Software licensing, made simple. SELECT Server XM Edition A Bentley Software White Paper Executive Overview Engineering software is no longer considered an overhead; indeed many CIOs tell Bentley that their engineering software is functionally required for their success in the design, construction, and operation of the world s infrastructure. Bentley believes that this cultural shift in perceived value of engineering software from helpful to fundamental demands a new licensing paradigm that will never obstruct the progress of mission-critical work. Bentley has long believed that its engineering software should enable teams to achieve a higher quality product while realizing more value from the time and money invested during design, construction, and operation. It was this desire - to maximize the value derived from its software - that led Bentley to implement the first SELECT Server in 1998. Designed for software license pooling, the first SELECT Server enabled Bentley users to install applications on every desktop in an organization and license them from a site-based server on a first-come-first-served basis. The SELECT Server approach to license management has since been adopted by a large majority of Bentley software users to great effect. Indeed having witnessed software license administration being made simple by the deployment of SELECT Server, the attention of our users turned to another concern; software license management. As a functional requirement of their business CIOs told Bentley that they want software license compliance and requested assistance from Bentley. CIOs tell Bentley that their engineering software is a functional requirement for the successful design, constuction, and operation of the world s infrasctructure. SELECT Server XM Edition is Bentley s response to these CIOs. In the XM edition version, SELECT Server s current license management model has been exchanged for a new reporting model. This change means that the cap on license usage is removed, and all license usages will be automatically tracked and reported. Each month a usage report will be made available to key nominated individuals at the organization, providing the benefit of absolute transparency of software use and enabling easier transitions to higher software usage while managing compliance.
Table of Contents: The Value of Engineering Software.................................................... 3 The Impact of Software Protection.................................................... 3 Real Pain Encountered by Users...................................................... 3 Trust Licensing: SELECT Server XM Edition............................................. 3 SELECT Server XM Edition........................................................... 4 Disconnected Use of XM Edition Applications.......................................... 4 Usage Reporting.................................................................... 5 Privacy Policy...................................................................... 6 Multi-Site License Management...................................................... 6 Outsource your License Management................................................. 6 Summarizing SELECT Server XM Edition............................................... 7 Software licensing, made simple. p. 2
The Value of Engineering Software Many CIOs tell Bentley that their engineering software is a functional requirement for the successful in the design, construction and operation of the world s infrastructure. Bentley believes that this cultural shift in perceived value of engineering software from helpful to fundamental demands a new licensing paradigm that will never obstruct the progress of mission-critical work. The essence of the SELECT Server XM Edition strategy is Bentley s trust in its users integrity. The Impact of Software Protection The position adopted by senior industry executives today is clearly different from the one they adopted 10 years ago, when they regarded all software generally as overhead and considered that it may provide a competitive advantage to them. Traditionally, software companies adopted a similar position and licensed their software applications accordingly: adopting an enforcement-model to license software. It should, therefore, be of little surprise that software piracy protection became central to a software developer s business. While this approach worked well for non-mission-critical usage, it did cause problems for companies where software is an absolute necessity and progress is impossible without access to the right applications. Therefore, a great deal of attention was given to addressing the problems caused and, over the years, combinations of products, best practices, and copyright laws have been implemented to balance access versus restriction with varied levels of success. Bentley, like most software vendors, is serious about improving the process of protecting against the loss of its own intellectual property. Just as importantly, though, Bentley is serious about protecting against the loss of its own users ability and right to access their own intellectual property: their design data. Real Pain Encountered by Users So what happens when vendors efforts to protect software get in the way of AEC professionals doing their work? Work slows down. How do you measure the productivity that is lost when an engineer cannot obtain a license for the use of a mission-critical application? Bentley has made changes to the XM edition of SELECT Server so that users will no longer encounter such pain. Bentley s focus for license management with SELECT Server XM Edition is liberation rather than restriction. Trust Licensing: SELECT Server XM Edition When you purchase a Bentley software license you are investing in Bentley software and, in return, Bentley commits to protect your investment through responsible licensing management. SELECT Server XM Edition will: Ensure that users have access to mission-critical software whenever they need it Monitor, log, and report application usage Focus on automated systems that allow self service Software licensing, made simple. p. 3
