Date:         Fri, 9 Jul 2004 19:23:45 -0400
Reply-To:     "Michael L. Davis" <michael@BASSETTCONSULTING.COM>
Sender:       "SAS(r) Discussion" <SAS-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From:         "Michael L. Davis" <michael@BASSETTCONSULTING.COM>
Subject:      Re: SAS consulting and SAS license
In-Reply-To:  <3b6685a4.0407091132.41af1cf5@posting.google.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

Hello Paula and other SAS-L Friends,

On Part 1, SAS PC licenses are typically based upon how many computers are
able to use SAS rather than concurrent usage.    So unless the license has
a "home use" clause (some do) that enables such usage, each computer that
uses SAS is using an instance of the license.  That instance is no longer
available for another user.

On Part 2, I can give a pragmatic answer.  SAS generally does not get
terribly excited about which copy of SAS is used so long as they don't lose
licensing revenue.

Here is an example of what I mean... If both you and the client license the
same product (e.g., Base SAS), SAS does not give a hoot whether you run an
analysis on your computer or the client's computer.  However, if by running
programs on your computer, the client is able to forgo licensing parts of
the SAS System, you may become fodder for the SAS lawyers.

So it is probably not necessary to load multiple instances of SAS on a
computer for licensing reasons.  Given how software takes over the system
registry, you probably would want to steer clear of doing that anyway.

The above comments represent my personal observations and your friend
should consult with SAS or a lawyer for authoritative answers.

- Michael "Mad Doggy" Davis

At 12:32 PM 7/9/2004 -0700, PD <sophe88@YAHOO.COM> wrote:
>A friend of mine quit her permanent job and decided to start as an
>independent consultant mainly using SAS. She asked me several
>questions which I am going to pass along and post here.
>
>1. One company that has signed the contract with her told her she can
>use their PC license (1 of the 10 licenses the company has). They even
>give her a Dell PC to load it and use it, on their site. Nice. Now she
>is getting creative: she is thinking about taking the software and
>load it at home to use it while the Dell PC is shut off and not
>running anything. Well, I read the license agreement(the one the
>company has signed with SI). Apparently, the (1) PC license(s), unlike
>how SAS is licensed to IBM mainframe where the number of mainframe
>CPUs counts, does not restrict the # of CPUs involved. Around the
>clock, if we divide the 24 hours into 12+12, for one half the software
>runs on one machine, for another half it runs on another, provided
>both machines are the company's property. Then, it does  not violate
>the agreement only one license is used at any time. But I am not sure.
>
>2. She also signed contracts with other firms out of MN. They do not
>provide her with anything. So she is thinking about licenseing SAS
>directly from SI. Now the Q is about the workstations: It probably
>does not make sense to buy separate computers to load separate license
>of SAS. How experienced consultants usually deal with this? Is it
>possible to load multiple copies of the software on one machine to
>work for different companies?
>
>Thanks in advance, as always.
>
>Paula D

Michael L. Davis
Ambler  PA
E-Mail:  michael@bassettconsulting.com
Web:  http://www.bassettconsulting.com
Telephone:    203-562-0640