Network License

Network Licensing is a powerful and flexible technology which maximises the availability and usage of Alchemy products throughout the enterprise. Based on the industry standard for enterprise wide license management, it extends the ease and flexibility in deploying Alchemy products and reduces the total cost of ownership (TCO). Network Licensing enables you to share all your Alchemy product licenses across your organization. It creates a 'pool' of centralized licenses that can be used across multiple client workstatsions and different geographical locations. Alchemy Network License Manager™ 2.0 is a server based technology which helps manage this 'pool' of licenses. It provides secure access to and centralized management of all Alchemy product licenses across the enterprise.

Alchemy Software Development uses two types of software licensing: "Stand-Alone" (single installations) and "Network" license.

Stand-Alone License

This license type is the most commonly used. It binds the software to a specific workstation. This type of installation is most effective when there is little or no need to share the license, or move it from one workstation to another. This is also the default type of license for all Alchemy products.

Network License

This license type requires communication between the client software (the application installed on the user’s PC) and network license management software (Alchemy NETWORK License Manager) installed on a central license server. When an Alchemy CATALYST installation runs, it acquires a license from the server, returning that license when it is shut down. Licenses can thus be “floated” over an entire corporate network, transferring from one workstation to the next as required.

A Network License creates a pool of license that client workstations can use. This enables Alchemy product licenses to be shared across the enterprise with ease. Using Network Licenses, every client workstation can have an installation of Alchemy CATALYST. This improves the availability of Alchemy technology while the central license server provides a secure and easy to manage administration console. Using Network Licenses, Alchemy CATALYST is available anytime, anyplace, anywhere.

Key Benefits

The benefits of Network Licensing are:

• Flexible & efficient Usage of Licenses: Licenses can be managed centrally and deployed on every desktop within your group, effectively sharing your license pool across the enterprise.
  
  
• Usage Tracking: Because a central license server manages all licenses, an administrator can keep track of how licenses are being used. This is useful data for day-to-day administration of licenses as well as input for the budgeting and forecasting process for future software investments.
  
  
• Control: Network licensing gives an administrator control over an individual user’s or group’s ability to access software. Licenses can be moved from one group to another without having to install or uninstall software.
  
  
• Standardization: The Network License Manager in Alchemy CATALYST 6.0 is based on FLEXlm® technology from Macrovision Corporation, the de facto standard for network licensing.
  
  
  

Configurations

There are three configurations available for Network Licenses:

• Single License Server: Ideal for small deployments that want to centralize all licenses on a single license server. Works best in LAN topologies.
  
  
• Distributed License Server: Best overall option that allows for multiple license servers that pool aggregate number of licenses and makes them available to the entire organization. This technology is extremely easy to deploy and scales easiest with the growth in the number of Alchemy licenses and locations. It also has the benefit of working in both LAN and WAN topologies.
  
  
• Redundant License Server: A configuration of precisely three license servers that communicate with each other and collectively manage the pool of licenses. If any one of the server goes down, the pool is still available to the organization. This configuration, while the most fault tolerant, works best on a Local Area Network (LAN).