Standardized Licensing Across all ERDAS ProductsFor ERDAS Software 2009 and higher, ERDAS uses FLEXnet Publisher 11.5 (or beyond) from Flexera Software (known formerly as Globetrotter, Macrovision, or Acresso). The implementation of FLEXnet, known as ERDAS-Net, provides more power and ease of use:

• A single license administration tool can be used to manage licensing for all ERDAS products.
• The license interface is simplified; a local floating license server can be fully set up by simply double-clicking on the license file.
• End-users (e.g., laptops) can borrow floating desktop-software licenses and then run disconnected from the license server (borrowing must be enabled by the administrator of the license server).

Supported Platforms:

• Windows XP Professional (32- and 64-bit)
• Windows Vista Enterprise (32- and 64-bit)
• Windows 7 (32- and 64-bit), starting with ERDAS-Net 2010
• Windows Server 2003 (32- and 64-bit)
• Windows Server 2008 (32- and 64-bit)
• Red Hat Enterprise 5.x (32-bit x86)
• CentOS 5.x (32-bit x86)
• Solaris 10 (32-bit SPARC), versions 2008.08 and 2009.02

ERDAS-Net Licensing FAQ

Q: If I already have license files for prior versions, will I be able to use them in the ERDAS-Net Licensing?

A: No. ERDAS-Net licensing is used for all releases in October 2008 and beyond. In order to license an older version, you must operate the prior ERDAS, ER-Mapper, or IONIC licensing systems. We have proven that the ERDAS and ERDAS-Net license managers can both run on the same license server machine during your transition, although each will need to use distinct ports.

Q: Will a new ERDAS-Net license file unlock older versions of ERDAS software?

A: No. An ERDAS-Net license will not unlock a FLEXlm version (9.2 and earlier) of an application. An LPS 9.3 license file (ERDAS-Net) will not unlock LPS 9.2 (ERDAS), but a future LPS 10.0 license will unlock LPS 9.3.

Q: May I use an old license manager and old license file to unlock new versions of ERDAS software?

A: No. In order to use a floating license of an ERDAS-Net enabled product, you must set up an ERDAS-Net license manager on your network.

Q: Will new license files be required for every new release of ERDAS software?

A: Yes. All annual releases of software require a new license file. Fortunately, license merging is no longer necessary. If your ERDAS Software Maintenance contract was valid at the time of release of the new version, you can visit the ERDAS Licensing web site and either self-generate or be issued an updated license file that reflects all of the products you have licensed. You only need to load and keep the latest license file you get from ERDAS.

Q: Will I be able to continue to use my ERDAS IMAGINE / LPS hardware key (dongle) to provide the unique system ID for licensing?

A: Legacy ERDAS-style dongles from SafeNet (formerly Rainbow) will continue to be supported on Microsoft Windows, but the system ID it reports has minor differences.

Q: Will I be able to continue to use my ER Mapper Pro hardware key (dongle) to provide the unique system id against which to license?

A: Dongles from Rockey were required for previous versions of ER Mapper Professional in some areas of the world. A dongle is not required for ERDAS ER Mapper 7.2. As with all of ERDAS's products, you have the option of using dongle-free system identification or purchasing a SafeNet dongle. If you already have a SafeNet dongle, you can now have all of your new products tied to that dongle.

Q: Do I have to use the same computer for licensing as I did previously?

A: It is not necessary to use the same license server for ERDAS-Net as you did for the earlier FLEXlm-licensed software. Since your ERDAS-Net System ID will be different from before, ERDAS will allow you to choose any computer to license under the new scheme. As with any SWM maintenance upgrade, you are not entitled to use the new upgraded license and the original pre-upgrade license at the same time.

Upgrades to the ERDAS 2010 software versions (license version 10.0) must be run on the same ERDAS-Net system ID as the 9.3 version. Other system ID changes are governed by ERDAS's standard System ID Change policy.

Q: How do I determine the unique system ID for the computer I wish to license?

A: Install ERDAS IMAGINE 2010, LPS 2010, or the stand-alone ERDAS-Net 2010 license manager, and run “All Programs > ERDAS 2010 > ERDAS-Net Licensing 2010 > Show System ID. (Earlier versions of software provide this utility in a similar location.) A stand-alone version of the system ID utility is also available on the ERDAS web site.

Q: What is a FLEXid dongle?

A: FLEXnet ID dongles come from various vendors, and are resold by Flexera. The FLEXid "9" series of dongles are based upon Aladdin HASP HL drivers. The advantages of FLEXnet ID dongles are that the dongle support is built into the FLEXnet licensing software, and the dongle can be shared between many applications, not just those produced by ERDAS.

Q: Will both floating and node-locked licensing be supported?

A: Yes. ERDAS does not charge a premium for floating (concurrent use) licenses, and the floating licenses are issued by default. Most ERDAS products are also available with node-locked licenses, so you can select that when running a license server is not desirable.

Q: Will license borrowing ("check out") be supported?

A: License borrowing permits you to "check out" a floating license from a server, and use that license even when disconnected from that server. This is useful if you have a laptop you want to take home or into the field for a period of time. This feature is disabled by default, but can be easily enabled. Please see Home > Support > Licensing > License Borrowing.

Q: Will redundant servers be supported, or any other style of "failure-proofing" of the license server?

A: Under redundant operation, three servers act as a single license server, and if one server fails or becomes disconnected, the other two continue issuing licenses. This type of redundancy is an obsolescent feature in FLEXnet Publisher, but it continues to work for ERDAS-Net.