SRs @ Oracle: How do I License Thee?
- by [email protected]
With the release of the new Sun Ray product last week comes the advent of a different software licensing model. Where Sun had initially taken the approach of '1 desktop device = one license', we later changed things to be '1 concurrent connection to the server software = one license', and while there were ways to tell how many connections there were at a time, it wasn't the easiest thing to do. And, when should you measure concurrency? At your busiest time, of course... but when might that be? 9:00 Monday morning this week might yield a different result than 9:00 Monday morning last week.In the acquisition of this desktop virtualization product suite Oracle has changed things to be, in typical Oracle fashion, simpler. There are now two choices for customers around licensing: Named User licenses and Per Device licenses.Here's how they work, and some examples:The Rules1) A Sun Ray device, and PC running the Desktop Access Client (DAC), are both considered unique devices.OR, 2) Any user running a session on either a Sun Ray or an DAC is still just one user.So, you have a choice of path to go down.Some Examples:Here are 6 use cases I can think of right now that will help you choose the Oracle server software licensing model that is right for your business:Case 1If I have 100 Sun Rays for 100 users, and 20 of them use DAC at home that is 100 user licenses.If I have 100 Sun Rays for 100 users, and 20 of them use DAC at home that is 120 device licenses.Two cases using the same metrics - different licensing models and therefore different results.Case 2If I have 100 Sun Rays for 200 users, and 20 of them use DAC at home that is 200 user licenses.If I have 100 Sun Rays for 200 users, and 20 of them use DAC at home that is 120 device licenses.Same metrics - very different results.Case 3If I have 100 Sun Rays for 50 users, and 20 of them use DAC at home that is 50 user licenses.If I have 100 Sun Rays for 50 users, and 20 of them use DAC at home that is 120 device licenses.Same metrics - but again - very different results.Based on the way your business operates you should be able to see which of the two licensing models is most advantageous to you.Got questions? I'll try to help.(Thanks to Brad Lackey for the clarifications!)
