PAS licenses for 12.8

[ezaz.war]

Dears,

We are planning to migrate the OpenEdge from 11.7 to 12.8, its also going to be a platform migration from Windows to Linux.

Our current license is for the PAS that is actually is causing an issue. Upon investigating with the Vendor, we are only given two options "Core" and "PASOE LITE" for 12 version, both of them wont fit for our environment.
Core being priciest and Lite one only supports 5 maximum sessions concurrently. I checked in the CVP by asking the same question but i got a different reply that 12 version support two other licensing models "Registered Devices" and "Named users".

So i want to check with someone who actually can help me, if they have any idea what kind of licenses are provided in 12.8

Currently our license model for PAS is "Access Agent". I want to know whether the access agent is a license type in which you can spawn any number of sessions limited to the availability of DB seats and the Number of Agents licenses. Am i correct, if not what is a Access Agent license.

Regards,
Ezaz

 

[Rob Fitzpatrick]

Caveat: it has been several years since I worked on OpenEdge licensing, so my knowledge is out of date, and I've doubtless forgotten a few things.

A license that you purchase has several attributes (this may not be a comprehensive list):

• the software product being licensed (e.g. Enterprise RDBMS, Client Networking, Prod PASOE, etc;
• the license model under which it is being licensed;
  • the model has its own attributes, such as the definition of the counting units (e.g. CPUs, people, computers, etc.), the definition of distinct types of users (standard, occasional, unknown) that are permitted, and the unit-counting methodology;
• the number of units being licensed;
• the unit price, based on the product, the model, and possibly also the unit count (some products have tiered pricing);
• the platform (e.g. Linux x64, Windows x64);
• the chosen tier of the maintenance & support agreement.

As with software products, license models come and go over time. And not every current license model is available for every product.

Some categorization:

• Prod PASOE, Dev PASOE, and PASOE Lite are software products.
  • Each is in some way functionally different from the others.
• Named Used, Registered Device, Access Agent, and Core (among others) are license models.
  • The model is a business concept and has no bearing on product functionality. The installed product has no knowledge of the model under which it was licensed.

In the v11 days and earlier, I used to license App Server (both Enterprise and Basic) on the Access Agent model, for a WebSpeed-based component of my application. App Server under the Access Agent model had a higher unit price than other models like Named User as it was a many-to-one model, rather than one-to-one. But I didn't have to buy many seats (agents), as the users were classified as unknown (no OpenEdge product installed).

It is my understanding that the Access Agent license model has now been retired, along with the old App Server products; so the attributes of that model are no longer relevant in v12.

If you use a vendor application and obtain your licenses through them then your options are limited. All I can suggest is that you try to arrange a conference call with your vendor licensing contact and a Progress pre-sales engineer or licensing specialist, so you can get the information from the source and get your questions answered. In my experience, these people (who are not on commission, unlike account managers) are knowledgeable and fair and want to help you. Of course, I have no idea whether your vendor would be willing to do this for you, but there's no harm in asking. I hope this helps; good luck.

 

[ezaz.war]

Dear Rob,

Thanks for your reply, i happen to check your replies related to licensing and thanks i came to know a lot about them

Going back to your past replies i noticed when you told in a reply for concurrent licensing model, that this licensing model was retired in 10 version itself and the companies that had this license model were grandfathered to use in future releases as well. Now my question is, is this case only true for Concurrent licensing model or this does also apply to in my case upgrading the PAS "AGENT ACCESS" from 11 version where i can get the same in 12 version.

Awaiting your reply

Thanks and regards,
Ezaz

 

[TomBascom]

Once upon a time the person running sales at the time said something to the effect that "anything is possible in a negotiation".

If the licensing models being offered don't fit your needs you can ask for, or suggest, something different. If the terms that you offer are sufficiently attractive you might find a better fit.

"Sufficiently attractive" usually means that enough money is involved to gain the attention of someone with the power to decide to do something out of the ordinary.

 

[Rob Fitzpatrick]

The Concurrent User model was grandfathered by Progress for existing licenses of existing customers. They could keep those licenses and add users to them. But no customers could buy new licenses on that model.

I don't have first-hand knowledge of the Access Agent situation, but it sounds like Progress chose not to grandfather this license in v12.

 

[EzazWar]

Thanks Tom and Rob,

I hope i am not bothering you with all my questions But i dont have access to progress Team directly, i have to go through the Vendor for that.

I have one more questions about Access Agents

If i have a PAS license of type Access Agent of suppose 10 license count, does it mean that i will be able to create 10 PAS instances with 1 Agent each and any number of sessions, lets suppose 20 sessions each limited to the number of DB seats

Or does it mean that i am limited to 10 sessions only be it 10 instances with 1 session each or 1 instance with 10 sessions


Regards,

 

[Rob Fitzpatrick]

If i have a PAS license of type Access Agent of suppose 10 license count, does it mean that i will be able to create 10 PAS instances with 1 Agent each and any number of sessions

I can't give you a definitive answer, but this interpretation (as many sessions as you want) would not align with the way Progress typically licenses their products.

Or does it mean that i am limited to 10 sessions only be it 10 instances with 1 session each or 1 instance with 10 sessions

To me, this is the more reasonable interpretation; the countable entity would be the AVM session, not the process. And it aligns with how Classic App Servers were licensed in the past.

When discussing PASOE requirements, it is also worth noting that for clients that have database connections, you require the appropriate licenses and models on both sides; client and server. For example, in v11 and earlier when I had, say, a customer with 100 client/server application connections and ten App Server agents, I might license it like this:

• Enterprise RDBMS, Named User, 100 seats
• Client Networking, Named User, 100 seats
• Enterprise RDBMS, Access Agent, 10 seats
• App Server Enterprise, Access Agent, 10 seats