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Licensing FAQs

 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
about Visual DataFlex Licensing

There are two categories of licensed software within Visual DataFlex... products for developing applications and products for deploying applications.

Visual DataFlex Studio Licensing
Visual DataFlex Studio is a complete Windows application development toolkit including IDE, compiler, debugger, application framework, class library, database utilities,
FlexODBC ODBC Driver and documentation. A Visual DataFlex Studio license is required for each person that uses the software.

The Studio license also includes...
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A 3-User Visual DataFlex Client Engine licensed for development, testing and internal deployment of application software at the Studio user's company. More than 3 application users require additional Client Engine licensing.

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A distributable Evaluation Client Engine is also provided with Visual DataFlex Studio as a facility for commercial application software developers to market their application software products.

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A Web Application Server - Lite Edition licensed for development & testing only (cannot be used for Web application deployment).

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Visual DataFlex Developers in Asia Pacific now also receive a FREE license of the newly released FlexODBC Version 4 with their Visual DataFlex 12 Studio and subscription renewals, valued at A$467.50!!!

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An Annual Subscription which provides users with newly issued product features and enhancements, bug fixes and documentation.

There are two sub-categories of Visual DataFlex deployment software licenses:

Client Engine Licensing
Visual DataFlex Client Engines execute Windows-based application software developed with Visual DataFlex Studio. The Client Engine's components include the application execution engine, database utilities, the embedded database and, optionally, database connectivity drivers. A Client Engine license is required for each person that uses Visual DataFlex Windows applications on a standalone PC or in networked configurations. New Client Engine licenses include a one-year Subscription.

Client Engine Licenses
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Multi-User Client Engine licenses provide entitlement for specified numbers of End Users to concurrently use Visual DataFlex Client Engines with application software in server based, shared resource environments. Multi-User Client Engine licenses decrease in per-User cost as the number of Users increases. Volume licenses are available when quantities of Multi-User Client Engines are required.

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"Location Licenses" are available to provide Client Licensing to all users at one physical address location. Customized licensing programs are available for OEMs, shrink-wrap application developers and information publishers.

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A Single-User Client Engine license provides entitlement for one person to use a Visual DataFlex Client Engine with application software. A special distribution license is available when quantities of Single-User Client Engines are required.

Web Application Server Licensing
Visual DataFlex Web Application Servers execute Web-based application software developed with Visual DataFlex Studio. Web Application Server's components include the application execution engine, a COM-based interface to Microsoft's Internet Information Services (IIS), database utilities, the embedded database and, optionally, database connectivity drivers. A Visual DataFlex Web Application Server license is required for each hardware server on which a Visual DataFlex web application is installed.

Web Application Server Licenses
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Internet Edition - Supports unlimited number of concurrent sessions or browser connections subject to the limits of the Web Server's resources and Internet infrastructure. Supports process pooling. The Internet Edition license allows users to host commercial websites.

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Enterprise Edition - Manages the combination of up to 255 Internet Edition servers in a cluster configuration to allow for highly scalable, load-balancing, fault tolerant web application servers.

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Lite Edition - Supports up to 5 concurrent sessions and does not support process pooling. Electos can be deployed on a Lite Edition server, however, due to its session limits, the Lite Edition server is not recommended for production websites.

Note: A Lite Edition server comes with the Visual DataFlex Studio however it is licensed for development & testing only and cannot be used for application deployment.

Annual Subscriptions are available for Visual DataFlex Web Application Servers to provide application customers with all updates and enhancements delivered by Data Access during a one year period.

Q. What is a Client Engine?
Visual DataFlex Client Engine is the software that runs applications developed with a Visual DataFlex Studio. The Client Engine includes the components that execute the application software, database utilities, the embedded database and, optionally, drivers to connect the application to well known database servers such as Microsoft SQL, IBM DB2, Pervasive.SQL and others. A Visual DataFlex Client Engine license is the entitlement to use the Client Engine. The formal terms and conditions to use the software are defined in the Software License Agreement.

Q. What is an annual subscription?
An annual subscription provides Studio, Web Application Server or Client Engine customers with all of the updates, bug fixes and feature enhancements released by Data Access for their particular software product for a period of one year. No additional maintenance or update fees are applicable to Visual DataFlex licenses covered by an annual subscription.

Q. Do purchase prices include an annual subscription?
Yes! New Visual DataFlex Studio, Web Application Server and Client Engine Licenses include a one-year subscription at no additional charge. The annual subscription starts on the date that the license is purchased. Customers may choose to renew the subscription annually.

Q. When a Client Engine or Web Application Server subscription is about to expire, what are customers' options?
Customers with Client Engines have two alternatives when the subscription that accompanies their new license is about to expire:
bullet They can renew their subscription and continue getting new software releases for another year without interruption. To accomplish this, the subscription renewal must occur prior to the expiration of the existing subscription.

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Alternatively, if the subscription is not renewed and a newer deployment version of Visual DataFlex is needed in the future, customers can buy an update to the Client Engine at then current prices. As of January 2004, the price of deployment licenses is 75% of the price of the original license.

