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Updating the Local Licensing Server

New versions of the Local Licensing Server are released regularly. Updating to the current version costs you nothing: ask for an update, and we prepare a new server for your organization.

Updates are free

Server updates are free for every customer who uses the Local Licensing Server — including holders of a Lifetime license. A Lifetime license limits you to minor updates of SMath Studio itself (License Periods); that limit does not apply to the server. Whatever license you have, you can always move to the current server version.

Why we recommend updating regularly

Each new server version brings bug fixes, better compatibility with current operating systems, Docker and network equipment, and new features — for example, version 5.x lets you manage offline license packages yourself and distributes updates more reliably.

The platform develops quickly, and we concentrate our resources on current technology. Full technical support and our internal regression testing — the check that a server keeps working with new operating systems and security updates — cover the server versions released within roughly the last three years. After that, a version is effectively in limited support:

  • it keeps working, and you can go on using it for your current tasks;
  • but we no longer release bug fixes for it, and we cannot guarantee that it keeps working after an update of your operating system, network equipment or security standards.

That is why we recommend that every customer updates the server periodically. We do not require you to switch immediately — updating corporate software takes time and testing — but we strongly advise planning the update so that compatibility problems do not catch you unprepared.

How an update works

  1. Request the update from your software vendor. The request usually comes from your License Holder, who also receives the new delivery package.
  2. We prepare the server image for your organization. Like the original delivery package, each image is built individually for one customer and must not be shared. Preparing it usually takes one to two working days.
  3. Install the new server from scratch. The update is a new installation, not an in-place upgrade: follow System Requirements, Installation and Initial Setup, then load your licenses and set up authentication and user accounts again. Data from the old server is not carried over.
  4. Check your workstations. If they already run SMath Studio Enterprise, nothing needs to change: copies that worked with the old server work with the new one too — just make sure they point at the new server's address if it has changed. If they still run the public edition of SMath Studio, switch them to SMath Studio Enterprise — only the Enterprise edition can connect to the Local Licensing Server. See Installing SMath Studio Enterprise.

Note: If your server works offline, obtain a new offline license package for the new server version. A package obtained for an earlier version will not work — see License Obtaining Challenges.

Not offered an update yet?

We contact our customers about updates, but we may not reach everyone. If you have not been offered an update, just ask your software vendor about it. The current list of vendors is on our Contacts page.