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 represents a package of one or more purchased products, intended for use by a single user or multiple users.

    • Each license is uniquely identified by a key ID.

  • Instances

    • A single license can include one or more instances (also referred to as seats) of a product.

    • In TOPOFLIGHT, each machine is considered one instance.

    • By default, a TOPOFLIGHT license includes one instance.

    • If multiple machines need to use the product simultaneously, additional instances can be added.

    • Multiple instances can be bundled under a single license for centralized management.

    Important

    If independent operation of each machine is required (e.g., each machine needs its own node-locked license), two individual licenses with one instance each should be created.

1.1. License types#

Hardware licenses (HL)

  • 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 either 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)

  • 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 need to run a TOPOFLIGHT product itself - it can function solely as a license provider for other machines on the network.

  • The network can be a LAN or it can 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. Hosting options#

Hardware license (dongle)

  • Local

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

    • Usually, no additional software installation is required.

  • 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 use 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 licensing setup for TOPOFLIGHT NAVIGATOR.

  • Company license server

    • Many organizations maintain a central license server that hosts licenses from various software vendors.

    • The TOPOFLIGHT license can also be installed on such a server.

    • Local machines with a TOPOFLIGHT product installed can access the license from the company license server over the network.

    • This setup is similar to using a hardware dongle connected to the license server. However, unlike a dongle-based license, this license type can be detached from the server if needed.

1.3. Node-locked vs. server#

In some cases, it makes sense to install the license as node-locked: a TOPOFLIGHT NAVIGATOR license is typically installed directly on the machine where the software itself is used. This eliminates the need to detach a NAVIGATOR instance from the company’s license server.

When only a single instance is required on a specific machine, installing the license directly on that machine is a practical solution.

However, if a license includes multiple instances, we recommend installing it on the company’s license server, rather than on an individual employee’s machine.

Regardless of whether the license is installed on a server or a standalone machine, the installation procedure remains the same.