Q: How many days do I need to overuse for my usage to be “flagged”?

A: The first three usages per product per quarter will be overlooked. Overuse must occur more than three times per quarter in order to trigger a Quarterly Term License invoice.

Q: What triggers usage? Installing the software, opening the program, in production, or using certain features?

A: 95 percent of applications only register usage when opening the program. However, some products can call for a different license that is dependent on a feature within the application.

Q: I’m a one-man shop! How can I be showing usage for 2 PCs? I only use one at a time!

A: Usage is tracked by distinct machine name per calendar and is not determined by concurrent usage. It is possible for one user to access software on two separate machines within a particular hour. Also, a checked-out license could contribute to this effect.

Q: How can I control (limit) my usage? How can I implement a cap on usage so I don’t go over? Can I be notified of overuse before it happens? 

A: There is no way to implement a cap on license usage because the client machines do not always connect to the server when the software is opened. This functionality is intentional in order to allow access to software even in the event of a network/Internet disconnect. 

It is possible to schedule automatic usage reports to be sent to individuals to identify usage trends as they are reported. However, because of this ability to run software disconnected from the server, usage reports are not real-time, but historic. The reports are also dependent on individual machines connecting to the server and sending usage logs.
Bentley always promotes a policy of information and education to allow our users to utilize the correct software at the correct time.

Q: The usage data Bentley assesses is the DAILY Peak Usage…how does that correspond to the hour interval?

A: The daily peak usage report indicates the highest hourly peak on that particular day. If the peak shows “5,” that means that peak usage number could have been reached in one hour that day, or could have registered a peak of five for eight hours that day. The daily peak usage report reflects the highest peak out of the 24 hour “buckets” on that particular date.

Q: There is usage showing from machine XYZ… I never use that machine, how can it show usage?

A: If there is usage coming from a machine that is rarely, if ever, used, the cause is likely a checked-out license. A checked-out license is a license that has been removed from the license pool and is remote from the server. It will reflect usage 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for the duration of the checkout, even if the machine is turned off. We recommend ONLY using a checked-out license if the machine will be without network connection beyond 30 days.

Q: The reason there is no cap on usage is faulty programming on Bentley’s side. You need to fix it!

A: No cap on license usage is intentionally designed. This functionality allows end-users to ALWAYS access the software and never suffer any production down time because of an absence of a license.

Q: If I get charged for overusage then I should be reimbursed for days where there is under-usage?

A: The SELECT Agreement requires that a subscriber have enough licenses to cover their trending peak usage level. We do not offer any reimbursement for unused perpetual licenses. However, with Open Access you will only be charged for products that you use in a particular quarter.

Q: Where can I view these usage reports?

A: There are two options for viewing reports, depending on your server configuration: 

1. http://selectserver.bentley.com/bss/admin (Hosted configuration)

2. Contact your local licensing administrator, if you are querying for a license against a locally deployed SELECTserver (Deployed configuration)

Q: In reviewing our Daily Peak Usage, our average over-usage time is “13” seats and average overage is “0.” Why am I being required to purchase above this in covering our highest peaks?

A: Bentley requires that an account cover the amount of licenses that will accommodate their usage needs throughout the length of the SELECT contract. Therefore, if an account has a need of 13 during a five-week period, Bentley expects that the account will cover 13 licenses under their contract (fulfilled by QTL or product purchase).

See Also

Managing License issue

Bentley AutoPIPE