ClearImage v11 Licensing – Inlite Knowledge Base

Table of contents

Terminology
Partial evaluation
Evaluation license
Production licenses
- Site License
- Concurrent Devices License
Instructions
Sample Images

Production use of ClearImage v11 and associated barcode recognition products is governed by an annual subscribtion license.
Evaluation licsenses and modes avilable to support develpment and testing.
To learn about licensing of the ClearImage v9 and earlier, see here

Terminology

Entitlement is a set of functionalities of one or more of Inlite’s products: Available entitlements:

Inlite Barcode Reader includes functionalities of ClearImage Barcode Reader 1D + 2D SDK, ClearImage Driver License Reader SDK, Web API Barcode Reader, and Barcode Reader CLI Application.

Device is a single computing element, such as a physical computer, a Virtual Machine (e.g., VMware), a cloud VM (e.g., AWS EC2), a container (e.g., Docker), a serverless function (e.g., AWS Lambda), a virtual desktop.

License is a set of rules enabling specific entitlements on a device. Such rules might include

License expiration limits the time license can be used on any device. The expiration limit might be extended by the license grace period if available. Typically license expiration corresponds to the paid subscription expiration date.

Concurrent device quantity limits the number of devices simultaneously using the license entitlement.

Lease period limits the time license is used on a device counted toward the concurrent device quantity limit. The lease expiration might be extended by a lease grace period if available. Default lease period is 7 days. See instructions how to change lease period.

License key is a unique string associated with each license. Specifying this string on a device enables the use of a license on a device (subject to license rules). The license key is set through auth value using the methods described below.

License file (or ILY File) is a file located on a device containing the license’s entitlement and rules. The license file is generated on a licensing server, then automatically or manually.downloaded to a device.

Licensing server is a Web Server that contains user licenses and delivers license files. The server URL is: https://api.inliteresearch.com

User Portal is a Web Application for the user to acquire and maintain licenses. The portal URL is https://portal.inliteresearch.com/

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Partial evaluation

No license is required to perform the partial evaluation of Inlite products. The partial evaluation mode is active at any time when NO auth code is set.
Limitations of this mode are:

Barcode recognition methods return partial barcode value (does not apply to Inlite sample images)
Image-saving methods put an imprint in the middle of the saved image (does not apply to Inlite sample images)
Image measurement methods generate an exception.

Advantages of this mode:

No user registration is required
No license is required
Evaluate ability to:
- Read barcodes from your real-life images
- Evaluate performance with a large volume of your images
- Optimize the barcode reading process using Inlite Targeted barcode Reader technology

To use partial evaluation:

Download and install the Inlite product you are interested in (ClearImage Barcode Reader 1D + 2D SDK, ClearImage Driver License Reader SDK, Web API Barcode Reader, and Barcode Reader CLI Application.)
Use online help and instructions, typically linked under the More Info header on the right side of the product page.
Do not set auth code.

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Evaluation license

The Evaluation license is a 30-days license, automatically available by creating an account in the User Portal (https://portal.inliteresearch.com/)
Signing up requires a valid e-mail address that is validated before access to the portal is granted.
License file name format license_code.license_expiration_date.license_generation_date.eval.ily

To use evaluation license:

Download and save the Evaluation license file to your device (see instructions). The license file name format is license_code.license_expiration_date.license_generation_date.eval.ily
Obtain the license key for the Evaluation License and set it as auth on your device (see instructions)
Use your Inlite product as you did doing partial evaluation.

The evaluation period can be extended at Inlite discretion. Contact sales@inliteresearch.com.

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Production licenses

Production licenses are available upon purchase and renewal of subscription products. To purchase a production license:

Login into your account in the User Portal. Go to the Purchase License sub-page.
For an entitlemnt name (e.g., Inlite Barcode Reader Subscription) and license type:
- Click the Buy now to purchase immediately
- Click the Buy link to Clipboard to get a link to be used on another system (valid for 24 hours)
Once on a Cart page:
- Optionally. Change Quantity to purchased Concurrent Devices License for more than one device at a volume discount
- Complete your purchase using your currency and payment method.

Site License

The Site License enables entitlements on any number of customer devices. The Internet connection is optional.
Configure auth code on each device (see instructions)

The license file is automatically downloaded to a device if the Internet is available. The license file name format is license_code.license_expiration_date.license_generation_date..ily

If the Internet is unavailable, the license file should be downloaded from the User Portal and distributed to all devices (see instructions). That should be done for the initial deployment and after each subscription renewal when the license expiration has changed.

Concurrent Devices License

The Concurrent Devices License enables the simultaneous use of entitlements on a limited number of customer devices. An Internet connection is required.
Configure auth code on each device (see instructions)

Under this type, a license file is "leased" to a device, meaning a device can use the license for a limited time (a lease period). Licensing server maintains a list of the leased license files, with a device identification and lease expiration time. Once the lease expires license file becomes available for lease to another device. The license file name format is license_code.license_expiration_date.license_generation_date.device_name.ily.

A device requests a license file from a server if no unexpired license file is available. If the license file is available, the server generates a new leased license file, records the device, and the lease expiration. Then, the server returns the leased license file to a device. An error is returned to the device if no license file is available; after that, the device will try to obtain the license file if required.

The lease period is an important parameter that specifies how long the license file is locked to a device. The default period is 7 days. The lease period can be modified based on a request from a device (see instructions)

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Instructions

Downloading license file

To maually download the Site or Evaluation license files:

Login into your account in the User Portal. Go to the Licenses list.
Click the Download license file and save the license file.
Place the downloaded license file in one of these device locations
- Folder containing the ClearImage-based application or the BarcodeReader CLI.
- Current directory/folder of the ClearImage-based application
- Folders names in the value of the ILYPATH environmental variable.
  To set multiple folders, separate them by the semicolon (;) on Windows or by the colon (:) on Linux.
- C:\ProgramData\Inlite\ClearImage folder (Windows only)

Obtaining and use of the License Key

To obtain the license key:

Login into your account in the User Portal. Go to the Licenses list.
Click on to the right of the license key value (listed under the license name).
Paste the value from the clipboard.

To use the license key at runtime, use one of the following methods on a device.:

Programmatically. Call these methods before any other ClearImage API calls.
C++: CiServer server = new CiServer(); server["auth"] = "license_key_value";
C#: Server.SetVar("auth", "license_key_value");
Value of the ILYAUTH environmental variable
Value in C:\ProgramData\Inlite\ClearImage\ci.ini file (Windows only)
auth=license_key_value
Value on BarcodeReader CLI command line or configuration file.
-auth=license_key_value

Notes:

Restart your application for a new auth value to take an effect
To set multiple license keys, separate them by the vertical bar (|).
Using invalid or expired license keys can significantly downgrade performance.
To facilitate a smooth transition to the purchased license:
- The expired Evaluation license key can be used instead of the purchased license key.
- Redirection works only with the automatically downloaded license files.

Set custom lease period

Default value of the Concurent Devices License lease period is 7 days. Any value between 15 min and 7 days can be requested at the time of a lease request from a device. Use one of the following methods on a device (for example using 30 min lease period):

Value of the LeasePeriodMin environmental variable. e,g., set LeasePeriodMin=30
Value in C:\ProgramData\Inlite\ClearImage\ci.ini file (Windows only), e.g.,
LeasePeriodMin=30

Sample Images

These sample images are provided to demonstrate various feature of Inlite’s barcode recognition. The limitation of partial evaluation mode do not apply to sample images.