Licensing glossary

CUSTOMER DATABASE

Any database created in a database engine which is accessible from an application. This definition excludes system databases which store information on application design, user data or security, such as wic_conf and wic databases, etc.

CLIENT DEVICE

A client device is a unit by which program licensing can be measured, treating the device license as if the device were a physical user.

Such devices include computers, sensors, telemetry devices, etc. which request or receive the results of the execution of a series of commands, procedures or applications. They may also provide information to another computer, normally referred to as a server, or simply one which is managed by the server.

Multiple client devices may share access to a single server, even via proxies, but they must be licensed individually.

Examples of devices include, but are not limited to, actuators, ATMs, disks, desktop computers, kiosks, laptops, mobile phones, points of sale (POS), sensors, and smart meters.

LICENSEE

An entity of any kind who has an agreement with the Licenser by which the latter grants the former a non-exclusive license to access and use their content under the terms and conditions of the contract.

ONPREMISES

A model which refers to the traditional installation and implementation framework for a software program. In other words, the company integrates the programs into their own equipment and systems and maintains the data within their own infrastructure.

ONDEMAND

A model which refers to the ‘on-demand’ concept. In the technology sphere it is used to describe the flexibility of cloud products, based on a payment-by-use model in which the provider makes their software and hardware resources available to the client.

CPU

A Central Processing Unit (CPU) is a chip containing an electronic circuit capable of executing programs. Modern processors are multi-core, meaning they divide their circuitry into two or more independent microprocessors, making a physical processor appear as if they truly were different independent processing units.

CORE OR PROCESSOR

A processor core is a processing unit which can execute programs independently. Each one of these units included in a processor is called a core, and they make a single physical processor appear as if it were actually multiple (one per each core containing a CPU).

PROCESSOR VALUE UNIT (PVU)

The Processor Value Unit (PVU) is a unit of measurement by which a server can be licensed. The number of PVUs which should be licensed is based on the technical specifications of the processor to be licensed and the number of server cores. For example, a dual-core processor has two cores.
Depending on the type of chip/processor, each core has a PVU value, and the licenser must acquire a sufficient number of PVUs to cover all cores available on the server.

SERVER

A server is a unit of measurement by which a program can be licensed. A server is a physical computer comprised of processing units (processors), memory, and input/output systems; it executes procedures, commands or applications requested for one or more users or client devices. Each physical device which can be isolated (for example, a blade or rack-mounted device) is considered an independent server if it possesses the components mentioned.

HOST SERVER

A host server is the physical server in which virtual software such as VMware, KVM or Xen is executed, defining machines or virtual servers executed independently within the host server.

GUEST SERVER

A guest server is any virtual computer created via partitioning or by assigning available resources in a host server. This system acts, on a logical level, identically to a physical computer, such that the operating system or applications running on it cannot detect the difference.

SLA

A Service Level Agreement (SLA) is a protocol typically expressed in a legal document, in which a company which lends a service to another company commits to certain conditions and minimum guarantees.

AUTHORIZED USER

An authorized user is an individual physical person accessing a specific program. If the same natural person accesses two separate programs with independent licenses, he must license himself as an authorized user independently for each one. The client must be able to identify every person licensed as an authorized user who accesses the program, with their full name.

FLEXIBLE USER

The same conditions and restrictions are applicable as for an authorized user, but they make sporadic use of the program according to license conditions, with a 40-hour monthly limit. The calculation of monthly usage hours is based on the number of natural hours in which the user has executed program objects or processes. Complete natural hours are counted, with no limit to the number of operations which a user can perform during those hours. For example, if a user executed a report at 2:59 and another at 3:01, two complete hours would be counted.