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Upgrade and downgrade

Upgrade and downgrade refer to the extended right to use a license not only for the application it was purchased for, but also for one or several of the preceding and/or subsequent versions. The upgrade/downgrade path specifies which versions the application can be upgraded or downgraded to, and in what sequence – and still be covered by the same license. The paths also make it easy to track the original license for upgraded licenses, regardless of whether the manufacturer or application has changed names.

A common example of upgrade rights is automatic upgrade agreements, which entitle you to stay current with all new releases of the application, without any license renewal.

Also licenses with downgrade rights offer flexibility, as illustrated by the following example.

EXAMPLE

You have purchased 100 licenses for Application 10, which also include the two previous versions. You can use these licenses to cover in total 100 installations of Application 10, 9 and/or 8. Should any of the users of Application 9 or Application 8 choose to upgrade to Application 10, they are still covered by the same license.

Automated handling of upgrades and downgrades​

Snow License Manager offers full support for automated handling of upgrades and downgrades. Upgrade/downgrade rights are part of the Software Recognition Service analysis and the results reside in Snow License Manager.

To enable the computerized intelligence, you need to ensure that the correct agreement, license, and application settings are made:

  • Upgrade rights

    Upgrade rights can be enabled for the agreement or for each license purchase. Upgrade entitlement will be applied to the highest version, as stipulated by the entered license/agreement.

  • Downgrade rights

    Downgrade rights must be enabled for the application, and for each license purchase. Optionally, you can manually define the downgrade path, by adding or removing application versions and changing the order. Manual path definitions override cross edition rights and downgrade paths identified by the Software Recognition Service.

Release date​

For licenses that are attached to an agreement with automatic upgrade enabled, the release date of the application is of major importance. These licenses permit you to use the latest version of the application that is available over the active contractual period – also after the end date of the agreement. In other words, if a new version of an application is released while you have an active agreement, you can upgrade to this very version also when the agreement has expired, at no additional cost.

The release date for each application is collected from the Software Recognition Service and is presented in Snow License Manager. You can use the information to see if there is a possibility to upgrade users to later versions without having to pay for it. The information is also used by the system when compliance is calculated, to optimize the allocation of licenses.