Bentley s trust in the integrity of its users is the foundation of this new business strategy. As you manage a responsible business, Bentley believes that you should always have access to your software investment. SELECT Server XM Edition will always grant your users access to your applications and each month it will report your actual usage. Your ability to meet your own deadlines, therefore, is never inhibited by software availability. Trust licensing depends upon usage logs being sent to Bentley SELECT Server XM Edition The SELECT Server XM Edition licensing implementation is built upon the general understanding that being disconnected from a network is a routine requirement for our users. SELECT Server XM Edition addresses the reality of asynchronous transmissions and eliminates dependence on (and risk from) real-time infrastructure. A number of compelling new developments mark SELECT Server s XM Edition, including: 1. Disconnected use 2. A new reporting infrastructure 3. The ability to manage multiple sites from a single SELECT Server 4. The option of a Bentley-hosted license management service Disconnected Use of XM Edition Applications Although network access is assumed to be nearly universal, there are times when a network is just not available: 1. When traveling away from the office 2. At a construction site 3. When working from home Bentley s XM Edition applications do not require a real-time connection to SELECT Server. This ability to run in a disconnected state is enabled by an industry-standard concept called product activation, which is part of all XM Edition applications. In practice, activating MicroStation V8 XM Edition introduces an additional mode of failsafe operation, allowing MicroStation to run full-featured for up to 30 days without connecting to the SELECT Server. Should you continue to operate in isolation from your SELECT Server for more than 30 days, then your product will revert to working like an unlicensed copy and will require a restart every 15 minutes. Through SELECT, subscribers can pool licenses for desktop engineering applications by using SELECT Server XM Edition. SELECT Server XM Edition will always grant a users application request for a license, it will log the request and add the log to a master report that will be automatically forwarded to key individuals each month. SELECT Server usage reporting will, therefore, Software licensing, made simple. p. 4
inform you when you exceed usage counts in a given period. Bentley trusts that you ll take steps necessary to remain complaint, for example, by adding a temporary subscription for more licenses if excessive license usage is likely to persist or buy buying extra licenses to add to the pool. Usage Reporting Application use is reported to Bentley in a routine communication by SELECT Server XM Edition after the reporting applications have posted their individual usage logs. This occurs as a result of two key factors: 1. SELECT Server XM Edition is aware of the sites it manages, the applications it licenses, and the users it serves. 2. The applications you own are licensed and activated against a specific site. Application usage is always recorded locally on desktop computers and posted daily to SELECT Server XM Edition, when a connection is available, over standard HTTP network protocol. The reports present the applications in use, as well as the people who are using them. A nuance of the system is that usage reports become more accurate as they age. That is, since SELECT Server XM Edition does not require a real-time connection, at any given point in time, there could be a number of users who are disconnected from the system. The majority of usage information is readily available, although an account of the entire system may only be feasible once all users have reported back in. So the reports will become more accurate as more desktops post logs to the server. You may not be able to tell exactly who is using what applications at this moment, but as long as users connect daily, as the system encourages, then an accurate daily account is automatic. A number of reports can be produced by SELECT Server: 1. The Summary Report accounts for peak utilization of pooled applications, including the number of machines and the date the peak occurred. 2. Daily Pooled Usage counts application utilization each day, including specific versions used. 3. The Application Usage report details what applications ran on which machines. 4. The Machine Usage report confirms which machines used a particular application. Named User Reports include: 5. Application by User, which lists each application in use that requires a named user license and the user who used them throughout the reporting period. Software licensing, made simple. p. 5
