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Overview

Cloud Key licensing is an online-hosted licensing system with a license activation-key offered by CSI to simplify the licensing process for users. Some key differences compared with on-premise legacy licensing systems used by CSI Products include:

  • All licenses are floating, meaning when the software is started it will obtain a license from the cloud license server if available and upon closing the software, it will return the license, making it available to others.
  • There is no license server to be installed or managed by the end user. The license server is hosted in the cloud and managed by CSI.
  • An internet connection is required when running the software to allow it to obtain and return the cloud license. There is a checkout capability for offline use.
  • Details regarding cloud licensing security can be found on the Cloud Key Licensing Security FAQ page.

Advantages

Cloud licensing provides the following advantages over on-premise legacy licensing:

  • Floating licenses are easily shared with colleagues
  • No license servers to manage
  • Accessible outside of company networks and VPNs
  • License management is integrated within the software

Supported Products

The following products currently use cloud licensing:

  • CSiPlant v5 and newer
  • CSiBridge v23 and newer
  • CSiCol v10 and newer
  • CSiXCAD v19 and newer
  • CSiXRevit 2021 and newer
  • ETABS v19 and newer
  • Perform3D v8 and newer
  • SAFE v20 and newer
  • SAP2000 v23 and newer
  • CSiDetail v20

License Activation-Key

Each cloud license activation-key is associated with a certain number of seats (or simultaneous users), as determined at the time of purchase. When the number of users running the software with a given activation key reaches that limit, no additional instances of the software can be used until one of the current instances is closed. If this limit is reached frequently it may be useful to purchase additional license seats of the software.

License Activation

Upon expiration of any evaluation licenses, the program will ask to activate a license. Input the Activation-Key that was provided when the product was purchased. Upon successful activation it should not be necessary to do this again unless changing the activation key.

License Deactivation

A license typically does not need to be deactivated unless changing activation keys. In the event that this is required, it can be done from the License Information form, accessed from the Help > License Information command. Once a license is deactivated from a client machine the software will not be able to be used until a license is activated again.

License Checkout

If enabled, a license may be checked out for an extended period of time, allowing it to be used while disconnected from the internet. While checked out, the license is not returned to the license server when the software closes and therefore other users will not be able to access that license until the checkout period expires or the license is checked in, whichever occurs first. A license can be checked out from the License Information form, accessed from the Help > License Information command. If the license checkout is successful, the License Information form will refresh to show the updated expiration data. Note, license checkout is currently not available in CSiPlant.

License Check-in

A checked out license can be checked back in prior to the checkout period expiring, which will make it available to other users again. A license can be checked in from the License Information form, accessed from the Help > License Information command. If the license check-in is successful, the License Information form will refresh to show the updated expiration data.

Proxy Server

For client machines setup behind a proxy server for internet access, cloud licensing will normally be able to use the machine level proxy server settings set in Windows. In the case that application level proxy settings are required, they can be input on the Proxy Settings form that is accessible from the cloud licensing forms. For a proxy server not requiring authentication, only the IP address and port values are required. Once the proxy information is input, close the form, exit the software and start it again for the proxy settings to take effect. Note, specifying application level proxy settings is currently not available in CSiPlant.