Software License Management Blog by X-Formation

X-Formation presents its Team

2010-02-24T11:57:55Z

X-Formation's team consists of 12 talented developers, sales and support people located at our head office in Arhus, Denmark and our R&D office in Krakow, Poland. The team is led by Henrik Goldman, X-Formation’s founder, who has over 10 years of in-depth experience with license management and security, and holds an M.Sc. in Information Technology.

You may be wondering, how are 12 people enough to provide high-quality services and products? Our answer is to use our valuable resources very wisely, being as effective and efficient as possible. Our team consists of only the most talented and skilled professionals. All X-Formation team members either hold master's degrees in their fields or are in the process of obtaining master’s degrees. Not only are all of X-Formation’s team members experts in their profession, they are innovative, creative, and impassioned about their role in X-Formation’s success, which translates directly to our customers’ success.

With a strong, capable development team and smooth-running automated systems, we ensure the highest level of product quality. Designing our products to be easy to use and ensuring top quality on every software production stage allows us to handle hundreds of customers without much effort from X-Formation Support. The support capacity available is more then enough to truly listen to customers and potential customers.

Being a well-organized team with a proven, agile software development methodology lets us establish close partnerships with our customers that help us to better understand and accommodate their individual needs. With our development team working in 2-week cycles to implement your feedback, we ensure that the most important issues to our user community are addressed quickly.

Part of our support and development team.

X-Formation proudly presents the new and improved License Saver 2.0

2010-02-05T15:59:13Z

You asked for it... and now here it is. License Saver - our freshest license optimization release that will free your idle licenses back to the pool for others to utilize, without the need for purchasing more licenses!

The idea is relatively simple... a user checks out a license, and then later walks away from his machine (to lunch or to a meeting), forgetting to shut down his application. So, what do you get? A license that is lying idle and unused. Now if you multiply this occurence by the number of people in your company who do this simultaneously, or at least their idle time overlaps, and you are left with a situation in which users actually requiring the licenses have been locked out unable to their work and meet deadlines - a perfect example of unnecessarily lost productivity. Furthermore, this type of situation can make you believe you need to buy more licenses. Big mistake!

I know what some of you may be thinking... my license server has a timeout feature, so I don't need your product. Wrong! The timeout feature simply just does not do the job, and there are a number of reasons why License Saver is a far more superior alternative. But let's just briefly go over the 2 most important points:

1. The timeout feature is not flexible and doesn't really do what it's supposed to. Many license servers have a set minimum timeout period which cannot be changed. Furthermore, after the timeout period has passed the license is still held back or 'reserved' by the server and does not get immediately returned to the pool for others to use. Btw, restarting the server doesn't help this either - tried it

2. Not all applications can actually use the timeout feature. So, if your vendor doesn't support this, then you are out of luck. Not only that, but vendors that do support the timeout feature also set their own timeout period. This means the license will only be returned to the pool after the timeout period for both the license server and application has passed. If you intend to use this then I certainly hope you're patient.

This is not the case with License saver. Not only do you release licenses straight to the pool so they are immediately available for others, but you can also specify the time they are released regardless of your license server's settings. And you can set any time you like and do it individually for the applications you are watching. Want to release a license manually, right now? No problem. This feature is available as well. And here comes the best part... License Saver works with ANY application! Your vendor has set a timeout period of 4 hours? Forget about it. Time is money, and you can start saving it now with License Saver.

Ready to evaluate? Follow this link to download your free trial now: License Saver download.

Pre-compiled LM-X SDK now available with LM-X v3.3

2010-02-04T20:32:00Z

As we mentioned in our recent blog article, "First release of 2010: LM-X v3.3," the latest release of LM-X no longer requires you to compile the LM-X SDK.

The pre-compiled LM-X SDK is useful in cases where you want to use an unsupported compiler. For example, say you want to use MinGW under Windows in a version X-Formation doesn't support, or you want to use a vendor-provided compiler on Unix platforms like HP-UX or AIX. No problem. The pre-compiled SDK lets you proceed immediately with using both the license server and license client.

