License Management Facility (LMF)

[kaiser at cheese.enet.dec.com]

In article <4074 at tukki.jyu.fi>, jarij at tukki.jyu.fi (Jari Junikka) writes...

>I would appreciete any information concerning how
>the system (fails) works in practise? How expensive it is
>to get licenses which in practise do not hinder system/program
>development?

Is everyone clear that license management has no affect whatever on software YOU
create?  LMF is there for the system management side only of licensed products.
This won't be adequately cross-referenced, but yesterday someone posted a note
that pointed out, accurately, that LMF enables us (and other parties) to begin
distributing Ultrix layered software on CDROM.

Here's how it works for VMS, where we've been doing it for a while: there's
something called "Consolidated Distribution" (CONDIST) which is a set of CDROMs,
now two disks, containing the operating system and all our LMF-compliant
layered products for VMS.  A subscriber gets the distribution like clockwork
(right!?) every two months; whenever a new set is made, everything that's on the
shelf ready to go gets put on the CDROM.  So subscribers always have this nifty,
tiny little package of CDROMs containing (1.3GB?) of software that's guaranteed
to be no more than two months old.  Suppose you now want to use the software.
You make a phone call and use your credit card or some approved method (I'm not
a sales type -- ask them) to get a license key, and you can install the SW and
license and run it immediately, rather than waiting for it to ship, etc.  And of
course you have the documentation already, on the Bookreader CDROM.  No sweat.
This also applies to temporary loans of products, of course, since a license can
be set up to cover a limited period.  Want to try COBOL (something of infinite
interest to everyone in this group)?  Great; here's a one-month license free.

The crucial enabling technologies are LMF and CDROMs.  CDROMs make it possible
to ship enormous quantities of stuff cheaply, safely, and securely; and LMF
makes it safe for the beancounters and capitalism.

Besides my Unix systems I manage a VMS cluster -- perhaps I'm being punished for
sins in an earlier life.  And since I'm the guy who's always handled LMF on the
cluster and the Unix systems, it's never been any problem at all.  There was a
complaint from someone that it was difficult; I've never found that to be true.
(He said that the previous system manager had screwed things up before he had to
take over.  This seems to me a broader system management/personnel issue not
limited to LMF, so why make LMF take the rap?  My preceding system manager left
things pretty disorganized too!)

But to repeat: LMF doesn't apply to anything YOU do.  Unless, of course, you
want it to.  And in that case you're probably talking to us already.

---Pete

kaiser at cheese.enet.dec.com
+1 508 480 4345 (machine: +1 617 641 3450)