Important Notice for VirtServer Customers

ReadyAPI has fully transitioned to the ID-based SmartBear License Management (SLM) system. We strongly encourage users still utilizing file-based licensing, including key-based and ProtectionLS floating licenses, to migrate before the September 1, 2024 deadline to avoid commercial impact. Please be aware that support for file-based licensing has ended and technical support is no longer available, which may lead to unresolved technical issues.

If you cannot migrate from file-based licensing before September 1, 2024, it is crucial to contact your SmartBear representative immediately to align with our deprecation plans and avoid disruptions. Additionally, retaining file-based licenses for any solution expansions or renewals after this date will result in a service charge of up to 30% of the renewal or expansion invoice value to cover the extension costs. To avoid these charges, please initiate your migration now.

If you are still in the process of migrating or have yet to start, contact your Account Manager or SmartBear representative today. Our teams are ready to assist with smooth transition strategies. For additional support, please log a request with our Customer Care Team, who are standing by to help.

SmartBear ID-based licenses, introduced with ReadyAPI 3.8.1, are now available for use in VirtServer 3.16. This change is part of SmartBear's transition to a fully proprietary license model. Starting September 1, 2024, any renewals or expansions under legacy file-based licensing will incur a service charge, and all file-based licenses are planned to be deprecated in 2025.

Basics

To activate and use the product, your company needs to purchase a VirtServer license or have a trial license assigned. A license administrator needs to specify a SmartBear identifier (an email and a password). If you don’t have it, you need to create one.
From VirtServer 3.16, we include support for ID-based licenses which are hosted on your on-premise license server only. Once the license has been made available on manage.smartbear.com, your license administrator needs to convert that license for on-premise use and install the license on an on-premise license server. Once installed, the license administrator should provide the VirtServer admin with the server address.
If authentication is required to request licenses from the on-premise ID-based license server, the VirtServer admin will also need to access the on-premise license portal and get the access key for the license. Once the VirtServer Admininstrator has the on-premise license server address and access key, license installation can proceed in the VirtServer product.
From VirtServer 3.17.0, we include support for ID-based licenses hosted on SmartBear license servers. Once the license has been made available on https://manage.smartbear.com/ and your license administrator has assigned it to the VirtServer administrator, VirtServer administrator needs to login to their https://manage.smartbear.com/ account and get their access key. This is then used in requesting and installling a license in VirtServer.
The number of allowed concurrent product instances is set by your license.

Requirements

ID based licenses are online and on-premises licenses.

Online licenses are those that are controlled by the SmartBear license servers available on the Web.

On-premises licenses are those that work in private networks, which have no connection to the Web and SmartBear license servers.

By default, the licenses you purchase are online ones. You can convert them to on-premises licenses and vice versa on the SmartBear License Management.

Currently, all the control over license use is performed by the SmartBear License Servers available 24×7. The computer where you are running VirtServer must have permanent access to these servers. That is, the proxies and firewalls running in your network should allow connection to them:

https://manage.smartbear.com:443
https://api.slm.manage.smartbear.com:443
https://login.slm.manage.smartbear.com:443
https://server.manage.smartbear.com:443
https://server.slm.manage.smartbear.com:443
https://profile.id.smartbear.com:443
https://profile-api.id.smartbear.com:443
https://auth.id.smartbear.com:443

This access is needed both at the product start and during the product runtime. The addresses are for API servers and don’t have a user interface visible in browsers. When products call these hosts, they add some specific paths or URLs to the addresses.

Note:

We encrypt all data at rest and over the wire.

In case a network glitch happens, VirtServer is smart enough to understand the cause and to remain functioning long enough to let your system administrators fix the issue.

For on-premises licenses, your license administrator can convert your subscription license to an on-premises one and activate this license on the On-Premises License Server in your network.

Starting September 1, 2024, any renewals or expansions under legacy file-based licensing will incur a service charge, and all file-based licenses is planned for deprecation in 2025. Please contact your SmartBear Account Manager immediately to understand the steps involved in this transition. Click here to learn more.

Managing licenses

You can manage your SmartBear ID and licenses on our License Management Portal:

License Management | SmartBear

License priority for ID based License Requests

A single user may be assigned multiple ID-based licenses for a specific product. If that happens, a license will be selected based on the following:

A license already in use has a higher priority than a free one — e.g. you are requesting to use a license on a computer that already has one checked out.
A Commercial license has a higher priority than a Trial license.
An older license has a higher priority than a newer license.

More info on licenses

For complete information on the SmartBear ID-based licenses, see our License Management Documentation.

Please refer to our Frequently Asked Questions page for more information on SLM.

Need assistance?

If you have questions or need assistance with the new licenses, please contact our Customer Care Team.