Inventor licensing - standalone to network

[ungarata]

guys;

we have (4) seats of standard Inventor 11 (NOT 2011), and (1) seat of Inventor 11 Pro; all are standalone licenses locked to individual machines. i want to change that to a floating license setup. i call our local reseller for tips on how to do that, and i find out that - it's not free. he quoted me $6700 just to be able to change the license scheme. can someone justify this? why would the cost be so high for simply changing how the licenses are handled? i'm not getting any additional seats, and i'm not gaining any additional capability, but the cost is above the cost of another seat of Inventor.

for PTC, if you want to install the licenses as standalone, that's fine. want to switch them to floating seats - that's fine; just install FlexLM (which is included on the installation disks) and convert the licenses in an automated online process. want to pull one license out of the floating pool and convert it to standalone? fine; go online and reconfigure your licenses. the cost to do all this? zero. ZERO!!

why does Autodesk feel this is fair? anybody have any suggestions?

 

[GregLocock]

Because they can.

And you are gaining a capability you did not have before.



Cheers

Greg Locock


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[mflayler]

Being that far back on the software means Autodesk has to charge you quite a bit as a penalty for not staying current. Normally for a current license to switch to floating, the price is a LOT cheaper. Autodesk doesn't even support IV11 anymore, I would be surprised if you would even be able to convert that license at all.

Maybe you should check into the possibility that your company actually has newer seats and have not installed them.

 

[EngAddict]

I would second what Mark said, there is no chance you could change the licence for R11, you will have to upgrade.

SolidWorks also charges a substantial amount for a floating licence, and for that matter all the engineering software I have installed on my machine charges more for a network licence. Are you sure you hadn't paid for a floating licence with Pro|E and that is why you could change between licence types?

 

[ungarata]

mflayler/EngAddict;

well, i called our reseller; here's where i got the quote from, and didn't mention anything about not being able to convert the licenses just because they're V11..? he just gave the price for it per seat.

no, we dont have any newer seats lying around that haven't been installed, and no, we're not on active maintenance.

for the Pro/E licenses; no, there was never an additional fee. i installed Pro/E at two past employers (coincidentally 7 seats each). i then changed how the licenses were configured several times; you go online and reconfigure the licenses, and then they were emailed to you within an hour. and, you can continue to do this even after your maintenance contract has lapsed! [you still have access to the licensing and installation functions, just not new releases or technical support.] nothing else to go through; that's why when i found out there was a higher fee to run floating seats of Inventor i was surprised...when i found out how much, i was shocked.

GregLocock seems to feel that i would be getting something extra out of being able to run the license from a server vs. from my local computer. i guess he would feel the same way if by default Inventor was licensed as a floating setup and i wanted to change the licenses to being locked to individual computers, and Autodesk wanted to charge just as much for that change...? am i "gaining the ability" to talk to a license sitting on a server? is that worth $1900?

nope.

Autodesk is going to push me to dump Inventor and move on to something else instead of getting back on maintenance and upgrading what we have.

 

[EngAddict]

I think it is over priced but being able to pick up 20 licences on say up to 50 machines when required, is better than only having 20 machines able to use Inventor (or transfer over the internet every time). This is pretty standard though, I don't think you can only judge inventor based on this practice. Last time I checked SolidWorks was much more expensive but it was a one off cost and you could then add as many seats as you 'owned'.

 

[GregLocock]

Yes, EngAddict gets the point of floating licenses unlike the clueless chap.

Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376

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[ungarata]

GregLocock;

Nope, i don't understand anything about the whole floating license issue...i don't even know what a license is for? my driver's license? what does that have to do with my CAD program? wait, do i need a license to be able to operate CAD? and it floats...in water? weightless, like in space? Greg's right; i don't have a clue about any of this. i'm glad he's here to advise people like me and convince me that i'm being extorted by Autodesk over something that other companies does not charge for. super-helpful!

[if anyone on these forums has ever gotten an ounce of useful information from GregLocock, then congratulations. you've accomplished the near-impossible.]

thanks to everyone else who has offered their experiences and advice, though.

 

[GregLocock]

http://www.eng-tips.com/userinfo.cfm?member=GregLocock

Um, several hundred people managed to ask intelligent work related questions and liked my answers.



Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?