To use the pre-compiled SDK, all you need to do is run a command to embed the security configuration file into the client library and license server. It's as easy as that.

You can find detailed instructions for using the pre-compiled LM-X SDK in our Knowledgebase article, "Using a pre-compiled LM-X SDK."

New License Statistics Coming Soon!

2010-01-27T11:42:00Z

Why is completing the next version of License Statistics taking so long? During the past fall, we invested more development resources in License Statistics than in any of our other products, and still the progress seems slow. Yet, finally, we see a light at the end of the tunnel.

The fact that the work on License Statistics has taken so long is really no wonder, because the changes to this upcoming version have been a massive undertaking! Since v3.0 of License Statistics, we've completed more than 145 issues. It's safe to say that the new version will be a surprise for many customers, because we've re-engineered almost all the core parts of the software.

Currently, as several License Statistics beta users know, we've replaced the embedded SQLite database with an embedded MySQL database. The existing database simply could not scale to the needs of our clients. Some existing customer setups store more than 95 million records, which require almost 10 GB of space for the database alone.

Don't worry; you won't need to be a database expert to run the new software. We've paid special attention to ensuring that the new database works embedded and without configuration as it did previously. On the other hand, external databases are an option for those who want enhanced scalability and operability in terms of insight, custom reporting and backups.

The first time you load the new version of License Statistics, it will convert your existing SQLite databases to MySQL. This is a one-time procedure required for the new version to work. Although we've spent hundreds of hours to optimize the process, it's still time consuming. For a typical environment, the conversion takes less than 1 day to complete. However, for large setups, such as those with 95 million records, it takes up to 5 days.

Why is this needed? Because MySQL is a far superior database and License Statistics can do calculations at the time it inserts records instead of having to run overnight. As a result, we've been able to remove the nightly graph generation; instead, everything is now done in real time.

With the database work completed, we've turned our attention to improving the web-based user interface, with our first goal being to replace Analyzer. We're working on this at the time of this writing, and thousands of lines of web-based code have already been written in order to achieve easy report generation.

Our ultimate goal is to replace all the individual tools, including editing of databases and custom reports, in order to provide everything from a web-based user interface. This is a lengthy process though as it requires rewriting nearly the entire application. So far, we've only rewritten half of it.

If there are no further delays, soon we will release License Statistics v3.5, which will no longer include Analyzer. In the release following v3.5, we'll focus on creating a web-based tool for custom reports.

We've implemented many features in this upcoming release that were not possible before: importing of license manager log files, user-authentication, and a much more efficient user interface for navigation and manipulation.

Rewriting half of the product is by no means trivial. Thousands of man hours have been invested in this release, and we're getting close to the finish line. After all the hard work that's gone into License Statistics, we're certainly looking forward to presenting you with a far superior product this year. I believe you'll find that the effort has been well worth the wait.

First release of 2010: LM-X v3.3

2010-01-19T11:34:46Z

We're happy to have made our first release of LM-X in this new year. Since the last release, we've spent just over 2 months addressing almost 50 issues. These latest changes make LM-X more stable than ever, and at the same time give you, our customers, increased ease-of-use and performance.

The release notes for LM-X v3.3 can be found in our Knowledgebase at http://kb.x-formation.com/questions/208/LM-X+v3.3+Release+Notes.

Of the many new features we've implemented and bugs we've fixed, some are naturally more interesting than others. One such improvement is that you no longer need to build the SDK, without sacrificing existing security benefits. We'll post a separate article on this soon.

Another feature for which we had many requests was to use the native system hostids instead of obfuscated LM-X hostid's. We've included this important change in this release, allowing for even simpler implementations.

Furthermore, it's now possible to host more than 10,000 license clients under Linux. We spent quite a bit of time engineering the license server to become even more efficient, allowing it to easily scale beyond 10,000 clients. In our lab tests, we reached 11,000 client connections before we decided it would accommodate most customers' needs.

