Dear timdeveloper,
My web research leads me to believe that there are only three
commercial-grade licensing services for Linux currently on the market:
Absoft Common License Manager, Agilis EasyLicenser, and Macrovision
FLEXnet Publisher. Of these three, only the Agilis and Macrovision
products offer the option of ecommerce functionality, although Absoft
may still be a good choice based on ease-of-use and cost considerations.
Absoft: Common License Manager
http://www.absoft.com/Products/Tools/clm.html
Agilis Software: EsayLicenser Software License Manager
http://www.agilis-sw.com/ezlm/
Macrovision: FLEXnet Publisher
http://www.macrovision.com/products/flexnet_publisher/index.shtml
The Absoft Common License Manager, or CLM, is a cost-effective
product that distributes a unique license key for each installation
of your software. The price for one CLM server, which manages multiple
installations, is $300.
Common License Manager (CLM) provides a customizable framework
for software license management. It consists of a library, a
license server, and several management tools. CLM is designed
to be customizable and extensible.
Absoft: Common License Manager: Product Description
http://www.absoft.com/Products/Tools/clm.html#features
Absoft: Common License Manager: Commercial Pricing
http://www.absoft.com/Products/Tools/clm.html#commercial_pricing
The EasyLicenser from Agilis is a more elaborate product, one variant
of which offers built-in order processing and web integration. Pricing
varies according to the number of software installations you want to
service, with a minimum initial order of $500.
There are economies of scale if your product qualifies for the web-based
license unit purchase option, so the more software subscribers you
have, the lower your per-seat charge will be. If you have 51 to 100
subscribers, for instance, the price per license is $11.25 for the
top-level EasyLicenser variant, called Pro Edition With eCommerce, which
supports floating licenses and web ordering. For 1001 to 2000 subscribers,
the price drops to $5.00 per license, and so on.
EasyLicenser's eCommerce option enables you to integrate
your web or other back office order fulfillment system with
EasyLicenser's key generation API's in order to automate and
streamline the process of issuing end-user license keys. The
eCommerce capabilities consist of:
* A Java key-generation API that is directly integrated
with a Java-based back office system deployed on a J2EE
application server or servlet engine.
* A self-contained web server that provides an HTTP-based
key-generation API for integration with any local or
remote back office system implemented in any Internet
technology, for example ASP .NET, Perl.
* User-oriented web pages that enable back office
personnel to manually generate keys from any local or
remote location over the Internet with a web browser.
Agilis: EasyLicenser Datasheet [scroll down to Pricing for price table]
http://www.agilis-sw.com/ezlm/datasheet.htm
Macrovision does not provide pricing information up front, or at
least none that I was able to find. Judging from the complexity of the
product, FLEXnet Publisher will be more expensive than Absoft CLM or
Agilis EasyLicenser, although you should request a quote to find out for
sure. It seems that in addition to purchasing the base system, you must
choose various add-on modules depending on how you want to distribute
your product. There are also bundles of modules, called packages, that
presumably offer cost savings over a-la-carte module ordering.
Macrovision: FLEXnet Publisher: Features/Functions
http://www.macrovision.com/products/flexnet_publisher/features_functions.shtml
Macrovision: FLEXnet Publisher: Pricing
http://www.macrovision.com/products/flexnet_publisher/pricing.shtml
Macrovision: FLEXnet Publisher: Packages
http://www.macrovision.com/products/flexnet_publisher/packages.shtml
Macrovision: FLEXnet Publisher: Free Evaluation Copy
http://mktg.macrovision.com/mk/submit/eval_submit?pcode=fnp&_JS=T
Although I am not familiar with your circumstances, let me hazard a
guess that the best choice for a small game publisher would be Agilis
EasyLicenser. FLEXnet Publisher seems like a rather high-end corporate
product that calls for a large management infrastructure and lots of
dough. The least expensive choice would be Absoft CLM, although of course
it would leave you to do all the ecommerce coding yourself.
I have found it an interesting challenge to answer your question. If you
have any concerns about the completeness or accuracy of my research,
please advise me through a Clarification Request and give me a chance
to fully meet your needs before you rate this answer.
Regards,
leapinglizard
Search strategy:
linux license management
://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=linux+license+management&btnG=Google+Search&meta=
macrovision flexnet
://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=macrovision+flexnet&btnG=Search&meta=
absoft license manager
://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=absoft+license+manager&btnG=Search&meta=
agilis easylicenser
://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=agilis+easylicenser&btnG=Search&meta= |
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