How are Flexible Use licenses dynamically
allocated and shared among several users? Most application
programs acquire a license as soon as they are started, and release
the license when they are finally closed. But because the
Premium Solver products work inside Microsoft Excel, they behave
differently -- for your benefit.
Although our software is loaded and briefly used every
time you start Excel (if the box next to Solver is checked under
Tools Add-ins), the Solver does not acquire a Flexible Use
license at this time. You can start Excel and use it for other
purposes without using a Solver license at all.
When you select Tools Solver..., the Solver
acquires a license (to verify that you have one) and then immediately
releases it. You are now able to use the Solver
interactively for as long as you want, but the license server will
"hold" a license available
solely for your use, for a maximum of ten minutes --
during this time you can reacquire this license, but no one else
can. After ten minutes, any user can acquire the license that
you were using.
When you click the Solve or Check Model
button, the Solver again acquires a license, and releases
this license as soon as the Solve or Check Model operation
finishes. You can then inspect the results from Solve or Check
Model, and continue to use the Solver interactively for as long as
you want, but your Flexible Use license is "held" available
solely for your use, for a maximum of ten minutes after
the Solve or Check Model operation finishes.
Note that all users who have ever
acquired a Flexible Use license since they started their current
Excel session can continue to use the Solver's interactive
features, for as long as they like, without tying up a
license. The ten minute "quantum" applies when they
first select Tools Solver..., and then whenever they click Solve or
Check Model.
What would happen if the Flexible Use license was not
held for your use for ten minutes? After selecting Tools
Solver... and working interactively for a while, you are very
likely to click Solve or Check Model, probably within ten
minutes. Users also frequently Solve, inspect the results, and
then Solve again within a few seconds or minutes. But if your
license was not held, it could easily be lost during this
time, if another user acquired it from the server, and you would not
be able to proceed with your work. The ten minute quantum or
"hold time" is designed to be long enough to enable you to
keep working without frequent interruption, but short enough to
permit Flexible Use licenses to be effectively shared among several
users.
If you have questions about Flexible Use licenses,
please contact us!
