Subscription Constraints

When reviewing the types of subscriptions that could exist, the thinking has been that subscription types are modeled as “constraints” which business rules may choose to enforce when consumers ask to create new entitlements. The types of constraints which have been identified include

Quantity Limited (physical & virtual)

Quantity based entitlements are simply limited by the number available. Typically, it is a fixed number limiting what you can use. But there can also be other criteria involved such as…

• Quantity of Product = Number of Entitlements.
• Product defines limits/criteria.
• Product defines rules of consumption for Guests.
• Guests are defined as “active” virtual guests.

Version Limited

• Consumers with certain attributes can only consume products with a given version.

Example

Locked at a specific version, upgrades are not included. May be coupled with other limitations.

Hardware Limited (i.e # of sockets, # of cores, etc)

• Consumers with certain attributes (e.g. number of sockets)

Example

Sometimes you want to tie a product to particular hardware information. Typical server model is to limit a deployment to two (2) cpu sockets or cores.

Functional Limited (i.e. Update, Management, Provisioning, etc)

Example

This type of entitlement would unlock specific functionality of a given application, used for upselling purposes.

Site License

Example

You can use the application anywhere in your site.

Floating Subscription

Example

The floating license concept reminds me of the old FrameMaker licenses of the old days. Where you get a license to use 10 copies simultaneously, anything over that requires someone to close the application to free up a license.

Value-Based or “Metered” (i.e. per unit of time, per hardware consumption, etc)

Example

Metered is similar to the cell phone usage. Basically you pay for what you use. Could be based on unit of time, cpu cycles, any other criteria accessible.

Draw-Down (i.e. 100 hours or training classes to be consumed over some period of time or limited number of support calls)

Example

Draw down is probably best used for things like training. Here is a set number of hours or usage period. Once you have used it up, there is no more.

Cloud Subcriptions

Similar to quantity based, but the consumers are potentially shorted lived. This is similar to “Concurrent users” as a licensing model.