ImageGear v26.5 - Updated
Developer Guide / Licensing Glossary
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    Licensing Glossary
    In This Topic

    Access Key

    All licenses are assigned a unique identifier known as an Access Key. Access Keys are associated with the organization that purchased the license.

    Accusoft Products

    An Accusoft product may be licensed with either a Toolkit License or a Runtime License.

    Activation

    Activation is the process of selecting a previously registered Toolkit license. Licenses may be paid (Toolkit) or evaluation, and may be for one of many product editions, for products with multiple editions.

    Automatically Reported Runtime Licensing

    Runtimes may be licensed in one of two ways: automatic reporting or manual reporting. With automatic reporting, you do not need to worry about royalty reporting; it is handled by the licensing layer. See Automatically Reported Runtime (Node-Locked).

    Customers, Developers, and Users

    Customers are simply any person who has purchased an Accusoft product. Developers are customers who possess a Toolkit license. Users are typically the customers of Accusoft's customers who use applications built around Accusoft components and are assigned a runtime license.

    Edition

    Some Accusoft products have multiple editions. Editions may offer multiple levels of product speed or product features, allowing customers to find a price-performance mix that is appropriate for them. Products that support multiple editions register multiple Toolkit licenses at installation time, one Toolkit license per edition. Developers must select an edition to activate using the License Manager.

    Hardware Key

    When a license is activated for a product, the system information that identifies the installation hardware is contained within an encrypted string and is used to generate the license key for the product. The string containing the encrypted hardware information is known as the Hardware Key.

    License Configuration File

    When a Toolkit or an Automatically Reported Runtime (Node-Locked) license is purchased, a configuration file is provided that contains information about the license that was purchased. This file is used by the licensing utilities (License Manager and Server Licensing Utility (SLU)) to install a license on the system.

    License Key

    Each product license has a unique key associated with it that uniquely identifies the customer, product, version, edition, and platforms, and, in some cases, the hardware for which the license is valid.

    License Manager

    The License Manager is a GUI application that is used by developers to register and activate Toolkit licenses on their development systems.

    Manually Reported Runtime Licensing

    Runtimes may be licensed in one of two ways: automatic reporting or manual reporting. With Manually Reported Runtime (Non-Node-Locked), you embed all of the licensing information directly into your application. You must manually provide royalty reporting to Accusoft for the actual licenses deployed. This model will be the best choice for you if you are not connected to the internet at runtime, as might be the case in an defense or financial application.

    Node-Locked Licensing

    Another name for Automatically Reported Runtime (Node-Locked).

    Non-Node-Locked Licensing

    Another name for Manually Reported Runtime (Non-Node-Locked).

    Paid License

    A paid license is a Toolkit license that you have purchased from Accusoft. It is ready to be used in production, with no trial dialog pop-ups. If you wish to test other editions of the Accusoft product for which you have purchased a Paid License, you may try an Unlicensed Evaluation for that edition.

    Registration

    Registration is the process of informing the License Manager about a new Toolkit license you have purchased. It uses this information to create a license key on your system; this allows you to activate the product for development with no restrictions, such as trial dialog pop-ups.

    Runtime (Deployment) Licensing

    When deploying an application, a Runtime License is also required for each user’s installation. You must purchase runtime licenses, which are consumed as licenses are registered. There are two Runtime Licensing models: Automatically Reported Runtime (Node-Locked); and Manually Reported Runtime (Non-Node-Locked).

    Server Licensing Utility (SLU)

    The Server Licensing Utility (SLU) is a small GUI application that allows you to request a license key from the Runtime licenses you have purchased. The SLU is the mechanism for Automatically Reported Runtime (Node-Locked).

    Toolkit Licensing

    Each Toolkit is assigned to a specific developer who has a registered account with Accusoft. When the developer installs the Toolkit, it is not fully functional until they have activated the license through the use of the License Manager application. When the developer starts the License Manager, they are required to provide login credentials that identify and allow them to activate their license on a development system. See Toolkit Licensing.

    Unlicensed Evaluation

    An unlicensed evaluation is a Toolkit license that is unpaid. Evaluation Toolkit licenses can be used to try out our products. When you determine the product is a good fit, you can purchase a Toolkit license.

    Web Services

    When a license is registered, information that uniquely identifies the customer’s or user’s hardware is passed along with the license information over the Internet to a web service. The web service validates the licensing request, generates a key that includes the hardware information, and returns the new license key to the application that made the licensing request. The license key is then stored on the requested system and used by the component when it is executed. It is also possible to register systems that are not directly connected to the Internet through the use of removable media and a different system that is connected to the Internet.