License Simplification (LS) Overview

PTC Customers have often commented on the complexity and regulations designed into PTC licensing. Our new License Simplification (LS) project aims to address this concern by simplifying the licensing for the Pro/ENGINEER MCAD products.Our objective focuses on improving customer satisfaction through easier license configuration, installation and tracking processes.  Specifically, we plan to increase the customer’s flexibility to configure their licenses while also minimizing the number of Config IDs generated for a customer. All Pro/ENGINEER licenses and options can be combined onto a single Config ID and assigned through this one entity to the desired license server. As other products become available such as Pro/INTRALINK and Pro/MECHANICA, these can be added to this single Config ID. Please review the FAQs below on further details of this exciting change.


FAQs on License Simplification (LS)

License Management Questions
What is License Simplification?

What are the benefits?

What are the general changes with License Simplification?

When and in which products are eligible for License Simplification?

Does License Simplification work with older versions of software?

Do I have to change to the License Simplification scheme?

How can I obtain License Simplification licenses?


Technical LS Questions
Step-by-Step Pro/ENGINEER Installation Procedure Using License Simplification Where does License Simplification affect the Product?

How does the FLEXlm feature Line change?

How does the Product change for License Simplification?

How is PTC.Setup initiated for License Simplification?

How does PTC.Setup change for License Simplification?

How are the various license types initiated?

How does License Simplification handle Lost licenses?

How does Ptcstatus change with License Simplification?


License Management Questions


What is License Simplification?
License simplification is an opportunity to consolidate PTC licensed products under one config id per customer CPU. It increases customer's flexibility to configure their licenses while also minimizing the number of Config IDs generated for a customer.

All Pro/ENGINEER licenses and options can be combined onto a single Config ID and assigned through this one entity to the desired license server. As other products become available such as Pro/INTRALINK and Pro/MECHANICA, these can be added to this single Config ID.

*See list of currently eligible products

Example of License Simplification

Complex Licensing License Simplification
00-B0-D0-C0-F2-17

961581
711954
711756
541114
55815
58716
71117
71118
860769
17358
879874
687548
745138
687687
654654
987590

00-B0-D0-C0-F2-17

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What are the benefits?
  1. Increase our customers flexibility to manage PTC licenses
    • With the license configuration integrated into the installation process, customers can alter the assignment and configuration of functions without contacting the PTC License Management team.
  2. Removes a majority of the licensing rules
    • Many of the licensing rules that generated numerous Config IDs have been eliminated. Licenses are simply assigned to a machine through a Config ID.
    • Timed and perpetual licenses can now be combined onto the same Config ID.
  3. Stabilizes licensing Config ID numbers
    • With the elimination of the licensing requirements on Config IDs, each customer will have significantly fewer Config IDs to manage.

    • License changes will not force config id changes due to the old requirements.

  4. Reduces the time associated with licensing PTC products.

    • Customers and PTC will no longer need to research and maintain the tight control on the multiple flavors of licenses based on how the products were originally purchased.

  5. Reduce System Administration time for license changes

    • Common feature names reduce client updates because as licenses are moved between servers, the feature name and thus startup commands remain constant. The only potential change would be the client's server list, which is a relatively simple update.

  6. Improves license tracking process

    • Reduces information surrounding PTC products

    • Expected 2/3 reduction in Config Ids

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What are the general changes with License Simplification?
License Simplification provides the following main changes to the licensing scheme:
  1. Moves the license configuration from licensing process to installation process.
      Specifically, each purchased item will be listed within the license file as a separate feature thus allowing the customer to group licenses during installation.

  2. Assigns all products to a machine through a single Config ID. 
      Many of the traditional licensing restrictions that forced similar products to be defined on separate Config IDs have been removed. The Config ID becomes reduced to a mechanism to assigning products to a license server.

