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COUNT! v2.5
January 1993
Network Administrators Guide
This document is intended for Network Administrators and assumes the
audience is familiar with MS Windows v3.0 or above, MS DOS v3.3 or
above, and basic network management principals.
Table Of Contents
Topic Page
--------------------- -----
What is COUNT! 1
Using COUNT! 2
Setting up COUNT! on a network 5
Methods of controlling access 5
Registering COUNT! 6
Transferring a License to COUNT! 6
COUNT! v2.5
Network Administrators Guide
Page 1
What is COUNT!
COUNT! is a MS Windows utility that enables you to abide to "simultaneous
use" licenses in a network environment. This type of license allows you
to provide applications to a user community without buying a license for
each potential user. The result is typically an 80% to 90% reduction in
the cost of the application.
Simultaneous use licenses:
Unlike mainframe programs which base the fee on the number of
potential users of a product, personal computer software licenses are
often based on the number of people using a program at any point in
time. If the network provides a dozen applications to 50 users, it is
probable that five to ten licenses for each application will be
sufficient to meet the needs of the 50 users without purchasing 50
licenses of each.
Most major suppliers of personal computer software base their license
on simultaneous use. However, many of these (Microsoft for example)
provide no means for maintaining the license. Should you wind up in
court, you are required to provide evidence that adequate precautions
were taken to ensure that the simultaneous use license was not violated.
What does COUNT! Do:
COUNT! launches programs in an MS windows environment and keeps track
of the number of users. It will enable you to enforce simultaneous
use licenses. It also provides features to make many programs which
function poorly in a network environment behave better.
COUNT! enables a user to access an application as easily as if it were
installed on his local hard disk. To to this, it will if necessary:
Establish a network connection
Modify the current DOS directory
Check for license availability
Execute the program
Free the network license
Disconnect the network connection
COUNT! v2.5
Network Administrators Guide
Page 2
Using COUNT!
To use COUNT!, you should be familiar with the Windows Program Manager,
and the methods to launch applications. There are several ways to launch
a windows application. The most typical is for the user to "double click"
on an application icon in a Program Manager group. The second is to use
the file manager to launch an application with a selected data file. A
third is to launch the application using the Program Manager's "Run
command". You do not need to support all methods as a network
administration manager. All are covered here.
COUNT! is a Windows application which launches other applications. The
"launched" application is a parameter for COUNT!. For instance, To launch
Microsoft's Excel, the program line could be "COUNT! MS_Excel". To launch
Aldus' Persuasion, the program line could be "COUNT! Persuasion". COUNT!
would then do everything necessary to make appropriate network
connections, start the application, and enforce software licenses.
This raises two questions. How do you use the COUNT! command line under
Windows, and how does COUNT! know how to make network connections, etc.,
for each application.
Using the COUNT! Command Line:
All the methods of launching an application with COUNT! require the
use of a COUNT! command line. The command line has the form
"COUNT! ApplicationName". Count launches the program associated with
ApplicationName.
Supporting Applications Launched via a Program Manager Application Icon:
You will need to modify the vendor supplied installation procedure to
modify the icon's "properties" to use COUNT! to launch the program.
The application icon program line properties can be changed using the
following procedure:
In Program Manager, select the program icon by clicking on it
once with the mouse.
Select File-Properties, from the Program Manager's menu. A
"Program Item Properties" dialog box should appear.
Change the command line box to launch the program through COUNT!
ie. "COUNT!.EXE MS_Excel".
You should also change the icon to the application's normal icon,
which is typically in the main .EXE file of the application.
However, the .exe file may not be available to Windows if the
network drive is not currently connected. There are utilities
available which allow you to extract an icon from an application
.exe file. You could then make these icon files available to
Windows.
COUNT! v2.5
Network Administrators Guide
Page 3
Supporting Applications Launched via File Manager:
You will need to modify the "[extensions]" section of WIN.INI to
associate COUNT! with the extension of data files your program runs.
Again, you need to supply a command line such as
"XLT=COUNT!.EXE MS_Excel ^.XLT"
Supporting Applications Launched via Program Manager's Run Command:
The user would have to enter a correct COUNT! command Line in Program
Manager's "RUN" dialog box.
How COUNT! Launches the Application:
The COUNT!.INI file controls what COUNT! does in launching an
application. COUNT!.INI consists of a number of applications
"Sections" containing keywords describing how to launch the
application. Each section begins with the ApplicationName in square
brackets. Keywords can be any of the following:
Connect=Network connection command
ConnectDrive=Drive:,Network_Path,Password
(Only Windows 3.1 and Above support this command. You can
use "Connect" to support Windows 3.0) The Password can be
optional with some Network services. However, the comma
separator must be included as in the example below. You can
use "*" as the Password and the User will be prompted to
provide one before the connection is made. If The Drive and
Network service are already in use, this command is ignored.
Network Drives which are connected with this command are
Disconnected when the the user exits the application.
