The Vector Informatik EULA license types and restrictions are the rules in Vector’s End User License Agreement for Standard Software Products that decide who may use a Vector tool, where, and how many at once. The EULA states that the licences it grants “are defined by a combination of license type, license model and, if applicable, license restriction”.[1] License types are tied to product editions and listed in Annex 1. The two licensing models, perpetual and subscription, are in section 1.3. License restrictions are in Annex 2, and product-specific types for DaVinci, TA Tool Suite, vTESTstudio, VectorCAST and PC-lint Plus are in Annex 3.[1] Catalog proof: A licence is a combination of license type, license model and license restriction.
The EULA depends on a few defined terms. A Device is “a single physical hardware system”: a physical Desktop, a hardware interface supplied by Vector such as the VN1630, or a dongle supplied by Vector. A Desktop is a user machine “operated by and for the purposes of a natural person”, physical or virtual. A Virtual Desktop is reached through a Remote Connection, which expressly includes SSH, Windows Remote Desktop, Teams and Citrix. An Agent is “an entity that allows the execution of exactly one (1) instance of the licensed Product on a computing resource at a time”.[1]
Editions
Section 1.1 distinguishes three kinds of product. A Desktop Edition meets the requirements “for explorative and interactive work in the Product” by or for a real user. A Test Bench Edition meets the requirements for operating a test or Production Station. A Server Edition is for “an environment operated by an Automation Server”, meaning a service that schedules jobs, allocates CI runners and launches product instances.[1] Each edition has its own license types. Buying the wrong edition for a use case, such as a Desktop licence for a build pipeline, is therefore a licence gap, not a configuration choice.
Metrics
Desktop Edition: Device License
A Device License “grants the right to use the licensed Product on or together with one (1) Device”. Any user may use it on or with the assigned Device, but the product may run simultaneously on only one Physical Desktop.[1] Its conditions are strict:
- Use only through the interfaces of the user’s Physical Desktop, including automation interfaces, for the user’s own purposes.
- “It is not permitted to use the Product on the Physical Desktop via remote connection.” The product “may never be used on a Virtual Desktop”.
- No compile, build or similar servers.
- The Device may not be virtualized, for example by a dongle server, so that it serves several Desktops. The product may be used only on the Physical Desktop the Device is physically connected to.
Exceptions may be set out in the product documentation or data sheet, and the licence may be activated on one Device only.[1] Catalog proof: Device License: no remote connection and no Virtual Desktop; Device License: no virtualization of the Device or dongle server; Desktop licences may not be used on compile or build servers.
Desktop Edition: Named-User License
A Named-User License “grants the right to use the licensed Product on one (1) Physical or Virtual Desktop at the same time for one (1) Named-User for his own purposes”. The Named-User “must not be an anonymous, fictitious or technical user”.[1] Remote use is allowed when the Named-User personally uses the product through the remote connection. Build servers remain excluded. There are two activation methods. With network-based activation the licence sits on a License Server that the user must reach. With Device-based activation it “is activated on up to two Devices or Virtual Desktops”, which may be changed as often as required.[1] Catalog proof: Named-User must be a real person; remote use only by that person; Device-based Named-User activation on up to two Devices or Virtual Desktops.
Desktop Edition: Floating License (selected products)
Annex 3 adds a Floating License for the DaVinci, TA Tool Suite, vTESTstudio and VectorCAST Desktop Edition products. It is used by a natural person on a Physical or Virtual Desktop and includes Agents. “The number of Agents determines the maximum number of Desktops on which the licensed Product can be used at the same time.”[1] Running further instances on the same Desktop takes no extra Agent, and the Agent returns to the License Server when all instances on that Desktop stop. Floating licences come in three geographic scopes: Single Site (users and Desktops at the named site), Regional (one of America, EMEA or Asia-Pacific) and Global.[1] Catalog proof: Floating License: Agents cap concurrent Desktops; Floating License scope: site, region or global.
Test Bench Edition: Test Bench License
A Test Bench License “grants the right to use the licensed Product on one (1) test bench or one (1) Production Station for the purposes of the test bench or Production Station”, and only one product may be started and run per licence at a time.[1] A test bench is a setup for testing, validating, optimising parameters or updating software of a complete system, a real system under test or a virtual one in real time. A Production Station is used for flashing or end-of-line testing of control units in production. The EULA states that a bench “cannot be a generic developer workstation” and that the licence “is a supplement and not a replacement for the Desktop Edition products”.[1] The product may run on one physical bench computer or in one virtual machine at the bench, with remote and automated use for that bench, but the licence may not be shared across benches through virtualization or a dongle server. Work products created at one bench may be reused at others with the same purpose without counting as a re-assignment.[1] Catalog proof: Test Bench License is a supplement, not a replacement for Desktop Edition; Test Bench License: one physical bench computer or one VM at the bench.
