L I C E N S I N G
Simpler License Delivery with
Push Updates
As of version 6.70, CodeMeter can now create Modified Context Files (*.WibuCmRaM) and combine Update Files (*.WibuCmRaU)
for Universal Firm Codes. This sounds like a secondary technical change, but it is indeed one of the major features when it comes
to using CodeMeter in the field. This deceptively minor feature allows CodeMeter License Central to cover two new use cases:
Delivering licenses without new Context Files (*.WibuCmRaC) and delivering licenses when the Context File is outdated.
Updating Licenses 101
A few weeks ago, I was invited to a medical
device maker who is not yet using CodeMeter.
The system currently used by the company
works by sending the user a new USB dongle
whenever he buys a new feature. If a user
pays for two new features, he will receive two
new dongles. One feature, one dongle, even if
the user buys features in bulk.
This makes it easy for SAP, because the prepro-
grammed dongles can be delivered as usual.
However, the approach does not scale easily, can
be quite slow, and simply feels old-fashioned; for
this medical device maker, cloud licensing was
not an option, because not all of the devices
were actually connected to the Internet.
CodeMeter comes with remote programming
capabilities on board, based on a file exchange
system. The actual licenses are kept on hard-
ware-based CmDongles or in software-based
CmActLicenses and can be used without an
active Internet connection. To change anything
about a license, a Context File needs to come
back from the user to you, the ISV. You then
6
create an Update File, which can get to the
user through various, even offline channels.
This file changes or removes licenses or adds
new ones: Exactly as you need it.
You Only Update Once
Update Files are incremental updates, that is,
each builds on the previous update. This means
that the chain of updates cannot have a single
link missing or added at the wrong time. There
are also two other important security features:
Every Update File can only be used with the PC
or CmDongle that sent the original request. And
every Update File can only be used once. This is
important for incremental updates, in particular,
because a user could otherwise get only one
legitimate update and use it multiple times
without license to do so. The solution is simple,
but restrictive: It all works with one current
Context File sent to you by the user. At least, that
used to be the case before CodeMeter 6.70.
Online – Offline No Longer
Separate
With CodeMeter License Central, you have a
cloud-based solution for creating, delivering,
and managing licenses with unparalleled
comfort. You give your user a ticket that he can
use either in your software or in a dedicated
license portal like WebDepot. If your user is
online, the Context File is created automati-
cally and sent to CodeMeter License Central,
which generates an Update File with the
licenses defined for the ticket. The system
sends that file back to the software or license
portal, where the update is imported and a
receipt returned to CodeMeter License Central
in the form of a Context File.
Back to our manufacturer who does not yet
have CodeMeter on all of his devices. The
online capabilities of the CodeMeter License
Central cloud solution would make it easy to
manage the licenses for all devices connected
online. But what about offline devices? In
this case, WebDepot allows you to upload
the Context File and download the matching
Update File; in most cases, the receipt, as the
third link in that chain, is optional and can be
skipped. For our medical device maker, this
was still too unwieldy a process. Let us see
how easy we can make it for him.