IDL Licensing Requirements

Summary of Licensing Options

There are a number of licensing options explained in greater detail later in this document. This summary should help you understand your basic choices. To use your license, in all cases you will need either a machine-specific passcode or a file which has the network name of a license server computer. In almost all cases your computer will need to have an Ethernet adapter present (not be on the Internet, just have an Ethernet adapter so the IDL software can look up its unique hardware information to prevent license transfer).

Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP License Choices

Windows has the widest range of options. Here they are, in order of popularity:

Windows XP users take note! You need to use a special licensing technique, called Volume Serial Number. This is like a node-locked single-user license (below) but it does not require a HASP. Please remind us of this when submitting your license request.
Node-locked single-user via a software key (requires an Ethernet card but not a network connection).
Either floating or node-locked single-user licenses via a license server, running either on a Windows NT or a UNIX workstation.
Node-locked single-user via a dedicated piece of hardware (called a HASP, which costs $200 beyond the cost of the license).

UNIX License Choices

Either node-locked or floating single-user licenses.
Either set up your own license server or rely on another computer over the network which acts as the license server, (for example, the one that already serves your work group as a file or print server).

Power Macintosh License Choices

IDL 5.6 only works on Mac OS X -- Mac OS 9 support has been withdrawn the vendor. You no longer need a hardware HASP for Mac OS X Power Macintoshes.

Licensing Hardware & Software Requirements

License Types and Methods

There are two licensing methods:

Desktop licensing requires the use of a hardware key (called a HASP). This is only available on Macintosh and Windows platforms. NOTE: For Windows platforms, there is an additional $200 fee required to pay for the HASP hardware. This fee is not required of Power Macintosh users. Also, Windows HASPs must be purchased in quantities of five. You may be required to buy five of them for $1000 and then recover the cost of the extra ones from later customers.
FLEXlm licensing requires the use of a license certificate, which ties the license to a unique machine ID for the licensed host computer (called node-locked) and/or information about another computer called a license server. FLEXlm licensing is supported on UNIX and Windows (Intel) platforms. It requires an Ethernet card to be installed on the computer (even if the computer is not attached to a network).

There are two license types:

Single-user Node-locked (SN) These can be implemented using either method.
- If the method is Desktop, and the operating system is Windows XP, you will need to find the Volume Serial Number for your hard drive. The procedure to do this is:
  - Click on Start
  - select All Programs -> System Tools -> System Information
  - In that utility, double-click on Components, then Storage, then Drives,
  - (ensuring that the View is set to Advanced)
  - and look for "Volume Serial Number."
- If the method is Desktop, you will need a hardware HASP.
- If the method is FLEXlm, then the use of the license is restricted to a unique computer identifier (called a hostid or lmhostid) that is derived from the computer's hardware. For UNIX, FLEXlm SN licenses require the use of the license manager program (running either on the same computer or on another computer designated as the license server). FLEXlm Windows licenses do not require the use of the license manager program (but do require an ethernet card and some networking software to be installed even if the computer is not attached to a network -- see the section below).
Floating Network (FL) These can only be implemented using the FLEXlm method.

Desktop-method hardware and software requirements

Windows computers all use the same kind of HASP -- one that connects to a 25-pin parallel port. (Note that there are two or three types of parallel ports. You may need an adapter to go from the existing one to a "DB-25" style parallel port.)

For Macintosh computers, HASPs come in two physical types: the ADB or the USB. ADB stands for Apple Desktop Bus. This is found on older Power Macintoshes. The keyboard plugs into the ADB port. USB stands for Universal Serial Bus. It is found on newer Power Macintosh G3 or G4 computers such as the iMac. USB HASP users will have to do a Custom install of IDL in order to install the IDL-specific USB HASP software drivers.

FLEXlm-method hardware and software requirements

For all platforms, an Ethernet card is required. Also, some networking software is required to be installed. That is usu not a problem these days because either the machine is on a network permanently, or connects to one via a modem. IDL needs this software to be able to extract the hardware information. HOWEVER, FOR LAPTOPS ESPECIALLY, BE AWARE OF THE POTENTIAL FOR YOUR LICENSING TO FAIL IF YOUR NETWORKING SOFTWARE OR HARDWARE ARE TURNED OFF OR REMOVED. We do not yet know how this will work in practice for different versions of Windows. It is possible that if you are not dialed in or connected, the operating system may "helpfully" turn off the networking software (mentioned below).

The lmhostid is based on the unique hardware address assigned to every Ethernet card when it was manufactured. The Ethernet hardware address is not the same as an IP address (which is a four-part number with periods in it, such as 128.220.26.239). The hardware address (sometimes called a MAC) is a six-part hexadecimal number with colons in it, such as 8:0:20:b4:ee:82.

Windows NT -- must have one of the following loaded: SNMP service, NETBEUI Transport Protocol (recommended), or the Netware Transport Protocol (IPX/SPX)

Windows 95/98 -- must have one of the following loaded: NETBEUI Transport Protocol (recommended), or the Netware Transport Protocol (IPX/SPX)

UNIX -- must be running the TCP/IP protocol.

LINUX -- requires an ethernet card. The lmhostid corresponds to the ethernet card hardware address. To obtain the lmhostid, use the command /sbin/ifconfig eth0

The license purchase fee also includes the use of the Computer Center license server if you want to get a floating license to use on several computers located within Bloomberg. This computer is a vital department server and is closely monitored. However, no guarantees will be made concerning its availability. It is more convenient, but you are trading away some amount of dependability. People in other departments will not be able to take advantage of this offer, as we have no control over the reliability of the either the campus or your department's network (over which your license requests would constantly travel).