Server Edition: CI Team, CI Agent and CI Volume
Three license types serve automated environments. All are activated on a License Server and may be used “on different servers, on different computing resources, in the cloud and on Desktops”.[1]
| License type | What is counted | Instances |
|---|---|---|
| CI Team | Committers: developers, test developers and others who change the software projects, within the defined Enterprise Level | Unlimited |
| CI Agent | Agents purchased; each running instance blocks one | Up to the number of Agents |
| CI Volume | Measured use: runtime, data processed or number of executions, per product | Unlimited |
The CI Team License needs the most care. Its price depends on the total size of all development teams in the Enterprise Level (a business unit or the whole company) that benefit from the product. Authors of code-generator inputs count. So do committers “who do not have direct access to the licensed Product”, and external or supplier developers who benefit. Developers of artefacts that are developed and tested separately do not count.[1] When teams grow, the licence “must be adjusted to the new number of committers (rescaling, which takes place every 6 months)”. For CI Volume, “Unused consumption volumes expire at the end of the subscription period.”[1] The Vector License Client shows the committer count and scope of CI licences and the volume method (data, time or operations) and remaining quota of volume licences.[3] Catalog proof: CI Team License rescaled every six months to the committer count; CI Team committers include people without direct access and supplier developers; CI Agent License: one Agent per running instance; CI Volume License: unused volume expires at the end of the subscription period.
PC-lint Plus
PC-lint Plus has its own “Special License” in Annex 3. It may analyse a Project only if all Developers of that Project within the Licensed Entity are licensed users. A Developer is anyone, including consultants and contractors, who writes, modifies, tests, reviews or otherwise works with the Project’s source code. A licence may be reassigned to a replacement Developer “2 times during any 12 month period”, and servers running PC-lint Plus are covered when all Developers of the analysed code are licensed. Shared Code used by unlicensed teams is restricted.[1] Vector’s product page sells it as a Team Enterprise License on an annual subscription, priced by team size.[4] Catalog proof: PC-lint Plus: every Developer of an analysed Project must be licensed; PC-lint Plus sold as an annual Team Enterprise License.
Counting / floors
Assignment. Device, Named-User and Test Bench licences require an Assignment before first use, and “The License may only be used in accordance with the Assignment.”[1] Re-assignment is limited to four times per year, with exceptions for permanent hardware failure, loss or replacement of the Device, the end of the user’s employment or service contract, and temporary cover for a failed Device. The customer must make sure only the current Assignment is used, and Vector may check the Assignment data.[1] Catalog proof: Re-Assignment at most four times per year.
Local versus network. The Vector License Client groups the same types differently. Local licences are Device licences or Named User licences bound to a computer, a Keyman, a Vector network interface or (Named User only) a virtual machine. Network licences on a license server are Named User, CI Agent Count or CI Team licences.[2] Catalog proof: Local licences (Device, Named User) versus network licences (Named User, CI Agent Count, CI Team).
Licensing models
A Perpetual License “relates to a specific version and grants the right to use this version for an unlimited period of time”. A maintenance contract delivers new versions. It is optional for most products and mandatory for some (the offer says which), can be concluded only for the current version, runs one year by default and is paid in advance.[1] A Subscription License “grants the temporary right to use the licensed Product in its current or a previous version” during the term, one year by default. It extends only where the contract has rolling renewal and neither party terminates with six weeks’ notice.[1] Where a licence is for a specific version, earlier versions may be used as a voluntary service, as long as only one version runs at a time.[1] Catalog proof: Perpetual licences are version-specific; Maintenance only for the current version, one year, paid in advance; Subscription renews only under a rolling-renewal clause, six weeks notice; Previous versions allowed one at a time, as a voluntary service.
Programs
Annex 2 restrictions apply on top of the license type and model:[1]
| Restriction | Permitted use | Notable limits |
|---|---|---|
| Evaluation | Internal evaluation of suitability | No productive use; functions may be reduced |
| Academic | Teaching by lecturers, study by students, in an agreed department | Not for third parties |
| Training | Internal training of staff and agents | No productive use |
| Development Reference | Non-production work by a development partner, such as interface or interoperability work | Not for third parties |
| Complimentary Replacement | Production use to work around Defects of the original licence | Original or replacement, never both at once; no maintenance or Update |
| Archive Perpetual | Fulfilling Long-Term Obligations to fix products already supplied | No development, production or regular updates; fixed to one dedicated Device |
The Archive Perpetual License is unusual in that it allows remote use and virtualization of its dongle, so that an old version can be run in an isolated, secure environment.[1] Catalog proof: Evaluation and Training licences exclude productive use; Complimentary Replacement License: original or replacement, never both at once; Archive Perpetual License only for Long-Term Obligations.
Virtualization & partitioning
The license type decides what is allowed. A short guide:
| Scenario | Device | Named-User | Floating | Test Bench | CI types |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Remote Desktop or Citrix session | No | Yes, by the named person | Yes, by the person | Yes, for the bench | Yes |
| Virtual Desktop | No | Yes | Yes | One VM at the bench | Yes |
| Build or compile server | No | No | No | Not stated; bench use only | Yes |
| Dongle server sharing | No | Not stated | Not stated | No | Not applicable |
The table summarises Annex 1 and Annex 3 and is commentary, not contract text.[1] For the general concepts see virtualization and partitioning.
Out of scope
- Product-specific exceptions stated in product documentation or data sheets, which the EULA allows for each license type.
- Which license types a given product is actually offered under; the offer decides.
- Prices, and whether a particular maintenance contract is mandatory.