Using the "Platform Default" Scheme

A clone protection scheme defines which factors are considered by the Sentinel License Manager to determine whether a given Sentinel SL key has been cloned.

Sentinel LDK offers several different clone protection schemes to protect applications that execute on physical machines and on virtual machines. These schemes are designed to accommodate a variety of circumstances. For example, schemes are available for applications that run on PCs or on Microsoft Azure virtualization platforms. New schemes are added periodically as environments are added and evolve. (For advanced users, the clone protection schemes are described in detail in this appendix.)

Sentinel LDK-EMS and Sentinel LDK License Generation API both allow you to select a scheme called Platform Default instead of selecting a specific clone protection scheme for a Product. For more information, see Simplified Clone Protection.

When you select Platform Default as the scheme for a virtual machine or a physical machine (or both), Sentinel LDK automatically applies the most appropriate clone protection scheme for each end user based on the following parameters:

>the environment in which the protected application is installed.

>the earliest version number in use by the vendor's customer base from among the following:

For SL AdminMode keys: the earliest version number of the Run-time Environment (RTE) in use by the vendor's customer base.

For SL UserMode keys: the earliest version of Sentinel LDK used to provide the External or Integrated License Manager (LM) in use by the vendor's customer base.

NOTE   If you plan to ensure that each customer receives the latest RTE or LM when you deliver a Product license, you can assume that the earliest version number for your customer base is the current version.

The environment is determined automatically by Sentinel LDK. However, it is the responsibility of the vendor to specify the appropriate version number for the customer base.

Specifying a later version number results in the selection of a more advanced clone protection scheme. However, the selected version number must not be higher than the version numbers that exist where the Product license will be installed.

In Sentinel LDK-EMS, you specify the version number in the configuration parameter Minimum RTE/API Version. In Sentinel License Generation API, the version is specified as part of the <minimum_rte_api_version> tag in the Product definition. For more information, see Minimum RTE/API Version.

NOTE   The Platform Default clone protection scheme is applied automatically when a license is detached from the network. This occurs regardless of whether clone protection was enabled for the Product license on the license server from which the license was detached.

Use the table below to determine which value you should specify in Sentinel LDK-EMS or Sentinel License Generation API, as follows:

1.Determine which column in the table is consistent with the earliest version number of the RTE and LM in use for your customer base as described above.

2.From the column that you selected, use the specified value in Sentinel LDK-EMS or in Sentinel License Generation API.

For example:

> If the earliest version of the RTE in use by your customer base is 7.70, but the earliest LM for SL UserMode keys is from Sentinel LDK 7.5, use the value 7.50 for Minimum RTE/API Version or for the <minimum_rte_api_version> tag.

>If you plan to upgrade your customers to RTE version 7.100 or to the LM from Sentinel LDK 7.10 with each new license or license update, use the value 7.100.

The following table indicates which clone protection scheme Sentinel LDK selects for each value:

Operating System and Environment For RTE 6.40–7.4x or
Sentinel LDK 6.4–7.4x

For RTE 7.5x or Sentinel LDK 7.5x

For RTE 7.60-7.9x or Sentinel LDK 7.6-7.9x For RTE 7.10x and later or Sentinel LDK 7.10x For RTE 8.11x and later or Sentinel LDK 8.0x and later
Value for "Minimum RTE/API Version" for Sentinel LDK-EMS or License Generation API:
6.40 7.50 7.60 7.100 8.11
Windows, Linux, Mac
(Excluding Docker Containers)
PM: PMType1
VM: VMType1
PM: PMType2
VM (SL AM): VMType2
VM (SL UM): VMType1
Windows, Linux
(Docker Containers)
VM: VMType1 VM (SL AM): VMType2
VM (SL UM): VMType1
VM: VMType4*
Linux (LXC Container) Not relevant VM: VMType4
Android PM: PMType3
VM: No Clone Protection
PM: PMType4
VM: No Clone Protection

NOTE   For licensing on a hosted virtual machine (Amazon, Google, Azure, or Alibaba Cloud), the VMType3 scheme is applied in the following situation:

>You select Platform Default as the clone protection scheme for virtual machines.

>In Sentinel LDK-EMS or Sentinel License Generation API, you choose 8.11 for the Minimum RTE/API Version.

Table Legend:
PM - physical machine
VM - virtual machine
SL AM - SL AdminMode key
SL UM - SL UserMode key
*VMType4 is used if the license is activated inside the Docker container. If the license is activated by the host machine, the clone protection scheme is one of the other types, depending on the host machine.