ControlUp license counting depends on the product. ControlUp for VDI, which the Knowledge Center still calls Real-Time DX in places, is sold on either a concurrent or a named user basis.[1] ControlUp for Desktops is counted per device.[2] Synthetic Monitoring is counted in scout credits.[4] The SaaS Agreement ties all of these to the Order: use is limited to the licences, metrics or capacity purchased, and the Agreement names Named Users, Concurrent Sessions and Endpoints as examples.[6] ControlUp says it “continuously counts the total number of objects that are currently being monitored” and requires enough licences to cover the environment.[1] This article explains each counting method and what it means for a licence position.
Editions
The counting rules apply across the packages. ControlUp ONE combines Desktops, Apps, Compliance and VDI. The Desktops and VDI lines are each sold in Essential and Advanced editions. Apps is an add-on to Desktops Advanced and Compliance an add-on to Desktops.[7] The Subscription page shows usage per product, so each product’s metric is tracked separately.[3]
Metrics
Concurrent licences (VDI)
Concurrent licences are “counted as number of daily managed single user workstations + peak number of concurrent RDS/multi-user sessions”.[1] When concurrent licensing is billed through the daily usage feed, the session peak is the highest concurrent session count seen during one calendar day. ControlUp’s formula is Maximum Daily Usage = Workstations + Daily Session Peak. The figure for the previous day is compiled and reported the following day.[1] Catalog: Concurrent license (ControlUp for VDI); Concurrent VDI usage = workstations + daily session peak.
On a plain reading of the formula, two consequences follow. Single-user virtual desktops count as “managed single user workstations”, so the knowledge base article does not tie their count to whether a user is logged on. Multi-user hosts (RDS, Citrix Virtual Apps) count by their sessions at the daily peak, not by the number of hosts.[1]
Named user licences (VDI)
Named user licences are counted for both RDSH/VDI machines and other machines. The count is the higher of two figures: ControlUp’s historical data (workstations plus sessions on server machines), or unmanaged Citrix or Horizon sessions.[1] A user with the same account in an Azure VM and a Citrix VM is one named user. Agentless unmanaged VMs, agentless cloud instances and general-purpose servers are not counted.[1] The current figure is the Unique Users widget in Reports, under Session Activity.[1] The SaaS Agreement defines a Named User as “any individual on Customer’s behalf who has been authorized by Customer to use the Software”.[6] Catalog: Named User; Named VDI users are counted once across platforms; unmanaged and general servers excluded.
Devices (Desktops)
Each device connected to the environment with the ControlUp for Desktops Agent uses one licence.[2] The SaaS Agreement’s broader End Point definition covers “each hardware or virtualized based station monitored by the Software”, including PCs, laptops, terminal services, VDI and servers.[6] Catalog: Device (ControlUp for Desktops), End Point; Each device with the ControlUp for Desktops Agent uses one licence.
Scout credits (Synthetic Monitoring)
Creating a synthetic monitoring scout uses credits according to its type. An EUC scout uses 1,000 credits, an Infrastructure scout 200 and an Application scout 1,000.[4] Infrastructure and Application scouts can run from several Hives, and each Hive uses credits as if it were a separate scout. An Infrastructure scout running from three Hives therefore uses 600 credits. Disabling or deleting a scout returns its credits.[4] Separately, the SaaS Agreement limits Scoutbees to 20,000 tests per rolling 24-hour period.[6] Catalog: Scout credit; Scouts consume credits by type and per Hive; Scoutbees is limited to 20,000 tests per rolling 24 hours.
Counting / floors
Reclaiming device licences. Deleting a device from ControlUp for Desktops returns its licence for use on another device, but the device’s history is lost. The device reconnects if the Agent is still running with a valid tenant name and registration code. To stop that, the Agent has to be stopped or uninstalled.[2] A maintenance setting removes devices automatically after a chosen number of days without communication. A device counts as offline after one hour without contact.[2]
What the console shows. The Subscription page shows usage percentage and allocated quota per product as of 00:00 UTC each day. It alerts when usage approaches 90% of the allocation.[3] For VDI it shows the maximum daily sessions or the named users from the last 90 days. A licence manager should therefore expect VDI compliance to be judged on the peak over that window, not on an average.[3] A usage-over-time tab shows history and can be exported to PDF.[3]
Excess Use. If usage exceeds the Order, ControlUp may give notice. The customer then has 30 days to stop the Excess Use or buy additional licences, prorated to the end of the term. Repeated Excess Use lasting more than a month in the same term can be invoiced at then-current rates without a cure period.[6] Growth inside allowances or expansion tiers written into the Order is not Excess Use.[6] Catalog: Excess Use must stop or be bought within 30 days, pro rata; Growth within Order allowances is not Excess Use.
Affiliates. Affiliates may share an Order only within its total licensed volumes, and only if they are named before execution or approved in writing. The customer stays liable for their fees and overages.[6] Catalog: Affiliates may share an Order only within its licensed volumes.
No floors. No minimum quantities are published for direct customers.
Virtualization & partitioning
VDI is the core use case, so the metrics are built around it. Concurrent counting adds multi-user session peaks to single-user workstations. Named user counting de-duplicates the same account across Azure and Citrix VMs.[1] Remote Clients, formerly Remote DX, collects metrics from the client devices users connect from, when those clients have an active session on an AVD, Citrix or Omnissa Horizon machine with the ControlUp for VDI Agent.[10] For physical and cloud desktops, the ControlUp for Desktops Advanced Cloud PC Bundle covers both a Cloud PC and a physical desktop with one licence.[7] See virtualization and partitioning.
Cloud / BYOL
Insights On-Premises. Insights On-Premises (IOP) uses Splunk for indexing. Its licence “mainly determines the maximum amount of data you can input”. Licence files are added in the IOP Administration UI, and from IOP 8.8 a License Usage report opens in Splunk.[8] This is a data-volume metric, unlike the per-user and per-device metrics of the SaaS platform. Catalog: Insights On-Premises data volume; Insights On-Premises capacity is set by a Splunk data licence.
Programs
Tenant Manager (MSP and multi-organization accounts)
Tenant Manager licences do not appear on the main Subscription page. They are managed either per organization, with each tenant on its own quota, or at account level as a shared pool allocated to tenants.[5] At account level, ControlUp allows one organization per 150 licences. VDI-only organizations use the VDI licence quota; Desktops-only and mixed organizations use the Desktop licence quota. ControlUp’s own example is an account with 100,000 VDI licences and 1,500 Desktops licences, which can create up to 666 VDI-only organizations and 10 Desktops-only or mixed organizations.[5] Allocations across tenants must not exceed the overall quota. Licences can be moved between products for one tenant, or between tenants, within that limit. A licence change that breaks the allocation can block tenant access until it is fixed.[5] Catalog: Tenant Manager licence pool; Tenant Manager allows one organization per 150 licences.
Under the MSP Agreement, an MSP’s rights are limited to the Licensed Units in its Schedule, which may be Named Users, Endpoints, Concurrent Sessions or other metrics.[9] MSPs may run up to ten concurrent trial instances in Tenant Manager, each for up to 21 days. These do not count toward the Committed Quantity unless converted.[9] Catalog: Licensed Unit (MSP); MSPs may run up to 10 concurrent 21-day trial instances.
Out of scope
This article does not cover the Citrix License Usage report or the Microsoft 365 licence usage features, which ControlUp offers for monitoring other vendors’ licences, not its own. Contract terms such as renewal and termination are covered in ControlUp SaaS Agreement, renewal and MSP terms.