License Server versus other licensing models

The callas License Server is a way to license callas software products, but it does not replace any of the traditional licensing models.

Hardware-based licensing

Traditionally, all callas software solutions use hardware-based licensing. This means that the software needs to be installed and activated on the machine (real or virtual) on which it is running. This activation binds the purchased license to the computer on which the software is used. This activation model requires:

  • Several manual operations (for the CLI products: create a license request on the console terminal, request activation by email, move the received Activation.pdf back to the host, and use the console terminal again to complete the activation)
  • Static hardware identifier (which does not work well in environments where this ID can change, e.g. Docker, Amazon AWS or Microsoft Azure)

License Server-based licensing

In some environments, such as auto-scaling setups hosted in the cloud, the traditional callas licensing mechanism that requires activation to a particular computer (real or virtual), is not convenient. In auto-scaling setups, you want to be able to dynamically create new virtual machines that can immediately perform pdfToolbox tasks. In order to deal with this, callas has a separate product called callas License Server. There are two License Server-based models.

License Server

In this model, there is no need to install and activate the License Server, because it is a SaaS solution. All that is required to reference the License Server on the CLI is a URL and a wallet ID. For more information about using the License Server, see the next article.

License Server on-premise

Alternatively, there is the License Server on-premise. This model also does not require classic hardware-based licensing. However, it is worth mentioning that the License Server on-premise uses the hardware-based licensing for itself. This means that the License Server on-premise must always be activated, running and have valid cartridges installed. Only after that the callas product can run without activation. For more information on using the license server on-premise, please refer to the following chapters.