Answered How Named User licenses are applied?

[Sir_ElevatedPrivileges]

Hello guys,

2 Named Users for Progress RDBMS, and 4 databases to use.

So, how can I associate, for example, the User1 and User2 to my licenses? Or does it not work like this?

I didn't found enough documentation, if someone has a link for how named user licenses work in practice I would be thankfully.

What I understand about Named/Concurrent Users licenses:

- Concurrent user: Can use one process/connection in databases at same time. So I need one license for each process/connection (even background processes) in databases.
- Named user: Can use as many processes/connections in Progress Databases as required, registered with their name. So, I can execute background processes and connect as many times I want with my name (also register, for example, WebSpeed Brokers or App Servers with my name).

I think that all this works registering users in the users list of each database, but also I think it's just a security fuctionality.

I hope you can help me.

 

[Rob Fitzpatrick]

The license model (e.g. Named User, Concurrent User, Registered Device, Access Agent, etc.) is a property of an OpenEdge product license. The license has other properties, such as product code (e.g. Enterprise RDBMS, Client Networking, etc.), platform (e.g. Windows, Linux), architecture (e.g. Intel x64), user count, etc. These are product-licensing concepts more than technical concepts. Your installed products have no knowledge of their associated license models and thus the model has no bearing on how the software behaves or is configured. It has no enforcement mechanism. In this respect, licensing is done on the "honour" system. (Although if you are audited by Progress, your "honour" gets tested...)

Different license models are available in different OpenEdge releases, and availability may vary by product type within a release. For example, the Concurrent User model was discontinued quite some time ago (v10?) but customers already using that model were grandfathered in and allowed to continue using it and purchasing new users for existing licenses. Progress used to publish an "unofficial" license usage guide that explained the various models, use cases, user-counting methodologies (which can vary by model), etc. I think they stopped distributing that in v11. Caveat: it's been several years since I worked on licensing so my knowledge is out of date and could now be wrong.

You should understand how OpenEdge is deployed and used in your organization and have the appropriate product licenses to ensure compliance. What is "appropriate" and who should determine it depends on your situation, e.g. what products you use, how you have deployed and where, and whether you are a direct customer or an indirect customer (obtaining licenses via an application vendor). If you are confused or concerned about your licensing needs, I'd suggest first discussing this with whoever it is in your organization that is responsible for obtaining OpenEdge licenses. If you are an indirect customer, discuss it with your vendor; they are responsible for ensuring your compliance. If you are direct, you can talk to your sales rep and set up a call with a pre-sales engineer who can talk to you about your configuration and help to explain your needs.

Once you have the appropriate licenses for compliance, given your usage, they don't impact your application or database configuration. You don't register users with a database for licensing purposes; the database has no such functionality.

OpenEdge licensing is a big topic with a lot of rules, written and otherwise, and gray areas and special exceptions and exemptions. It is far from easy or cut-and-dried. And it is a more in-depth topic than can be ideally served by a forum discussion. Good luck!

 

[Sir_ElevatedPrivileges]

Perfect, exactly what I've been looking for.

Thank you, Rob.