6. A monthly summary of the number of named users accessing Bentley tools. 7. A summary of total server right-to-run licenses used during the reporting period. Enterprise License Subscribers SM (ELS) can incorporate multiple, site-based usage logs into a single, enterprise-wide usage report. The transmission of usage logs to Bentley is a requirement with the advent of the SELECT Server XM Edition licensing configuration. Previous versions of SELECT Server have compiled and reported application usage but none have allowed for disconnected working as a default. SELECT Server XM Edition therefore introduces a brand new infrastructure and process for report transmission, automating the process and, thereby, removing any demands on the administrator s time. This reporting function is very important to Bentley, as this detailed knowledge helps inform Bentley regarding: 1. What products are in use 2. Where to direct future development efforts to the benefit of the user base 3. How to resource for future support services Furthermore, long-range development priorities can be also be better validated when Bentley understands how many users will benefit from a compelling new product or feature. Manage your own SELECT Server XM Edition or alternatively have Bentley host the license pool for you Privacy Policy No proprietary or personal information is included in usage reports that are transmitted to Bentley. All communication between SELECT Server XM Edition and Bentley s Web Services are controlled by the account. SELECT Server XM Edition uses Secure Socket Layer (SSL) and/or Secure HTTP (HTTPS) protocols. Moreover, report transmissions to Bentley are pushed from the SELECT Server. Bentley has no ability to initiate any contact with a server in a secure user network. Hence, your information and your network are safe and secure. Multi-Site License Management Bentley SELECT agreements are generally executed and administered by geographic site. One of the long-standing requirements of the agreement is to administer licenses at the same granularity. Until now, this has meant running a SELECT Server at every site. A major benefit with SELECT Server XM Edition is the introduction of multi-site license management from a single application server. This eliminates the necessity to run a separate SELECT Server at each and every office. SELECT Server XM Edition keeps track of applications and their usage per site. Therefore, users obtain licenses and report usage at the site where they work. System administrators can view status and manage all sites from a single SELECT Server interface. This also reduces the motivation to operate redundant SELECT Servers, since fewer are required to manage the same number of sites. Software licensing, made simple. p. 6
Outsource your License Management Bentley SELECT subscribers have traditionally deployed SELECT Server in their own network infrastructures. This placed the responsibility of license management and additional hardware resources on each subscriber. If managing software licenses is something you would rather not have to do you may opt to have Bentley manage your licenses. With SELECT Server XM Edition, Bentley has introduced the option to utilize a hosted SELECT Server, located and operated in Bentley s state-of-the-art data center. Hosted licensing offers the same pooled licenses and usage reporting as a deployed SELECT Server, but does not require the same hardware, software, or personnel investment. The requirements for desktop connectivity for V8 XM edition applications are no different for hosted licensing - you simply have to be able to connect at least once a month to ensure that the application remains activated. Non-SELECT Bentley users will be required to activate their V8 XM edition applications online via a hosted service. Once activation has been completed, applications are in full use and further connections are not required. Of course, the pooling of licenses, user-defined checked-out licenses, and many other features enabled by SELECT Server XM Edition are not entitlements offered to non-select users. Summarizing SELECT Server XM Edition Bentley s V8 XM Edition applications no longer need a real-time connection to SELECT Server. There is a 30-day failsafe mode that ensures immediate use of Bentley applications while also providing plenty of time to resolve any issues with connectivity. Bentley applications will run every time anyone needs them. Even pre-v8 XM edition applications are supported by the new SELECT Server Usage report transmission to Bentley is required on a regular basis. No inclusion of any proprietary information is ever included in this transmission. Information about application usage helps Bentley make informed decisions regarding future development and support priorities. SELECT Server XM Edition is easier to install and requires fewer servers to manage licenses. In fact, Bentley will host licenses as a service of the SELECT program. All V8 XM edition applications will need to use the new SELECT Server XM Edition. Pre-V8 XM edition applications do not require a change; the new SELECT Server XM Edition can manage pre-v8 XM edition applications as well. SELECT Server XM Edition can extend several benefits of the new license management model to existing applications, including: A one-time, 30-day evaluation mode, extended periods for checked-out licenses And the reliability of a system built on standard, Web-based server technology. Take advantage of the new SELECT Server XM Edition today, for all of your Bentley applications. 2006 Bentley Systems, Incorporated. Bentley, the Bentley B logo, Bentley SELECT, Enterprise License Subscription, MicroStation, SELECT, and SELECT Server are either registered or unregistered trademarks or service marks of Bentley Systems, Incorporated or one of its direct or indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries. Other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners. DAA036510-1/0001 Software licensing, made simple. p. 7