I received a confusing email from Chaos this morning about changes in the licensing system.
Can the Enscape team clarify whether we will be able to continue using our floating licenses with Enscape 4.1?
@Pieter_2 , for the users who update their client to >4.1, there is not much change. After the/your IT Admin setups a remote license server, they can keep using Enscape without login. For the users who are using old versions (<4.1), they can also keep using Enscape without further adjustments. When it comes to additional details you can always refer to License Setup guide here.
In general if there are additional uncertainties that need any clearing please ideally reach out to our licensing team directly via the Help Center to receive a response as quickly as possible since they are also prepared for upcoming questions like this.
Is this remote license server set up in the cloud? I need to make sure this new system works for my users, even if they are working from home. We donât have a windows server anymore as all our applications run in the cloud. We also donât use VPN or any other type of remote-in software.
Allow me to share a summed up version of the dedicated full License Guide I posted in my previous reply:
The Chaos License Server is a software that manages access to licenses by acting as a bridge between the Chaos back-end server and your local network. It needs to be installed on one or more of the computers in your local network. While you can install the License Server on each computer that needs a license, this approach becomes cumbersome for IT management. Here are our recommendations for setup:
- Small Number of Computers: Install a License Server on each computer. You can log in with your account on multiple instances simultaneously.
- Small Office (about 10 computers): Use one License Server on a single computer for all.
- Big Office: Install 2-3 License Servers on different machines for redundancy.
- Multiple Locations: Use 2-3 License Servers at each location.
Computers will connect to the Chaos License Server using its IP address, which should not be public for security reasons. Users not on a secure local network should install the License Server locally on their machines.
Feel free to share additional questions here though as mentioned prior you can also ideally reach out to licensing directly as they will be expecting upcoming inquiries in this regard and will be happy to go into further detail if something may not be entirely clear yet.
Sorry but I much rather have this discussion out in the open. I think the answers to my questions might be helpful to others.
Basically what you are saying is that I will need to install (and maintain) a license server on each individual machine. Like I said before, most days a significant portion of my users is working from home, so they donât have access to a local network. All our 20+ other software packages support online authentication, (like enscape currently does).
It really feels like you are downgrading to ancient technology to be honest.
For us this is the straw that broke the camels back. Weâve been dissatisfied with enscape development for a couple of years now, so that last thing Iâm going to do is quadruple our license expenditure by getting an individual license for every user in my office. Iâm going to investigate a switch to D5.
As it depends on the number of machines you can just setup a single server to which your users can then connect e.g. in a âSmall Office (about 10 computers): Use one License Server on a single computer for all.â
I fully understand that this adjustment will need some configuration and âgetting used toâ but there is for example no need to either install a server on EACH machine nor will you require any additional licenses. If you have any IT admins to refer to they can also check out this article here which explains how users can utilize a license even when not located in your local network.
So summed up and to also link one additional article which should be very helpful for you or your IT department here:
âWhen using a Premium Chaos License to share among a number of machines, it is most convenient to centrally handle all floating licenses in the network. This means installing and activating the License Server on a central location (i.e., a machine within the network to which all others have access) and setting up all other users to connect remotely to this central License Server.â
Feel free to perhaps discuss this accordingly internally where it makes sense, knowing that this requires a specific setup and should any additional questions arise let me know.
All the articles you referenced assume the existence of a local network. When my users are working from home, there is no local network.
Maybe the license exports from Chaos can come here to weigh in. Lets have these conversations out in the open instead of behind closed doors.
The options you have here are the following just to sum them up too:
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You can create a centralized license server, and the user connects via VPN to the company network and uses the license that way
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You install a local license server on the userâs machine and the user login to it with an account that has a license assigned
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You can also use the SSP and assign each user a license from it and then they have to again install the local license server on the userâs machine just this time the user uses their own email address to login which they have assigned the license to
I hope this helps clear this up a bit more. Again not to sound like a broken record or anything but I reckon your IT department should be familiar already with similar systems and possibly advice what the best solution here might be for your company after checking out the Chaos license server articles as well.
Whatever the case may be, let me know if there are further questions and Iâll be glad to answer them.
Our IT department is familiar with Chaosâ existing licensing systems and sees no way to fix our problems. I have talked to our IT specialist multiple times and we both have read the documentation multiple times. It seems our use case (working remote without a vpn) has been completely overlooked. It would be nice if that at least was recognized as such.
OK. This new system is extremely frustrating.
Going back in time to outdated licensing models sucks.
So, the license server is a tiny application. I installed it on two existing servers in each office.
From what I have read, in order for remote users to use Enscape without having to be connected to VPN, we have to install the license server on their remote PCâs as well.
For that to work, that license server must be logged into using the admin user account?
If I dont want all of my remote users to know the admin login, I have to assign them a fixed user license?
Iâm sorry. This is so dumb. Why overcomplicate something that was super simple previously.
That said, Is there documentation for deploying all of this mess with silent installations? Pointing machines to the servers on their local subnet? Signing into license server automatically so the user does not need to know the account information?
To add to the deployment frustration, it seems I will have to create unique deployments for each office so that they point to the appropriate license servers?
I agree. I wonder how that discussion went at Chaos. It makes sense to use a single license system for all Chaos products. So I guess at one time, the Chaos license team got together to decide which system to use. âOk, what system do we settle on? The user-friendly one created by Enscape? Or the cumbersome, outdated one made by Chaos? Hmmm, tough decision, though decisionâŚâ :evil:
All software companies have to fight piracy, letâs not kid ourselves that everyone who uses Enscape and disturbingly not everyone here in this âcommunityâ uses a legal version.
This licence change not only unifies the chaos apps but also effâs up pirates (or at least for a while), but⌠as a result us legit users now have to suffer the bs.
Iâm fine with fighting piracy, just seems there could be better ways to do it.
I had one deployment for my entire business.
Now, I need 3 separate deployments of Enscape. One for each location with unique config files pointing to the license servers in each office.
I need to separate this from my overall deployment for new systems.
What happens when users switch between offices? Do I have to reconfigure the ip addresses?
So damn frustrating.
It does appear that this âsolutionâ has been very very poorly thought out with the way a lot of us use Enscape.