Floating licensing, also known as concurrent licensing or network licensing, is a
software licensing
A software license is a legal instrument (usually by way of contract law, with or without printed material) governing the use or redistribution of software. Under United States copyright law, all software is copyright protected, in both source c ...
approach in which a limited number of licenses for a software application are shared among a larger number of users over time. When an authorized user wishes to run the application, they request a license from a central
license server
Floating licensing, also known as concurrent licensing or network licensing, is a software licensing approach in which a limited number of licenses for a software application are shared among a larger number of users over time. When an authorized ...
. If a license is available, the license server allows the application to run. When they finish using the application, or when the allowed license period expires, the license is reclaimed by the license server and made available to other authorized users.
The license server can manage licenses over a
local area network
A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that interconnects computers within a limited area such as a residence, school, laboratory, university campus or office building. By contrast, a wide area network (WAN) not only covers a larger ...
, an
intranet
An intranet is a computer network for sharing information, easier communication, collaboration tools, operational systems, and other computing services within an organization, usually to the exclusion of access by outsiders. The term is used in c ...
,
virtual private network
A virtual private network (VPN) extends a private network across a public network and enables users to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if their computing devices were directly connected to the private network. The be ...
, or the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
.
Floating licensing is often used for high-value applications in corporate environments; such as
electronic design automation
Electronic design automation (EDA), also referred to as electronic computer-aided design (ECAD), is a category of software tools for designing Electronics, electronic systems such as integrated circuits and printed circuit boards. The tools wo ...
or engineering tools. However, its use is broadly expanding throughout the software industry.
An on-premise license server used to be the only way to enforce floating licensing models. A license server was required at each
end user
In product development, an end user (sometimes end-user) is a person who ultimately uses or is intended to ultimately use a product. The end user stands in contrast to users who support or maintain the product, such as sysops, system administrat ...
's location and each computer or device in a network needed to connect to it. License files would be bound to the
host ID
A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it.
Host may also refer to:
Places
* Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County
People
*Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman
* Michel Host ...
of the license server but could be made available to any
client computer
In computing, a client is a piece of computer hardware or software that accesses a service made available by a server as part of the client–server model of computer networks. The server is often (but not always) on another computer system, in ...
in the network; with the concurrent user limit enforced by the on-premise license server. License files are usually tied to the host ID of the license server by a
MAC address
A media access control address (MAC address) is a unique identifier assigned to a network interface controller (NIC) for use as a network address in communications within a network segment. This use is common in most IEEE 802 networking techno ...
or Ethernet address. The number of licenses registered and installed on the license server limits the number of concurrent users.
Although on-premise license servers are the traditional method of implementing floating licensing, modern solutions make use of
cloud
In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may co ...
-based and
plug and play
In computing, a plug and play (PnP) device or computer bus is one with a specification that facilitates the recognition of a hardware component in a system without the need for physical device configuration or user intervention in resolving resou ...
solutions.
See also
*
Concurrent user
In computer science, the number of concurrent users (sometimes abbreviated CCU) for a resource in a location, with the location being a computing network or a single computer, refers to the total number of people simultaneously accessing or using t ...
*
Software metering
Software metering refers to several areas:
*Tracking and maintaining software licenses. One needs to make sure that only the allowed number of licenses are in use, and at the same time, that there are enough licenses for everyone using it. This c ...
*
License manager
A software license manager is a software management tool used by Independent software vendors or by end-user organizations to control where and how software products are able to run. License managers protect software vendors from losses due to ...
*
License borrowing
License borrowing is a feature that allows a user to run software on a computer that is not continuously connected to the license server on the network.
When making a borrow request, the user is either connected to the server over the network, o ...
*
Node-locked licensing
Node-locked licensing is a software license, software licensing approach in which a license for a software application is assigned to one or more hardware devices (specific nodes, such as a computer, mobile devices, or IoT device). Typically any n ...
*
Software license server
A software license server is a centralized computer software system which provides access tokens, or keys, to client computers in order to enable licensed software to run on them.
In 1989, Sassafras Software Inc developed their trademarked KeyS ...
{{Software distribution
Software licenses
System administration
de:Floating License Server
ru:Плавающие лицензии