SBC Online Help

Software Licensing - General

Introduction

Within the Licensing system used by Leica Geosystems to manage software licenses, the Floating Licenses can be shared across multiple client workstations within the same local network. The Spider Software Suite uses floating licenses for all applications.

Floating licenses are managed by a Local License Server running on your local network. This Local License Server manages the license pool and controls that the number of simultaneously used licenses does not exceed the total number of purchased licenses.

The Local License Server can be installed on any physical server in your network and runs as a Windows service in the background. The Local License Server can manage the licenses for one or more Leica Geosystems software products.

For the initial installation of the Local License Server and activation of licenses an Internet connection is required to the Leica Geosystems License Server. Once the Local License Server is installed and the licenses are activated, this Internet connection is no longer required. For activating additionally purchased software options or software maintenance as contained in the Customer Care Packages (CCPs) the Internet connection needs to be established again.

In case your local network is split into a LAN and DMZ section, we recommend installing the Local License Server in the DMZ (De-Militarized Zone) part. Floating licenses on the Local License Server are managed via a separate License Management Tool, the CLM (Corporate License Manager).

Entitlement

The Entitlement ID is the key to initial license activation as well as for re-ordering additional software options or CCPs. The Entitlement ID consists of 25 alphanumeric characters separated by dashes, for example:

Entitlement ID: 00101-64466-00014-03624-4C34F

The Entitlement ID can be found on the Invoice and on the Delivery Note of the purchased software product. In addition, it can also be found in a separate Entitlement Certificate, on paper or in digital form.

The Entitlement ID for a software product never changes and therefore these documents should be kept carefully.

License Types

Within Spider Business Center different types of licenses are utilized. They differentiate by the time they are valid for. The following table gives an overview:

License type

Description

Spider Web Application Basic

Valid for an unlimited time. The standard customer license.

Demo

Valid for limited time. Available to Leica Geosystems sales representatives for demonstration purpose.

Evaluation

Valid for a limited time. Available to end customers for evaluation of unknown software options.

Training

Valid for a limited time. Available to Leica Geosystems sales representatives for training purpose.

SmartNet

Valid for an unlimited time. Special license type for Leica SmartNet only.

License Models

The Leica Spider Software Suite uses the floating license model which means licenses can be shared across different PCs within the same network.

Leica Spider Web Applications Components

Leica Spider Web Applications encompass all web-server-based software components. The components are integrated but currently still separated into two individual software brands: Spider Business Center (SBC) and Leica Spider X-pos Server.

Both brands share the same "Spider Web Applications Basic License" and differentiate by the necessary "Leica Spider Web Applications License Options".

The Spider Business Center provides authentication and authorization infrastructure for all Spider Suite services. This includes the real time services provided by Leica GNSS Spider and the post processing services provided by Leica Spider X-pos Server.

Leica Spider X-pos Server provides site management infrastructure for Spider Web Services. It is a software for the convenient presentation of a GNSS network and GNSS data over the Internet.

Continuous Operation

As Murphy's law states: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.", the Software Licensing technology might fail at some time during the continuous operation of the Spider suite software. Spider suite components are prepared for such a scenario, too.

In case the connection to the Local License Server is broken, SBC enters the Disconnected state. Provided the required features were already successfully checked out before the connection was lost, SBC continues operating normally for as long as the connection remains down — there is no time limit, and the software does not stop operating on its own. No new licensed features can be activated and no configuration changes are possible while disconnected. The time should be used to fix the connection issue. During the disconnected state, notifications are sent by email to keep the operator informed about the situation.

Once the connection to the License Server is re-established, SBC automatically returns to normal operation — no restart of the services is required.

A lock symbol on the top status bar indicates the state of the software licensing by its colour.