White Paper
CmActLicense on a Host System
A CmActLicense on a host system behaves similar to a CmDongle. The user installs the CodeMeter Runtime Service
and configures it as a network license server on the host system.
In this case, the fingerprint of the CmActLicense’s binding to that system is created by referencing the real
hardware features of the host system. CodeMeter SmartBind® determines many different traits and features of the
hardware, prioritizes them by their validity, and creates the fingerprint. The CmActLicense you produced is then
bound to the host system and can be used only by that system or provided to other machines or guest systems by
a network license server on the host system. By determining the license quantity, you decide whether the license
can be used only locally on the host, or also as a network client on a guest system.
As software publisher, you also determine how tolerant the CmActLicense is when it comes to changes to the host
system hardware by choosing between “loose,” “medium,” or “strict” settings.
CodeMeter
Virtual hardware
Application
Guest
operating system
CodeMeter
Virtual hardware
License Quantity > 0
Virtualization software
License Quantity > 0
Host operating system
Application
Host
Guest
operating system
Application
Guest
Application
Guest
Image 9:
CmActLicense
bound to the
host system
CodeMeter
Real hardware
Users cannot use the same CmActLicense in each guest system as the host, even though they share the same
hardware. CodeMeter automatically prevents the proliferation of licenses by users trying to use the same
CmActLicense in a guest system on the same host.
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