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Licensing
The licensing solution of PLA 3.0, available licensing options, and the activation and management of licenses.
Manage existing licenses
Learn how to increase the number of concurrent users, replace a hardware key with a software key, or cross-upgrade from a Seat license to a Concurrent use license.
Cross-upgrade your license
You can switch from a Seat license to a Concurrent use license.

Get started
Overview of the PLA 3.0 software, its ongoing improvements and version updates, and the available trial options.
Key concepts
Structural foundation for daily work and support for method development from initial design to routine production.
Data analysis
Analytical methods, comprehensive analysis, assay workflows, and statistical process control.
Data import
Import of external response values and observation data into PLA 3.0 for further processing and evaluation.
User interface
The user interface of PLA 3.0 includes graphical and textual elements designed for daily workflows.
Installation and update
Deployment, installation, and update of PLA 3.0, including initial and advanced setup.
Licensing
The licensing solution of PLA 3.0, available licensing options, and the activation and management of licenses.
- Licensing options
  PLA 3.0 offers a flexible licensing model designed for both individual users and multi-user environments. The licensing option you select determines how many users can access PLA 3.0 at the same time. It also determines on how many computers you can install PLA 3.0.
- Information packages
  Information packages play a central role in the installation and licensing process. They contain key data required to get PLA 3.0 up and running in your environment.
- Activate your license
  To activate your PLA 3.0 license, you install a software key on the computer or license server that should hold the PLA 3.0 license. Activating the PLA 3.0 license automatically activates the license keys for your add-ons.
- Manage existing licenses
  Learn how to increase the number of concurrent users, replace a hardware key with a software key, or cross-upgrade from a Seat license to a Concurrent use license.
  - Transfer your license to another computer
    PLA 3.0 licenses are tied to the computer on which you activated them. You need to transfer the license in cases such as reinstalling or renaming the computer, or when retiring it and activating the license on a different system.
  - Transfer your license back to Stegmann Systems
    Return a license to Stegmann Systems by transferring it back.
  - Update your license
    Update your concurrent use license to increase the number of user slots, that is the number of users allowed to work with PLA 3.0 at the same time.
  - Replace a hardware key with a software key
    You can replace your existing hardware Sentinel HL USB dongle or hardlock dongle with a software key.
  - Cross-upgrade your license
    You can switch from a Seat license to a Concurrent use license.
- Licenses on a Sentinel license server
  By default, clients can access all Sentinel license servers running in the same subnet. If you operate several subnets or want to restrict the access of clients to a license server, you have to control the access accordingly.
- Use legacy protection keys
  We recommend software keys for license activation. However, you can also activate a PLA 3.0 license using a Sentinel HL USB dongle.
Administration
Setup and maintenance of databases and add-ons, user accounts, access rights, and migration and update procedures.
Regulatory compliance
PLA 3.0 supports users in achieving compliance with regulations such as ISPE GAMP^® 5 and 21 CFR Part 11.
Glossary
Definitions of central terminology used in PLA 3.0.

Cross-upgrade your license

You can switch from a Seat license to a Concurrent use license.

This can be necessary due to various reasons, for example, if a computer that hosted its own Seat license should now obtain its license from a license server, or if you want to start using PLA 3.0 in a shared environment.

About this task

To cross-upgrade your Seat license, you first activate your new Concurrent use license. In the second step, you retire your original Seat license by transferring it back to Stegmann Systems.

Note:

This procedure describes how to retire a software key by transferring it back. To retire a hardware key or hardlock key, send the dongle back to Stegmann Systems.

Procedure

To activate your PLA 3.0 license:

On the computer or license server that should hold the PLA 3.0 license, start the license activation process by collecting status information.
Follow the steps to activate a PLA 3.0 license. For details, see the Activate your license topic.

What to do next

After you successfully activated your Concurrent use license, transfer your Seat license back to Stegmann Systems. For details, see the Transfer your license back to Stegmann Systems topic.