sharp@ksi.cpsc.ucalgary.ca (Maurice Sharp) (01/11/90)
The title says it all. What is it ? maurice Maurice Sharp MSc. Student University of Calgary Computer Science Department 2500 University Drive N.W. sharp@ksi.cpsc.UCalgary.CA Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4 ...!alberta!calgary!sharp
dan@cpsc.ucalgary.ca (Dan Freedman) (01/11/90)
In article <2321@cs-spool.calgary.UUCP> sharp@ksi.cpsc.ucalgary.ca (Maurice Sharp) writes: > > The title says it all. What is it ? > > maurice When an organization buys software, it usually buys the right to run N copies of the software. With "Hot Seat" licenses, these copies can run on any nodes in the network, providing no more than N copies are running at once. The copies coordinate either with each other or with a "License Server" (such as Apollos's NLS) in order to oversee the use of the licenses. In contrast, with node-locked licenses, the organization licenses the software to run on N nodes. Hot-seat licenses are a reflection of: 1) The true nature of hardware reliability, in which nodes go down. With hot-seat licenses, you can in general run the software on another node. 2) The true nature of software use, in which users do not use a piece of software 24hours per day, every day. Hot seat licenses allow different users to use the software at different times, without the users having to share nodes. In a large network, this is almost mandatory. Node-locked licenses are a reflection of: 1) The true nature of software technology, in which vendors do not (did not???) want to develop the somewhat complex software necessary to coordinate multiple invocations of their software. 2) The true nature of software marketing, in which it is clearly better to sell someone something that a) will be unused most of the time, and b) you can sell them several times as many of. Dan Freedman. Dan Freedman University of Calgary Computer Science Department 2500 University Drive N.W. dan@ksi.cpsc.UCalgary.CA Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4