All software products require a license that defines how a particular piece of software is allowed to be used. Vendors use different models to license their software with explicit terms and conditions governing the specifics.

The license level determines whether the software can be used in production, standby, acceptance, test or development, or maybe only in conjunction with a certain application. The license metric describes whether a license is required for each machine (server, client), for certain parts (e.g. processor, socket, core) or for each user (e.g. named user, application user, authorized user, concurrent user etc.).

Here, we provide an overview of the most common licensing models.

What exactly is a software license?

Software licenses are legally binding agreements which govern the use or (re)distribution of software products. The installation and usage of software is regulated via a document called End User License Agreement (EULA). Although this can be a paper agreement, the license is typically embedded in the download procedure of the software or in the software itself.

SOURCE: softwareone.com