  3. Uses common Feature Names in licenses.
      With each purchased item being uniquely defined in the license file, products will be defined with a consistent feature name. This format follows a more standard approach to using FLEXlm and allows floating options to be initiated with a base license during start-up.
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When and in which products are eligible for License Simplification?
The License Simplification changes will be integrated into all of the Pro/ENGINEER family of products. It is currently available in Pro/ENGINEER version 2001 with build 2001440 or later and also Pro/INTRALINK at version 3.2 (all datecodes).
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Does License Simplification work with older versions of software? 
The product and licensing changes have not been implemented in older versions of Pro/ENGINEER. Customers should only update to the License Simplification scheme when they have or are ready to install Pro/ENGINEER build 2001440 or later. The simplified license scheme is not downward compatible to versions of Pro/ENGINEER before build 2001440.
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Do I have to change to the License Simplification scheme? 
Due to the significant customer benefits with the License Simplification scheme, PTC encourages all customers to quickly update to the latest version of software and convert to the new license process. However, this is not a requirement and customers can use the traditional license scheme with Pro/ENGINEER Release 2001. Please note - future versions of Pro/ENGINEER may only be provided in the License Simplification format.
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How can I obtain License Simplification licenses? 
A new License Management Web Tool, Simplify Licenses, has been developed and is available on the PTC Order & License Support page at http://www.ptc.com/olm/index.htm. Customers should utilize this web tool to update to the new license scheme. The web tool automatically consolidates the licenses onto a selected Config ID and returns an updated license file within minutes.
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Technical LS Questions


Where does License Simplification affect the product?
License Simplification affects changes within the license file, the Product (Pro/ENGINEER, etc.), and PTC.Setup. Both the License Server and the Client machines will need to be updated to this latest version of the product.

IMPORTANT Please note this version of Pro/ENGINEER has been built with and requires using FLEXlm 7.2. The License Simplification changes utilize some new functionality in FLEXlm 7.2, which is now distributed by default on the Pro/ENGINEER CD.

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How does the FLEXlm feature Line change? 
There are two changes to the formatting of the feature line under LS:
  • The Config ID is no longer part of the feature name. Instead, it is moved under the SN tag elsewhere in the feature line.
  • A new classification of floating options/bundles, called Startup, has been created for all locked modules and extensions. This new feature classification can be identified by the keyword STARTUP in the Vendor String.
STARTUP options and bundles are available for checkout only at runtime (when starting a base license). They cannot be added or released via the Utilities->Floating Modules dialog.

The following provides examples for a license-to-run and a floating bundle under the License Simplification process. New areas described above are shown in bold text:

INCREMENT PROE_FlexEng ptc_d 23.0 01-jan-0 0 \
1CCBD4992306440F61A0 VENDOR_STRING="VSVER=2.0 LO=(0, \
3, 6, 7, 10, 17, 19, 32, 34, 40, 45, 51, 52, 55, 62, \
63, 66, 69, 71, 73, 97, 106, 108, 115, 126, 127, \
128, 158)" HOSTID=PTC_HOSTID=00-CC-DD-33 SUPERSEDE \
vendor_info="VIVER=1.0 EXTERNAL_NAME=" ISSUER=PTC \
ISSUED=09-nov-2001 NOTICE=" PTC_CUSROMER, 000" \
SN=1234568

INCREMENT 10118 ptc_d 23.0 01-jan-0 1 \
AC2BD4A9DB54B88A6429 VENDOR_STRING="VSVER=2.0 STARTUP \
LO=()" SUPERSEDE ISSUER=PTC ISSUED=09-nov-2001 \
NOTICE="PTC_CUSROMER, 000"

INCREMENT PROBUNDLE_10118 ptc_d 23.0 01-jan-0 0 \
5C9B8499D4B428AA6E42 VENDOR_STRING="VSVER=2.0 \
LO=(32, 52, 63)" HOSTID=ANY SUPERSEDE ISSUER=PTC \
ISSUED=09-nov-2001 NOTICE=" PTC_CUSROMER, 000"

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How does the Product change for License Simplification?
Within the Product, the Technical Support Info and About Pro/ENGINEER screens have been changed to properly support the Config ID whether the license is an LS license, as above, or the current license style where the Config ID is part of the feature name (e.g. PROE_1274228). The following page contains an example of the License Information provided in Technical Support Info.

	=======================================
	License Information
	=======================================
	
	Config-ID: 1274228
	Product Version: 2001
	Product Build: 2001440
	License Name: PROE_FlexEng
	License Version: 23.0
	License Type: Commercial version, Node-Locked License
	Server Name: bimmer
	
	LM_LICENSE_FILE is defined: 7788@bimmer


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How is PTC.Setup initiated for License Simplification?
PTC.Setup has a new mode or option the enables the setup utility to accept the License Simplification style license file and enables the user to configure the Startup Features. Using the option -simplify proe as a command line argument launches this version of PTC.Setup. For example, setup.exe simplify proe.

