Licensing FAQs

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GoldSim provides four licensing options: 1) Desktop Standalone; 2) Enterprise Standalone; 3) Concurrent Network; and 4) Leased Standalone.

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When you purchase GoldSim (or request an Academic or Trial version), you are provided with a software ID (referred to as an Activation ID). You must enter this ID in order to activate the software and run GoldSim. If your computer is connected to the internet, the activation process is done automatically when you enter the ID (and takes seconds). Otherwise, you must communicate with the GoldSim Technology Group via the GoldSim Help Center or phone and exchange some codes to complete the registration process.

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When you purchase GoldSim, it includes one year of maintenance. This entitles you to access to technical support and software upgrades released within that year. (Evaluation are granted a temporary membership for one month.) Once your maintenance expires, you no longer have access to the latest versions (they will not run under your license), unless you choose to extend the maintenance for another year. You will be asked if you wish to extend your Maintenance prior to its expiration.

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Yes. Desktop Standalone licenses can be transferred between computers up to 6 times per year. Enterprise Standalone licenses (and Leased Standalone licenses) can be transferred between computers an unlimited number of times. Concurrent Network licneses can be transferred between computers twice per year.

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Unless you have a Leased Standalone license, the Entitlement to use a commercial or research license (i.e., licenses that are purchased) is permanent (the Entitlement is perpetual). However, the Activation ID itself expires annually and must be updated each year at no cost. You will be contacted a month before the Activation ID expires. The annual update process itself takes minutes.

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Yes, this is facilitated through the GoldSim License Portal.

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Yes, but obviously only one user will be able to use the license at a time.

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We do not prevent commercial GoldSim licenses from being used on virtual machines, but cannot guarantee that your particular implementation will work.  Note, however, that free Trial and Academic versions cannot be used on a virtual machine.

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Multiple GoldSim releases can be installed on your computer simultaneously. Your GoldSim license will work for any release created prior to the expiration of your maintenance. However, only releases subsequent to and including 10.5 utilize the current licensing system. If you need to use a release prior to 10.5, contact us.

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The key differences between these two options are as follows.

Concurrent Network: This option is a true network license that resides on a server (the software is on individual machines, but the license resides on a server). People can check a seat in and out. Checking in and out a seat requires a persistent connection to the server. The advantage of this approach is that if someone disconnects or closes GoldSim, the seat is returned for someone else to immediately use.

This option also allows you to borrow a seat. In this case, it becomes a (temporary) standalone license on that computer (for up to 30 days – the License Administrator can limit this further if desired). The advantage of borrowing is that a persistent connection is not required. The disadvantage is that the seat needs to be manually returned by the user (it is automatically returned only at the specified limit). So if someone borrows a license for 30 days, and then stops using it after 2 days and goes on holiday, but forgets to return it to the pool, you can't get the license back until the 30 days are up (or you contact them and tell them to return it). 

Enterprise Standalone: For this option, the license actually resides on the user's computer (as opposed to a server). Hence, the advantage is that no license server is required. However, it can be transferred between computers very quickly and easily (minutes). The disadvantage is that the license needs to be manually returned by the user. It does not return to the license pool when they close GoldSim. So if someone has the license and goes on holiday, but forgets to return it to the pool, you can't get the license back until you contact them and tell them to return it.

Of course, you must also consider pricing. Concurrent Network licenses are 33% more costly than Enterprise Standalone licenses.

The table below provides a summary of these two options for sharing GoldSim licenses:

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The GoldSim License Agreement governs the use of GoldSim software.  This is a "click-through" agreement that you must read and accept before installing the software.  You can also view the agreement here.  It is also accessible under Help | About GoldSim after you have installed the software.