Centralized License Server Co-Resident With Management System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing software licensing systems face challenges in managing multiple application instances, including network outages that lead to license errors and increased complexity in licensing individual features, which complicates management and increases development time and cost.
Innovation Solution
A centralized system management server co-resident with a license server manages multiple application instances, eliminating the need for individual instances to contact the license server and allowing for unified license administration, reducing network dependency and simplifying license management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a centralized license server is used to simplify license management, then license management complexity is reduced, but network reliability deteriorates due to network outages preventing application instances from contacting the license server
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by having application instances pre-register with the license server and receive advance license allocations before network outages occur. The license server pre-approves license usage limits and communicates them to local agents, so that when network connectivity is lost, the agents can continue to enforce licensing decisions locally without needing to contact the central server.
2Reliability
If dedicated license servers are co-resident with each application instance to ensure immunity from network outages, then licensing system reliability is improved, but device complexity increases due to multiple license server instances requiring management
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary license agent component that runs on each application instance but communicates with and is managed by the centralized license server. This agent acts as a local representative that can make licensing decisions autonomously when needed, providing network outage immunity, while the central server maintains unified license management policies and monitors overall license usage across all instances.
3Measurement precision
If individual features are licensed separately to provide precise license control, then licensing precision is improved, but device complexity increases due to the need for independent licensing implementation in each application
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements self-service by enabling the license agent on each application instance to autonomously manage feature-level licensing without requiring complex licensing code embedded in the application itself. The agent automatically tracks which features are being used, validates licenses against the centralized server's authorization, and enforces feature access control, thereby achieving precise feature-level licensing while keeping the application code simple.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for providing a centralized management system with an integrated license server and pluggable license features are provided. More particularly, the administration of application instances or other assets through the centralized management system results in the initiation of a license validation process by the central management system in cooperation with a license server. The system management application providing centralized asset management and the license server performing license validation are co-resident on a central management server. The availability of assets requiring a license is implemented through asset administration data maintained by the central management server, to indicate the existence of a required license, where the license server indicates that the required license is available. Access to an asset is denied where the license server indicates the absence of a required license to the system management server.