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How does PTC.Setup change for License Simplification?
The -simplify proe argument introduces a radio selection in the Command Configuration screen with No Config ID (LS Scheme) or Config ID (Current Scheme) as options. Selecting the No Config ID option presents the following dialog:

Please note the radio will be grayed out if you attempt to edit an existing command; it is only available for new commands. New functionality under LS includes the ability to add the STARTUP variety of floating options or bundles, called License Extensions, to the startup command. Regular floating options and bundles, called Floating Options, can also be added.

If you select Modify next to either License Extensions or Floating Options, you will receive a dialog similar to the one below.

This dialog enables you to add or edit License Extensions or Floating Options.

Suggested techniques on the installation of Pro/ENGINEER using License Simplification can be found at:

Step-by-step Installation Procedure of Pro/ENGINEER using License Simplification on Windows

Step-by-step Installation Procedure of Pro/ENGINEER using License Simplification on UNIX

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How are the various license types initiated?
The PTC.Setup process defines startup commands with any additional License Extensions or Floating Options. Adding License Extensions or Floating Options to a startup command results in the PROE_FEATURE_NAME variable outlined in the below example. This variable is defined inside the Pro/ENGINEER startup command. The example below shows syntax valid only for UNIX:

    PROE_FEATURE_NAME before LS:
    setenv PROE_FEATURE_NAME PROE_1274228

    PROE_FEATURE_NAME after LS:
    setenv PROE_FEATURE_NAME PROE_FlexEng (10118,32)

Note that in addition to checking out the license PROE_FlexEng, the bundle 10118 and the floating option 32 will also be checked out, if available. If some options are not available, a warning dialog will be produced stating that some features could not be obtained. This dialog will also enumerate the options/bundles that could not be obtained. Once the user acknowledges this dialog, they may begin working.

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How does License Simplification handle Lost licenses?
During a session, if a license is lost and the user tries to regain his license-to-run, Pro/ENGINEER will try to obtain his license-to-run and all other features specified in the startup command. This could include STARTUP options/bundles and/or regular options/bundles.

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How does Ptcstatus change with License Simplification?
Ptcstatus output has changed to support the displacement of the Config ID from the feature name to the SN tag. Ptcstatus now has two modes, a normal mode, executed by running ptcstatus from the command line, and a verbose mode, executed by running ptcstatus v. The following illustrates the differences in output between these two modes:

ptcstatus v

Displaying status for license file: 7788@static
Running Redundant Servers:
     static.ptc.com
     snow.ptc.com
     isabela.ptc.com
ptc_d FLEXlm version: 7.2
License In Use Free Version Expire Date ConfigID
PROE_FOUNDATION 1 99 24.0 None 548797
(user@host) static.ptc.com 77888341
PPROE_FOUNDATION-EMX 0 50 24.0 None 214578 
PROE_FOUNDATION-APX 0 50 24.0 None 354812
PROE_MODCHK-REG 0 100 24.0 None 123456  
PROE_REVIEW 0 10 24.0 None 654321 
PROE_EMPTY 0 100 24.0 None 123548
TMSINDA_INHOUSE 0 10 4.0 None 245154
PROE_INHOUSE 31 169 24.0 None 215484
(user2@host2) static.ptc.com 7788 2548

ptcstatus

Displaying status for license file: 7788@static
Running Redundant Servers:
     static.ptc.com
     snow.ptc.com
     isabela.ptc.com
License In Use Free
PROE_FOUNDATION 1 99
(user@host) static.ptc.com 77888341
PPROE_FOUNDATION-EMX 0 50
PROE_FOUNDATION-APX 0 50
PROE_MODCHK-REG 0 100
PROE_REVIEW 0 10
PROE_EMPTY 0 100
TMSINDA_INHOUSE 0 10
PROE_INHOUSE 31 166
(user2@host2) static.ptc.com 7788 2548

Note that options or bundles that are type STARTUP, will be indicated with an asterisk (*).

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