PolicyPak Professional Licensing FAQ

How do I obtain my initial license for PolicyPak ?

Launch our license wizard (included in the ISO file download) and click “Generate an initial request for a new license.”

• The license wizard will automatically count the number of computers that you intend to use the product with, based on the OUs you selected in your good-faith estimate. Remember: PolicyPak Professional is always licensed per computer (and there’s never any additional fee to create your own paks or use any of our pre-created Paks).
• You then send us your license request via email. It’s a simple text-based “copy / paste” request. The license request contains only the data needed to license the product, and all of this data is shown to you first. The license request also contains a digital “signature” verifying that the data came from our license management tool.

• Once we receive a PO/ payment, we send you a license file for your domain or OUs, and PolicyPak is licensed for a year.

How do I install a license I receive from PolicyPak?

You install the license file for your PolicyPak using the same license wizard.

Just click “Install a License Received From PolicyPak” and follow the prompts. In practice, the License Wizard creates a new “Licensing GPO” at the highest point. You should select to "Enforce" the GPO (in case of a Block Inheritance).

Here is a video which shows the Licensing Request and Installation Process.

What happens if I try to use PolicyPak in unlicensed places?

Anytime a computer is unlicensed, it falls back to Community mode. If a computer isn't licensed then it will automatically process the first 25 elements of the first PolicyPak Professional pak it sees (registry settings and lockout items only). So, in some cases, you might get exactly what you want. But, if you're trying use two PolicyPaks (or use more than 25 elements) then, because the computer is unlicensed, it won't process all the elements you want, and you won't be as secure as you want.

What if I add new users or computers to my licensed locations (whole domain or specific OUs), exceeding the count I have paid for?

Everything just continues to work. First of all PolicyPak is licensed per computer. So you never pay "per user" – ever.

Let's go thru an example. Let’s assume you initially estimated that the Sales OU, Marketing OU and Research OU would use PolicyPak Professional. And at that time, our initial discovery found a total of 3,000 computers.

But two months later, you add 100 new computers to each of Sales OU, Marketing OU and Research OU. That’s another 300 computers for a total of 3,300 computers!

Don't worry! Your PolicyPak investement continues to work fine!

At the end of your year, we'll ask you to re-count the number of computers. So now you now have 3,300 computers. And you’ll simply “true up” to pay for those extra 300 computers at the end of the year. And you'll "renew" the original 3,000.

We'll then give you a new license file which is good for another full year. And, again, if during the year, you "over-use" there is no charge until the end of the year.

What is “Truing Up?”

In the previous example, you started with 3,000 machines and grew to 3,300 machines.

That’s great – we want you to use your PolicyPak investment the way your company needs to, when you need to. You don’t need to come to us every time your company grows or uses PolicyPak for more computers.

However, we do require that your license catch up with your usage at one-year intervals. We call this “truing up.”

Before the expiration of each one-year licence period, the “Technical Contact” on record will be reminded to re-run our license wizard, this time using the audit feature. The license wizard will make a quick inspection of all GPOs within the scope of license that use the PolicyPak in question.

We simply ask you to re-count where you want to use PolicyPak the next year. You will send in your updated license request.

You "renew" the computers from last year, and "true up" any overage.

Note: It’s possible you have fewer computers than you did last year. In that case, you don’t pay anything for new licenses. However, you are still bound to pay the maintenance fee for the highest amount of computers found in the last three audits.

What if I don’t run the license tool to “True-Up” every year?

You must run the license tool every year to get an updated license file for PolicyPak Professional.

If you fail to run the True-Up, then your one-year license expires, PolicyPak Professional will stop processing new directives and PolicyPak will not re-enforce settings. If you are using PolicyPak's AppLock features, then it will act as if PolicyPak wasn't installed.

PolicyPaks stop working on clients exactly one year after the license file is originally generated for each PolicyPak.

So, at the 11th month mark, we automatically remind you to run the PolicyPak license management tool to perform a “True-Up.” We will continue to send email reminders and make a best effort to call you if we see you’re getting close to lapsing.

At the one year anniversary, PolicyPak will stop functioning – unless you get a new license file from us each year.

Will I be charged on a per-user basis or a per-computer basis?

PolicyPak is always licensed on a per-computer basis. PolicyPak Professional looks to see if the COMPUTER is licensed. And if, so, any user on that computer will get the directives inside the PolicyPak.

And, because PolicyPak Professional lets you create your own packs, you can create as many paks as you want for as many users as you wish (because you're licensing the COMPUTER and not the user).

Once the computer is licensed, it can embrace an unlimited number of PolicyPaks that you create.

How are GPOs linked to Active Directory Sites licensed?

Computers within sites need a valid license to process site-linked GPOs.

Can I license machines that are NOT Domain joined?

No. All computers must be domain joined at least once and have the "knowledge" of what OU they're in and get the PolicyPak license GPO first. Then they can go offline. But at no times can computers which were NEVER domain joined participate with PolicyPak.

How many licenses do I need?

PolicyPak needs a licnese for each computer account in Active Directory you need. You are welcome to license particular OUs or the whole domain.

Are objects in sub-OUs / containers counted towards licensed totals?

If a Group Policy is linked to a parent OU (or the domain), it applies to all sub-containers as well. Therefore, we count computers in sub-OUs as well as the container to which a policy employing our product has been linked. Our license management tool makes it easy to see which containers are included.

Do disabled objects count towards licensed totals?

No, only active computers are counted. Disabled computers will not receive policy therefore they are not counted by PolicyPak.

Do computers with the name “computer” count towards licensed totals?

No. Computers with the name “computer” are not counted toward licensing totals because they are used in Trial mode. In Trial mode, the computer acts as if it's fully licensed.

Do service accounts get counted toward license quantity?

No. Because we don't count user accounts – only computer accounts. Service accounts are "users" and we don't count in PolicyPak.

How can I “get around” the PolicyPak licensing system?

There are several ways to avoid paying for licenses:

• Rename all your computers so they have the name “computer” in their name. They'll all act as if they were fully licensed.
• Create a dummy domain with the same domain name as your production domain. Then use the Licensing Tool to perform the licensing count in the dummy domain and report bogus information.
• Move computers into a dummy OU. Then use the Licensing Tool to perform the licensing count against your REAL OUs then report bogus information.

Why are you telling me how to “get around” the PolicyPak licensing system?

Because we know some people will do it anyway. However, we know most people honestly want to be honest.

The licensing system is really only there to ensure that an accurate count is performed and that your company is paying for the tool they are actually using.

If you are intentionally overusing our software or intentionally working around the licensing system, you are violating the PolicyPak EULA by which your company is legally bound when you initially install PolicyPak.

How does PolicyPak work with Terminal Servers and Citrix servers?

We cannot "count" Terminal Servers or Citrix servers using our licensing tools. So, you'll need to explicitly tell us when you plan to use PolicyPak on Terminal Services or Citrix machines. There is a flat rate for this kind of use, per Terminal Server / Citrix machine based on the overall quantity of licenses you buy.

I have a special licensing situation. Can you accommodate?

Yep. We're flexible within reason. Please call us at 800-882-8002.