Precisely mainframe and IBM i software is licensed under the same master terms as the rest of the portfolio, with a family of capacity metrics defined in Schedule 2 of the Products and Services End User License Agreement.[1] The relevant products on Precisely’s support site include Ironstream for Splunk/Kafka/Elastic for IBM Z and for IBM i, Ironstream Hub, Connect CDC (formerly MIMIX Share and formerly SQData), Connect Sort, Syncsort MFX and Syncsort Capacity Management.[4][7][8][10][11] The Assure MIMIX, Assure iTERA and Assure QuickEDD software, with OMS/ODS, has its own additional terms.[2]
A limit of the public record should be stated first: the published documents define the metrics and platform rules, but no public document states which metric applies to which product. A licence manager must therefore read the metric and quantity from the Order, using the definitions below.
Editions
The licence structure comes from the Order: subscription licences include Support, term licences do not, perpetual licences apply only to On-Premises Software, and a term licence is presumed if the Order is silent.[1] See Subscription, term and perpetual licences.
For the Assure MIMIX family, the additional terms distinguish licences and subscriptions. Subscriptions are the only grant to which the temporary capacity increase applies, and the terms say that nothing in them grants a site licence.[2] Support-site pages list the products in the catalog as Connect CDC (formerly MIMIX Share), Connect CDC (formerly SQData), Connect Sort, Syncsort MFX, Syncsort Capacity Management, Ironstream for Splunk/Kafka/Elastic for IBM Z, Ironstream for Splunk/Kafka/Elastic for IBM i, Ironstream Hub and Assure MIMIX, Assure iTERA and Assure QuickEDD.
Metrics
Schedule 2 defines the capacity metrics that appear in mainframe and IBM i Orders.[1]
| Metric | Definition | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MSU | The amount of processing work a mainframe can perform in one hour, in million service units | The Data Integration service description repeats the definition[9] |
| MIPS | Processing speed in millions of instructions per second | Also defined in the 2021 EULA Schedule A[3] |
| LPAR | A logical partition hosting a separate operating system instance | Subset of a Computer’s hardware resources |
| Core (processor core) | A logical execution unit that can independently execute programs | Physical or virtual |
| Processor (CPU) | The logic circuitry that runs a Computer | May comprise several cores |
| CPW | Commercial processing workload | An IBM performance measure, not representative of a specific environment |
| Site (Installation Site) | Location where the software is installed | Generally the customer system’s address |
| Licensed Platform (Designated Equipment) | Specific part of the customer system where software is installed | Also called Designated Equipment |
Counting MSU or MIPS is not described in any Precisely document reviewed. The agreement says that a “Computer” is the server or computer identified in the Order, and if none is identified, any single physical server.[1] A licence manager normally needs the Order to establish whether capacity is the full machine, an LPAR or a sub-capacity measurement.
Counting / floors
No floors are published. Quantities cannot be decreased during a subscription term, fees are not usage-based unless the Order says so, and use above the purchased allotment is paid at Order rates or standard rates.[1] See Fees reflect purchased quantities, non-cancellable and non-reducible and Excess use is charged at Order rates or standard rates.
Licence keys. On-Premises Software may require a Use Code, and Precisely retains access control rights to prevent use beyond the term or beyond licence metrics.[1] Support pages describe how keys are obtained. Ironstream for IBM Z and Connect Sort offer self-service Emergency keys for accounts with active entitlements, and other licence requests are raised as a case.[5][8] Ironstream Hub, Ironstream for IBM i, Connect CDC, Syncsort MFX and Syncsort Capacity Management do not offer self-service licence keys, and requests are raised as cases through the customer or partner portal.[4][6][7][10][11] Downloads are available in Precisely Data Experience for accounts with active entitlements, so the download list is a useful inventory of what the account is entitled to.[4] See Several products issue licence keys only through a support case and Ironstream for IBM Z and Connect Sort offer self-service Emergency keys.
