---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Florida SunFlash Volume Software Licensing Program SunFLASH Vol 55 #24 July 1993 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 55.24 Volume Software Licensing Program VSLP is designed to address the needs of customers ordering large quantities of Sun software that incorporate network licensing. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Single company authorization code per product; no license certificates - Current SPARCworks/SPARCompiler support customers will be able to enroll as part of their customer support program - Volume Software Licensing Program available for ScholarPAC customers at special educational pricing - Customized licensing of software at volume discounts - Flexible token denominations available at time of installation - Access to incremental tokens, as needed, to ensure continued productivity and smooth reconfiguration of networks - Licensing fees based on maximum number of concurrent users, not tokens received, providing administrative convenience and enabling distributed resource allocation As more and more Sun(TM) software products incorporate network licensing, ease of administration becomes a big issue for customers. The current process for enabling network licensed software products may be inadequate for customers ordering large quantities of software. In response to customer and field input, Sun has developed a Volume Software Licensing Program (VSLP) that addresses many of the needs of these accounts. This program is also offered to ScholarPAC customers at special educational pricing. The biggest enhancement is that companies who require a particular software product in quantities of 100 or greater will have the option of using a single authorization code per product, instead of the license certificates currently used to receive passwords. These authorization codes can be used to receive passwords for any denomination of tokens as needed. Customers will also be able to add more users than initially licensed, without having to wait for a purchase order to be processed, allowing smooth incorporation of additional Sun equipment and users. Customers will not owe additional fees when the passwords received authorize more users than they have licensed, as long as the actual maximum concurrent usage is less than or equal to the number of users licensed. Customers will NOT need to pay for more users when using additional tokens to reconfigure their networks. Under the VSLP, customers will be able to license 100 or more users for a specific software product release and receive a volume discount for the entire quantity. Additional discounts will be available for some products when exceeding the 250-, 500-, and 1000-user levels per product. Customers will also be able to license additional users for the release as well as at a later date, and still receive the volume "per user" discount for these users. Volume Software Licensing Program Overview ------------------------------------------ This program covers all Sun products that use the FlexLM license manager, specifically, the SPARCworks(TM)/SPARCompiler(TM) product line, SunLink(R) 8.0 product line and ShowMe(TM) 1.1 software. Any customer who wants to license a particular software product release for 100 or more users can participate in this program: - The customer is asked to sign a contract estimating the number of users required for each software product in the Program. The contract covers a specific release of a product. To provide smooth migration to new software releases, customers should purchase VSLP Customer Support for those products. - Customer issues a purchase order to cover the software purchased under the VSLP. - The customer is provided with one authorization code per product under the Program that allows them to call a Sun password distribution center and receive a password for the number of users desired, whenever needed. - Customer can request in the contract the ability to receive passwords after the initial estimated number of users is reached. This feature is provided to enable the customer to receive passwords necessary for administration purposes when the number of users in actuality does not exceed the contract estimate. - Periodically, Sun will compare the actual number of tokens received by the customer to the number estimated in the VSLP contract. Where there appears to be a significant overusage, Sun will work with the customer to update the contract to reflect the actual number of users, should that have increased. (The customer is authorized to receive more tokens than the number of users licensed, in his contract, if needed for administration purposes. These tokens do not count towards the customer's actual number of users.) The additional users are licensed under the volume pricing discount. To provide additional administrative assistance, the customer can specify a limit over the estimate at which Sun will contact the customer for review. Support Agreement Customers --------------------------- Volume software licensing is available for customers with an existing Sun customer support agreement. Customers who have already licensed 100 users or more of a software product can choose a VSLP Customer Support option. Sun recommends that customers using the Volume Software Licensing Program on the new sales side, also purchase a VSLP support agreement to enable a smooth transition when a new release of the software is introduced. To elect this option, - The customer is asked to sign a VSLP Customer Support Addendum for the number of estimated users covered under customer support. Note: The number of users under customer support cannot exceed the number purchased on the new sales side. - When a new release is available, the customer is shipped one authorization code that entitles them to call a Sun License Password Distribution Center and receive a password for the number of users desired, whenever needed, for the new release. - Customer can request in the addendum the ability to receive passwords after the initial estimated number of users is reached. This feature is provided to enable the customer to receive passwords necessary for administration purposes when the number of users in actuality does not exceed the addendum estimate. - Periodically, Sun will