ADT3.3 and Building System 3 Network License Changes

[Anonymous]

AutoDesk has changed the network licensing scheme of Building System 3 from
pulling an ADT license along with a Building System Electrical or Mechanical
to pulling its own Building System license.

Here is a summary of my situation. I am going to base the number of licenses
needed as the minimum that I must provide to the users. I currently have the
software loaded on many more machines than I am listing here. ALL licenses
are deployed from the network using FlexLM.

Current Licensing:
Seats of ADT = 13
Seats of ABE2 = 3
Seats of ABM2 = 3

Future (after adding BldSys3):
Seats of ADT = 13 Users = 5
Seats of Building Systems = 6 Users = 8

After the switch to Building Systems 3, I will need to be able to provide a
minimum of 13 seats of base AutoCAD, of which 8 will be Building System 3,
and 5 will be ADT3.3. Since I can no longer have ADT and Building Systems
loaded on the same machine, this will leave me short of 2 licenses of base
AutoCAD for the Building Systems group. As a general rule I have many more
casual Building Systems users than ADT users. ( by casual I mean they need
"base" AutoCAD functionality very often but occasionally NEED the Building
Systems )

Of course I could just buy some new licenses of Building Systems, but why
should I have to when I have the Building Systems under subscription ( which
supposedly covers ALL upgrades ). Also on the other side I will have extra
ADT licenses that will not get used.

Is anyone else in the same situation and if so have you come up with a
workaround or solution?

Thanks,
Bruce

[Threesixty]

So, your saying you can't load BS3 and ADT3.3 on the same computer? So, all of those licenses are basicly wasted?

Hmm, if that is true, and BS3 doesn't need ADT3.3 licenses....what does my boss need with all the ADT licenses he now has/owns. We have no need for ADT3.3. I wonder if we can sell them back or trade them for BS3 licenses.

[Anonymous]

My understanding of your situation of having all those "extra" licenses
would translate as follows:

If you don't need the "extras", do nothing and they will lapse (I would
check into my subscription to ensure that you are not paying to maintain
these "extras")

If you need to add one or two licenses to the overall pool (in FLEXLM) of
ABS, upgrade as many of the "extra" ADT licenses as you require (at a cost
much lower than purchasing new licenses of ABS). As I am not a reseller this
will need local verification.

I have always screamed and yelled at AutoDesk for making us buy the
semi-functional ABE and ABM, effectively meaning that we were paying for
doing the R and D on their products. With this solution I see it as being
their (AutoDesk's) way of paying me back for those expenditures (I even have
the Mechanical/ Electrical department wanting to charge the Architectural
department for the "extra" licenses that we now have available).

While there is room for the argument of "Mechanical" not wanting to pay for
the "Electrical" package, consider the following:
We tried them as separate entities, and they failed miserably. This failure
is due in large part to the fact that the ABS product(s) are like ADT itself
in that it uses entirely new concepts and entity types. The "content" isn't
what drives the price so high, it's the "engine" behind it that we are
primarily paying for. After all a label, is a label, is a label. What
difference does it make if it's labeling a pipe, or a duct, or a wire? The
different menus only provide access to the content, the engine is behind the
scenes.

For myself and my firm I have to say "Thank you AutoDesk".

--
Gary J. Orr
Cadd Administrator
LHB Engineers and Architects
Direct (218) 279-2421
Gary.Orr@LHBcorp.com

21 West Superior Street, Suite 500
Duluth, Minnesota 55802
V. (218) 727-8446
F. (218) 727-8456
www.LHBcorp.com


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"Threesixty" wrote in message
news:f1335ff.0@WebX.maYIadrTaRb...
So, your saying you can't load BS3 and ADT3.3 on the same computer? So, all
of those licenses are basicly wasted?
Hmm, if that is true, and BS3 doesn't need ADT3.3 licenses....what does my
boss need with all the ADT licenses he now has/owns. We have no need for
ADT3.3. I wonder if we can sell them back or trade them for BS3 licenses.