[Return to Library] [Contents] [Previous Chapter] [Index] [Help]


B    Glossary

This glossary defines a number of terms and acronyms that you should know to understand the LMF documentation.

activity license
A license that defines the number of concurrent users allowed access to a product. For example, a license that provides 1200 license units might provide enough license units to allow 48 users to access the product simultaneously.

authorization number
The unique number assigned by the PAK issuer to a specific PAK. The PAK issuer name and authorization number identify a license.

availability license
A license that makes a product available to all the users of a system. To run on a system, the product must have a certain number of license units. For example, one system might require 1000 license units to run a product, while a more powerful system might require 2000 license units to run the same product.

Any number of users can use the product.

Activity Table Code field
The field on a PAK that represents the number of units required for simultaneous user of the product.

Availability Table Code field
The field on a PAK that represents the number of units required to give unlimited use of a product on a particular hardware system model.

capacity license
See availability license.

CD-ROM
A medium for the consolidated distribution of software. Digital UNIX layered products can be distributed on a single CD-ROM, with software access authorized by PAKs and LMF.

checksum
An encoded number calculated from the other information supplied with a PAK. LMF uses the checksum to validate the rest of the PAK data. The checksum string always begins with a number, which is the only number in the string. The other 16 positions are always alphabetic characters from A to P.

compact disc read-only memory
See CD-ROM.

key termination date
A date specified on a PAK that defines when a license contract is no longer valid. Once this date passes, LMF no longer allows users to invoke the product.

LDB
See license database.

license amendment
The process of updating an existing license by entering data from a Product Authorization Amendment (PAAM) in the license database.

license combination
The process of using the license units from two or more licenses for the same product to provide more product access. Two licenses each with 100 units combine to equal a 200-unit license. Licenses that specify the NO_SHARE Key Option cannot be combined.

license database
A system file that contains the licenses registered on the system.

License Management Facility (LMF)
The part of the Digital UNIX operating system that enables the online management of software license data and helps prevent accidental unlicensed use of software.

license PAK
See Product Authorization Key (PAK).

license registration
The task you perform when you enter license data from a PAK into the license database. To register a license, use the register command.

license unit
The basic unit of measurement that Digital uses to specify how much product use a license provides. Digital gives each license intended to be used with LMF a size, specified in license units. For example, a license can be a 20-unit license, a 50-unit license, or a 700-unit license.

License Unit Requirement Table (LURT)
A table provided by Digital as part of the Digital UNIX operating system that specifies a series of license unit requirements, essentially performance ratings, for each processor. Processors that provide more performance (other ratings might be unrelated to performance) have greater license unit requirements.

LMF
See License Management Facility (LMF).

LURT
See License Unit Requirement Table.

Number of Units field
The field on a PAK that shows how many license units are supplied with the PAK.

PAAM
See Product Authorization Amendment (PAAM).

PAK
See Product Authorization Key (PAK).

PAK identification
The PAK issuer name and the authorization number compose the PAK identification. Together, these two items uniquely identify a license.

per-user license
See activity license.

PAK issuer
The company that creates the license contract for the software. The PAK issuer name and license authorization number uniquely identify a license. In most cases, the software producer is also the PAK issuer. However, PAK issuers can operate under agreement with a separate software producer.

producer
The name of the company that produces the software licensed by LMF.

Product Authorization Amendment (PAAM)
A list of information that amends the license for an existing licensed software product. Without a current PAK or the appropriate PAAM, you might not be able to use an installed software product. A PAAM also contains a unique authorization checksum that validates the license data.

Product Authorization Key (PAK)
A list of essential information about a software license that must be registered in the license database for users to have access to a product. The PAK issuer produces the PAK and delivers it to you, usually as part of your product shipment.

product identification
The software producer name and product name compose the product identification. Together these items uniquely identify a software product for licensing.

product name
The name used by LMF to distinguish among different software products.

Product Release Date field
The field on a PAK that controls when the PAK expires.

software license
A contract between a license producer (for example, Digital) and a license receiver (customer) that grants permission to use a specific software product as described by the applicable Software Product Description (SPD), and the terms and conditions of the license contract. A PAK supplies the information that results from a software license contract.

System Marketing Model
The hardware system model of the processor.

SPD
See Software Product Description (SPD).

Software Product Description (SPD)
The legal document that describes the software product. This document contains the precise product release level that comprises the product version and official product release date.

version number
The number assigned to a particular release of a software product.

user
An entity that meets the license requirements for use of a software product on a certain processor at a particular time. Typically, the user is a user process attempting to run on a processor. The LMF software determines whether or not a user process is affected by LMF. If the user process is affected, LMF then determines whether or not it is valid (licensed to run at this time).