ScanWorks^® JTAG Network Licensing

Product Overview

ScanWorks network licensing maximizes your investment in jtag or boundary-scan tools by providing access to the tools across your organization. Your organization can be as small as just you, with access to tools at your desk or in a lab, or as large as your company's entire worldwide development, test, and manufacturing staff. Of course, not all engineers will use ScanWorks at the same time, allowing you to purchase only the number of licenses you expect to be used at any one time. Boundary scan (JTAG) is used throughout a products life cycle, but not constantly. However, when it is needed, it is needed immediately to avoid any time-to-market delays. With the ScanWorks network licensing feature, you can be sure the right people have access to boundary-scan tools when and where they need it.

ScanWorks supports network licensing through the defacto industry standard, FLEXlm™ from Globetrotter Software. Since most EDA tools use FLEXlm to manage access to their applications, you or your system administrator does not need to learn a new license management system.

Licensing Options

ScanWorks can be licensed as a node-locked system, with access to the tools only available on the PC on which it is installed, or as a networked system, with access to the tools controlled by a license file installed on a networked license server. The ScanWorks application software must always be installed on the PC on which it is run.

ScanWorks licenses are generally sold as perpetual licenses that do not expire. However, a limited term license is available for a one year period at a reduce price to provide you with a cost effective means of getting started with JTAG (boundary scan) or to get you through peak periods of usage. After one year, the limited term license can be canceled, renewed, or converted to a perpetual license.

ScanWorks installations are licensed as a basic ScanWorks Station, (Interconnect Development, Interconnect Repair, Programming, or Manufacturing) with each optional feature licensed separately. This enables you to not only purchase only the number of station licenses you will use simultaneously, but also only the number of licenses for each option that will be used at any one time. For example, you may have several projects that need the flash programming option, but each one will need only a few days to develop it. Instead of purchasing a flash programming license for each project, they can share one license as long only one project needs it any one time. Of course, in order to ensure there are no delays, it may be more cost effective to purchase more than one license. It is your choice. You can manage access to ScanWorks tools in the way that makes sense for your application.

In manufacturing, you may want to license each manufacturing station as a node-locked system to ensure it always has access to a license, avoiding any production delays. You may also want to share the optional Interconnect Pin-Level Diagnostics feature between manufacturing stations, and possibly with a Test Development or a Diagnostic and Repair station. In this case, ScanWorks allows a node-locked station to access a networked license for optional features.

License “borrowing” is also available. A PC connected to the license server can borrow a license temporally. The borrowing PC can then disconnect from the server and keep the license active for a specific time period. At the end of the period, the license expires on the borrowing PC and automatically becomes available again on the license server. The borrower can set the time period in days or a date to be returned. The system administrator controls a predefined limit. The borrower selects the licenses to be borrowed from a list of available licenses. The administrator can limit the number of licenses that can be borrowed for each product. License borrowing supports field service applications where ScanWorks installed on a laptop can be taken to the location of a system to be tested. It also allows test development to be done at places other than the primary workstation such as at a contract manufacturers facility.

Licensing Access Management

Node locked licenses are located on the PC running ScanWorks and are referred to as local licenses. After installation, you send the request a license file from ASSET and simply copy it to the location on the PC and specify the location in the License Search Path.

A system administration group generally manages access to networked licenses with experience using FLEXlm-based licenses, making the transition to ScanWorks network licensing easy. However, you can easily manage the licenses yourself if necessary.

When ScanWorks starts, it will look for a license in locations specified in the License Search Path. Each workstation can be set to look for a license at specific server locations and in a particular order. If all licenses are busy at the first location, or if the server is not on-line, it will look in the other locations listed.

Reports can be generated that indicate the usage of the licenses. This information enables the manager responsible for test tools to make sound business decisions on when additional licenses should be purchased or perhaps moved to another server for more efficient use.

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