Sharing a seat of SW?
Sharing a seat of SW?
(OP)
I'm currently evaluation CAD products and plan to purchase one soon. SW is high on the list (currently doing a trial in fact) but one thing I would like to be able to do is share it. I have a contractor working for me who will need it for some up coming design work. My use will be pretty minor (too many other things on my plate) so purchasing two seats doesn't make sense. I understand from my var there's a floating license option, but SW wants $2K for that (expensive for what it is, in my opinion). So are there any other options (other than share a computer, which wouldn't be very convenient)?
Thanks for any suggestions. I'm sure this is a common issue.
Pat
Thanks for any suggestions. I'm sure this is a common issue.
Pat






RE: Sharing a seat of SW?
Also, networking doesn't make sense if you guys are on different sites.
Matt Lorono
CAD Engineer/ECN Analyst
Silicon Valley, CA
Lorono's SolidWorks Resources
Co-moderator of Solidworks Yahoo! Group
and Mechnical.Engineering Yahoo! Group
RE: Sharing a seat of SW?
If you don't mind me asking, how hard is it to release a license? Does it involve uninstalling the software?
Also, does SW impose any limit on the number of times a license can be transferred in this manner?
If it's not too much of a pain to do, I would prefer to do it the legit way.
Thanks again.
Pat
RE: Sharing a seat of SW?
Transferring the license between computers for the purpose of letting two people share a stand alone license would not be legit. The floating license is the legit way for more than one person to use a license, although it still must be non concurrent.
I expect that the license situation will be similar for other CAD packages.
Eric
RE: Sharing a seat of SW?
I also don't understand why the floating license is so expensive (which, I agree, would be best way) given that only one license is involved. Seems like just a money grab to me.
Pat
RE: Sharing a seat of SW?
RE: Sharing a seat of SW?
The main point is that a single licence must not be used by more than one person at the same time. If that criteria were met, I doubt very much that SW would care if different users were involved ... but that's just my personal opinion ... which is worth about as much as you paid for it.
RE: Sharing a seat of SW?
Matt Lorono
CAD Engineer/ECN Analyst
Silicon Valley, CA
Lorono's SolidWorks Resources
Co-moderator of Solidworks Yahoo! Group
and Mechnical.Engineering Yahoo! Group
RE: Sharing a seat of SW?
If 2 people use the same machine I would not think that is a big deal, but 2 separate seats in the same office is a big deal. The reason you get a license at the office and one at home is in theory you can't be at both places at the same time. So only 1 license is being used at any one time. So that is what you are signing. Then when you buy SW you agree you will only use "X" licenses that you buy at any one time.
I have turned users in that I find are exceeding their licenses because of either their ignorance or because they are trying to get away with something. If its ignorance I train them and fix the problem, but other than that I turn them in.
When people do that they will just cost all the users more money in the long run, because SW will also have to add more security into the program and will not fix problems that may occur. Meaning that some focus on security might be more important than fixing a problem if a security problem continues to come about.
Look at the leasing options SW has out there if you cna't afford to by a second seat.
Regards,
Scott Baugh, CSWP![[pc2] pc2](https://www.tipmaster.com/images/pc2.gif)
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policieswww.scottjbaugh.com
RE: Sharing a seat of SW?
RE: Sharing a seat of SW?
RE: Sharing a seat of SW?
Just so that the an alternative view is presented here, I'll respond, in a devil's advocate type matter.
It doesn't really cost "us" anything. AutoCAD become the dominate CAD application because of outright black market piracy. Once Autodesk started implementing serious anti-piracy measures, the prices of their 2D applications skyrocketed, even in the wake of rise of 3D software. That said, I'm not going to advocate piracy. However, I will not judge someone who is paying for the software. Reporting on fellow paying customers can hurt "us" because it potentially takes them off the market altogether. There's a balance to be had.
Matt Lorono
CAD Engineer/ECN Analyst
Silicon Valley, CA
Lorono's SolidWorks Resources
Co-moderator of Solidworks Yahoo! Group
and Mechnical.Engineering Yahoo! Group
RE: Sharing a seat of SW?
I don't remember the price for a floating license being $1200 either. I would suggest that the floating license is worth the investment at $500 as long as everyone is on the same site. Otherwise, they should be managing their license through activation/deactivation, especially if one person is using much more often than the other. Your VAR should be able to tell you how this works.
Matt Lorono
CAD Engineer/ECN Analyst
Silicon Valley, CA
Lorono's SolidWorks Resources
Co-moderator of Solidworks Yahoo! Group
and Mechnical.Engineering Yahoo! Group
RE: Sharing a seat of SW?
RE: Sharing a seat of SW?
I tend to agree with CBL -that the intent is not to have more than one person use the license at a time. But that's hard to police, and hence the need for activation and current policy.
The amount I was quoted (by my SW var) for a floating license was $2000, not $1200. That tells me they're not really interested in selling those (imo). $500 would be a more reasonable price.
Also, just for the record, the home install option does not work with the trial code (unfortunately).
Pat
RE: Sharing a seat of SW?
For the point of the original post, VPN should be investigated as CBL referenced. I do not use this, but have a friend that does. I think this would actually be the most appropriate and affordable solution.
- - -Updraft
RE: Sharing a seat of SW?
My understanding is that VPN would be used by remote users to access the license manager and check out a license remotely. Were you suggesting using VPN to connect to a remote workstation to run SW? If so, I've heard that doesn't work well because of the video requirements. Would be nice if it did though.
Thanks for clarification.
Pat
RE: Sharing a seat of SW?
-handleman, CSWP (The new, easy test)
RE: Sharing a seat of SW?
An option if you are busy and not going to actually do any of the modeling you can install SW Edrawings which will allow you to view and markup existing SW solids and 2D drawings in their native format. You cannot change things but you can at lease view them.
RE: Sharing a seat of SW?
Another thing to keep in mind is that it expires at midnight on the last day you borrowed it so if you plan on working late into the night grap it for the next day as well.
RE: Sharing a seat of SW?
Thanks for the explanation. I understand now.
Regardless, $2000 is still a lot to pay to float a single license. I'll pass.
I actually have several applications that use the flexLM license manager, and I've read that it's possible for one manager to host the licenses for several applications. However, I'm guessing in this case SW will only work with it's own license manager.
Pat
RE: Sharing a seat of SW?
Flores
RE: Sharing a seat of SW?
Cole M
CSWP, CSWST, CSWI, CPDM
Certified DriveWorks AE
HP XW4300, 3.4g proc, 2.5g RAM, ATI Fire GL 3100
Dell M90, Core 2 Duo, 4g RAM, Nvidia Quadra FX2500M
Equus (custom), P4, 3.4g proc, 3g RAM, Nvidia Quadro FX3400
RE: Sharing a seat of SW?
Unfortunately, adding $2K to the cost of the purchase to get a floating license is going to make SW unaffordable (at least in comparison to other CAD options we're considering). Too bad. At least it makes the decision a little easier.
Pat
RE: Sharing a seat of SW?
Don't throw in the towel too quickly! Make sure you're getting the best system, not just a system. Also SolidWorks has 0% financing going right now. That may help make it more affordable.
Cole M
CSWP, CSWST, CSWI, CPDM
Certified DriveWorks AE
HP XW4300, 3.4g proc, 2.5g RAM, ATI Fire GL 3100
Dell M90, Core 2 Duo, 4g RAM, Nvidia Quadra FX2500M
Equus (custom), P4, 3.4g proc, 3g RAM, Nvidia Quadro FX3400