LabVIEW subscription model for 2022

[paul_cardinale]

We are currently using LV versions 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, & 2021.

An NI "Renewal Specialist" e-mailed us that

"Talking about the different versions of the licenses you referenced below, once expired you will be able to use a single version, you will not be able to move between the different ones, if you choose to use 2021 version, that will be the only one available for you."

But the NI web site says:

"When your SSP expires, the software will continue to work as it always has, but you will not be able to upgrade to newer versions.
You will also lose access to other SSP benefits like online customer education and technical support."

Which is true?

[rolfk]

That verbiage is weird. But it may refer to the fact that without SSP you can NOT download other versions than the latest version anymore. To download previous versions you need a valid SSP contract (or a subscription).

So without valid SSP/active subscription you can only download the latest version. And that version may not be what your perpetual license is for. So make sure to archive the installers for the versions you want to use in a safe place before your SSP expires.

if you are on a subscription this all is anyhow not important anymore. Once your subscription expires you can not activate any version of LabVIEW on your system anymore, no matter if it is a past version or the latest version.

But subscriptions also entitle you to download and install older versions and activate them too for as long as your subscription is valid. One point is of course that one license really only gives you the right to use one LabVIEW installation. NI tolerates parallel installations on a work computer and a parallel home/laptop or similar computer, but if you have multiple projects that run on different versions of LabVIEW you are strictly speaking abusing the single license terms. So this is something to watch out.

But this Renewal Specialist definitely should have a talk with Eric Refett before making such misleading statements.

[beuvink]

Well.. that's a big thing...

Indeed just tried it. Download older versions is blocked.. Didn't expect that one.. So I didn't prepare downloading the old software.

Will the package installer of the newest version still allow installing older versions?

So install the newest version. Then use package manager to install an old version that is covered under the perpertual license?

[rolfk]

I have mostly avoided NIPK Manager so far so am not sure about this. I seem to remember that NIPK is less restrictive but as our company is on an Alliance Lease for all employees it's not something I could easily test. Once I log in with my account I'm automatically associated with the company license agreement and have pretty much all software at my command. 

[beuvink]

That's what I was used to as well... in the good old days when you could just have a SSP..

Currently testing this method in virtual machines. WIll post results. Using wayback machine at least doesn't seem to work 😞 And packagemanager doesn't allow downloading installation versions.

Offline-package manager can be downloaded here:

https://www.ni.com/nl-nl/support/downloads/software-products/download.labview.html#460283

Testing with version 21.8.0. This allows installing LV 2019 and run it in evaluation mode for 7 days. License manager also seems to work but didn't test activation as number of seat-changes is limited.

Another VM where I had 2019 running can install and activate 2021.

So this seems to be a way to solve this.

[Konan__]

---

@paul_cardinale  ha scritto:

We are currently using LV versions 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, & 2021.

An NI "Renewal Specialist" e-mailed us that

"Talking about the different versions of the licenses you referenced below, once expired you will be able to use a single version, you will not be able to move between the different ones, if you choose to use 2021 version, that will be the only one available for you."

But the NI web site says:

"When your SSP expires, the software will continue to work as it always has, but you will not be able to upgrade to newer versions.
You will also lose access to other SSP benefits like online customer education and technical support."

Which is true?

---

That's totally FALSE.

I had a Volume Lincese for many years , freezed into up to 2021, I installed AND activated 2013, 2017, 2020 products for which I had the server license.

PS: this is a PATHETIC MARKETING strategy to FUD you and mental push you to buy service. Millennials and Gen  z are responsible for this outrageous practise, because they dont rebel against their managers

[OneOfTheDans]

As a millennial, I rebel against your claim that we are somehow responsible for NI's anti-end-user decisions these last few years 😄

[rolfk]

---

@Konan__ wrote:

---

PS: this is a PATHETIC MARKETING strategy to FUD you and mental push you to buy service. Millennials and Gen  z are responsible for this outrageous practise, because they dont rebel against their managers

---

That's a very harsh and unfounded accusation. You can accuse millennials and GenZ of many things, but making them responsible for the subscription mania is definitely not right. Corporate greed has much more to do with this than any specific age group of people, and many of those stock option driven managers are definitely to old to count as millennials.

But yes millennials and especially GenZ and later people have a lot of other problems to worry about than if some software is sold as subscription. 

[Hooovahh]

---

@Konan__ wrote:
Millennials and Gen  z are responsible for this outrageous practise, because they dont rebel against their managers

---

Agree with others, you don't know what you are talking about.  Millennial here.  I've argued against the subscription for about a year, and my company has frozen our software in the last LabVIEW version we have.  Furthermore my manager looks to me for guidance, in topics he knows I understand more then him, which includes NI and LabVIEW.

[BertMcMahan]

---

@Konan__ wrote:

---

PS: this is a PATHETIC MARKETING strategy to FUD you and mental push you to buy service. Millennials and Gen  z are responsible for this outrageous practise, because they dont rebel against their managers

---

OK, Boomer.

😉