Licensing Overview

Keysight software licensing enables you, the customer, to select and pay for the features and capabilities of each Keysight product that are important to you. Keysight licensing also provides ways to share those selected features and capabilities with multiple users, without having to purchase licenses for each user.

There are three key steps in the Keysight licensing process:

  1. Receive an entitlement certificate
  2. Redeem a license
  3. Install the license
Key Steps

1. Receive an entitlement certificate

You will receive an entitlement certificate when you purchase a product. The certificate is typically sent as a PDF attachment via email, but in some cases a paper copy will also be sent with your purchased product. The certificate entitles you to use the licensed product options that you have purchased.

2. Redeem a license

Log in to the Keysight Software Manager (KSM) website and add the certificate that you received to redeem the actual license(s) for your product. 

Keysight Software Manager Overview

Keysight Software Manager Screenshot

3. Install the license

You will use Keysight licensing tools or a USB drive to install the license files that you received via email from KSM for your product onto the PC or instrument where you have installed the product. The email that you receive from KSM includes specific license installation instructions for your product and type of license.

Keysight Licensing Tools Overview

PathWave License Manager

Keysight License Terms & Types

Keysight understands that projects ramp up and down, teams grow and shrink, and projects can be geographically distributed. That is why Keysight provides flexible software licensing options that allow you to address all of these factors. Keysight license terms and types provide flexible access to our extensive offering of software products.

Some products do not offer all license types. See the product page for each software product or option for details of the available licenses. You will receive an email from Keysight Software Manager (KSM) with specific license installation instructions for your product and type of license.

Flyer

Software Terms, Types and KeysightCare Software Support Subscriptions

License Terms

Perpetual (Permanent)
  • This term of license usage allows you to use the product indefinitely.
  • Perpetual licenses include software updates and support for the first year. Support may be renewed annually for a fee after that.
  • Use perpetual licenses when you will need to use the product for an extended period of time (e.g. many years) and you may not need updates and support after the first year.

Subscription (Expiring)

  • This term of license usage allows you to use the product for a specific limited time.
  • Subscription licenses include software updates and support through the term of the license.
  • Use subscription licenses when you want the security of continued support, you expect to upgrade the product to newer versions as they become available, or you will need to use the product only for a year or two.

License Types

Node-locked (Fixed)
  • This type of license is locked to a specific host instrument or PC, and only allows use of the product on this host.
  • Use node-locked licenses when your product only needs to be used with a single instrument or PC. It provides the most cost-effective alternative for single-use situations.

Transportable

  • This type of license is provisionally locked to a specific host instrument or PC, and only allows use of the product on this host, but it can be unlocked from one host and then locked to another host. You can do this using PathWave License Manager and Keysight License Manager 5.
  • Use transportable licenses when your product periodically needs to be used on a different instrument or PC. The transport process enables product use to be shifted between physically adjacent instruments or PCs, and also between geographically distributed instruments or PCs.

USB Portable

  • This type of license is locked to a USB key (sold separately), and can be physically moved from one host instrument or PC to another with that USB key. When connected to a host, the USB key enables the use of the product on that host. This enables multiple users who are physically adjacent to share licenses without being connected to a network.
  • Use USB portable licenses when your product needs to be shared frequently among different instruments or PCs and multiple users, and the instruments or PCs may not always be connected to a common network.
  • USB portable licenses require installing an additional software driver. See Keysight Licensing USB Driver.

Floating (Network)

  • This type of license is locked to a license server, a host PC that manage pools of licenses. The licenses can be used by multiple users on multiple instruments or PCs; the license server ensures that each purchased license count is used by only one user at a time. This enables geographically-distributed users to share licenses across a common network. 
  • Use floating licenses when your product needs to be shared frequently among different instruments or PCs and among multiple users, and you have a common network that can interconnect all the instruments and PCs with the license server.