Licensing

This section discusses the licensing system used by the Trace Analyzer to enable selective access to the product's functions.

License File

The Trace Analyzer requires a digitally signed license file, LICENSE.JTA, to run. This file must be installed in the JTA/license subdirectory (see Trace Analyzer Installation). This file is provided by the manufacturer and is provided to the customer at the time the product is licensed. If this file is missing, the Trace Analyzer will report the error message depicted in Figure 1 and will not initialize.

Figure 1. Corrupt or missing license error

Each license file is customized to a particular person or organization (or both). This data is associated with a unique serial number at the time the license file is created. This information is displayed in the product's splash screen when the program is started, and in the About dialog window available from the main menu. It can also be viewed from the command line, using the license verification command line option (-v). If the license is a special evaluation license, used for previewing the product, this fact is reported by these functions as well.

Each license file is associated with a particular version of the Trace Analyzer product. A license file created for one version will not work with a newer version of the product. If a newer program version is used with a obsolete license file, the error message depicted in Figure 2 will appear and the program will not initialize.

Figure 2. Expired license error

Because the license file is digitally signed, it must not be altered. If it is at all modified, it will be considered to be corrupt by the Trace Analyzer. In the event the program is run with such a license file, the error message depicted in Figure 1 will appear and the program will not initialize.

Evaluation License File

An evaluation license file is provided to prospective customers to permit use of the product on a temporary basis, for evaluation purposes. An evaluation license file will expire upon a specified date. After that date, the program will no longer start. Instead, the error message depicted in Figure 2 will be displayed if the Trace Analyzer program is run.

In addition to an expiration date, certain features and protocol support may be restricted by an evaluation license file. In particular, certain protocol definitions may not be available, depending upon the nature of the evaluation and the interests of the customer. An evaluation license file may impose a maximum record limit. With this restriction enforced, only the last n records of any trace loaded into the Trace Analyzer will be made available to the user, where n is the limit imposed by the particular license.

The expiration date, restrictions, and supported protocol groups for a particular evaluation license are reported via the use of the license file verification command line option (-v).

Note: The permitted uses of the product when it is licensed for evaluation are restricted by the "Software Trial License Agreement" document shipped with the product.

License File Verification

A license file may be verified using the -v command line option. This action validates the license file and displays information pertaining to the product's name and version, license holder, serial number, copyright holder, and the nature of the license, including any restrictions. Alternatively, if the license is missing or corrupt, or if it has expired or is obsolete, one of the text messages depicted in Figures 1 and 2, respectively, will be displayed at the command line.

The verification report for a permanent, unrestricted license might appear as follows:

Golden Code Trace Analyzer Release 1.0
S/N JTA-000002-20 licensed to John Q. Customer,
Acme Company, Inc.
Copyright (c) 2001, Golden Code Development Corporation
Licensed protocols:
- Network Suite
- Kernel Trace for OS/2 Suite
Non-restrictive license.

A report for an evaluation license issued to the same customer might appear as follows. This license permits network related protocol definitions only and is restricted to a maximum of 1000 viewable records:

Golden Code Trace Analyzer Release 1.0
S/N JTA-000002-15 licensed to John Q. Customer,
Acme Company, Inc.
<<<((({{{ EVALUATION LICENSE }}})))>>>, expires Sat, Mar 31, 2001.
Copyright (c) 2001, Golden Code Development Corporation
Licensed protocols:
- Network Suite
License restriction(s):
- Maximum viewable records: 1000