Features Introduced in the 9.1.0 Windows Release
This section provides details about the new features introduced in the Windows 9.1.0 release
Unified API Enhancements
The following major enhancements, related to the Unified API, are included in this release. For more information, refer to the chapter "Unified API" of the Sentinel RMS SDK API Reference Guide:
Added New Attributes in the sntl_licensing_app_context_new API
In this release, the following attributes are added to the sntl_licensing_app_context_new API:
| Attribute Key | Purpose |
|---|---|
| SNTL_ATTR_APPCONTEXT_DEFAULT_ERROR_HANDLER | Sets the default error handler for troubleshooting error conditions. |
| SNTL_ATTR_APPCONTEXT_TRACE_LEVEL | Sets the tracing of the various licensing operations. |
| SNTL_ATTR_APPCONTEXT_SERVER_PORT | Sets a network port, different from the default, for communicating with the License Manager. |
| SNTL_ATTR_APPCONTEXT_BROADCAST_INTERVAL |
Sets the timeout interval (in seconds) to find a License Manager in the subnet. |
| SNTL_ATTR_APPCONTEXT_AUTO_REFRESH | Defines the behavior of the automatic license refresh. |
| SNTL_ATTR_APPCONTEXT_XDISPLAYNAME |
Sets the name of the X display where the user needs to display the application. |
| SNTL_ATTR_APPCONTEXT_VENDOR_DEFINED_SHARINGID | Sets the special software vendor defined ID that can be used for license sharing decisions. |
sntl_licensing_get_info API Enhancements
This section briefly describes the various enhancements done in the sntl_licensing_get_info API:
Added New Query Types
In this release, the sntl_licensing_get_info API has been enhanced to provide the following additional information:
>appContextInfo - The information about the various parameters set in an application context.
>featureCumulativeTrialInfo - The cumulative information about the trial period of trial licenses for the given feature.
>serverInfo - The information about the License Manager.
>serverPoolInfo - The information about a group of License Managers hosting the same license for high availability.
Renaming of Query Type Macros
In this release, the existing query type macros of the sntl_licensing_get_info API are also renamed to reflect their actual use. The following table includes a list of such query types:
| Old Query Type (v9.0.0) | Renamed to...(v9.1.0) |
|---|---|
| SNTL_FEATURE_INFO | SNTL_QUERY_FEATURE_INFO |
| SNTL_LICENSE_INFO | SNTL_QUERY_LICENSE_INFO |
| SNTL_CLIENT_INFO | SNTL_QUERY_CLIENT_INFO |
| SNTL_LIBRARY_INFO | SNTL_QUERY_LIBRARY_INFO |
| SNTL_RECIPIENT_INFO | SNTL_QUERY_RECIPIENT_INFO |
| SNTL_FINGERPRINT_INFO | SNTL_QUERY_FINGERPRINT_INFO |
New XML Response Fields for Existing Query Types
In this release, new XML response fields have been introduced in the sntl_licensing_get_info API, in place of few existing fields to reflect their actual usage. The existing XML fields have been marked as obsolete and will be deprecated in the future releases. The following table includes a list of obsolete XML fields and the corresponding new XML response fields:
| Query Type | Existing XML Response Fields (v9.0.0) | New XML Response Fields (v9.1.0) |
|---|---|---|
| SNTL_QUERY_FEATURE_INFO |
trialDaysCount, |
trialDays |
| SNTL_QUERY_LICENSE_INFO |
trialDaysCount trialElapsedPeriodLeft |
trialDays trialSeconds trialDaysLeft, trialSecondsLeft |
| SNTL_QUERY_CLIENT_INFO |
sharedIdName |
vendorDefinedSharingId |
| clientVendorUsageData | vendorUsageData | |
|
isSharing |
sharedClientCount |
Added New XML Response Fields
In this release, the following new XML response fields are also introduced:
| Query Type | New XML Response Field |
|---|---|
| SNTL_QUERY_FEATURE_INFO |
commutedFromServer - The License Manager from which the license is obtained for the commute action. activationBirthTime - The entitlement start time (epoch time). activationExpiryTime - The entitlement expiration time (epoch time). |
| SNTL_QUERY_LICENSE_INFO |
Enhancement in the sntl_licensing_get_session_info API
In this release, a new XML field refreshStatus is added to the output of the sntl_licensing_get_session_info API to inform about the current status of the refresh process.