MIMIX Use Code. The Use Code is an encrypted code or key enabling the software only on the Designated Equipment, only for the use period or Initial Term in the Order, subject to renewals. The customer may use the software only for its own internal purposes, may not allow others to use it on a time-sharing, hosting, service bureau or other multiple-user basis, and in no event may deactivate the Use Code.[2] See The MIMIX Use Code must not be deactivated and no time-sharing is allowed.
Virtualization & partitioning
Virtual machines and LPARs are the main compliance risk. Section 5.2(c) of the agreement states that where On-Premises Software is installed in a virtual environment, the customer must license the entire number of the applicable licence metric within the environment that may be allocated or used, in whole or in part, to access the software.[1] Cores may be physical or virtual, and an Instance is a cloud virtual server including production, non-production and disaster recovery.[1] The 2021 EULA has an equivalent rule and adds that a “Computer” is the server identified in the Order.[3] See Virtual environments are licensed for the full metric that may be allocated.
On a mainframe or IBM i system, the rule points towards a conservative approach. If the software runs in one LPAR but the Order is expressed in a metric for the whole machine, or the LPAR can draw on all of the machine’s capacity, the Order metric may be measured against the larger figure. Whether sub-capacity is recognised depends on the Order, since no sub-capacity programme is described in the public terms.
Site and Platform. The software may be installed only at the Site in the Order, may not be moved to another location including from on-premises to cloud without consent, and, if a Licensed Platform is designated, may be used only on it.[1] A migration of an IBM i workload to a hosted IBM Power service, or a mainframe workload to a service provider’s LPAR, may therefore need written consent under the standard terms. See On-premises software is limited to the Site named in the Order and Software designated to a Licensed Platform may only be used there.
MIMIX Designated Equipment. Designated Equipment is defined by the hardware, processor limits, serial number, model number and location, plus operating system, database and application software specified in the Order. The customer may use the software only on it while it possesses and operates it. If it becomes temporarily inoperable, or for disaster recovery testing, the software may be loaded on another of the customer’s systems until the equipment is operable but never for more than ninety days; any transfer needs written approval.[2] See MIMIX software may be used only on the Designated Equipment.
Cloud / BYOL
No bring-your-own-licence programme is described. The Site clause expressly names a transfer from an on-premises location to a cloud location as needing Precisely’s prior written consent, and the agreement defines a Hosting Service Provider as a third-party infrastructure provider on which a product is installed in production.[1] The Data Integrity Suite’s Data Integration service, which replicates Db2 for IBM i, Db2 for z/OS and Oracle data to Kafka, is a hybrid service with a browser interface where sensitive data never leaves the customer environment, and is sold under the suite’s allotment metrics rather than as installed software; see the Data Integrity Suite article.[9]
Programs
- Disaster recovery copies. A reasonable number of copies at a DR facility, used for testing or on failure of the Licensed Platform, with licence metrics still applying and ninety days before consent is needed.[1]
- Temporary capacity increases (MIMIX subscriptions). Subscriptions allow temporary increases in activated cores or CPW on production and target servers for up to sixty days in the Initial Term and sixty days in each Renewal Term, with no upgrade charges. Longer increases are deemed permanent and charged at then-current upgrade fees. Perpetual licences are excluded.[2]
- Update test installation window. Updates must be installed within thirty days; a test copy may be kept for fifteen days.[1]
Audits and compliance
Verification follows the master agreement: ten days’ written notice, once per twelve months, during the Term and six months after, with the customer paying for excess use and verification costs.[1] Under the 2021 EULA, products may phone home periodically with the Use Code licence key and the applications and number of users or objects audited.[3]
Practical evidence to keep: the Order and quotation showing the metric and quantity; the output of the system’s own capacity reports for each LPAR or machine at the Site; a list of DR copies and the dates they were used; the key issue dates from support cases; and for MIMIX, the Designated Equipment table with serial numbers and any temporary capacity increase notices.
Out of scope
This article does not cover pricing, IBM’s own licensing of the mainframe or IBM i operating environment, or the Support Handbook, which could not be retrieved. It does not state any product-specific MSU or MIPS rule, because none is published.