StartDirectory=Starting directory
Execute=Program invocation command
Disconnect=Network disconnection command
CountFile=R/W file which holds the current users/license counts
MaxUsers=Number of users that can use the program simultaneously
MaxTime=Minutes before Reminding the User to Exit Program and
Free License. The default is 0, for no Reminders.
UpdateLicense=Number of minutes between updates of the
CountFile. The default is 5. A 0 inhibits updates.
All keywords other than Execute are optional.
If a CountFile is used, A DOS environment variable must exist prior to
entering Windows which provides a user name. This is accomplished by
the DOS SET command as follows:
"SET Name=UserName"
The UserName must be unique to each network node.
COUNT! v2.5
Network Administrators Guide
Page 4
The COUNT!.INI file can be created with any file editor such as
NotePad. Below is an example COUNT!.INI file
[MS Excel]
Connect=USE E:\\MyServer\ExcelProgram /R
Execute=E:\EXCEL\Excel.EXE
Disconnect=USE E: /D
[MS Project]
ConnectDrive=L:,\\MyServer\MSProject,,
Execute=L:\WinProj\Project.EXE
StartDirectory=c:\Project
CountFile=Q:\Licenses\Licenses.Dat
MaxUsers=10
MaxTime=120
COUNT! v2.5
Network Administrators Guide
Page 5
Setting Up COUNT! on a Network
COUNT!.EXE and COUNT!.INI need to be placed in a common network directory
accessible to all users. Users should be granted READ ONLY access to
these files.
If a CountFile is used to monitor or meter access (via MaxUsers), a common
user READ\WRITE area needs to be made available for this file. COUNT! will
create the CountFile as required.
Also, as mentioned previously, A DOS environment variable must exist
(NAME=UserName) if a CountFile is used. It is suggested that this be
created in each nodes AutoExec.Bat or Network Connection.Bat file.
Methods of Controlling Access
There are two ways to use COUNT! to enforce simultaneous use licenses.
One method is to put each application you want to control access to in a
unique network service, and place a limit on the number of connections to
this service. COUNT! could then connect to the service before starting
the program, and disconnect when done. The server would preform the
license counting/metering.
The above method is the most secure method of controlling access. However,
there may be situations in which you cannot or prefer not to create unique
network services for each application. You can then use COUNT!'s MaxUsers
keyword to control access.
When a program is launched, COUNT! first checks the CountFile (if
specified) to see if the number of current users is less that the MaxUsers
defined in COUNT!.INI for that application. If so, COUNT! adds an Entry
to the CountFile similar to the one below:
[MS Project]
John Doe=09:33:27 02/12/92
The timestamp is updated every 5 minutes unless overridden with the
UpdateLicense Keyword.
COUNT! v2.5
Network Administrators Guide
Page 6
Registering COUNT!
COUNT! is copyrighted software and all rights are reserved by the author.
You are free to evaluate the product for 30 days to determine its
suitability to your needs. Use beyond 30 days requires registration.
Anyone with the conscience to use COUNT! will want to register it. A
license to COUNT! enables you copy and use the software on a single server
for up to 100 Users. The cost of the license is $59. If you would like
to register, please fill out the form on the next page.
In return, you will be sent a diskette with a registered version of the
software.
Transferring a License to COUNT!
Upon registering, you will receive a license number. To license the
software, you will need Read/Write access to the directory where
COUNT!.EXE is located. From Windows Program Manager, use "File Run" and
place in the command Line "Drive:\Path\COUNT!.EXE /L".
You will prompted you for your company and server name. You are limited
to approximately 25 characters, so you may have to abbreviate.
COUNT! v2.5 User Registration
NAME: ____________________________________
Company: ____________________________________
Street: ____________________________________
Town, State, Zip: ____________________________________
Please register me for (____) copies of COUNT!. Enclosed is $59.00 for
each copy (plus 6% Sales tax for Maine residents).
Preferred Media: 5.25"(360K) ____ 3.5" (720K) ____
Please make checks payable to:
Edward Derzawiec
6 Sweet Fern Road
Cape Elizabeth, ME 04107
Signature: ____________________________________
In signing this form I agree:
1. Not to make copies of the registered software received for
purposes outside of my use on a single network server.
2. Not to modify the software without written consent of the author.
I welcome your comments on the merits or limitations of COUNT!, or
enhancements you would like to see added.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
To improve the testing of COUNT!, please answer the following:
Server Type:
Operating System: DOS ____, OS2 ____, VMS ____, UNIX ____
Other _________________
Network OS: Novel ____, Vines ____, PCSA ____, Other ________
Nodes:
PC/XT (8086/8088) ____, AT (286) ____, (386/486/SX CPU) ____
Display: Mono, ____, CGA, ____ EGA, ____ VGA, ____ Color ____
Windows Version ____
Applications Count! is Used For:
______________________________________________________________
========================================================================
Do not write below this line:
Serial number licensed to above user: ____________
