VMWare and other Virtual Computer Environments

 

Prior to September 2013 HermeTech had always maintained the position that we do NOT explicitly support running any of our products under VMWare or other virtual computer environments. Our policy was also that we do NOT explicitly NOT support them either. Yes we're aware of the ambiguous double negative in that statement. We have no problem with virtual computers as they were initially conceived and executed, that is to say, as a literal cloned virtual representation of a physical computer environment. Virtual computer software today has for the most part evolved far beyond that initial concept.

 

Our software licenses are keyed based on the computer hardware signature unique to the environment on which they are activated (as outlined in the EULA). For physical computers (and virtual computers as initially conceived) this posed no particular problem. If you physically tore your server apart, added 4 new processors, a new hard drive, and additional memory and then put it back together you might not be too surprised to find that some of the software no longer worked. For instance, up until recently, Microsoft SQL Server with a "processor" license would have encountered errors if the number of processors in the computer changed.

 

As virtual computer software has evolved you now have "virtual server servers" which can dynamically monitor individual virtual server environments adding and removing resources as needed. While we embrace the technology as fantastic, we are also aware that virtual computer software, from it's inception, has been the greatest software piracy tool ever invented.

 

 

 

How does this affect you?

 

1. IMPORTANT. It can only possibly impact customers running this product in a virtual environment. If it's running on a physical computer there is no issue.

 

2. Also IMPORTANT. Customers currently running older versions of this product or (upgrading to this version of the product) in a virtual environment have nothing to worry about in the immediate short term. Our standard licenses still "work" fine in both physical and virtual environments.

 

3. It will only affect you if your UltraPort Software is currently running (or is being moved to) a virtual computer environment AND you do not own a license specifically approved for use within a virtual environment AND you need the license to be reissued (see Moving Licenses to Another Computer). At that time (as per the current EULA) HermeTech reserves the right to require that you upgrade your license to the equivalent "VM Approved" license or pay a penalty (as per the current and all prior EULAs) at HermeTech's discretion.

 

Related Topics: How Licenses Work, Moving Licenses to Another Computer, EULA