Licensing overview

PME is a proprietary software that uses licensing to control its use and distribution. The licensing is enforced through mechanisms that disable certain software functions if no valid license has been activated.

To use PME, you must purchase software licenses and activate them in the system. The licenses give you the right to use the software according to the terms and conditions described in the software End User License Agreement (EULA). The licenses generally do not expire, unless stated otherwise in the software EULA. PME licenses are per system. If you have multiple systems, you must purchase separate licenses for each. Multi-system, or enterprise licenses are not available.

PME uses a modular licensing structure where different licenses enable different functions in the software. Some of these functions are optional, others are required. The licenses are cumulative, meaning that you can add additional licenses to a system, to enable additional functionality.

See Resources for information on where to find a copy of the PME EULA.

License activation

Purchased licenses must be activated either through online or offline methods. An Internet connection for the PME server is required for online activation. Offline activation must be done from an alternate Internet-connected computer or smart-phone with web access. See Activating a license for details.

Licenses are tied to the host computer (physical or virtual). If PME needs to be moved to a new computer, the licenses must first be returned and then reactivated on the new computer.

License types

PME licenses bundle together one or more PME features. For example, a Base license includes two Client Access license.

The following table shows the different licenses that are available for PME:

Type

Description

Trial license

New system installations include a time limited Trial license.

The Trial license:

enables all of the PME features (except Connected Services)
includes an unlimited Device license
includes an unlimited Client Access license
may be extended on demand (See Licensing resources for contact information.)
cannot be reinstalled
remains active for 90 days until a purchased license is activated
expires after 90 days

Base license

This is a required license. It enables the PME server functions and the basic system functions. Without the Base license the system is not functional. The same Base license can be used for Standalone or Distributed Database systems.

The Base license also includes two Client Access licenses. With Base license, engineering client can be accessed.

Express Base license

The Express Base license is similar to the Base license but with reduced functionality. It is intended for small starter or entry-level systems. The following shows the differences between Base and Express Base licenses:

Feature		Express Base	Base
Included device licenses		10	None
PQ Reports		No	Yes
Expansion (optional):	Device Licenses (DL)	Max of 10 additional	Yes
	Client Licenses (CL)	Max of 2 additional	Yes
	Unlimited DL	No	Yes
	Unlimited CL	No	Yes
	Data Exchange Module	No	Yes
SW Modules (optional)	Energy Billing	No	Yes
	Energy Analysis Reports	Yes	Yes
	Energy Analysis Dashboards	Yes	Yes
	Capacity Management	No	Yes
	Insulation Monitoring	No	Yes
	PQ Performance	No	Yes
	Breaker Performance	No	Yes
	Backup Power	No	Yes
	Event Notification	No	Yes
Edition Upgrade		To Standard Edition	n/a

Device license

This is a required license. It enables the use of monitoring devices in PME.
Depending on the locale, device licenses are sold as:

Bundles of 5, 25, 50, 100, 200, unlimited - for the US, Canada, and India.
Individual licenses, with 3 different license types - for countries other than the US, Canada, and India:
- E for entry-range device types
- M for mid-range device types
- S for high-end device types
See the Default device type support list for details on which device types require which licenses.
NOTE: Unlimited individual device licenses are available.

NOTE: At least one device license must be activated in the system for PME to be able to communicate with a device.

Client Access license

This is a required license. It allow access to Web Applications.

Client Access licenses are assigned to users.
Each user needs their own Client Access license.
A Client Access license is assigned and bound to a new user when they first log into the PME web applications.
The supervisor account also needs a Client Access license.
To free up an assigned Client Access license, the user must be deleted in PME.

NOTE: An unlimited Client Access license is available that includes unlimited web application use.

NOTE: Management Console does not require a license.

Software Module license

This is an optional license. It enables the use of a Software Module. Each Software Module requires its own specific license. The following Software Modules exist in PME:

Backup Power Module
Breaker Performance Module
Capacity Management Module
Energy Analysis Dashboard Module
Energy Analysis Reports Module
Energy Billing Module
Event Notification Module
Insulation Monitoring Module
Power Quality Performance Module

Data Exchange Module license

This is an optional license. It enables the use of the following features and functions in PME:

COMTRADE export with ETL
Measurement Aggregation Export Report
Measurement Statistics Export Report
OPC DA Server
VIP Modbus Slave functionality

NOTE: OPC DA Server licenses on older PME systems will automatically be converted to Data Exchange Module licenses on upgrade.

Developer/Demo license

This is a special license. Contact Schneider Electric for details.