KR20000030889A - License management method and apparatus of software with computer network system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An apparatus for managing a software license for the use with a computer network is provided to allow a user group to install software within the range of the software license by a remote control, and force the group to remove an illegal software by a periodic automatic search. CONSTITUTION: A plurality of user computers(1) includes a data storing device connected to a CPU and for storing the software to be installed by the remote server(2). The server(2) stores programs in a data storing device, the programs comprising an install program whose license is obtained by a user group, a program for inputting numbers of the license software, a log-in program for the user group, a program for receiving requests of the installation of the desired software, a program for controlling the installation such that the installation is made only when the numbers of the given license are more than those of the installed software, and a program for recording installation data and updating the numbers of the installed software. A computer network(4) connects the server(2) to the plurality of user computers(1).

Description

Software license management method and apparatus using computer network {License management method and apparatus of software with computer network system}

The present invention relates to a software license management method and apparatus using a computer network. More specifically, the method and apparatus for installing and using the software within the scope of the license of each software acquired by the user group, and in the case of unlicensed unlicensed software, are deleted through regular automatic detection. will be.

In general, a company or a group of users use a variety of software at the same time. In this case, it is necessary to check whether the program being used by each user's computer is used according to the license of the purchased software, and if the program is used in a larger amount than the license obtained, the use of the excess program is illegal. Can be a source of court disputes. As a result, computer users in each user group need to always compare the number of licenses they have acquired with the number of software they actually use, and look at and record all computers so that only the same number of programs are used. However, such a task is easy in a small group of users, but when a large number of users use a variety of software, the above task can be very cumbersome and time consuming. In addition, illegal software other than the registered software required for the work can cause the computer to malfunction or invade various viruses, so it can overload the computer administrator's work and reduce the stability of the network system. . Therefore, there is a need to prevent such illegal software registration and to utilize the software efficiently within the license.

According to the present invention, if a plurality of softwares used by each user's computer in the user group are utilized to the maximum within the license secured by the user group and are out of the license range secured, the excess is automatically deleted to use the illegal software. It is an object of the present invention to provide a software license management method and apparatus using a computer network to prevent the damage.

1 is an embodiment of the apparatus configuration of the present invention.

2 is a flow chart of remote software installation of the present invention.

3 is an illegal software search flowchart of the present invention.

The present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

1 shows a device configuration of the present invention, wherein the device of the present invention includes a multi-user computer 1 of a user group, a server 2 that is in charge of managing software licenses of the user computer and the user computer, and a user group in the server. It consists of a database server 3 which provides the secured software and user information of the user group, and a computer network 4 connecting the user computer and the servers.

The present invention uses the system configuration to install / reserve the software required for the user computer within the limit of the number of licenses of each software secured to the user group, and other than the officially installed software through the server, which exists in the user computer. 'S executable file consists of a software license management method using a computer network that is automatically deleted through regular searches.

In terms of the system configuration, the user computer 1 corresponds to a general personal computer, each of which includes a hard disk and a network interface such as a modem or a LAN card that can be connected to a computer network. In particular, in the case of a hard disk storing software installed from a server, in the present invention, a user database regarding a list of software installed for each user computer in addition to the software is also stored in the hard disk.

These multiple user computers can connect to the server, install, execute, and delete the software required by the user from the server on the hard disk of the user's computer, and search the server for illegal software searches and search results. Illegal software detection programs can be run internally.

The server 2 of the present invention may be a general personal computer or workstation having sufficient memory and computing power and includes a network interface for connection with a computer network. The server shall provide a list of the software available within the number of licenses acquired at the request of the user, install the software and thereby update the database of the computer and server of the user, update the database upon notification of illegal software, and delete the software. Perform database updates on computers and servers. In the present embodiment, the above functions are all performed on the server, but if necessary, the server is responsible for only the functions of the web server, and the license management part may be separated into a separate server to configure the system.

In addition, it is possible to further include a portion in which not only a user but also an administrator of the server connects to the server, and accordingly, an administrator computer and its network interface as the interface 5 for the administrator connection can be further configured in the system. In this case, the administrator can arbitrarily perform software installation and removal of each user's computer as an administrator in a general UNIX system. Specific examples of the server may be a general web server, and the server may be configured with a web module using a web CGI so that a user can access the server through a web browser such as Netscape or Explorer.

