What is Network Licensing?
BobCAD-CAM supports 2 different types of licensing for end users. First let’s look at what these types are an why you would use each. The two types are:
- Standard PC License
- Network License (Floating)
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Standard PC License
With a standard PC license the user is issued a License ID and Password which allows the software to run on that specific PC. You cannot install the software on multiple PC’s and use the same License ID and Password for the BobCAD-CAM software to run. If you need the software to run on multiple PC’s you must first de-authorize the software from one PC, then the license can be authorized to run on a different PC. In the image below you can see each user has their own license.
Above you can see that each PC has its own license software license for a total of 4. If a user wanted to go to another PC and work from that station, even if no other users were trying to use the software each station would have to have its own license as shown below.
Network Licensing (Floating)
A Network License allows the end user to install the software on an unlimited number of computers on the network. The number of licenses that are required to purchase is based on the number of users you wish to be using the software at the same time.
When a user launches the software the system will contact the license server on the network and if a software license is available the system will issue that user a license. Again the number of concurrent users is based on the number of product licenses purchased. In the following image you can see there are 8 workstations with the software installed. The user can open the software on any of the 8 computers and the 1st license will be issued to them because they are the only user.
Licenses are distributed from the License Server to the users in a 1st come 1st serve basis.
With network licensing you can have multiple licenses allowing multiple users to be using the software at the same time. The following illustration shows 8 PC workstations that all have the BobCAD-CAM software installed. The Network license server has 3 software licenses available for the users. Each of the 3 users could work from any of the 8 computers.
The workstation the user accesses the software from on the network is not restricted as shown in the following illustration.
When working on a Network license it’s important to remember you cannot simultaneously run more copies of the BobCAD-CAM software than you have product licenses for. When you attempt this you will receive a message from the software letting you know that no license was available.
The following illustration shows 4 users trying to access the BobCAD-CAM software at the same time when the License Server only has 3 licenses available.
The 4th user will receive a message letting them know they have no licenses available.
Purchasing Network Licensing
Before you purchase Network Licensing there are some key points you must determine to make sure it’s the right choice for you.
- Are all the PC’s you wish to run the BobCAD-CAM software on linked together on a network?
- If they are not, then you cannot use the Network License service to provide licenses to those systems.
- How many users will need to use the BobCAD-CAM software at the same time?
- If one or more persons need to be able to move around and access the BobCAD-CAM system from different PC’s on the same network at the same time then you are a good candidate.
Network Licensing requires the purchase of:
- Network License Server Module
- Individual Software Products desired
Example:
Customer needs 3 users to be able to work using Mill 3 Axis Pro, all at the same time.
Order:
1x Network License Server Module
3x Mill 3 Axis Pro
BobCAD-CAM is a global provider of CNC software products, providing the most powerful and affordable software for many purposes; from hobbyists to NASA. We believe in our product so much that we invite you to download a Free Demo directly from our website and personally experience the difference our CAM software makes.