> -----Original Message----- > From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On > Behalf Of Mark Zelden > Sent: Monday, February 19, 2007 10:35 AM > To: IBM-MAIN@BAMA.UA.EDU > Subject: Re: License keys for ISV products(What alternatives are there?) > > John, > > We migrated to the key data set some time ago. I don't think it was > documented when / how often the data set was checked. Is it for every > sort invocation? I don't think I found evidence that it was. > > Thanks, > > Mark > > BTW... as far as the rest of this discussion, I totally sympathize with > the vendors. As someone who consulted full time for many years and also > worked with a vendor directly whose product was abused due to no license > control, I understand. While a lot of the abuse was not intentional > (data center consolidations, then copying libraries from one environment > to the other), a good deal of it was also done just because someone could. > For example, it is very easy for a sysprog to copy a product like FDR > from one system to another because they are more familiar with it > than DFDSS (I saw lots of examples like this in data centers that > went though consolidations). > > It would be nice if there was a common method of doing this, but not all > vendors needs and pricing models are the same nor are the way their > products work. Some vendors now do LPAR (size) pricing, some do only > site licensing, some license by the box, the size of the box and the > number of engines. You might as well ask for common installation > method for all products too. I'm not holding my breath. > > License keys are a fact of life just like spam. Get over it. What you > need to do is create good documentation for the products that require > them, note whether they are date sensitive, CPU sensitive, or both > and document exactly how to update them - including who to contact > for scheduled updates and emergency updates (phone numbers, web sites, > etc.). Manage that information / documentation how ever it suits your > environment, but it does need to be managed in a modern data center. > > > -- > Mark Zelden
Mark, As long as we have a valid license key we will not look at the key data set. Once you enter a warning period we will go to the data set looking for a better key to use once an hour. It is possible to force the sort to go to the key data set by passing the KEYUPDATE parameter to the sort. This is useful if you install a new key and want to make sure that it gets into use immediately otherwise it could take up to 1 hour for the new key to get put into use if you are in a warning period. This whole area is a bad one. There are valid points to be made on both sides. ISVs should be able to collect what is rightfully theirs. With just about every product that I know about the customer has agreed to the licensing terms up front. At the same time, if the process required to abide by the terms of the license agreement are such that it is not worth it for customers to use the product, they will go else where and the ISV will end up with less revenue not more. It is up to each ISV to decide how they want to manage their license agreements and up to each customer if they are willing to agree to the terms. I agree that not all ISVs handle license keys as good as they should but at the same time there are others that do a reasonable job in this area. Just because some vendors don't do a good job doesn't mean that everyone with a license key is bad and should be avoided. We have tried to be as flexible as possible. Our first attempt at implementing license keys was not flexible and was not well received. We listen to our customers and tried to accommodate as many of their concerns as we could while still feeling that we were getting something of value for the time, effort and aggravation that having license keys requires. When IBM announced License Manager several years ago we made it clear very quickly that we were interested and would participate. We understood the value of having a common process for handling license keys but unfortunately License Manager did not make it. Sincerely, John Reda Software Services Manager Syncsort Inc. 201-930-8260 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