Like the server 2, the database server 3 may be a general personal computer or workstation having sufficient memory and computing power including a network interface. The database server is a device that stores the data required for the server for each data group below and provides these data to the server as needed. The database server includes: 1) a software name for the software available to the user group, List of software including the number of licenses; 2) list of users with user group name, login name, and password for the user group; and 3) software scheduled for installation due to insufficient number of licenses. A reservation list including the date of the reservation request, 4) the user's computer on which the software is installed, the list of software in use including the number of installations for each software, 5) the list of users currently in use, and 6) the illegal software notified by each user's computer. Names and Generations Now the list includes the illegal software found the computer may have to include the additional fields within the database or databases, depending on system needs. In particular, in the case of the software list, each software may have a field related to the grade or group so as to limit the use of the software that can be used according to the user's grade or group. Likewise, the user list may have a field related to a class or a group that divides a class or a group for each user.

The computer network (4) that connects your computer to the server is generally composed of a LAN and the Internet, and is used to connect not only servers and user computers, but also servers and database servers, or any other necessary server or user computer. Can be. The connection method of the network may be a data leased line, satellite communication, cable TV, and other wired / wireless communication networks. In this embodiment, the server can communicate with the server through a web browser such as Netscape or Explorer using the Internet.

Although the above embodiment has been described with a system that separates the web server and the database server, in order to distribute the load of the server and to secure the security and stability of the system, the work is distributed to a plurality of servers using the same method as the server-client environment. In the case of a small system, a single server system configuration in which the above functions are integrated on the same server, or a separate server for each function such as a web module, a database, and license management may be possible.

2 is a method for remotely installing software required by a user from a server to a user computer using the above system configuration. The user connects to the server 10 using the user computer and inputs the user ID and password 15. The server checks whether this input is valid and displays an error message 20 if it is not a legitimate user, and if it is legitimate, determines the list of software available to the registered user from the software list of the database server. In particular, in this case, when the software and the user rating are divided, the list of available software may be determined using the rating. That is, when a user level or group is classified for each user, and a corresponding use level or group is specified for each software, when a user having a certain use level logs in, the available software for that user level is determined (25). When the available software is determined, the number of licenses in use is compared to the number of licenses in use based on the list of software currently installed and used in the database server. The software is determined to be "installable" and if less, it is determined to be "reservable" (30) so that the list of available software on the user's computer is displayed together with the install / reservable status (35). Based on the display screen, the user selects 40 to install the software to be installed. If the software is installable according to the selection of the software, the selected software is installed on the user's computer (45). When the installation is completed, the installation software is installed on the user's database in the user's computer and the user's software database of the database server. Register that it is installed. In addition, in step 40, if the software to be installed by the user is a software that can be reserved, the user inputs a desired time of installation from the user to update the reservation list of the database server. It is automatically installed by the server only when the number of licenses to use the software is smaller than the number of licenses acquired at the scheduled installation time. In addition to the reservation function, the reservation function is applicable to the software that can be reserved. In the case of installable software, the reservation time is also set so that it is installed at night when the user does not want to waste time by installing the software during business hours. Reduce the time lost in installation and make extensive use of the reservation function.

In addition, it is possible to periodically check the license acquisition for each reservation by an internal process based on the reservation list without inputting a separate reservation time, and the server may install the software on the user's computer when the license is secured. .

Figure 3 shows that after installing the regular software required for each user's computer as described above, any user installs software that is not registered on the server on the user's computer, or is registered but not installed through the server, or licensed to the server. The present invention relates to a method for automatically deleting the illegal software in the case of installation without securing. This method is implemented not as a process that appears as a background process such as a Daemon program, but as a process that is executed internally without the user's knowledge and without the input / output of the user. As a result, a user can run a background process on the user's computer, which is an illegal software monitoring process that starts automatically when the computer starts up and always runs until the system shuts down. An example is an NT service type program. As a method of searching for illegal software, the user first inputs the computer power (100), and when the operating system of the user's computer is executed (105), a background process for monitoring illegal software and license changes and notifying the server of the result is executed. . The execution of the background process is performed by comparing the list of software recorded in the user database of the user computer as shown in FIG. 3 with the executable file corresponding to the list of software existing on the hard disk (110). Divided. That is, first, if there is an executable file on the user's computer that is not recorded in the user database, the server notifies the server of the user's computer and software name (120), and the information about the illegal software notified to the server is illegal in the database server. In the case where the comparison operation is repeatedly executed after the corresponding illegal software is deleted 125 after being stored in the software list and waits for a predetermined time again, secondly, as a result of the comparison operation, it exists on the hard disk of the user's computer. If the executable file is consistent with the contents recorded in the user database, if the execution step of repeatedly comparing the user database list of the user computer with the executable file in the hard disk again after waiting for a predetermined time (130), As a result of the above comparison, the user database If the locked software does not actually exist on the hard disk of the user's computer, the server is updated to delete the user's computer from the list of active software of the database server through the server (127) so that the deletion of the software from the user's computer actually increases the unused license. This is reflected in the installation of the remote software and is again divided into a case where the comparison operation is repeatedly executed after waiting a predetermined time (130).

