Software: Support

Code Instances

How many instances of the code can I run with a single key?

As of June 1, 2008, a licensing policy emendation is being implemented in all subsequent releases of Itasca codes, and is applicable to all users (both new users and those who are upgrading to the new version). The policy, as described in the License Terms is "A standard single license allows up to two instances of the code to cycle on a single computer" and was created for the following reasons. A Network version allows one instance of the code, per seat, to cycle on any computer connected to the network.

Under the previous terms of the licensing policy, we did not restrict the number of codes operating on a single computer under a standard license. If multiple instances of the code were being run, then they would execute proportionally slower. As multi-core and multi-processor computers became popular, it became a concern that owning such a computer effectively granted multiple licenses, because multiple instances could be run with no loss of speed. This was counter to the intent of our licensing.

At the time that we decided to change our licensing policy, dual-core computers were already in common use. Therefore, we decided to allow two simultaneous instances per license instead of restricting it to one. We also changed the security implementation so that a license is claimed only while cycling, allowing multiple instances to continue to be used for problem setup and post-processing analysis.