This new release also features a new type of bios hostid; improvements for dongle usage under Mac OS X x64; listing of borrow, trial and grace licenses; and many other enhancements.

It's important to note that we drive innovations based on extended R&D efforts. Unlike some of our competitors that provide "license server performance tools and extensive end-user debugging tools for license problems," we spend our energy on making solutions that actually work for end users. There is no need for extensive debugging tools, because our end users don't have these problems. LM-X offers many features that result in zero-effort installation for end-users: a license server that requires virtually no maintenance; automatic server discovery; hostid match rate, which allows flexible license hostid handling; easy trial versions; secure store; and much, much more.

As always, this release has been based on suggestions made by you, our customers. In this particular release, almost 90% of the issues handled have been those reported by our customers. Naturally, we're pleased to get this participation and feedback, as it's you who use and know our products in real action, and you who get the immediate benefit of the improvements we make.

Happy New Year

2009-12-31T07:31:54Z

With 2009 coming to a close, we're excited more than ever about beginning the new year.

This past year has been particularly successful for us thanks to you, our customers. Once again, we've proven ourselves to be a reliable partner and deliver the results you've asked for.

In 2009, we grew significantly. Our new R&D center in Krakow, announced at the beginning of the year, is now fully up and running, and we've hired 10 new people throughout the past year. The increase in X-Formation team members has helped lower our support request time, so we are now able to resolve issues even faster, with typical response times of no more than 2 - 4 hours.

Furthermore, our new development capacity is allowing us to develop software at an increased rate. With License Statistics, there's a lot happening under the hood. In the beginning of the new year, a new version will be released that contains a number of important changes that will enable us to deliver a much better product in the year to come.

Likewise, for LM-X License Manager, our customer driven development has let us regularly release new versions that include new features requested by our customers.

In addition, we recently published new sales materials that includes our company presentation. This comprehensive information is helpful for anyone who wants to learn about X-Formation and what we do.

We are also happy to announce expansive customer growth, including even more billion dollar and large corporations who depend on our software.

We wish all our customers a happy new year and look forward to working further with you in the year to come.

Welcome new customers

2009-12-22T15:59:16Z

We are very happy to announce that today we have added 2 new companies to our customer reference list:

Altair – A leading global provider of technology that strengthens client innovation.
Privately held with more than 1,300 employees, Altair has offices throughout North America, South America, Europe and Asia/Pacific. With a 20-year-plus track record for innovative product design and development, advanced engineering software and grid computing technologies, Altair has more than 3,500 corporate clients representing the automotive, aerospace, government and defense, and consumer products verticals. Altair also has a growing client presence in the life sciences, financial services and energy markets.

Altair products and services include: Altair® HyperWorks®, PBS GridWorks™, Altair ProductDesign, HiQube, LLC, solidThinking, and ilumisys, Inc.

Vestech – an innovator in speech recognition technology.
Vestec’s goal is to commoditize, standardize and demystify speech recognition through use of unique emerging artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. The company believes speech recognition has not enjoyed broad acceptance due to the high cost of speech-enabling products, unavailability of useful turnkey speech applications and reliance on expensive professional services for sophisticated application development.

License Statistics: Bringing Business Value

2009-12-22T15:17:27Z

Keeping track of licenses is a complex problem that not only has a solution which is simple, but also one that provides great business value. The solution is License Statistics - a license monitoring and optimization tool that will allow any business manager to:

1. Reduce costs and maximize ROI – eliminate license underutilization by as much as 30%!
2. Improve productivity and efficiency – provide employees with the software they need and when they need it.
3. Budget accurately across departments – identify specific needs of each department wherever its location in the world.

More on License Statistics Business Benefits in the presentation below.

Download this presentation in PDF format here.

X-Formation Office unavailable on Christmas Eve

2009-12-21T16:57:25Z

X-Formation Office will be up and running during Christmas-New Year break except for the following individual days:
- 24th December 2009
- 25th December 2009
- 31st December 2009
- 1st January 2010

During these days we will be unavailable by email and phone. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

We wish you a bright and joyful Christmas and a Happy New Year.

