License Administrator Concepts

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A Pervasive.SQL license key allows a fixed number of computers (called a user count) to access a Pervasive.SQL engine concurrently. A license key is human-readable text (a string of letters and numbers). You can cut and paste the text, for example, to speed the entry of a key during installation of a Pervasive.SQL product.

The License Administrator utility allows you to apply license keys, remove licenses, and view license information. The utility includes a graphical user interface (GUI) and a command line interface (CLI).

Graphical User Interface

The GUI runs only on Windows 32-bit platforms and allows you to apply license keys, remove licenses, and view license information. You can start the GUI as a stand-alone application or from within Pervasive Control Center (PCC). You may administer licenses for local or remote database engines with the GUI.

See License Administrator GUI Visual Reference for an explanation of the objects on the GUI. See GUI Tasks for the tasks specific to the graphical user interface.

Command Line Interface

The CLI runs on all platforms supported by Pervasive.SQL. The CLI is functionally equivalent to the GUI with two exceptions. You may administer licenses only for local database engines with the CLI. In addition, the CLI requires that you know a license key (the string of letters and numbers) to remove the license.

The GUI, by contrast, lists all applied licenses and allows you to select a license to remove. The GUI does not list the license keys, just the information about the applied licenses, such as the type of license, user count, expiration date, and so forth.

For security, the CLI does not display the license keys themselves. (You may obtain the license key from the installation media.) You can, however, just as with the GUI, display information about the licenses applied to the computer (type of license, user count, and so forth).

You may administer licenses only for the computer on which the CLI is running. The CLI cannot administer remote licenses.

The CLI uses the same syntax on all platforms:

utility_name -option parameters

The utility name is one of the following:

• clilcadm.exe (Windows)
• clilcadm.nlm (NetWare)
• clilcadm (Linux)

Table 4-1 describes the options.

 
Table 4-1 License Administrator Command Line Options and Parameters

Options and Parameters	Function
-<interpret | i>	Displays information about all of the applied licenses, such as the type of license, user count, expiration date, and so forth. This option does not display the license keys themselves (the string of letters and numbers).
-<interpret | i> license_key	Displays information about a specific license, such as the type of license, user count, expiration date, and so forth.
-<apply | a> license_key	Applies the specified license key to the computer on which the CLI utility is running.
-<remove | r> license_key	Deletes the specified license from the computer on which the CLI utility is running.
-<help | h>	Displays information about the options and parameters.
no option or wrong option	Displays information about the options and parameters.

See CLI Tasks for the tasks pertaining to the CLI.

Alternate Way to Apply a License on NetWare

If you want to apply a license on NetWare without using the CLI, you may use a special file for this purpose. Create a text file named license.sys that contains the license key as a single line of text. Place license.sys in the SYSTEM:SYS directory on the NetWare server. When the database engine starts on the server, the engine checks for the existence of license.sys. If the file exists, the engine reads the key from the file, applies the key, then deletes the file.

User Count

Each license specifies a user count. A user count allows the specified number of computers to connect to the Pervasive database engine concurrently. Users are counted by network address. The IP address is used for TCP/IP; the IPX address is used for SPX/IPX.

Each workstation that accesses Pervasive.SQL as a client counts as one user. Multiple applications on a single client computer are counted as one user, not separate users. Each Terminal Server session also counts as one user.

Collectively, all applications that access the database engine, use the same network protocol and address, and run on the same machine as the database engine count as one user. If one application uses TCP/IP and another application uses SPX/IPX, two licenses are counted if both applications run on the same machine. Similarly, if a machine contains multiple network cards, a user would be counted for each unique network address being used.

Obtaining a User Count

A user count is obtained in the form of a software license key issued by Pervasive Software, or by your application vendor if the Pervasive.SQL database engine is embedded in an application.

The Pervasive.SQL Server engine includes a temporary trial license that allocates a fixed user count. The trial license expires within a specified period and cannot be deleted. The Pervasive.SQL Workgroup engine includes a license set to five concurrent users. The license for the Workgroup engine cannot be deleted.

Please contact Pervasive Software or your application vendor to purchase an additional user count.

Applying a User Count

You increase the user count by applying a license key. A user count is applied immediately when you use the GUI or the CLI.

Licenses for Prior Versions of Pervasive.SQL

Pervasive.SQL 2000i and prior releases use a different type of license. License Administrator automatically detects the database engine version to which you want to apply a license. For Pervasive.SQL 2000i and prior releases, you must use the legacy utility, User Count Administrator, to work with the older license type. User Count Administrator is installed as part of the prior release's database engine.

Refer to the Pervasive.SQL documentation of the prior release for instructions on how to use User Count Administrator. Pervasive.SQL documentation is located on the Web at http://www.pervasive.com/support/technical/online_manuals.asp.