3 reasons why you should use cached license files

Even though internet service is widely available today, it cannot be guaranteed at all times and in all places. A customer might be in a low-coverage area, on a congested network, or temporarily offline when they launch your software. If your application must reach a licensing server every time it runs, those gaps in connectivity turn into gaps in access for your customers.

Caching the license and subscription status locally on the licensed device solves this problem. With caching in place, user access stays reliable because the application can validate the license locally during the subscription period instead of depending on a live connection for every launch.

How licensing components work together

When you license software, two components typically work together:

• Licensing client - the component running inside your protected software application that determines whether the software is allowed to run, based on the status of the subscription. In the SoftwareKey System, this is one of the Protection PLUS tools, such as Protection PLUS 5 SDK (PLUS5) or Instant Protection PLUS 3 (IPP3).
• Licensing server - the central licensing server, reachable over the internet, that tracks the status of the license and communicates it to the licensing client as needed. The SoftwareKey System licensing server is SOLO Server.

The subscription verification APIs offered by the licensing client and licensing server work well for basic validation when both sides can communicate with each other. Because mobile and remote data access cannot be guaranteed, securely caching the license and subscription status increases your application's reliability and availability through local validation that takes place during the subscription period.

3 reasons to use cached license files

When you cache the license and subscription status:

1. Your application's availability increases, because local validation can take place even when the device is offline.
2. Customer perception of reliability improves along with the increased availability of your application. A happy customer is always a good thing.
3. In most cases, a license does not need to be validated with a server every time the application is launched.

Recommended approach

Create the subscription license inside the licensing server (SOLO Server), and create a cached local license file that is saved to the customer's device when they activate. This allows license entitlements to be enforced without always requiring a connection to the licensing server. Only periodic validations are needed to check for updates to the license, such as renewals, changes to entitlements, or revocations.

Summary

Your customer's perception is reality. By implementing a licensing client and a licensing server that caches the software entitlements on the licensed device, customers have a better experience using your software, even when a reliable data connection is not available.

The SoftwareKey System provides both a licensing client (the Protection PLUS tools) and a licensing server (SOLO Server) that can properly cache the license for increased reliability and availability.