Zero Downtime

[Sergey_111]

Hello! I have such a question. If I do not have Zero Downtime and with my ilok something will happen, lose or break, can I restore my licenses without connecting and paying for this protection? Tell me, who knows what this defense gives. Thank you!

[electrodaddy]

The defence gives exactly as the title would suggest. Zero downtime. As long as you have a spare ilok then you can transfer temporary licences and keep going. If you break your ilok without this protection then you will need to submit an RMA with Pace and send your ilok back for the licences to be recovered. if you lose your ilok then you will need to contact all your software suppliers and request replacement licences.

[nigelpry]

If your licenses are valuable to you, then ZDT is a no brainer.

It neatly solves the problem. The iLok has to be connected to the internet at least once every 90 days to refresh it, otherwise the licenses stop working.

Because of that feature, manufacturers are happy to give out replacement licenses when your iLok is lost/broken/stolen. After they have issued your replacement licenses, the longest that the original licenses will continue to work is 90 days, assuming it is lost/broken/stolen the same day as you last refreshed it.

The ZDT system knows that the original licenses are no longer valid, because they have been replaced. If someone is still using them they will stop working, and refreshing the iLok will not get them working again.

If you do not have ZDT, you face a period when you can't use your software, while you send the broken iLok through the post to Pace, for them to recover the licenses and deposit them back into your iLok account account.

If you no longer have the iLok, because it is lost or stolen, you are totally at the mercy of the software companies, who are not obliged to replace the licenses. They MAY look at your case sympathetically, especially if you can quote the police reference number relating to the theft, but there is no legal requirement that they have to replace them.

Do you wan't to risk having to buy the software again?

[JFreak]

ZDT is much cheaper than calling your insurance company...

[TOM@METRO]

If you decide to buy Zero Downtime (and I believe you should,) I suggest you add the free TLC option. You can read about it on the ilok website.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by nigelpry

If your licenses are valuable to you, then ZDT is a no brainer.

It neatly solves the problem. The iLok has to be connected to the internet at least once every 90 days to refresh it, otherwise the licenses stop working.

Not for ZDT but for TLC (theft and loss coverage). And even then if one misses the 90 day line the licenses will still work but TLC will no longer be in force.

[nigelpry]

Originally Posted by musicman691

Not for ZDT but for TLC (theft and loss coverage). And even then if one misses the 90 day line the licenses will still work but TLC will no longer be in force.

Aaah yes, I forgot to mention that with ZDT you have to explicitly switch on Theft and Loss Coverage (TLC), which is included at no extra charge with your ZDT subscription, to get the automatic license replacement part of the process.

Thanks for pointing that out.

But I'm pretty sure you are wrong when you say that the licenses will continue to work after the 90 days refresh period elapses. If you go longer than 90 days without refreshing ZDT, with TLC enabled, your licenses stop working UNTIL you refresh, then they will work again.

Check here https://ilok.com/#!zdt-coverage and you will see that's the case. It says ...

"If you enable the TLC option, your iLok will need to be seen by our server at least once every 90 days for a Refresh operation. This Refresh enables your licenses to continue working for an additional 90 days. If the iLok is not seen by our server by the end of the Refresh period, the licenses on it will cease to authorize your software. Using iLok License Manager to do the Refresh operation will immediately reinstate your licenses."

And this functionality is the reason that software manufacturers are happy for your licenses to be immediately replaced when you have ZDT+TLC. Because as soon as you report the iLok lost/broken/stolen, Pace (via iLok License Manager) issue replacement licenses on behalf of the manufacturers for you to put onto a spare iLok, AND their database gets updated to disable the licenses on the old iLok if the server ever sees it again.

So I'm correct in saying that the maximum time that licenses on a lost/stolen iLok will carry on working is 90 days ... i.e if you lose it or have it stolen on the same day as you last refreshed it. But, to be clear, this is only if your subscribe to ZDT AND switch on TLC.

If you don't have ZDT, or you do have it but don't switch on TLC, then your licenses work forever, but you are in more difficult situation if your iLok is lost/broken/stolen.

If you don't have ZDT, you must return the broken iLok to Pace, and they will replace only those licenses that they can recover from the broken iLok. If the iLok is lost or stolen, it is up to you to contact each software manufacturer and try to get them to replace the licenses ... good luck with that.

If you do have ZDT, but have not turned on TLC (so the 90 day refresh scenario doesn’t apply) you only get issued with TEMPORARY 14 day licenses to allow you to carry on working while you send the broken iLok back to Pace for replacement permanent licenses to be issued. The replacement permanent licenses are sent out straightway on a new iLok and should arrive before the temporary licenses expire.

I assume if the broken iLok never arrives at Pace, they will disable your new licenses at the first opportunity when their server sees the iLok after the 14 day temporary license expiry period. Because issuing new permanent licenses with ZDT but TLC not enabled is only allowed if they receive the broken iLok. But they don't wait to receive it, they send the replacement iLok out straightaway.

If the iLok is lost/stolen, and you have ZDT but TLC is not enabled you are on your own after the temporary licenses expire and so will have to contact each software manufacturer and try to get them to replace the licenses ... good luck with that.

Here's what Pace say in the ZDT terms and conditions here https://ilok.com/#!zdt-terms

"If your iLok is lost or stolen
In the case of lost or stolen iLoks without Theft & Loss Coverage enabled, PACE can only provide temporary licenses. PACE has no license to replace and cannot provide full replacement licenses for lost or stolen iLoks. You must seek full replacement licenses from the software publishers themselves.

PACE cannot provide extensions to the temporary license periods. In order to avoid downtime, you must acquire replacement licenses from PACE (broken iLoks and TLC enabled lost or stolen iLoks) or from the associated software publishers (lost or stolen iLoks without TLC) before the temporary licenses expire."

For me, ZDT is a no brainer, and having ZDT makes switching on TLC a no brainer too.

[TOM@METRO]

Originally Posted by nigelpry

If you go longer than 90 days without refreshing ZDT, with TLC enabled, your licenses stop working UNTIL you refresh, then they will work again.

This is correct. It just happened to me. Pro Tools would not launch and I received the message to refresh TLC.

[JFreak]

Originally Posted by TOM@METRO

This is correct. It just happened to me. Pro Tools would not launch and I received the message to refresh TLC.

Yes, and this is the difference between ZDT and TLC. With ZDT you don't need to refresh every 90 days, but if you break your key you only get temp licenses and you need to get in touch with every vendor to get new permanent licenses. With TLC you get new permanent (or 90-day) licenses right away and there is zero hassle.

[musicman691]

Originally Posted by JFreak

Yes, and this is the difference between ZDT and TLC. With ZDT you don't need to refresh every 90 days, but if you break your key you only get temp licenses and you need to get in touch with every vendor to get new permanent licenses. With TLC you get new permanent (or 90-day) licenses right away and there is zero hassle.

If iLok can recover the licenses off the broken iLok you get the respective permanent license assets back don't you? I know in the interim you get temp licenses.