Renaming of Attribute Key Names
In this release, few attribute keys are renamed to reflect their actual use. The following table includes a list of such attributes:
| API | Old Attribute Key (v9.0.0) | Renamed to...(v9.1.0) |
|---|---|---|
| sntl_licensing_login_attr | SNTL_ATTR_LOGIN_VENDOR_IDENTIFIER | SNTL_ATTR_LOGIN_VENDOR_ISOLATION_IDENTIFIER |
| sntl_licensing_logout_attr | SNTL_ATTR_LOGOUT_UNITS_CONSUMED | SNTL_ATTR_LOGOUT_UNITS_TO_RELEASE |
| sntl_licensing_login_attr | SNTL_ATTR_LOGIN_CHALLENGE_SIZE | This attribute has been removed |
| sntl_licensing_refresh_attr | SNTL_ATTR_REFRESH_CHALLENGE_SIZE | This attribute has been removed |
Licenses with Entitlement Start and Expiration Time
Starting v9.1.0, licenses generated include the entitlement start and expiration time values (epoch time), useful for SCL Add-on for Sentinel RMS customers.
To support this enhancement, the following updates are also made:
New Fields in the CodeT (License), VLSfeatureInfo and VLSlicenseInfo structures
The following fields are added in the CodeT ( Sentinel RMS License Structure), VLSfeatureInfo and VLSlicenseInfo structures:
>activation_birth_time
>activation_expiry_time
For more information, refer to the Sentinel RMS License Generation API Reference Guide and Sentinel RMS API Reference Guide respectively.
NOTE You can retrieve the value of the new fields using the VLSgetFeatureinfo, VLSgetLicenseInfo and sntl_licensing_get_info API.
License Version Upgraded to Version 17
Due to updates in the license structure, the license version has been upgraded to version 17.
Enhancements in the Java Interface for Unified API
In this release, the Java interface for Unified API is also updated to reflect the following enhancements:
>The Unified API enhancements listed in the section "Unified API Enhancements" earlier in this page.
>Renamed the Java interface installation directory from Java to Java-Jna.
Miscellaneous Changes
In this release, the following changes are also included:
Removed CodeCover from the Sentinel RMS SDK Installer
In this release, the CodeCover component, meant for automatic licensing (for executables and DLLs), has been removed from the Sentinel RMS SDK installation. To obtain it, contact Technical Support.
Increased Size of Vendor Usage Data
The length of Vendor Usage Data has been increased from 100 to 255 bytes. This information will be reflected in the Raw usage data report of the Sentinel EMS. For more information, see the Sentinel EMS user's Guide.
Documentation Changes
In this release, the following major documentation changes are also included:
Separate Document for the License Generation API
Starting version 9.1.0, the License Generation API are moved from the API Reference Guide to the Sentinel RMS License Generation API Reference Guide. Prior to this release, these API were included in the Sentinel RMS SDK API Reference Guide.
Removal of the HTML-based Help in the SDK
The HTML-based Help for the following documents is no longer included in the Sentinel RMS SDK. Instead, use of the hosted Online Help is recommended.
>Sentinel RMS API Reference Guide
>Sentinel RMS Developer Guide
HTML 5-Based Online Help
The Online Help is in the HTML 5 format and offers the following advantages:
>Full topic URLs for better link sharing: In HTML5 Help, each topic has a unique URL so they can be shared, emailed or saved in the browsers bookmarks easily.
>Better search results and display: In HTML5 output, the search feature is included in a search bar above the topics. This is in contrast to the previous Help which displayed the Search option in an accordion or tab in the left-side of the page. Furthermore, the Search output offers Google-style search results and display.
What's New in the SCL Add-on?
SCL Add on for RMS v9.1 includes the following major enhancements. To learn more about them, refer to its Release Notes and SCL Add-on Overview Guide:
>Introduced Connected Mode
In addition to the On-premises and Lease modes, the Connected mode is also supported. This mode is primarily meant for hosted and / or always connected applications to leverage the benefits of cloud licensing.
>Support for Named user Licensing
For Connected modes, named user licensing is also supported. It allows software vendors to create licenses that can be consumed only by specific users or entities.
>Support for Usage Count Multiplier
Usually, each licensing session consumes one count per a login-logout call sequence. At times, when software vendor wants to represent this consumption differently, then a usage count multiplier value can be specified, both at the start of the session (login) and / or at its end (logout).
>Support for Peak Concurrency
Peak Concurrency obtains usage statistics about the maximum number of concurrent sessions achieved during a given period.
>Redundant License Manager Support for Lease Mode
The License Managers in the Lease mode can now be configured in redundant fashion to provide high-availability when the primary License Manager goes down.