Unlimited License-Model The unlimited license model gives you maximum flexibility while keeping costs reasonable . You pay an annual fee , calculated to match the value of your software , and can produce an unlimited number of licenses . Trial and protection only licenses are automatically included in this licensing model .
The unlimited license model is also the neplus-ultra when it comes to borrowing licenses . As the software developer , the choice is yours whether the end user can borrow licenses for empty systems or whether you first have to be notified by registering the system online . In the former case , a new CmContainer is created in the background at the user ’ s site ; in the case of online registration , you create the CmContainer yourself via a dummy activation in CodeMeter License Central .
After one year , you can renew your license for unlimited licenses for another year . If you choose to not do this , your users can , of course , continue to use the protected applications for which they have licenses . They can also continue to borrow licenses . It only becomes impossible to create new licenses after that point .
The Firm Security Box Your licenses are kept in your master dongle , the so-called Firm Security Box ( FSB ). The FSB plays a dual role : On one hand , it serves as the secure storage container for your private and secret keys for CodeMeter ; on the other hand , it manages the licenses you acquired from Wibu-Systems .
Developers sometimes wonder why the FSB has to be a physical CmDongle , and why it is not available as a soft license . Only a dongle offers an appropriate level of security for your private keys . Imagine if those keys stored in your computer ’ s memory were stolen by a virus . The lucky hacker would now have everything he needs to create as many valid licenses for your software as he wants . This would be the worst scenario possible , and a bit of hardware on your server is a small price to pay to avoid it .
Delivering Firm Security Box The initial private keys are provided manually and internally by Wibu-Systems . None of these keys ever exist in plain text form outside of a CmDongle . The production of the Firm Security Boxes itself is fully shielded with so-called Wibu Security Boxes ( WSBs ).
When the FSBs are first delivered with a new Firm Code , the delivery is not specifically protected . In the unlikely ( and so far , unheardof ) case that the delivery is lost , you would receive a new Firm Code with new keys , and no security breach would occur .
A more critical incident is the loss of additional FSBs delivered for an existing Firm Code . Losing these FSBs would indeed endanger the security of your existing licenses . That is why two alternative protections are put in place to avoid it . For the physical delivery , the FSB is protected with a password that you would receive separately . Without that password , the FSB has no value to anyone , legitimate or illegitimate . You can decide whether to deactivate or change that password after receiving the FSB . For remote delivery , you would send us a so-called remote context file (*. WibuCmRaC ), which we use to create an encrypted remote update file (*. WibuCmRaU ) that can only be decrypted by the designate target dongle . Your keys are transferred securely every time .
Charging and Extending Licenses The new Universal Firm Code comes with a much simpler process for charging or extending licenses . Licenses are now separate from the keys and stored in a separate license entry ( Firm Code 102688 ) in your FSB . They can be charged or extended with little effort via CodeMeter License Central .
Five entries are possible : You receive Product Code 1 when you choose the standard model . The unit counter would display the number of available licenses in this case .
You receive Product Code 2 when you use a pay-per-use model . As in the standard model , the unit counter again shows the number of remaining licenses .
Product Codes 3 and 4 represent trial licenses and protection only licenses . These can be combined with Product Codes 1 or 2 and come with an expiry date that tells you how long the entry can remain active .
Product Code 5 is the universal license model . This also includes an expiry date to tell you when the license needs to be renewed .
You receive a ticket from Wibu-Systems for charging or renewing licenses , which you can do by entering your ticket at http :// license . wibu . com , where you can also charge or renew your licenses . The ticket can also be used to transfer licenses from one FSB to another : You can remove the entire block of licenses you bought from one FSB and activate it on the next FSB . If parts of the licenses have already been used up , you will only receive the remaining licenses on the new FSB .
Encryption Only FSB FSBs are important . They are used to create licenses and encrypt your software with Protection Suite . For the latter task , you can also use a special encryption only FSB , which can encrypt code , but not create any licenses . These FSBs are less critical and can even be given to individual developers or used in automatic build systems for continuous integration .
13