Best version of AD to stick with going forward - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: dfnr2
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2024, 04:07:57 pm
content: I've been using AD since 2009, and have have a perpetual license with support through 2026. It is unlikely I will renew support and I do not wish to depend on the Altium servers for licensing local copies.It appears the ability to generate a standalone license file is no longer present. It looks like a license can be checked out long term, which may be similar. I suspect others are in the same boat and are looking to standardize on an optimal version moving forward. One option is to stick with the latest version before my support subscription expires. Another option is to go back and reeavluate out all the versions from 10 onward.I'm wondering what strategies others are adoptiong, and whether anyone has a preferred version based on reasoning about the features and bugs.

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2024, 04:26:00 pm
content: Try to not have the license locked to a physical PC but to a VM (virtual machine) or something similar so you can move the license from one PC to the other. Looking for a version for which a crack is available is also a good option. That way you don't have to rely on Altium to install the software on any PC in the future. Keep in mind that you'll need a way to archive Windows as well (which adds another plus for using a VM).It is unfortunate Altium doesn't seem to support dongles. When I bought Orcad, I specifically choose a dongle so I'm not tied to a specific PC. By the time the dongle breaks, cracked versions will be available.

author: Ice-Tea
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2024, 06:56:20 pm
content: I would maybe consider sticking to the latest release before they increment the major version. Knowing AD, you don't want to be stuck with 27.0.1

author: ajb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2024, 07:43:41 pm
content: I don't think there's really a universal answer for this. Different people/companies/project types will depend more or less on different features, so the best version is probably the latest one that has the fewest bugs in the features you most care about.Wouldn't be a bad idea to download the offline installers (do they still offer those?) for as many versions as you can that your license will support. And/or take snapshots of a VM at various versions.

author: Someone
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2024, 08:33:12 pm
content: Quote from: ajb on October 21, 2024, 07:43:41 pmStill available but didn't work at all last time I tried, as it required being online to validate your license and then proceeded to download all the installation files anyway.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2024, 08:42:39 pm
content: Quote from: dfnr2 on October 21, 2024, 04:07:57 pmYou have to rely on altium servers, thats how it works if you have an online license.As mentioned you can download a few offline installers, but I don't think thats totally necessary.

author: rfindley
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 23, 2024, 05:47:04 am
content: Altium will happily sell you an on-site license server for (I think) $3000 USD so you don't have to rely on their servers. On principal, I didn't opt for that myself. I paid for a standalone, and they converted it to on-demand, which turned "perpetual" into "as long as we decide to continue support for on-demand". I'm not going to reward that behavior.Assuming your license is Perpetual On-Demand, you can open your account settings (on their website) and, assuming you are the administrator of your account, set the max roaming time to 99999 hours, which is about 11 years, then check out a roaming license to a PC or virtual machine. As long as Altium's servers continue support for your license, you can check-in a roaming license at any time and check-out again on a different PC, which restarts the 11yr roaming period.As for which version to keep, I would agree with others: the latest version that has been the most stable for you at the time your maintenance contract runs out. I haven't had any problems with the latest version, so that's what I'm sticking with.The offline installer still requires you to check out your license, so I'm not sure you really gain anything, but I downloaded it just in case. You have to give them a reason before they let you download it. I wrote, "I'm not planning to switch to Term-based licensing, so I want to protect my investment in perpetual license", and it was approved.

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 23, 2024, 09:35:20 pm
content: Yes thats why I said "online license".Setting roaming to 0 (default) is already unlimited. But enable it if not already.Quotehttps://www.altium.com/documentation/altium-dashboard/managing-subscriptions-licenses

author: jc101
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 24, 2024, 07:48:00 am
content: Quote from: dfnr2 on October 21, 2024, 04:07:57 pmYou cannot renew support for a perpetual licence, Altium banned maintenance for perpetual licence holders back in June/July 2024. To renew now means converting to a time limited licence, you stop paying, you can't run the software.I was moved from a standalone to on-demand a few years ago too. I asked about going back to a standalone, the reply was quick, give then £4,000 and they will sort it out.

author: Smokey
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 24, 2024, 07:57:11 am
content: What do they use to "lock it to a single PC"?Funny Story: Back in the day when TI Code Composer wasn't free, they used to use the network card MAC address as the thing to lock a license to a PC. Since having the same MAC cloned on a bunch of computers on the same network is problematic I realized that the windows "Loopback Adapter" could be enabled and it let you use that MAC, which is the same on all windows machines but doesn't cause conflicts on the network.I was actually kind of sad when they made it free.

author: rfindley
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: October 24, 2024, 11:49:52 am
content: Quote from: thm_w on October 23, 2024, 09:35:20 pmAhh, I missed that somehow. Thanks for the heads-up!

author: thm_w
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 24, 2024, 08:51:52 pm
content: Quote from: Smokey on October 24, 2024, 07:57:11 amIts not single PC, they call it single site:Quotehttps://resources.altium.com/p/licensing-101-altium-license-types-and-functionsI don't know if they actually enforce the rule 800m radius thing, but they enforce the geographic location (eg cant use NA license in China).