Q. Can revision updates to Visual DataFlex Studio be purchased?
No. Studio Licenses differ from deployment licenses (Client Engine and Web Application Server) in this regard. Studio customers must renew their subscriptions without interruption to maintain entitlement to new releases; Studio updates are not available. If a Studio subscription expires, a new license must be purchased to acquire the latest version.

Q. If a company has 5 Studio Licenses, how many subscriptions are required to keep all of the licenses current?
Each Studio License must be individually subscribed to maintain entitlement new releases. A company with 5 Studio Licenses must have 5 subscriptions.

Q. Does Visual DataFlex software stop working when a subscription expires?
No. The continuing entitlement to use Visual DataFlex as defined in the License Agreement is independent from the expiration of the subscription. As long as the terms of the License Agreement are followed, customers have a perpetual right to use the last revision of Visual DataFlex delivered before their subscription expired.

Q. Who buys and maintains Client Engine and Web Application Server Licenses?
Licenses and subscriptions for application deployment licenses are normally managed by the developer of the application. The developer will typically define for his customers how Client Engine and Web Application Server licenses will be managed. For pre-packaged software products, Client Engine licenses are often supplied by the developer as part of the application. In this scenario, the price of the Client Engine license can be transparently bundled into the price of the developer's application. Subscriptions can also be bundled into the developer's maintenance or subscription fees for the application.

Q. Aren't bug fixes often provided without cost?
Bug fix revisions or "Service Packs" are sometimes offered for free. Service Packs typically contain only priority bug fixes and no new features or enhancements. Visual DataFlex subscription releases include major revisions with new features, user suggested enhancements as well as bug fixes so customers get all of the bug fixes that they would normally get, plus the incremental release of new features that they had to wait for and pay for before.

Q. When a major revision to Visual DataFlex is released (e.g. 11 to 12), is it included in the subscription?
Yes. When a major revision occurs, Studio, Web Application Server and Client Engine licenses with active subscriptions have full entitlement to the new revision at no additional cost.

Q. If a developer wants to install Visual DataFlex applications for a company with 500 users at ten different locations, what kind of licenses are required?
This scenario would require a license for the appropriate Number of Clients at each of the 10 locations. While the size of the individual licenses may vary, the essential point is that each site must be uniquely licensed. In some cases, special license terms may be appropriate and DAW often works with developers and their customers to provide customized license agreements for unusual requirements or particularly large scale deployments.

Q. What is a Location License?
A Location License is a special form of Client Engine License that provides flexibility and low administration for businesses and organizations with large numbers of Visual DataFlex Clients Engines at one physical location. The Location License provides entitlement for all end users at one legal business entity at one physical building with a unique postal address (the Location) to concurrently use Visual DataFlex Client Engines with application software in server based, shared resource environments. There are restrictions as to when Location Licenses can be used: business entities with multiple locations must have a license for each Location. A Location License provides entitlement to only one business entity; each entity at a Location must have a license. Multi-building facilities and campuses (e.g. Heathrow Airport or the University of Miami) do not qualify as a Location. Neither remote facilities (e.g. branch offices) nor remote employees of the licensed business entity qualify for any entitlements under a Location License. Traveling employees that routinely work at a Location are granted entitlements to use Client Engines on notebook computers. A Location License is not a corporate license. A Location License is not an unlimited license.

Q. If data is exported from a Visual DataFlex application on a stand alone, single user PC to a host system, what Client Licenses are required?
In this specific export-import scenario, so long as there is no direct connection to databases on the host system, a Single Client License is sufficient on the exporting system provided that the host is not running Visual DataFlex. If the host "importer" is also running a Visual DataFlex application, Client Engine licenses are required for the number of users sharing its resources.

Q. What ultimately defines how many Clients are entitled to use Visual DataFlex in a particular application environment or scenario?
The ultimate control - or perhaps "controlling authority" for software usage is its License Agreement regardless of the presence or functionality of any mechanisms embedded in the software to control or restrict the number of users. Customers are responsible for compliance with the terms and conditions in the License Agreement.

Q. Is customized software licensing available for Visual DataFlex and other Data Access Worldwide products?
Yes. Since application software is used in so many different business and deployment models, standard-licensing policies cannot cover all possible requirements. Customers with large numbers of end users or unusual application or business needs should contact either their application developer or Data Access Channel Partner or their regional Data Access office to discuss custom licensing options.


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Telephone Support
When you purchase a Visual DataFlex or Electos product you are entitled to Free Installation Support for the first 30 days from the date of purchase. Program anomalies will be addressed at no charge and updaters posted on our web site. Evaluation and other support issues will be subject to a A$33.00 per incident fee. Make sure you have the Serial Number of your purchased product and call 03 9761 3644 or +61 3 9761 3644 during our normal office business hours between 9am to 5pm week days Australian EST (with the exception of Public Holidays).
 

 
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