Most appropriate license: disconnected systems

[Christian_C_]

Any suggestion for the most appropriate licensing for the following scenario?

I have four developers, and I want up to two at a time to be able to use VTune.  Price-wise, it seems like a simple cost comparison: 

4 x (named-single-user license = $899) = $3596

vs.

2 x (floating license = $3149) = $6298.

So that would seem to indicate that we want named-single-user licenses.  

However, I'm still unclear on the details regarding license management of named-single-user licenses.  In particular, sometimes our developers change computers several times per week, and sometimes those computers are shared by multiple developers.  Some of the systems involved have no Internet access.

Where can I get information regarding the named-single-user license management mechanisms, so I can determine if it will cause problems for the scenario described above?

[Alexandra_S_Intel · Accepted solution]

"In particular, sometimes our developers change computers several times per week, and sometimes those computers are shared by multiple developers."  

Under the EULA, section 3.7.3, (emphasis is mine):

NAMED-USER LICENSE: If You obtained the Materials under a named-user license, You may allow only one (1) individual to install and use the Materials on no more than three (3) computers provided that same individual is using the Materials only on one (1) computer at a time. If You obtained a time-limited named-user license, the term of Your license and your ability to use the Materials is limited to the time period of the obtained license, which is specified on Intel’s download website, specified in the applicable documentation or controlled by the license key for the Materials.

While I am not a lawyer, and cannot give legal advice, I can tell you about the technical aspects of a named user license. The named user license is a form of system-locked license, which means that it must be activated on each machine it is installed on, using that machine's host ID. Each named user license, which is to be used by one individual only, has several "activation slots" for this purpose. See this FAQ entry. Even though the EULA states that three are to be used, technically there are five slots (this is for the purpose of helping to mitigate activation slot clogging when activating on virtual machines repeatedly, allowing for transition periods when you're installing on machine 4 and don't want to deactivate machine 1 until you're sure it works, wiggle room for any potential glitches involving deactivations not going through, etc). Please note that it is the license that is to be used by one person, not the machine. Also please note that I mentioned deactivating a license on a given machine. The number-of-activations limit is "at a time", not "ever". You can deactivate an activation you no longer wish to use at the Registration Center very easily. See this FAQ entry.

Getting even more into "well, technically..." space, if you have Person A with serial number A and person B with serial number B, both working with the same software on the same machine, you'll have license files A and B on that machine, and technically, the program won't be able to tell which human is using it and know which license to use, so it may well use license B when person A is sitting in the chair. Please note that I am not a lawyer, so my word carries no legal weight, but, speaking strictly as an engineer, based on my personal understanding of the EULA and our practices... as far as I know, this is okay. :) Person A and Person B both have their own licenses, which have been properly keyed to the system (using up their activation slots), and are only using their license on one machine at a time, etc. If Person A sits down and the program decides to use license B, with all things considered in this situation, it might as well be using license A. So, my advice as an engineer, not a lawyer, is to not panic too much about this. :) If you really want to, you could keep the licenses in different locations and, assuming each person using the machine has a different login, you could have each user have a local environment variable setting INTEL_LICENSE_FILE to the location for their license.

"Some of the systems involved have no Internet access."

Named-user licenses work just fine offline. You can activate the license on a particular system online from any machine at the Registration Center, download the resultant license file, and use a USB or some such to move it to the offline system. You can then install and run the program using the license file. See this FAQ entry. For the record, if installed online using the serial number, you still get a license file, it's just that the installer does the registration to the host ID and the generation of the license file for you.

I hope this answers your question, and I'd like to remind you again that I'm not a lawyer and everything I said regarding the legal stuff is to be taken with a grain of salt, and you should probably ask a real legal expert if you want more clarification on those topics. I can forward questions to a legal contact if you really want more info, but I warn you it often takes time and sometimes it's hard to get a precise answer out of my legal contact because he's so very busy.

- Alex

[Christian_C_]

Hey Alex,

Thanks very much for the detailed reply.  It sounds like I should have no problem then.

So what happens if I let my support contract with Intel lapse?  Will I lose the ability to generate the license files needed to install (my now somewhat out of date) VTunes on new machines?

[Alexandra_S_Intel]

"So what happens if I let my support contract with Intel lapse?  Will I lose the ability to generate the license files needed to install (my now somewhat out of date) VTunes on new machines?"

When support expires you will:

• No longer receive priority support (longer wait times if you submit an Online Service Center ticket)
• No longer receive new updates to your software (you'll only be able to download, install, and run versions of the software that had already been released at the time of expiration)
• For evaluation, beta, and free (e.g. student) licenses only: no longer be able to use the software (This doesn't apply to you, but I'm stating it for anyone who comes in through google)

See this FAQ entry. So yes, you'll still be able to manage your licenses.

[Christian_C_]

Thanks Alex, that's just the info I needed.  Much appreciated.

[Alexandra_S_Intel]

No problem. Since your issue has been resolved, I'm going to close this thread. If you have another question please create a new thread so we can get to you in a timely and efficient fashion. :)