licenses using RLMCloud, so that the license server is always available, even when development machines go down.  An extra benefit is that our normal regression tests also test the RLMCloud servers at the same time. Win win.

101 License Models

101 License Models – a license model for everyone.

License Managers are known for providing flexibility in how you price and license your software.  This blog post discusses 101 license models available to you with the Reprise License Manager.   These models fall into 5 main categories – Unrestricted, Nodelocked, Floating, Token-Based and Metered License Models.  We have discussed some of these in the past, and will talk about others in future blog posts.

So here we go…

Unrestricted License Models

These license models are not locked to any machine or license server.  In other words, they work anywhere.  Often these are appropriate for demo licenses or if you want to be able to display something about the license in a startup dialog, but allow it to run anywhere. Unrestricted licenses can have any of the following attributes:

  • any
  • customer name
  • demo
  • expiring
  • license type (beta, demo, eval)
  • maintenance-thru-date
  • options
  • permanent
  • serial number
  • software version
  • user-locked
  Nodelocked License Models

These license models lock the license to a particular computer, and in addition provides other restrictions.  Nodelocked licenses can have any of the following attributes:

  • uncounted
  • computing environment limited
  • customer name
  • detached demo
  • expiring
  • single
  • license type (beta, demo, eval)
  • maintenance-thru-date
  • options
  • permanent
  • platform-limited
  • software version
  • timezone-limited
  • upgrade other licenses
  • user-locked
  • VM enabled
    Floating License Models

Floating licenses are the most common usage of a license manager.  These are usable by anyone who can contact the license server.  The floating license models provide the richest set of license control.  Floating licenses can have any of the following attributes:

  Token-based LICENSE MODELS

token-based licenses are a special case of floating licenses which allow aliasing of a license or multiple license checkouts per request.  These are usable by anyone who can contact the license server.  Token-based licenses can have any of the following attributes:

  Metered license models

Metered licenses provide a “postage meter” type of licensing model. Metered licenses work either with pre-paid or post-use payment.  Metered licenses can have any of the following attributes:

  • per-hour
  • per-invocation
  • per-event
  • computing environment limited
  • customer name
  • expiring
  • license type (beta, demo, eval)
  • maintenance-thru-date
  • options
  • password-protected
  • permanent
  • platform-limited
  • replace other licenses
  • software version
  • timezone-limited
  • user-locked
  • VM enabled

Best Practices for License Management

Best Practices for License Management

Time spent paying attention to best practices for license management will pay dividends down the road in customer satisfaction. Following a few basic guidelines will be greatly appreciated by your end-users who will see more consistent implementations from ISV to ISV.

Let’s dive right in:

The Product name you use to check out a license for a product should be as close to the name of the product you sell as possible. We consider it best practice to use the name of the product from your price list.  This is probably the most important thing you can do in your implementation.

In practice, it’s often quite reasonable for ISVs to use multiple license names in an application – just keep it within reason. A good rule of thumb is to use a new license if you charge separately for that feature.

Fewer checkouts per product are generally better from an end-user support and understanding standpoint. In the early days of license management, companies literally “went crazy” adding license checkout calls to smaller and smaller pieces of their application, which resulted in several licenses required to run one product. Resist the temptation to do this.

Installation of Your Product and Finding the Licenses

When you integrate licensing into your product, you need to think about how you will deliver the licenses for it to operate. A large percentage of support calls occur during the installation of the software application. One way to decrease the support burden is to make the installation of the license file as seamless as possible.

For less complex applications deliver the license via automated Internet Activation, such as Reprise’s Activation Pro.  This can make for a much easier installation experience for the end-user.

For more complex applications manually delivering the license may be the best option. Delivery of the license file via email or downloading it from a web support location may be more appropriate. Make sure that it is clear where the license file should be saved.

It is also critical that the application be able to locate the license file at runtime. When Integrating RLM into your product there are a few ways that your application and license server can locate the licenses they need to operate. We provide a “best practices” section in the RLM Reference manual that outlines the best way to define the parameters for defining the license file location. If you follow this advice, you will have a better end-user experience.

Best Practices for License Roaming

A common floating license option provided to end-users is License Roaming. Increasingly, users want to take their work “on the road.” RLM’s built-in license roaming capability allows users to check out a license from a server, physically disconnect from the server and continue to use the license for a specified number of days on their notebooks or laptops, after which the license is automatically returned to the server. Again, no extra work is required beyond enabling roaming in the license file. As an ISV, you control whether licenses are able to roam, and how long they can be checked-out in the disconnected state.

RLM license roaming was designed to allow ‘disconnected’ use for short durations up to a few weeks.

Best Practices for Product Evaluations/Demos

One compelling value of software licensing is to provide a way to promote and market your application to prospective buyers. You should provide demo or evaluation licenses to your customers. Here is a brief summary of best practices for this scenario that can help increase sales.

  • Expose all functionality to the user – even if you limit scope of use, show the user what could be possible.
  • Show “number of eval days remaining” on the start-up screen – creates user urgency and an expiration date creates timetable for sales follow up.
  • Always remind the user how to buy, even after the eval has ended, by providing a link to information on how to buy
  • Do not require the software to be re-downloaded or reinstalled when upgrading to a paid license – this is one key value of a license manager.

One of the primary goals of software licensing is to increase revenue opportunities. In order to maximize the efficiency of software licensing, it is critical to spend time in planning and design. Various license models can be utilized to increase revenue opportunities and varying degrees of security can be incorporated. It is also important when implementing software licensing, that the end user’s interaction be considered.

A software License manager like RLM is an indispensable tool that can help you to design and enforce pricing models that are right for today’s customers, while giving you the flexibility to quickly adapt to new opportunities as they emerge.