L I C E N S I N G
License Monitoring with CodeMeter
What is happening to your software out in the field ? That is a question that many software developers and vendors are asking themselves – and not just out of pure curiosity .
Detailed insights into user behavior and preferences offer valuable information about the frequency of use or the popularity of individual features . Such analyses can help optimize products , focus on the components that are used most often , and adjust license models to the changing needs and expectations of users in the field .
CodeMeter offers a range of ways to track how licenses are treated and to limit how often and for how long they can be used .
License Tracking License Tracking helps monitor how licenses are used by customers or users .
The CodeMeter License Server provides licenses through the network , with the number of usable licenses and metrics defined by the vendor . Possible metrics include the number of launched applications or the number of workstations ( StationShare ).
License Tracking is activated by the user . The CodeMeter License Server records every instance when a license is accessed or when it is denied , with detailed information about the user name , device name , or IP address , and the ID of the license . The data can be accessed via an interface in CodeMeter WebAdmin for simple statistics ( see image 1 ); more complex analytics can be obtained by exporting the license tracking data as a separate logfile ( see image 3 ).
License Tracking for ISVs In addition to greater transparency about costs , license tracking helps identify unused or missing licenses , giving software vendors new ways to optimize their licensing systems . Combined with overflow licenses ( i . e ., additional licenses that customers are allowed to use beyond the number they actually paid for ), this helps track with precision and confidence which licenses are in use . The data facilitates billing after the agreed usage period .
License Tracking for Users License tracking allows corporate users to assign and bill their licenses with granular precision to different cost centers within their organizations . With the data for the active licenses , the usage per license and cost center can be tracked with ease .
License Tracking Technique License tracking uses a parser-friendly format to monitor all successful or failed license allo- cations through the CodeMeter License Server . It creates a logfile from this data for later automatic analysis ; the data itself can be transferred into formats that work well with third-party analytics tools or ERP systems .
License tracking monitors which licenses are available or in use down to the second , and it keeps track of which licenses are still out in the field or already returned to the CodeMeter License Server . Any changes in the form of updates are recorded , creating a virtual history of the license lifecycle .
License Tracking Security License tracking captures data with cryptographic security to prevent any tampering by the user or other parties . This is done by signing the logfiles with the key stored securely on a Cm- Dongle , in a CmActLicense , or in the CmCloud .
The captured data is transmitted back to the developer at regular intervals , making it available for analytical and statistical purposes . It is possible to validate the real-time data ( see image 2 ).
Use Case : Product Management Consider a software vendor who offers a selec-
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