Product licensing

There are two editions of this product: IBM® Developer for z/OS® and IBM Developer for z/OS Enterprise Edition. The workstation installation is the same for both editions except for the way in which licensing is managed. The licensing mechanism for IBM Developer for z/OS is workstation based, and the licensing mechanism for IBM Developer for z/OS Enterprise Edition is z/OS based.

Workstation-based licensing

The trial license that is provided with IBM Developer for z/OS expires 90 days after installation. You must activate a permanent license to use the product after the expiration date. You can upgrade the license by installing a product activation kit. You can also use floating license keys from a license server. For more information about managing licenses for the product, see IBM Support - Licensing.

You can see the client-based license type and status by using the Help > Manage Licenses menu action in the IBM Developer for z/OS client.

Authorized user license
An IBM Authorized User license permits a single, specific individual to use a software product. Purchasers must obtain an Authorized User license for each individual user who accesses the product in any manner. An Authorized User license cannot be reassigned unless the purchaser replaces the original assignee on a long-term or permanent basis.

For example, if you purchase one Authorized User license, you can assign that license to one specific individual, who can then use the software product. The Authorized User license does not entitle a second person to use that product at any time, even if the licensed individual is not actively using it.

Floating license
An IBM floating license is a license for a single software product that can be shared among multiple team members; however, the total number of concurrent users cannot exceed the number of floating licenses that you purchase. For example, if you purchase one floating license for a software product, any user in your organization can use the product at any given time. Another person who wants to access the product must wait until the current user logs off. To use floating licenses, you must obtain floating license keys and install them on the IBM Common Licensing License Key Server. The server responds to end-user requests for access to the license keys; it grants access to the number of concurrent users that matches the number of licenses the organization purchased.
Note: If you use floating licenses for IBM Developer for z/OS (including token licenses), before installing the product you must upgrade the license key server to IBM Common Licensing, Version 9.0 or later. IBM Common Licensing, Version 9.0 or later can be used with earlier versions of the product. For more information about IBM Common Licensing, see IBM Common Licensing.
Token license
The token-based license model means that you can buy a certain number of token licenses. If you use a tool that checks out a FEATURE that is token-based, the FEATURE line in the license file specifies the number of tokens that are checked out.

Token-based licenses can only be used with floating licenses. They cannot be used for authorized user license.

Note: If you use token licenses for IBM Developer for z/OS (including token licenses), before installing the product you must upgrade the license key server to IBM Common Licensing, Version 9.0 or later. IBM Common Licensing, Version 9.0 or later can be used with earlier versions of the product. For more information about IBM Common Licensing, see IBM Common Licensing.

For more details about token licensing, contact your local IBM marketing representative.

z/OS-based licensing

z/OS-based licensing is used when you are entitled to IBM Developer for z/OS Enterprise Edition, which is purchased by Value Units (VUs). For more information about Value Unit pricing, see Overview of Value Unit Exhibits.

No action is required on the workstation to activate the license, but the z/OS host must be configured to enable provisioning of license activation codes. After z/OS-based licensing is configured, the IBM Developer for z/OS client receives a license activation code from the RSE daemon upon connection. For information about host product enablement and z/OS-based client licensing, see these topics in the IBM Developer for z/OS Host Configuration Guide and Host Configuration Reference:
When the client connects to a host system that is configured for VU licensing, and the user selects the MVS Files node in the Remote Systems view, the Properties view shows the status of the VU license (Active, Expired, or Not Available) and the registered VU Offering (for example, IBM APP DLIV FND if you have obtained the product through the IBM Application Delivery Foundation for z/OS bundle). 
Remote Systems view with MVS files selected and Properties view displaying VU license status
This list describes each VU license status and its meaning:
Active
The VU license is active. Client-based licensing is not used. If users connect to the host at least once every 30 days, the VU license remains Active.
Expired
The VU license is expired and client-based licensing is used until the client reconnects to the z/OS system. After the client reconnects to the host, the VU license status is set to Active again.
Not Available
The VU license status cannot be determined. This status can have several causes. The following table describes symptoms and possible solutions for an unavailable VU license status.
Table 1. Symptoms and solutions for an unavailable VU license status
Symptom Cause and Solution
The Server Level field in the Properties view does not match the server level of z/OS Explorer Extensions, the host component of Developer for z/OS Enterprise Edition.

Example: If the installed version of z/OS Explorer Extensions is 16.0.1, but the Server Level field displays 3.3, the mismatch indicates that the RSE server (the host component of Explorer for z/OS) cannot locate the z/OS Explorer Extensions server.

 The rse.env file on the z/OS system was not configured correctly. For information about configuring this file, see rse.env, the RSE configuration file.
Both the VU License and the VU Offering fields display Not Available. During host configuration of Developer for z/OS Enterprise Edition the product information was specified incorrectly in SYS1.PARMLIB(IFAPRDxx). For information about how to define Developer for z/OS Enterprise Edition in SYS1.PARMLIB(IFAPRDxx), see Product enablement in IFAPRDxx in the Developer for z/OS Host Configuration Guide.
You verified or corrected the configuration of the rse.env file and the SYS1.PARMLIB(IFAPRDxx) member, but the VU License status still displays Not Available. Verify that the following are true:
  1. The APF authorization flag for /usr/lpp/IBM/zee/bin/felfvlic was not altered or removed.
  2. The NOSETUID flag was not used when the file system that holds /usr/lpp/IBM/zee was mounted. This flag instructs z/OS UNIX System Services to remove the APF authorization flag of felfvlic.
For more information about APF authorization of z/OS Explorer Extensions files, see APF authorization in the Developer for z/OS Host Configuration Reference.

For more information about configuring Developer for z/OS to write the SMF records that track provisioning of activation tokens, see SMF record collection in SMFPRMxx in the Developer for z/OS Host Configuration Guide.
You verified or corrected the configuration of the rse.env file, the SYS1.PARMLIB(IFAPRDxx) member, and the SYS1.PARMLIB(SMFPRMxx) member, but the VU License status still displays Not Available. Open a case on the IBM Support portal.

Purchasing licenses

About this task

You can purchase new licenses if the current product license is about to expire or if you want to acquire additional product licenses for team members.

To purchase licenses and enable the product, complete these steps:
  1. Determine the type of license you want to purchase.
  2. Go to ibm.com® or contact your IBM sales representative to purchase the product license. For details, visit the IBM Web page on How to buy software.
  3. Depending on the type of license you purchase, use the Proof of Entitlement you receive and enable your product by doing one of these steps:
    • If you purchase Authorized User licenses for the product, go to Passport Advantage® and follow the instructions for downloading the product activation kit file.
    • If you purchase Floating licenses for the product, click the link to the IBM Licensing start pagge, log in (IBM registration is required), and select the link to connect to the License Key Center. Then, use your Proof of Entitlement to obtain floating license keys for the license server.

      Optionally, go to Passport Advantage to download the activation kit for your product. After importing the activation kit, you can optionally switch from a floating to a permanent license type if you use your PC offline for long periods.

Viewing license information for installed packages

About this task

To review license information for the product:
  1. Start IBM Developer for z/OS.
  2. Click Help > Manage Licenses. The Manage Licenses window displays the product name, version, and current license type.