LM-X now supports over 10,000 concurrent clients for Linux

2009-12-21T16:50:00Z

As described in a previous article, "LM-X increases number of supported concurrent clients," LM-X v3.2 supports over 10,000 clients under Windows. Now, with LM-X v3.3, we support over 10,000 concurrent clients under Linux as well.

One of many improvements we've made in the latest release of LM-X, this enhancement answers increased demands from our customers who have a high number of deployments. From small start-ups to enterprise corporations, we listen to your needs and act quickly to implement solutions to your unique business problems.

LM-X now lets you support shipping license servers for virtually any platform without buying more hardware

2009-12-11T10:51:00Z

The latest release of LM-X, v3.2 (see LM-X v3.2 Release Notes), now gives software vendors the ability to ship a license server for use on a platform you don't physically have in-house.

For example, say you primarily ship your software under Windows. However, a customer would like to have a license server under AIX, HP-UX or another less standard platform you don't normally support.

Up to this point, your options were limited: you could try to convince the customer to use your supported platform, or you could buy an expensive machine to support only one or two customers. Worst of all, you might need to turn those customers away.

LM-X v3.2 solves the problem. By obtaining a pre-packaged license server executable from X-Formation, you can ship license servers independently of the machines you have at the office.

This is yet another enhancement we've made to LM-X to increase flexibility and help you grow your business, giving you the tools you need to support even more client setups with minimal maintenance.

Our company presentation video

2009-11-30T14:13:31Z

We have just added another video to our xformationTV channel on youtube. This video presents an overview of X-Formation. So hit play, and find out who we are and what we do, but more importantly, what we can do for you...

Now broadcasting X-Formation TV!

2009-11-13T16:35:02Z

We have just uploaded our first presentational video of License Statistics, showing you not only the most important features, but also just how easy it is to use.

Be sure to stay tuned for more videos.

November 12 Outage

2009-11-12T18:59:33Z

On November 12, we regret that our internet service provider's servers were down, causing an outage beyond our control for approximately 12 hours, from 7:00 GMT+1 until 19:20 GMT+1. This outage unfortunately made our Knowledgebase, online support, and blog unavailable during this time.

We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused, and assure you that we are taking steps to avoid any future problems with our provider.

Aiming for enterprises with new License Statistics

2009-11-09T13:30:00Z

As part of our future roadmap, we’re committed to making big improvements to License Statistics. To move us toward this goal, we've hired a number of new engineers who are working hard to help us realize our ideas.

One obstacle to improving the software has been License Statistics’ SQLite database, which stores more than 10 million records for some customers. Unfortunately, SQLite is not designed to scale to this level, so we’ve come up against a number of problems in terms of scalability that have hampered our progress.

For a long time, we've had to make quick fixes to work around SQLite speed constraints, such as needing to generate a number of the web pages in the background at night, since it was simply not possible to generate them in real-time.

But now, this is over!

After spending several months changing nearly the entire internal engine, we've incorporated MySQL as part of our distribution. This enables MySQL to work as an embedded database, so there’s no need to set up an external database server (though we still optionally support this).

With the new database, we expect to be able to increase the scale to hundreds of millions. The initial goal is to be able to store more than 500 million records, which is over 10 times more than we do today. Furthermore, it is possible with this database to store large amounts of data. This has already enabled us to change the way the software works so License Statistics can generate all reports on the fly, instead of generating them at night.

This will make it possible for the largest enterprises to use License Statistics and benefit from the unique features that it offers.

This is only the beginning. With the new database opening up many more possibilities for improvements, we plan to use this structure to enhance License Statistics with even more features and additional types of reports that were not previously possible.

Over the coming months, we’ll continue to give you updates on new developments as we proceed. And as always, we welcome you to contact us about your own unique needs, so we can help you better.