Licensing
Parent page: Installation, Licensing & Management
Licensing for the Enterprise Server consists of the following two components, that together comprise a two-tiered licensing system:
- Server License – this license makes the features and services of the Enterprise Server installation available to the organization.
- Client Access License – this license enables users within an organization to access that organization's Enterprise Server.
Licensing for the Enterprise Server can be handled through the cloud, or locally through license files (*.alf).
Both Server and Client Access license types are available in a single distinct license package – Altium Enterprise Server – giving an organization, and its users, access to installed server technologies supported by that licensing.
Getting Licensed
The Enterprise Server's functionality becomes available when the Enterprise Server has been licensed by the addition of a suitable Enterprise Server License. In summary, the Enterprise Server and its client connections can be licensed in one of the following ways:
- Acquiring Server and Client Access (CAL) licenses from the Altium License service portal. This uses the From cloud option of the Enterprise Server's self-licensing facility. Sign out then back in to the Enterprise Server to enable its newly licensed features.
- Connecting to the PLS service in another Enterprise Server, or Altium Infrastructure Server (such as a central license server) that offers acquired Enterprise Server licenses with available seats. See the External PLS mode for details on this licensing option.
- Importing existing license files (*.alf) from disk. This uses the From file option of the Enterprise Server's self-licensing facility, and effectively 'acquires' Enterprise Server licenses that you already have locally. Sign out then back in to the Enterprise Server to enable its newly licensed features.
- Placing license files (*.alf) in the root directory of the Enterprise Server installation (normally
\Program Files (x86)\Altium\Altium365
). The Enterprise Server will automatically import the license files when it restarts - a reboot may be required.
Self-Licensing
The Enterprise Server provides a flexible 'self licensing' method for adding or acquiring Altium licenses, available though its Licenses page (Admin - Licenses). With a fresh installation of the Enterprise Server, you will be guided through the licensing process by a sequence of hint instructions.
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Begin the licensing process for a newly installed Enterprise Server by logging in to its browser interface from the PC that's hosting the Enterprise Server. You must be signed in as an administrator, using the default name/password (
admin/admin
) credentials, or those of a configured admin account. -
When signed in, you will be taken to the Licenses page of the interface and an alert banner at the top of the interface indicates that the Enterprise Server is unlicensed. To add a license click the button, and select from the cloud or file options. The From cloud option will load a list of licenses available to your company from the Altium portal, whereas the From file option will open a file browser for selecting and importing existing
alf
license files from disk. -
Altium Account credentials are required to connect to the Altium Licensing portal when using the From Cloud option. Note that these credentials allow the License Server to communicate directly with your AltiumLive account for the initial acquisition of your company licenses, so the host machine – on which the Enterprise Server is installed and running – needs access to the internet at this time.
As the Enterprise Server is not yet configured to connect to an account, an AltiumLive Sign in window will automatically open to request your account credentials. Note that this is a one-off process – once the account credentials have been validated, they will be saved as part of the Enterprise Server's configuration (see Admin - Settings - General - AltiumLive Credentials).
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The Add Licenses window will appear, listing all Altium licenses available to your company, including those for Enterprise Server and other Altium software. To activate the Enterprise Server features choose a valid Altium Enterprise Server server license. To enable users to sign in to the Enterprise Server from Altium Designer, also select a valid Altium Enterprise Server CAL license (Client Access License).
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Instigate the process of acquiring (or 'retrieving') those licenses from the remote Altium License Server to the local Enterprise Server by clicking the button. When the process is complete, the Licenses page will show the acquired licenses, along with an instruction to sign in/out to activate the Enterprise Server features. One seat of the Altium Enterprise Server license will be used, as indicated by the User Count field associated with that license. This is by the internal 'System' user.
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Once you have signed out and back in to your Enterprise Server, its enabled features will become fully available on the main navigation tree on the left.
