CONNECT Licensing

A guide for using Bentley CONNECT Licensing with

Design Engineering Analysis Products
AutoPIPE | RAM | STAAD | MAXSURF | MOSES | SACS
Written by: Seth Guthrie, SE

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 Introduction ..............................................................................................................3
Installation ................................................................................................................3
2.1. Setup .............................................................................................................................................................3
2.2. Limitations .....................................................................................................................................................3

Entitlement Management .........................................................................................4

3.1. Entitlement Management - Options ...............................................................................................................4

Real Time Usage reporting ......................................................................................9

Certified Products ....................................................................................................11
CONNECT Licensing for STAAD .............................................................................12
CONNECT Licensing for RAM .................................................................................13
7.1. RAM Structrual System ...............................................................................................................................13
7.2. RAM Concept ..............................................................................................................................................13
7.3. RAM Elements ............................................................................................................................................14
7.4. RAM Connection .........................................................................................................................................15

CONNECT Licensing for AutoPIPE .........................................................................15

8.1. AutoPIPE .....................................................................................................................................................15
8.2. AutoPIPE Vessel .........................................................................................................................................16

CONNECT Licensing for MAXSURF........................................................................17

CONNECT Licensing for MOSES ............................................................................18
CONNECT Licensing for SACS ...............................................................................20
Recommendations for SEL .....................................................................................20
FAQ ...........................................................................................................................20

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 Introduction
CONNECT Licensing is Bentley's new process for product activation and usage tracking, improving our licensing capabilities with features
such as:
• License alert notifications when you are approaching a custom usage threshold
• Replacing site activation keys with user validation, enhancing security around your Bentley licenses and subscriptions
With traditional SELECT Licensing, product activation has been through an activation key that an Organization distributed to all users.
With CONNECT Licensing, product activation is managed by user sign in through the CONNECTION Client, which is installed on each
machine that uses Bentley applications. This offers a more secure and manageable system as it offers usage alerts, notifying your users
when they are about to reach a certain usage limit set by the Administrator.
Most of the information in this guide is also available on Bentley Communities Licensing and Activation Wiki - CONNECT Licensing

Installation
2.1. Setup
1. Ensure all active Bentley application users are registered as CONNECTED Users.
a. If your users have not registered, please follow the registration and CONNECTION Client installation steps here: Bentley
User Registration
b. To view your registration process the following report is available: CONNECTED User Report
c. Remain connected while using any Bentley application. You can also confirm that you are signed in by clicking the Avatar in
the upper right-hand corner.

2. Configure the Entitlement Management Service as shown in section 3.

2.2. Limitations
• Because CONNECT Licensing checks license availability the product may be slower to launch or to start functions that perform
a license call. This is expected but delays more than 30 seconds should be reported.
• At this time, offline usage is supported, but this can prevent notifications and alerts from working as intended, so offline usage
should generally be restricted.
• CONNECT Licensing does not currently support the use of Trial Versions, sometimes referred to as Trial Licenses.
• After closing an application, the system may take a few minutes to confirm that the license is no longer in use.

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 Entitlement Management
The Entitlement Management Service, located on the CONNECT Enterprise Portal of the CONNECTION Center, allows an Administrator
(or co-administrator) to manage license usage notifications for the Organization's applications.
• Navigate to the CONNECTION Center: https://connect.bentley.com/ and sign in if required.
• Select the account name in the upper left to open the Enterprise Portal.
• Select the ‘Entitlement Management’ Service tile (this will only be visible to those with the “Entitlement Management” role).

3.1. Entitlement Management - Options

The functions of this Service are accessible via the Entitlement Management drop-down menu. Note: Functions not yet available are
greyed out. The Home screen displays basic subscription information pertaining to your account.

3.1.1. Subscription Information

This screen displays the basic subscription information pertaining to your account as previously displayed on the Home screen.

3.1.2. Users and Groups

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 The Users and Groups pages shows you a list of your Bentley application users. They can be managed via User Management, which is
accessed by the 'Manage Users' button.

3.1.3. Applications and Services

Select ‘Applications and Services’ to display all of the applications licenses available within your Organization.
• General Access – Allows you to confirm if access to the product is granted or denied and set exceptions for specific users.
• License Alerting – Allows you to enable alerts for product usage.

General Access

For each product there is a General Access condition that applies to everyone in a region. By default, everyone has access to every
product and then Exceptions to the General Access rule can be created to deny specific users from accessing applications. Clicking
Change Access reverses the condition so that everyone is denied access to a product, and then exceptions can be set to grant access to
specific users and products.

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 License Alerting
Select ‘License Alerting’ to configure the Term Licensing Alerts and Notifications required for Administrators and Users.
• Enable Alerts for this application – If ON, will send alerts for this application.
Please Note: License Alerting applies to the Term Licensing pop-up alert displayed to users while Notifications apply to the messaging
sent to Administrators and Co-Administrators.

