SELECT Server XM Edition and Trust Licensing

1. Where can I find the best and most up-to-date information on Trust Licensing and SELECT Server XM Edition?
2. What's different about how Bentley has implemented licensing in the V8 XM Edition?
3. How does reporting work in SELECT Server XM Edition?
4. What are my options for licensing XM Edition applications?
5. Does my SELECT Server need to be connected to the Internet?
6. How is a "Site" used in XM Licensing, as defined by a Bentley SELECT Agreement?
7. Can I get a node-locked license for MicroStation XM?
8. How is pooled usage defined?

Question 1: Where can I find the best and most up-to-date information on Trust Licensing and SELECT Server XM Edition?

Answer: The best place to go for this type of information is http://www.bentley.com/selectserver. Bentley colleagues have assembled some great information on this site (like the Six-Step Plan, for example). In addition, the Bentley discussion groups on MicroStation Administration are another great source of related topics.

Question 2: What's different about how Bentley has implemented licensing in the V8 XM Edition?

Answer: The fundamental difference in XM-based Trust Licensing is that licensed applications can operate in a disconnected mode. In that, XM Edition applications no longer require a constant connection to the license server, as long as they can connect at least once every 30 days. This is to ensure that users are not denied use of their mission-critical applications from Bentley.

Applications can be installed on many machines and there is a "usage count" in the license file (called a "Site" on SELECT Server XM). There's a fundamental difference in the "handshake" between the client and the license server, though, in the new SSXM. In the past, the handshake is based on a license request from the client application and a corresponding license grant by the server. If successful, the client will emit a "heartbeat" as long as the session is open. This is how SELECT Server historically determined that the license is in use and how usage was compiled. The problem with this model is that it requires a real-time connection to the license server and puts it in a precarious, mission-critical position. If this connection was broken or not available, users could not run their applications.

In Trust Licensing with SELECT Server XM, the model is different. Instead of a request-grant handshake, the application records usage locally. When a daily connection is made with the license server, the desktop application posts its usage log, including the application, version, and duration of use. In effect, the desktop is telling its SELECT Server, "This is what I used since the last time I was connected to post usage". This change in behavior puts SSXM into a position of primarily tracking and reporting usage, not granting licenses or enforcing the right for an application to run. And it ensures that users always "get a license", even if they are all used up at the time.

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Question 3: How does reporting work in SELECT Server XM Edition?

Answer: Individual desktop machines log usage statistics for the application installed and running on that machine. Desktops post their logs to SELECT Server daily, or whenever they can achieve a connection. SELECT Server compiles individual logs into reports on a site-wide basis. SELECT Server transmits usage reports to Bentley on a daily basis, or whenever SELECT Server can successfully connect to Bentley's licensing Web Services.

Question 4: What are my options for licensing XM Edition applications?

Answer: You do NOT have to be running XM Edition applications to take advantage of the new SSXM system. You could choose to run the new server with Gateways even if you are not running any XM applications. With that said, you have three different options for activating and licensing XM Edition applications:

• Bentley Hosted Licensing - Alternatively, users of XM applications can have Bentley host licensing for them. In this case, we provide a hosted SELECT Server Site(s) for the account that they activate their XM applications against. This option requires Internet connectivity at least once monthly for each machine that is running an XM Edition application, including servers.
• Deploy and manage your own SELECT Server XM Edition - This would include the deployment of SSXM Gateways for accounts that are using our products today. The Gateway acts as a proxy for the existing SELECT Server and allows for existing applications (i.e., 2004E) to work without having to re-license them for the new SELECT Server XM (as long as the Gateway is installed on the same machine they are using today).
• Non-SELECT users - Non-SELECT users of Bentley XM Edition applications will activate their products against a hosted activation site. This requires a one-time Internet connection in order to download a license, thereby activating the product.

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Question 5: Does my SELECT Server need to be connected to the Internet?

Answer: We recommend that SELECT Server V8 XM Edition has access to the Internet. This will make routine transactions, like transmitting usage reports and downloading updated license files, much more convenient. All transactions are performed under HTTPS protocol, and no proprietary information will be included in the transmitted reports.

There is a manual alternative to transmit usage reports in order to maintain activation, and it does not require SELECT Server itself to be connected to the Internet.

Question 6: How is a "Site" used in XM Licensing, as defined by a Bentley SELECT Agreement?

Answer: XM Edition applications, including SELECT Server, understand the concept of a SELECT Site. The requesting application identifies itself with a Site through the activation process. If the license server manages that Site, and has a corresponding application usage in the license file, then the application can be activated.

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Question 7: Can I get a node-locked license for MicroStation XM?

Answer: A SELECT subscriber who has deployed a SELECT Server or uses Bentley-hosted licensing will use a check-out license to serve the needs of node-locked style licenses. A license can be checked-out directly by the user of the target machine, or indirectly by a system administrator, on behalf of the target user. The ability for a user to check out licenses can also be controlled by the administrator. A checked-out license has a length defined by the administrator. There is a default length of one year, but it can be extended to the SELECT Agreement renewal date. Longer check-out periods are available, upon request.

For non-SELECT users, products are activated through a one-time check-out from a hosted site. Alternatively, Bentley can email the user a checked-out license. This process replaces node-locked license files for XM Edition applications.

Question 8: How is pooled usage defined?

Answer: SELECT subscriber entitlement of pooled usage of Bentley desktop applications is defined in the 2004 Bentley SELECT Agreement. For pooled applications, SELECT Server XM tracks usage by machine and reports usage based on 1-hour intervals. Two requirements were drivers in the definition of this one-hour reporting interval.

First, Bentley was required to define a common reporting interval for all Bentley products managed and licensed by SELECT Server. This included a wide spectrum of poolable applications and the one-hour interval is the most obvious and reasonable interval for the requirements of distributed AEC workflows.

The requirement to provide a disconnected use licensing model for Bentley users was also a significant design influence on the new SELECT Server. Disconnected use of Bentley applications means that users will theoretically never be shut out of a mission critical Bentley application. That, in turn, resulted in a local usage logging mechanism and a need for a practical interval under which to log and report usage. Once again, the obvious choice was one hour, which is the fundamental unit of work throughout the AEC industry.

It is important to note here that named user licenses are not pooled, and are entitled to and tracked by users, not machines.

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