Obtaining License Files
Acquiring licenses for your Enterprise Server – through the cloud-based Altium License service – is the quickest and most streamlined approach. But, should you wish, Enterprise Server licensing can also be handled locally through license files (*.alf). Manual acquisition of the required license files is performed through the Company Dashboard (accessed using the Company Dashboard entry from the Altium account menu, at the top-right of the Altium site). From the Licenses page locate the applicable license, then click through to the detailed license management page. Once there, click the Activate link to generate and download the associated license file.
The number of license files will depend on the needs of the organization, but a minimum of two files are required:
- Altium Enterprise Server License – this license makes the features and services of the Enterprise Server installation available to the organization. The license obtained is the same, irrespective of the type of back end database used for the Enterprise Server data: Altium Enterprise Server License <LicenseActivationCode> R10 Primary.alf.
- Altium Enterprise Server Client Access License (CAL) – this license enables users within an organization to access and sign-in to the organization's Enterprise Server, and also determines how many users can simultaneously be connected to the Enterprise Server. Although any number of users may be registered to access and use the Enterprise Server, only that licensed number will be allowed to connect to it simultaneously. Each license provides a purchased number of seats, n, giving simultaneous connection to up to n different users. The license obtained is the same, irrespective of the type of back end database used for the Enterprise Server data: Altium Enterprise Server CAL License <LicenseActivationCode> R10 Primary.alf.
Once the license files are downloaded, they can be used in the following ways:
- Import them, one at a time, through the Enterprise Server's self-service licensing. From the Licenses page of the Enterprise Server's browser interface click the button and select the From file option. A file browser dialog will open, from which to select and import the alf files (one at a time).
- Drop them into the root installation folder for the Enterprise Server (the default for which is \Program Files (x86)\Altium\Altium365). The Enterprise Server will automatically import the license files when it restarts – a reboot may be required.
Licensing Users
Connectivity access for Users (Team members within your organization) is controlled by the Client Access License (CAL) that is currently applied to the Enterprise Server. The license is added to the Enterprise Server as described above and configured by an Administrator through the server's Licenses page (Admin - Licenses).
A Client Access License provides Enterprise Server connectivity for a specified number of seats which act as a floating on-demand license pool. When a user signs in to the Enterprise Server, they are served a license connection seat from this pool if they are a member of the role the license has been assigned to. This applies to users signing in to the Enterprise Server from either a browser or Altium Designer – only one license seat is used if the user is signed in from both a browser and Altium Designer (on the same PC).
To control how a connection license (CAL) is made available to roles, and therefore users, edit its license assignment configuration to include specific roles, seat allocations and connectivity options. Access a license's current assignments by clicking its edit entry () on the Licenses page.
Edit the connection license assignment () to define the role that has access to the license (Assign to role) and consequently which users can connect, and how many of the license's seats are available to that role (Seats count or All available seats). Note that the other settings such as Automatic leasing and Allow Roaming apply when other license types are served by the Private License Service.
Further assignments can be added () to the Client Access License to distribute its available seats to user roles as needed.
License Usage
The Enterprise Server provides a number of ways to view and assess the use of licenses. In the case of CAL connection licenses, to see who is (or has) signed in to the Enterprise Server, expand the connection license entry on the Licenses tab of the Licences page.
This user list includes the duration of license usage and when it commenced, and also allows you to terminate a user's connection session (Kill Session). Further information is available under the Roles tab, which shows the license seat availability and current usage for each server role.
For advanced assessment of license usage, open the Reports tab. This offers a highly-configurable reporting system, which provides table-based data that details both current and historical license usage. License Reports are particularly useful if the Private License Service (PLS) is being used to license other Altiium software on your local network.
Exceeding the License Connections Limit
By default, the seats of all Client Access Licenses are gathered into a floating license pool. In other words, one big bucket of potential Enterprise Server connections. When a user (Team member) within an organization attempts to connect to the Enterprise Server, they will automatically be served a seat from this pool, as outlined above. This assignment continues for subsequent user access.
If you try to connect to/access an Enterprise Server from within Altium Designer or an external browser, and the limit on the number of simultaneous connections – determined by the licensing seat count and role assignments – has already been reached, sign-in will fail. In this case, you will be presented with a dialog alerting you to this fact.