compare the actual number of tokens received by the customer to the number estimated in the customer support addendum. Where there appears to be a significant overusage, Sun will work with the customer to update the contract to reflect the actual number of users, should that have increased. (The customer is authorized to receive more tokens than the number of users licensed, in his support addendum, if needed for administration purposes. These tokens do not count towards the customer's actual number of users.) The additional users are licensed under the volume pricing discount. To take advantage of the volume pricing the customer is required to add the additional users to his existing customer support agreement and update the customer support addendum. To provide additional administrative assistance, the customer can specify a limit over the estimate at which Sun will contact the customer for review. SPARCworks/SPARCompiler Support Customers ----------------------------------------- A VSLP Transition Plan has been created for current SPARCworks/SPARCompiler support customers. Under this plan, support customers converting to the VSLP will be able to use an authorization code to receive passwords for the current SPARCworks/SPARCompiler release. Customers will be required to return all unused license certificates. Customers will also be required to sign an affidavit verifying how many license certificates have been used and ensure that no other license certificates will be used for each product that is added to this program. THIS PROGRAM IS AVAILABLE NOW TO ALL SPARCWORKS/SPARCOMPILER SUPPORT CUSTOMERS FOR EACH PRODUCT WITH 100 OR MORE USERS UNDER CUSTOMER SUPPORT. ScholarPAC Customers -------------------- Educational (ScholarPAC(TM)) customers can also take advantage of the VSLP when they need 100 or more licenses of a given product. Separate ScholarPAC part numbers that offer special educational pricing will be available as part of the program. Details on these part numbers and pricing will be included in a follow-up Sun Intro next week. This will include many products new to the ScholarPAC Program. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS --------------------- Q. Who can enroll in the Volume Software Licensing Program? A. Any Sun end user customer who requires a single software product for 100 or more users is eligible to purchase that product under this program. THIS PROGRAM IS NOT AVAILABLE TO SMCC RESELLERS. Q. If I am a SPARCworks/SPARCompiler support customer, how and when can I enroll in this program. A. Each SPARCworks/SPARCompiler product covered under customer support for 100 or more users is eligible for this program. You will be able to be enrolled by just signing the new VSLP support addendum. There is no additional cost incurred for these customers to transition. Contact Bill Leifhelm +1/408-276-4373 for more information. Q. Which products are included in this program? A. Sun ADA(TM) 2.0, SPARCworks/Ada 2.0, SunADE 2.0, SPARCworks Pro C 2.0.1, SPARCompiler C 2.0.1, SPARCompiler C++ 3.0.1, SPARCompiler FORTRAN 2.0.1, SPARCompiler Pascal 3.0.1, SPARCworks/Teamware 1.0, CG3270 8.0, TE320 8.0, DNI 8.0, X.25 8.0, SNA P2P 8.0, SNA 3270 8.0, Client 3270 1.0, and ShowMe 1.1. Q. If I require 25 users of C, 50 C++ and 50 FORTRAN, can I enroll in the Volume Software Licensing Program? A. No. The Program requires that each product in the program is licensed for 100 or more users. Q. If I'm under the Program for SPARCompiler FORTRAN 2.0.1 and FORTRAN 2.1 comes out, can I receive passwords for the new release? A. No. The contract is for a particular release of the product. If you are also under VSLP Customer Support, you will receive a new authorization code that will allow you to receive passwords for the new release. Q. Is the usage of a software product under this program limited to a site? A. Customers can use the authorization code, for any of the products, at all sites within the same country. Customers decide which sites will have access to the authorization code. Customers are responsible for the security of the authorization code and will be held accountable for all passwords withdrawn against the authorization code. Q. What if I don't want to receive passwords authorizing more users than estimated in my contract, i.e., I don't want to be liable for additional software license fees if I exceed my estimate? A. The contract allows you to specify that you don't want more user tokens issued for your authorization code than you've estimated. You can also specify a specific amount of additional tokens to be issued over the estimate. Q. What happens when I ask for passwords for more tokens than the number of users I've estimated? A. Nothing as long as your token usage is reasonable given your administrative practices and history. However if the number of tokens received is unreasonably large, Sun will want to better understand the reasons for the discrepancy. If you actually have more users than estimated, you will be expected to license additional users and update your contract. You will be able to license additional users at the volume per user price. Sun can shut off access to passwords if the discrepancy cannot be explained. Q. What decisions do I need to make when entering the Volume Software Licensing Program? A. The following questions need to be answered: - What is my estimate for this particular software product release? - Do I want to be able receive passwords authorizing more users than I've paid for, i.e., convenience passwords? - How many additional user tokens, above my estimate, do I want access to, since this may allow me to incur additional unplanned licensing fees? - At what quantity above my estimate do I want Sun to inform me? Pricing and part numbers for Volume Software Licensing Program will be announced soon. (c) 1993 Sun Microsystems, Inc. Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun logo Sun Microsystems Computer Corporation, ScholarPAC, SunLink, ShowMe, and Sun ADA are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. All SPARC trademarks, including the SCD Compliant Logo, are trademarks or registered trademarks of SPARC International, Inc. SPARCworks, and SPARCompiler are licensed exclusively to Sun Microsystems, Inc. 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