What off-the-shelf licensing system will meet my needs?

Question

I'm looking for an off-the-shelf license system for desktop software.

After some research on the net -- and of course here on StackOverflow -- I haven't found one the suits our needs. I have a couple of must-have features and some would-be-nice features:

Must have:

• Encrypted unlock key
• Possibility to automate the unlock key generation on my website
• User info in key so that I can show name and company in an about box and perhaps in reports

Nice to have:

• License managing tools
• Online activation
• Nice upgrade possibilities to a version with concurrent license model and subscription model

I have looked at Manco, but I find them difficult to work with and the documentation is minimal. Further, I couldn't get the name in the key. Also, the automatic generation of a key on my website has to be done with an application web service, but I would rather program against a DLL.

Next I looked at xheo. It is easier to use and the documentation is better, but the price is substantially higher and here you can only get the user name in the license file that you then have to provide together with the unlock key.

Could anyone share their experiences on what you are using and how it is working for you?

Answer 1

We used Xheo with minimal pain. It sounds like it handles your must-haves:

• Encrypted unlock key - yes
• Possibility to automate the unlock key generation on my website - yes, with their License Server
• User info in key so that I can show name and company in an about box and perhaps in reports - yes, you can embed any value in the License File's Values collection using the License Editor

As well as your nice-to-haves:

• License managing tools - yes
• Online activation - yes, with their License Server
• Nice upgrade possibilities to a version with concurrent license model and subscription model - maybe, check their floating licenses

It sounds like a lot of money, but I always remind myself it's nothing compared to writing my own.

Answer 2

Take a look at Infralutions ILS System. I am using it in my products, and so far I'm very happy with that. Not too expensive. More importantly, they are quick with support, with an active support forum.

Answer 3

Another product to look at is Mirage License Protector

http://www.mirage-systems.de/products/licence-protector/

Answer 4

SafeNet Sentinel LM used to have both must-haves & nice-to-haves. Actualy, it had tons of features of which we were using only a small portion. I thnk it is now called Sentinel RMS (http://www.safenet-inc.com/products/sentinel/Sentinel_RMS.asp)

Answer 5

@Magnus Johansson

I have looked at Infralutions ILS System, but as far as I could see they don't support online key generation? (license server) O have I missed some thing?

Answer 6

We use (Aladdin HASP SRM). It has most of the features asked for. It comes in hardlocks (USB dongles) and softlocks (basically a dongle, but in software). Programming is done against a DLL. They supply wrappers for a couple of languages (C++, C#, VB.NET).

Answer 7

CryptoLicensing supports all of your requirements and you should check it out:

• Encrypted unlock key - Its a cryptographic licensing scheme so nobody can develop 'keygen's for your app.
• Possibility to automate the unlock key generation on my website - supported both via license server or via API which you can use from your own custom website or Windows App.
• User info in key: Generated license codes can have any amount of user-data embedded in them.

As well as your nice-to-haves:

• License managing tools - yes
• Online activation - Ready-to-use License Service for activation and hardware-locking.
• Nice upgrade possibilities to a version with concurrent license model and subscription model - Enterprise version supports network floating licenses, subscription licenses, on-demand licenses, etc