Apart from the above method, the system administrator may arbitrarily install and delete software in each user computer for the purpose of smoothly operating the entire system. In the case of a typical Unix system or Windows NT, the system administrator can access all system resources, so this can be done using the above operating system without the need for a separate system configuration.

According to the present invention, a computer person in charge of each user group determines whether a program used by each user computer in the user group is being used as a license of the acquired software or whether illegal software is used using a larger amount of the program than the obtained license. Does not need to look at every computer, prevents the intrusion of illegal software that may cause the computer to malfunction in addition to the registered software required for the job or cause the invasion of various viruses, By allowing installation / reservation remotely within the scope of the acquired license, it can reduce excessive work of the computer administrator, make efficient use of the acquired software, and ensure the stability of the network system.

Claims (9)

(1) storing the installation program of the licensed software and the number of licenses acquired in a user group consisting of one or more users on the server; (2) a user of the user group logging in to the server; (3) requesting the server to install software desired by the user; (4) the server comparing the number of secured licenses of the requested software installed on the server with the number of software already installed by all users of the user group; (5) installing the software only if the number of licenses secured is greater than the number of software installed on the server; And, (6) after the installation is completed, the server records the installation contents on a user computer and updates the number of software already installed by the entire user; Software license management method using a computer network, characterized in that consisting of. In claim 1, The user computer periodically comparing the user computer record with the file name of the software present in the storage device of the user computer; And, Deleting the software if the software is not present in the user computer record in the comparison and updating the number of software already installed by all users of the user group of the server if the software is present in the user computer record but the software is not present; Software license management method using a computer network, characterized in that it further comprises. In claim 1, Storing the class or group of users and software on the server before step (2); And Requiring only the software corresponding to the user's grade or group among the software that the user wants to install in the step (3); Software license management method using a computer network, characterized in that it further comprises. In claim 1, Inputting a scheduled installation time of software to be installed; And, Executing step (5) again at the scheduled installation time; Software license management method using a computer network, characterized in that it further comprises. The program for installing the licensed software of the user group, the program for entering the license number of the software, the program for the user of the user group to log in, the program for requesting the installation of the software desired by the user, the software for the installation requested. A program that compares the number of secured licenses stored with the number of software already installed by all users of the user group, a program that installs the software only when the number of secured licenses is greater than the number of installed software, A data processing device which is driven by a program comprising a program for recording and updating the number of software already installed by the entire user, and storing the program and the results performed in the calculation processing device. A server configured with data storage; A user computer comprising a data processing device for installing software connected to the arithmetic processing device for connecting the server to execute the program; And, A computer network connecting the server and the user computer; Software license management apparatus using a computer network, characterized in that consisting of. The method of claim 5, wherein A program for periodically comparing the file name of the software existing in the storage of the user computer with the user computer record; And, A program for deleting the software if there is no software in the user's computer record in the comparison and updating the number of software already installed in the user's computer record but not installed by the entire user group of the server; Software license management apparatus using a computer network, characterized in that it further comprises. The server of claim 5, wherein A program for entering a class or group of users and software; And, A program requiring installation only of software corresponding to a user's rating or group among software that the user wants to install; Software license management apparatus using a computer network, characterized in that it further comprises. The server of claim 5, wherein Program for inputting the scheduled installation time of the software you want to install; And, A program for re-running the program comparing the number of secured licenses and the number of installed software at the scheduled installation time; Software license management apparatus using a computer network, characterized in that it further comprises. 9. A software license using a computer network as claimed in any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the process of comparing the file name of the software present in the user computer record with the storage device of the user computer is performed as a background process. Management device.