NI license types and programs covers how NI structures what a customer buys: the usage category (development, deployment, debug), the licence type (non-concurrent or concurrent), the licence term (perpetual or subscription), and the program that wraps them (single-seat, Volume License Program, Enterprise Program or an academic licence). The definitions come from NI’s policy page, which says all of them are subject to the NI General Purpose Software License Agreement, and from the agreement’s addenda.[1]
Usage categories
| Category | Purpose | Quantity rule | Home exception |
|---|---|---|---|
| Development | Creating new applications and programs[1] | Single seat, or within a Volume License Agreement (VLA) or Enterprise Agreement (EA)[1] | Yes, one home machine[1] |
| Deployment | Distributing applications built with the product[1] | One licence for each target computer on which the application runs[1] | No[1] |
| Debug | Fixing issues in an application or system already built with a development licence[1] | Permission to install on one computer; single seat or within a VLA[1] | No[1] |
NI publishes the debug and deployment licences it offers, with part numbers, on its Deployment and Debug Licenses page. Debug and deployment licences include an NI software service agreement for the first year, while separate deployment licences and single deployment licences do not.[2] Some products require a separate deployment licence per target computer; for others the licence needed on the target computer is the same as the development licence.[2] Catalog rows: Development license, Deployment license and Debug license.
Licence types
Non-concurrent
Non-concurrent licences are assigned to specific users or computers at certain sites, the number assigned cannot exceed the seats bought, and use is restricted to the Americas, Europe or Asia and cannot cross continents. They come in two forms. A named-user licence is for one individual, can be installed on up to three computers and run on one at a time, and includes a home exception. A computer-based licence (also called host-based, seat-based or node-locked) is for one computer with no restriction on the number of users and includes a home exception for one home machine for one user.[1]
Concurrent
A concurrent licence allows installation on unlimited computers at certain sites if no more than X instances are in use at once, where X is the number of seats bought. It can only be bought as part of a VLA or EA.[1] Concurrent licences are managed or unmanaged:[1]
- A managed concurrent licence restricts access to the pool by user or computer (for example, ten LabVIEW Professional seats only for Group A), can be managed through a license server and includes a home exception.
- An unmanaged concurrent licence is open to any user or computer on the same network as the licence server and includes no home exception and no disconnected licences.
The NI Software License Agreement adds that Concurrent Use licences have no home use exception and are not transferable, and that NI may terminate automatically if concurrent use exceeds the seats purchased.[3] The policy page and the agreement differ on the managed case, so the Quote and the volume licence manager configuration are the practical authority. See Concurrent License.
Terms
A perpetual licence means that the purchased version never stops working. Perpetual licences provide access to an NI software service agreement, included in the first year and renewable annually; without it the installed version continues to operate.[1] A subscription licence gives the same benefits but must be renewed to keep using the software, and renewal also maintains service benefits.[1] NI states that subscription and perpetual licences include the same features and that all LabVIEW deployment licences are perpetual.[4] The agreement makes the subscription term the default unless the Quote specifies a perpetual licence.[3] See Subscription License model and Perpetual License model.
Software service renewal
A software service agreement is included for the first year of all perpetual single-seat and volume licences and must then be renewed annually. The price of an on-time renewal for perpetual licences is 25 percent of the list price of the perpetual licence, and late fees apply after the on-time renewal date. For subscription licences, service is included, renewal is annual, and for single-seat and volume licences the renewal price is the list price of the subscription licence; a quote is sent before the renewal date.[5] The listed service benefits include technical support (8x5 local business hours with a two-day response time), software updates and maintenance releases, and access to online training for the products owned.[5] See NI software service agreement.
Programs
Single-Seat License Program
The Single-Seat License Program provides individual access, is described as the most common option for new customers and includes access to a software service agreement. NI suggests considering a volume licence when purchasing more than five licences.[5] A single-seat licence can be a development, debug or deployment licence and is typically named-user non-concurrent.[1]
Volume License Program (VLP)
The Volume License Program is designed for teams needing five or more licences and reduces total cost through streamlined asset management.[5] The VLP terms in Addendum C of the agreement include:[3]
- an initial term of one year (or the multi-year term quoted), renewable for further one-year periods, with termination on sixty days’ notice before an annual term end and no refund for early termination;
- use only on computers at the Site where NI delivers the software, extended to all of the licensee’s locations in the same country, with regional groupings of countries and worldwide coverage for a global VLP;
- a minimum of five licences of the same term type for a version of a single development product, and subscription or software services for each licence;
- a designated Software Administrator for each Site and an Approved Volume License Manager with the current NI licence file in use at all times;
- activity compliance logs on request and at renewal, with NI entitled to revise renewal fees for licences used but not reported;
- Overdraft licences that must be paid for, and annual subscription and service fees with additional VLP fees pro-rated monthly;
- on termination, subscription licences end and paid perpetual licences survive as Surviving VLP Licenses that cannot be increased, and an updated licence file must be installed within sixty days; and
- disconnected licences capped at the number of licences in the VLP documentation.
Existing computer-based or named-user licences brought into a VLP are superseded by licences with a single common serial number, and the licensee may obtain individual serial numbers for VLP licences with a conversion charge and no more than four conversions per calendar year.[3] See Volume License Program (VLP).
Enterprise Program (EP)
The Enterprise Program is documented in an EP Documentation that lists the covered software, licence types and maximum numbers, pre-existing licences converted and included services. The default term is three years if the documentation does not say otherwise. Use is limited to the designated EP Locations and the EP Term and to the licence maximums, an Approved Volume License Manager must be used at all times, and the licensee and NI meet at least annually to review usage, with activity compliance logs and usage logs of check-outs and check-ins provided thirty days beforehand.[3] Training credits have no cash value and expire with the EP; if the licensee acquires a business whose NI licences it wants to include, the EP fees may increase.[3] NI says Enterprise Agreements include access to additional training and advanced services.[5] See Enterprise Program (EP).
Academic licences
Addendum E restricts academic licences to non-commercial and non-industrial use at educational institutions within ISCED (2011) levels 0 to 8. Teaching licences require instructional use as defined (a common exam relating to the software or graded homework), research licences are for academic research, and secondary school licences are limited to the specified computers and a single school or campus.[3]
- The Academic Site License (ASL) consists of perpetual licences (student installs excepted), for teaching or research as specified, with one year of Software Services included for perpetual licences.[3]
- The Academic Volume License (AVL) has an initial one-year term, renewable by agreement, with subscription licences unless the documentation says otherwise.[3]
- The Student Install Option lets enrolled students install up to three physical computers, one running at a time, with no home exception, expiring at the end of enrolment or the licence term.[3]
See Academic Volume License (AVL) and Academic Site License (ASL).
Community and evaluation licences
LabVIEW Community Edition is free, one-year renewable and for personal, non-commercial, non-industrial purposes only, not for use at a place of business or at degree-granting institutions; students may use it on their own computers.[6] Evaluation licences are limited to one computer for internal evaluation, create no Authorized Applications and may deactivate without warning.[3] See LabVIEW Community Edition.
Compliance points
- Record whether each seat is named-user, computer-based or concurrent, and whether concurrent seats are managed or unmanaged.[1]
- Count deployment licences by target computer, and debug licences by the single additional production computer each allows.[1]
- Track the software service renewal date separately from the licence term: perpetual licences continue to work without service, subscription licences do not.[1]
- For a VLA or EA, retain activity compliance logs and usage logs from the licence manager for renewals and reviews.[3]
Out of scope
Prices are not recorded; NI publishes list prices on product pages that change often and were not used. Hardware warranty, calibration and the NI hardware service programs are out of scope.