Licensing

This section describes the general principles of Qarvix licensing: which parameters may be counted, where to check license status, what's worth verifying before going into production, and which terms need to be recorded in a contract or technical specification.

This material is informational. Specific commercial, legal, and technical terms are set by a contract, specification, or technical assignment.

In short

• A license defines the right to use Qarvix within an agreed scope.
• A license may account for organizations, devices, users, networks, sites, an expiry, and a deployment option.
• License status should be checked before a production launch and before renewal.
• For offline deployments, update and activation terms need to be agreed in advance.
• Any SLA, liability, limits, and exceptions belong in the contract, not just in the site's description.

What can be part of a license

The composition of a license depends on the delivery model and the agreements in place.

Typically recorded separately:

• expiry;
• number of organizations or meshes;
• number of devices;
• number of users;
• number of networks;
• available features;
• deployment option: cloud, dedicated, or offline;
• support and updates;
• renewal terms;
• the procedure for changing limits.

Not every parameter is necessarily a limit at the same time. These need to be clarified for a specific deployment.

Possible limits

Depending on the delivery, these may be tracked:

Before launch, it's important to understand not just the current numbers, but growth over the coming months.

Where to check license status

License status should be available to administrators in the Qarvix dashboard or in the deployment's operational material.

Check:

• whether the license is active;
• the expiry;
• current limits;
• actual usage;
• warnings about approaching a limit;
• availability of updates;
• contacts for renewal or changing terms.

If a mesh serves several clients, license status should be checked per organization or deployment separately.

Renewal

It's better to plan renewal ahead of time, not on the day the term ends.

Before renewing, check:

• how many devices are actually in use;
• how many users are active;
• which networks and sites remain in operation;
• whether new branches or networks have appeared;
• whether offline scenario support is needed;
• whether new features are required;
• who's responsible for negotiating the contract.

If Qarvix is used for critical sites, renewal should be part of the operational calendar.

Changing limits

Limits may need to change if:

• new sites are added;
• the service team grows;
• a separate client appears;
• device API access is needed;
• an offline mesh is launched;
• a pilot moves to production;
• a dedicated deployment is required.

Before changing limits, it helps to prepare a list of sites, networks, users, and a growth forecast.

What happens when a license expires

The exact behavior when a license expires should be described in the contract or technical assignment.

Possible options to agree on:

• warnings to administrators;
• a ban on creating new devices or users;
• a restriction on new connections;
• continued access to logs and reports;
• read-only mode;
• the recovery procedure after renewal;
• terms for emergency renewal.

It's best not to leave this question "by default," especially for production and offline meshes.

Offline deployment and licensing

For closed meshes, you need to separately agree on:

• how activation is performed;
• whether periodic license verification is required;
• how updates are delivered;
• who's allowed to install updates;
• what to do when replacing a server;
• how a backup of the license is stored;
• how to renew a license with no internet access.

If a site has no permanent internet access, all procedures need to be described before implementation.

What to record in the contract

The contract or technical assignment should separately specify:

• the delivery scope;
• the expiry;
• limits;
• the deployment option;
• support terms;
• the update procedure;
• the renewal procedure;
• behavior when the term expires;
• the parties' liability;
• backup requirements;
• offline operation terms;
• security and access requirements.

Public documentation can explain the principles, but it doesn't replace contract terms.

Checks before production

• The license is active.
• The expiry is understood by the people responsible.
• Limits are sufficient for near-term growth.
• The renewal procedure is understood.
• The contact for commercial questions is known.
• Offline procedures are agreed, if the mesh is closed.
• Support terms are recorded.
• Those responsible know where to check license status.

Related sections

• Organizations and networks - how structure affects licensing.
• Offline deployment - the specifics of a closed mesh.
• Logs and reports - how to record operational state.