Kubotek Kosmos software programs offer customers two major choices for how the software license protection operates: Standalone and Floating. Both license types provide significant flexibility that can support your employee’s ability to work from home or offline. The Floating option is generally used to share licenses among a team of occasional users.
The licenses a company owns are listed in the Software section of their support account. The account administrator can control which related users have access to the licenses. The current license usage status can also be monitored from the account.
Kubotek Kosmos software programs purchased with a Standalone license can be authenticated at startup in one of two ways: Activation or Login.
Activation is the licensing method most Kubotek Kosmos customers are using. This checks out an available license from the Kubotek Kosmos server onto a customer workstation. Once the check-out has been performed, the software license is activated on that workstation indefinitely (permanent license) or through the term purchased (lease). An activated workstation does not require an internet connection to run the software. Most customers activate licenses onto a workstation while it is able to connect to the Kubotek Kosmos server over the internet, but an offline method is also provided.
To move the license to another workstation, the customer first checks the license back into the Kubotek Kosmos server using the Kubotek Kosmos License Manager/Wizard program on the activated workstation. This simple self-service process only takes a few seconds (use the Return option from the ‘Manage current license activations’ screen).
The downside of this license method is that check-in process requires access to the activated workstation. If that workstation is failing, destroyed, or just inaccessible, moving the license will require manual intervention from Kubotek Kosmos support.
The login authentication alternative is for customers with Standalone licenses on active maintenance/lease. With login authentication the process of making the license available for another workstation is simply exiting the program. If the software was left running on a workstation to which the customer does not have access, ending that software session can be handled by the user when logged into their support account on KubotekKosmos.com (use the "Remote logout from active software sessions" option on the main page). No manual intervention from Kubotek Kosmos support is needed.
The only downsides are the requirement for a continuous internet connection on the workstation and having to enter a password each time the Kubotek Kosmos program is started.
Switching from activation to login is simple. First check-in (return) the activation on the workstation. Second assign the license(s) to the appropriate user in your support account on KubotekKosmos.com.
When the software is started it will prompt for a username and password. These need to match the username and password for that user in your support account on KubotekKosmos.com.
All Kubotek Kosmos products offer the alternative of a network floating license for an approximately 25% up-charge over the Standalone license price. Once the Floating licenses are setup on the customer’s server any matching Kubotek Kosmos program with network access to that server can temporarily check-out an available license. If employees have remote network access from home, the process is no different than starting Kubotek Kosmos program(s) from work. Floating licenses also add support for Windows Terminal Services which allow the software to be run on a remote machine.
This license method does require IT access and operating system and networking knowledge to set it up. Please check with your network administrator to be sure this is a supported option.
An additional download from the Kubotek Kosmos support account of the 'Network Administration Kit' and installation of the several utility programs included is also required.
