Keysight Technologies licenses its software, including PathWave electronic design automation (EDA) tools such as Advanced Design System (ADS), GoldenGate, SystemVue, Genesys and IC-CAP, PathWave BenchVue and test automation applications, instrument application software such as 89600 VSA, and option software for its instruments, through one licensing framework. The framework combines four main licence types (node-locked, transportable, USB portable and floating), a term that is either perpetual or expiring, and licence files that are issued from the Keysight Software Manager website and enforced by the FlexNet Publisher licensing technology.[2] This article gives the shape of that framework. The deeper articles in the See also list cover the End-User License Agreement, the licence types and terms, EDA licensing, the licence server tooling, and support.
Scope of the Keysight licensing framework
Keysight’s own administrator documentation describes Keysight Licensing as consisting of licence client software built into the licensed product, licence files that unlock the products, and licence management tools; for floating and counted licences it adds a FlexNet licence server manager (lmgrd) and one or more Keysight vendor daemons (agileesofd and, for some products, agilent).[2] The Quick Start Guide repeats the architecture: when new Keysight software is installed, a licence manager utility is installed with it to help install and manage licences.[3]
Not every Keysight product uses the same layer of the framework. Keysight’s EDA products (the EEsof family) use a counted licence scheme with their own bundles, elements and job-controlled features,[5] while BenchVue and similar instrument software use the product-number suffix scheme described in Keysight license types and terms.[4] Hardware instruments are outside this wiki’s software scope, but instrument help pages describe the same licence types and terms for software options installed on instruments.[7]
Licence types
The Administrator’s Guide lists five licence types: node-locked, USB portable, transportable, module and floating.[2] Each is either perpetual or time-based. The EULA gives the rights attached to the first four in terms of a “Computing Device” (a computer, instrument or machine):
| Type | EULA right | Typical management |
|---|---|---|
| Node Locked | One copy on one Computing Device, used only there[1] | Licence file tied to a host ID |
| Transportable | One copy on any Computing Device at one time; may be moved by Keysight-provided methods[1] | Moved through the Keysight Software Manager |
| USB Portable | Locked to a USB key sold separately; moves with the key[7] | Licence file plus an attached key and driver |
| Floating | Copies on the licensee’s network, up to the number of simultaneous users or devices and within the designated area[1] | Licence server and client check-out |
| Module | Locked to a PXI modular instrument[2] | Tied to the instrument hardware |
Node-locked and USB portable licences may be counted or uncounted: a counted licence enables a specified number of a capability, such as a number of simulations, while an uncounted licence simply unlocks the feature on the system where it is installed.[2] Where the documentation does not specify a licence, the EULA treats the licensee as holding a Node Locked licence with a Perpetual Term.[1]
Terms and support
A perpetual licence has no expiry and, for the application software described in the BenchVue help pages, includes a one-year support subscription for software updates and support; after the first year support can be renewed annually for a fee.[4] A subscription-based licence expires after a limited period and includes updates and support through the term.[4] For both, the time-bound aspects start when the licence is added to the Keysight Software Manager (KSM) profile.[4]
The EULA itself does not entitle the licensee to upgrades, updates, extensions or technical support; these are included or purchased separately and governed by the EULA or a separate agreement.[1] Support is sold under the KeysightCare and Basic/Essential/Enterprise terms, which require continuous renewal and let Keysight set renewal fees at its sole discretion.[6] See KeysightCare and software support.
Keysight also offers a lease-based subscription programme, KeysightAccess, with 12, 24 or 36 month terms that bundle instruments, software and KeysightCare support.[8]
Counting and compliance
Counting depends on the licence type. Node-locked and transportable licences are counted per Computing Device, with one copy in use at a time for transportable licences.[1] Floating licences are counted on simultaneous use, and a client checks out one licence at a time and at one site.[10] For EDA software the base is the User-Display-Host: each unique combination of user, display and host consumes one count.[5]
Floating licences may be single-site, single-region or worldwide, and the scope is recorded in the licence file.[3] For a single-site floating licence the EULA restricts use on any network that permits remote access by licensed users outside the “Use Area”, defined as a fifty mile radius within the same time zone.[1]
The EULA also states that licence-enforcement measures in the software or bundled hardware may collect and transmit data about suspected unlicensed copies, and that Keysight may audit the licensee’s records on reasonable notice, at its own expense, with audit costs, underpayment and interest shifted to the licensee if a material breach is found.[1]
Virtualization, remote access and cloud
The EULA allows floating licence copies on any Computing Device within the licensee’s internal network or on dedicated server resources provided by a third party, but forbids copying the Software onto a public or distributed network, a service bureau or similar service, or giving access through a web or network application.[1] For EDA software, remote access through Windows Remote Desktop, VNC, Citrix or Exceed is supported on a best-effort basis, requires a floating licence and is not supported with a node-locked licence.[5] The ADS 2024 guide also lists virtual machines among unsupported licence server platforms, a statement that should be checked against the current Keysight License Server documentation before it is relied on.[5] The documents reviewed for this wiki do not define a bring-your-own-licence rule for public cloud providers.
Licence server and tooling
Licence files are obtained from the Keysight Software Manager website using the entitlement certificate received at purchase, then installed with a licence manager utility. The current utility is the Keysight Software Manager Utility (KSM-U), formerly PathWave License Manager; it has replaced Keysight License Manager 6, while Keysight License Manager 5 and the Floating License Manager for design software products may still be needed for older licences.[3] Where the entitlement certificate shows the words Easy Activation, KSM-U can activate the licence from an activation code over the internet.[3] The details are in Keysight license servers and the Software Manager.
Out of scope
This overview does not cover Keysight hardware warranty and calibration terms, the licensing of acquired product lines that publish their own licence terms, or price lists; no public price list was reviewed. Several keysight.com web pages, including the licence types selection guide, returned a bot challenge to a generic client and were not used as sources; the statements above rest on the EULA, the licensing guides, product help pages and the support terms listed in the references. Keysight’s documents change with each release, and a negotiated agreement takes precedence over the standard EULA.[1]