A METHOD, SYSTEM AND COMPUTER PROGRAM FOR METERING USAGE OF SOFTWARE PRODUCTS WITH A DYNAMICALLY OPTIMISED LICENSE USE

摘要

A method and a corresponding apparatus for controlling and metering usage of software products on a computer are proposed. When several licenses are available for the same product a method for determining the best license is proposed in order to maximise the exploitation of the licenses. Such a determination is based on a predetermined set of parameters which influence the selection of the best available license. The method according to the present invention allows a dynamic reallocation of licenses when any of the parameters is modified, so that at any time the best exploitation of the available licenses is ensured. According to the present invention the licenses are stored on a catalogue with an associated list of parameters indicative of usage constraints of the product. The licenses are ordered according to predetermined parameters optimisation criteria, so that when a request is received, the license manager can easily find the best license, e.g. that license, suitable for the requested use, having the highest usage constraint. An additional feature is that the licenses are ordered according to one or more hierarchies, each hierarchy being ordered with respect to the other hieracrhies according to predetermined priority rules.