Basic ESD and ESDaaS Workflows

Sentinel EMS coupled with electronic software delivery lets you (software vendors) upload and store download packages on a server and associate those download definitions with products in the Sentinel EMS catalog.

Sentinel EMS provides two workflows to make it easy to distribute software online. One is Basic ESD that is available as default with Sentinel EMS, and another is ESDaaS (ESD-as-a-Service), which is an advanced software delivery offering available with an add-on subscription to Sentinel EMS.

With Basic ESD, you have the responsibility to manage the file storage server (FTP server, web server, or CDN), content uploads, and the management of content download URLs. ESDaaS is an ESD service hosted over the internet and managed by Thales that enables you to globally publish and distribute the software content digitally through an industry leading Content Delivery Network (CDN).

Basic ESD

In Basic ESD, you associate content download links with specific products. This is done after you upload the content to a FTP server, web server, or a content delivery network (CDN).

Basic ESD Process Flow

ESDaaS

ESDaaS (ESD-as-a-Service) provides an integrated experience of uploading and downloading content securely using Sentinel EMS.

Software vendors can leverage a single Sentinel EMS portal to perform all tasks related to license and software delivery, simplifying the customer experience.

NOTE   All web browsers supported for Sentinel EMS are also supported for ESDaaS. For the list of supported web browsers, refer to Sentinel EMS Release Notes.

ESDaaS Process Flow

Comparison of Basic ESD and ESDaaS

Feature	Basic ESD	ESDaaS
Default or Add-on	Basic offering available as default with Sentinel EMS.	Advanced feature available with an add-on subscription.
General	Provides all the basic functionality required for electronic delivery.	Encompasses all the benefits of basic ESD.
Delivery Technology	Software vendors have the flexibility to use storage of their choice - FTP server, web server, or CDN.	Thales manages the software delivery through industry-leading CDN technologies, such as Google CloudFront.
Storage Management	Software vendors are responsible for managing the FTP server, web server, or CDN.	Thales provide and manages the storage and the CDN and provides an integrated solution for licensing and software delivery.
Custom Attributes	Supports custom attributes for downloads.	Supports custom attributes for downloads.
Use of signed URLs	Not Applicable	Generates secure download URLs with an expiration date.
Reporting	Not Applicable	Provides tracking and reporting on actual downloads.