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1.2. Overview of 6.x/7.x/8.x Concurrent Network Licenses

Applies to:
Palisade Concurrent Network software, releases 6.x/7.x/8.x

See also: Overview of 6.x/7.x Commercial Licenses and Academic Licensing Options (6.x/7.x). If you have a 5.x release, see Overview of 5.x Concurrent Network Licenses.

What are the benefits of a network license?

With a network license, you perform a one-time activation step to transfer the license from Palisade's server to your server. You get one serial number and one Activation ID, regardless of the number of users. You have the option to split your purchased licenses between servers if you wish. The end-user computers get their licenses from your server, not ours, which simplifies the activation process and your license administration. Neither server nor clients need to be on the Internet. The network client installs can be completely scripted, which simplifies your configuration management.

The Concurrent Network or "floating" license has these additional advantages for IT and for end users:

What are the customer's responsibilities with a network license?

Since the network license resides on your server, and Palisade's server is not involved in any way after the initial transfer, the license is your responsibility to manage. Palisade has no way to know who within your organization is using a license or even how many licenses are in use at a given time, so license administration is up to you. The only requirement is that you deactivate the network license before you reimage a license server.

For the full license terms, please see https://www.palisade.com/legal/ 

What is a Concurrent Network?

In a Concurrent Network, you install the license software on your license server, activate the network license on the server, and then install the client software on as many user workstations as you wish. Concurrent Network licenses are sold by number of simultaneous (concurrent) users.

Concurrent Network licenses are usually of the activatable (trusted storage) type, but certificate licenses are also an option. For the difference, please see Choose Network License Type.

There is no activation step on Concurrent Network clients. Instead, the end user software gets a license dynamically from your server (not ours) when launched, and releases the license when shut down. Concurrent Network users normally must be connected through your network to your server while running the software, but there is an option to borrow a license for off-network use.

If the contracted number of licenses are already in use when a user tries to launch the software, the user sees a message that no license is available at this time, and will have to try again later. If that happens too often, it is easy to add licenses without reinstalling anything.

Just as there is no limit to the number of installs of Concurrent Network clients, you don't need to do anything special before wiping or decommissioning a Concurrent Network client.

What are the system requirements for the license server?

Any Windows machine, with Windows 7 or later, is fine. A dedicated machine is not necessary, because all the server has to do is sit and listen for license requests from the clients. You should not notice any performance impact from the licensing process. Thus a peer-to-peer environment is just fine, though of course, the person who is using the "server" must not shut it down when anyone else wants to use the networked Palisade software.

Virtual servers are supported. With a virtual server, you have the same responsibility as with a physical server: you must deactivate the network license before you wipe or decommission the server.

Usually, the server manages the license, and the application runs on the end-user computers. But it's also possible to set up a Concurrent Network in a terminal services, Citrix, or thin client configuration, where computing happens on the central server. Please see Citrix and Terminal Services for more.

See also: License Server System Requirements.

What are requirements for the corporate network?

While a conventional LAN is the most common configuration, it's not a requirement. We have users running on wider networks, including networks linking the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. You can set things up so that the client reaches the license server by a simple host name, by a qualified name, or even by an IP address.

What are requirements for the end-user workstations (clients)?

Please see Windows and Office Versions Supported by Palisade and Hardware Requirements or Recommendations.

Is an Internet connection needed?

The clients don't need an Internet connection. They get their Palisade software license from your server, not Palisade's server.

For the server, an ongoing Internet connection is not needed. When you first activate your license (transfer the license to your server), an Internet connection is helpful but not an absolute requirement.

Can I grant or deny access to the network license for particular users or groups of users?

Yes, please see Access Control in Concurrent Network.

Must end users be connected to our network, or can they run off network?

Users are normally connected to the network, and the client software dynamically obtains a license from your server. But it's also possible to borrow a license for use off network, for example on a laptop while traveling. Borrowing is disabled by default, but you can enable it through an option in our Server Manager software. If you enable borrowing, you select a maximum borrowing period.

When borrowing a license, the user selects an expiration date or number of days, up to the maximum that you specified on the server. During that time, the application can run without being connected to your license server, and one license fewer is available to users who do connect to the server. At the end of the borrowing period, the license automatically returns to the server pool even if the client is not connected to the server. If the user finishes off-network use sooner than planned, the license can be returned early. For user instructions, see Borrowing a Concurrent Network License for Use off Network.

If you have a few users who use the application off network a lot of the time, it might make sense to give them standalone licenses rather than have them participate in the pool of the concurrent licenses. Your Palisade sales manager can help you determine whether a pure concurrent model or a mixed model makes more sense for you.

How do we change out an end user's computer, or upgrade their copy of Windows?

A Concurrent Network has unlimited installs, so usually you can just wipe computers and install the software as often as you want. There's one exception: if the client has borrowed a license, you should return it before wiping or reimaging the end user computer. If you don't, the borrowed license will be unavailable until the end of the borrowing period, but then it will automatically return to the available pool on the server.

What do we have to do when changing or reimaging our server?

Changing Concurrent Network servers is easy and does not require reinstalling the software on the users' workstations. A software setting on each workstation directs it to look to the new server for a license, instead of the old one. Please see Moving Concurrent Network to a New Server for details.

The license terms allow for deactivating a network server license once in any 90 days. You must not reimage a network server while the license is on it, or the license will be lost.

How do we upgrade the end-users to a new version of Palisade software?

With a current subscription, you are entitled to upgrade the application software whenever we release a new version. Depending on the exact nature of the upgrade, this may be as simple as installing the new version over top of the old, or it may be necessary also to download a new set of licenses keyed to the new version. Contact your Palisade sales manager for details.

Where do I find technical documentation?

See Network Guide or Guía para Administradores.

If you have already installed the server software, you can also click Start » Programs » Palisade Network Server » Guide for Administrators. However, the Guide on the Web is updated more frequently, and the online Guía is more complete than the one installed with the server software. (Beginning with 7.5.2, the English-language network guide is no longer installed as part of the server software. Beginning with 7.6.0, the same is also true of the Spanish network guide.)

Last edited: 2021-11-04

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