1. Overview#

TOPOFLIGHT products come with a Sentinel license. A license enables to run TOPOFLIGHT software on one or multiple machines/instances. Therefore, we distinguish between the following:

  • License

    • A license can be considered as a package of different purchased products for one or multiple users.

    • Each license is identified by a key ID.

  • Instances

    • One license can have one or more instances (seats) of a product.

    • TOPOFLIGHT counts every machine as one instance.

    • TOPOFLIGHT standard is one instance per license.

    • In case more than one machine should be able to use a product at the same time, multiple instances can be created.

    • Multiple instances are bundled in one license.

    Important

    Note: In case that it is important that machines can work independently from each other (e.g. if each machine should have a node lock license), two separate licenses (with one instance each) should be created.

1.1. License types#

Hardware licenses

  • HL keys come on a physical device (HASP Dongle).

  • The license is written on this dongle.

  • The license can consist of one or multiple simultaneous instances.

  • The license can be transferred by physically transferring the dongle or by transferring the license to another HL or SL key.

  • Instances from a HL key cannot be detached.

Software licenses

  • SL keys are installed on a local machine or on a company license server (e.g. on the same machine where you would plug in the USB Dongle).

  • The license server does not necessarily run a TOPOFLIGHT product, it can also only serve the licenses to other machines in the network.

  • The network can be a LAN or be extended via VPN.

  • Instances from a SL key can be detached from the license server for a specified time for offline use.

1.2. Where to host the license?#

Hardware license (dongle)

  • Local

    • The dongle is attached to the local machine where a TOPOFLIGHT product is installed.

    • Usually not additional software needs to be installed.

  • Company license server

    • It is also possible to attach the dongle to a company license server.

    • All local machines running in the same network as the license server are able to run a TOPOFLIGHT product.

    • This works via VPN, too.

    • See Finding the license server for more information.

Software license

  • Local

    • The software license is installed on a local machine.

    • The local machine can run a TOPOFLIGHT product without the need to connect to the company network.

    • Other machines can also use this license as long as they are in the same network.

    • This is the recommended way for TOPOFLIGHT NAVIGATOR.

  • Company license server

    • Most companies have a license server with various licenses from different software vendors.

    • The TOPOFLIGHT license can also be installed on this server.

    • Local machines with a TOPOFLIGHT product installed can use the license from the company license server.

    • This configuration is similar to a hardware dongle installed on a company license server. The difference is, that this license can be detached from the license server.

1.3. Node lock vs. License server#

In some cases, it makes sense to install the license as node locked: A TOPOFLIGHT NAVIGATOR license is most likely installed directly on the machine where TOPOFLIGHT NAVIGATOR is installed. This way there is no need detaching a NAVIGATOR instance from the company’s license server. In other cases where only a single instance is needed on a certain machine, the license can directly be installed on this machine. In case a license consists of more than one instance, we recommend that the license is installed on the company’s license server (and not on the machine of employee XYZ). In terms of installing the license on a license server or on a single machine, the procedure is exactly the same.