XML Spy has a built-in license metering module that helps you in avoiding any unintentional violation of our license agreement. XML Spy can be licensed either as a single-user or multi-user software and depending on your license, this license-metering module makes sure, that no more than the licensed number of users are using XML Spy concurrently. This license-metering technology is using your local area network (LAN) to communicating between instances of XML Spy running on different computers. This is done by means of the "ICComNet.exe", which is a network communications module (hence the name: "IC" for ICON, our company, "Com" for communications and "Net" for network) that encapsulates common functions of both TCP/IP and IPX/SPX (Novell) protocols into a COM module (or more technically speaking into a "COM local server"). When XML Spy starts up, it asks ICComNet to find any other instance of the product running on another computer in the same network segment. If it doesn't get any response, it will open a port for listening to other instances of XML Spy and periodically send a small broadcast to announce its presence on the network. Other than that, it will do nothing at all in a single-user situation. Once you exit from XML Spy, ICComNet will terminate and cease to generate any further network traffic. Also, if you are not connected to a LAN or are using dial-up connections to connect to the Internet, XML Spy will NOT generate any network traffic at all. If more than one copy of XML Spy is used within the same LAN, they will talk to each other via ICComNet upon startup to exchange their key-codes and periodically to ensure that the number of concurrent licenses purchased is not accidentially violated, as additional copies of the product are launched by more users. This is the same kind of license metering technology, that is also very common in the Unix world and with many other database development tools and allows our customers to purchase reasonably-priced concurrent-use multi-user licenses (see http://www.xmlspy.com/order for our pricelist). Please note, that XML Spy is at no time attempting to send any information out of your LAN, or over the Internet. We are also deliberately sending very few and small network packets so as to not put a burden on any network. The TCP/IP ports (2799) used by ICComNet are officially registered with the IANA see http://www.isi.edu/in-notes/iana/assignments/port-numbers for details) and the ICComNet module is a proven and tested technology that has already been used by our company for over a year with many European telephone directory CD-ROM and Intranet products, where we are also performing license metering in networks of up to 15,000 concurrent users. XML Spy 3.0 is the first version of XML Spy to actually include and use the ICComNet component. If you are using a firewall, you may notice communications on port 2799 between the computers that are running XML Spy. You are, of course, free to block such traffic between different groups in your organization, as long as you can ensure by other means, that your license agreement is not violated. You will also notice, that XML Spy contains many useful functions that make use of your Internet connection, but these are unrelated to the license-metering technology. |
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