[Info-vax] DEC and software license tracking (was: Re: VMS VAX License for personal Microvax 3100 Model 40)

[Stephen Hoffman]

On 2022-07-28 21:44:38 +0000, Robert A. Brooks said:

> On 7/28/2022 5:32 PM, Chris Scheers wrote:
> 
>> FWIW:
>> 
>> In the early 1990s, Lockheed purchased the Fort Worth division of 
>> General Dynamics.
>> 
>> At the time, they had VAXen everywhere.  From what I was told, when 
>> they went to renew their licenses, DEC/Compaq (I don't remember which 
>> it was at the time) said "What licenses?"
> 
>  As a DEC customer, I frequently purchased licenses and renewed support 
> contracts.
> 
> I don't know what "renew their licenses" means.

Working for a DEC ISV that used to buy a whole lot of licenses and 
servers and support for a whole lot of sites, and then later working as 
somebody at DEC that saw the other side of these cases, I well 
understand the reference.

DEC didn't always know its customers and their licenses—unless the 
customer had an active warranty support, or an active support contract, 
that is. Then DEC usually did know.

When unsnarling these, the applicable LMF software licensing 
certificate was usually considered sufficient proof of licensing when 
disentangling licensing issues, but not everybody kept their copies of 
those documents.

Prior to LMF, this all got very gnarly when something got lost / 
confused / misfiled / deleted / purged.


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