LabVIEW named-user license questions

[MarkMoss]

I have a couple of questions about LabVIEW computer-based vs. named-user licenses for which I wasn't able to find a clear answer in the license agreement or on the NI website:

1. Is there any formal process we have to complete to convert from a computer-based license to a named-user license (we don't have a VLA)?  We've always treated our licenses as computer-based licenses, and I've never seen anything in the NI License Manager that would designate an install as either a computer-based or named-user license. 

2. How do we handle the situation where two different named-users would like to use the same computer as one of their three allowed installs, or is this not allowed?  For example: Alice wants to use LabVIEW on her desktop computer, on Test Stand A, and on Test Stand B. Bob wants to use LabVIEW on his laptop, on Test Stand A, and on Test Stand C.  How do we handle the registration and activation on Test Stand A to allow either Alice or Bob (with, presumably, different license keys) to legally use LabVIEW on Test Stand A?

3. Will LabVIEW automatically prevent somebody other than the registered named user from running LabVIEW on a particular computer?  I'm thinking of the situation where somebody other than the computer's primary user(s) logs in and runs LabVIEW without being aware that they are not authorized to run LabVIEW on that computer.

I'd appreciate it if anybody can point me to a KB article, or other document, on NI's website that answers these questions so that I have something "official" to pass on to my IT department.

Thanks,

Mark Moss

[Robbob]

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1. Is there any formal process we have to complete to convert from a computer-based license to a named-user license (we don't have a VLA)?  We've always treated our licenses as computer-based licenses, and I've never seen anything in the NI License Manager that would designate an install as either a computer-based or named-user license. 

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There is no formal process for this. It is up to the user to determine whether to follow the named-user or computer-based licenses and following the user agreement stipulations of that selection. In general, licenses are set up as named-user since you register a user when you activate. If you want formally put either into place, you can email agreements@ni.com.

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2. How do we handle the situation where two different named-users would like to use the same computer as one of their three allowed installs, or is this not allowed?  For example: Alice wants to use LabVIEW on her desktop computer, on Test Stand A, and on Test Stand B. Bob wants to use LabVIEW on his laptop, on Test Stand A, and on Test Stand C.  How do we handle the registration and activation on Test Stand A to allow either Alice or Bob (with, presumably, different license keys) to legally use LabVIEW on Test Stand A?

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 There should be no issue with this. Each user has three computers with LabVIEW installed for their use. Whether teststand A has Bob's or Alice's license shouldn't be a problem. However, neither of them would be able to use on other computers at this point, since teststand A is counting double.

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3. Will LabVIEW automatically prevent somebody other than the registered named user from running LabVIEW on a particular computer?  I'm thinking of the situation where somebody other than the computer's primary user(s) logs in and runs LabVIEW without being aware that they are not authorized to run LabVIEW on that computer.

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LabVIEW has no built in testing of users, since we expect the named-user to be a Windows login for a particular user(see license agreement). You can set programs in Windows to only be accessed by certain users, so this would be the best way to control your software. It is up to the user to enforce this to prevent breaches of licensing.

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I'd appreciate it if anybody can point me to a KB article, or other document, on NI's website that answers these questions so that I have something "official" to pass on to my IT department.

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 Most information available on named and computer based licenses is for VLM, but your license agreement is always the best place to look. For official documentation or for bookkeeping purposes, agreements@ni.com may be a good place to start.

I hope this cleared some questions up, I know licensing can be tricky at times.