The default threshold number should be equal to the number of perpetual licenses owned for the selected product and other number can
be input. For example, if you would like to allow 1 more license to be used for a period input a number one larger and warnings would
come up to prevent the second over use occurrence. The number cannot be set to 0.

User Settings:
Select if the user is required to acknowledge the alert. No Restrictions allows the user to continue without acknowledging the alert.

Then select the license threshold for when the alert will occur. You should set a threshold that reflects your company policy. If you wish to
reduce the risk that a Term License is issued for this product, you should set the threshold to be at or below the number of licenses held
for this product. Otherwise you can set it to the number of licenses (perpetual + term) that you wish to allow.

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 Please Note: There are situations that may prevent the alert from displaying. Some of these situations are described in the CONNECT
Licensing FAQ. Organizations should be aware that regardless of the alerting settings, it is still the responsibility of the Organization to
fulfil the obligations of their license agreement.
Optionally, you can customize the message that is displayed at the time of the alert.

Finally, you can decide if offline usage is enabled. If turned ON, the user must be online and signed in to use the product. If this is turned
OFF, users will be able to use the product even when there is no network connection.

Administrator Settings
This allows the Administrator to receive notifications for any usage that occurs past the limit they designated.

Please Note: Click 'Save to apply changes or they will be lost.

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 3.1.4. License Alerting (All Applications)
The instructions outlined above in Step 3 allow an Administrator to apply notification options to a specific application. To apply the same
notification rules to all your Bentley applications, use the 'License Alerting (All Applications)' option.
Toggle on ‘Enable Alerting and Notifications (all applications)’ to receive a notification when a desktop application will exceed the usage
limit set.
Set the appropriate notification levels.
If you need to change the values, you may do so under 'Exceptions'.

3.1.5. License Checkout

The Administrator can use this page to view current and past license checkouts or check out a new license. Non-administrators can also
Reserve Licenses through the Bentley Licensing Tool. License checkout is only required when users are going to be disconnected from
the server for more than 7 days.

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 Real Time Usage reporting
With CONNECT Licensing, administrators can check Real Time usage through the CONNECTION Center. To do so, Click on the Product
Usage Report tile in the Enterprise Portal.

Here’s an example of what that looks like

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 You can drill into a single application from this view to see who is using it, from what machine, and whether the license has been checked
out. The user’s email address is also shown.

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 Certified Products
The following Bentley Design Engineering Analysis Products have been certified for use with CONNECT Licensing as of publication date.
Any version greater than that listed is also certified. For a current list of products see:
https://communities.bentley.com/products/licensing/w/licensing__wiki/40113/products-using-connect-licensing
Product Versions Certified Comments
CONNECTION Client 10.00.13.17
STAAD.Pro 22.00.00.15 Includes STAAD.Pro, and STAAD Advanced Analysis Plus
STAAD Foundation Advanced 9.00.00.09
RAM Structural System 16.00.00.28 Includes Ram Modeler, Ram Steel, Ram Frame Analysis, Ram
Frame Steel Design, Ram Concrete, and Ram Foundation
Ram Concept 7.00.00.07 Includes Ram Concept, and Ram Concept Post Tension Module
Ram Elements 16.00.00.37 Can also run Ram Connection
Ram Connection 13.00.00.55
AutoPIPE 12.00.00.14 Includes AutoPIPE, AutoPIPE Advanced, and AutoPIPE Nuclear
AutoPIPE Vessel 41.00.00.05 Includes all Design Code Options
MAXSURF 22.00.00.97 Includes MAXSURF, MAXSURF Advanced, and MAXSURF
Enterprise
MOSES 11.00.00.97 Includes MOSES, MOSES Advanced, and MOSES Enterprise
SACS 13.00.00.01 Includes SACS Offshore Structure, SACS Offshore Structure
Advanced, SACS Offshore Structure Enterprise, and SACS Wind
Turbine
Notes
a) SACS, Moses and Maxsurf will report real-time usage across different tiers of these products in use, but Tiered usage entitlements
are calculated separately for term licenses and are not available in the Product Usage Dashboard
b) STAAD.Pro Advanced usage will also show equal entitlement usage of STAAD.Pro since STAAD.Pro is a tiered ‘child’ of STAAD.Pro
Advanced

The following products are free and hence not specifically mentioned:
• Structural Synchronizer
• ISM Revit plugin
• CONNECT Advisor
The following products are not yet certified for CONNECT Licensing:
• Microstran
• Limcon
• MStower
• STAAD(X) Tower

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 CONNECT Licensing for STAAD
The CONNECT Edition of STAAD.Pro is simplified for Licensing. Rather than having a license for each design code the program now has
a STAAD.Pro basic mode and STAAD.Pro Advanced mode only.

If you are not sure which license you have check your SELECT Renewal contract or the Entitlements Management – Applications and
Services. Do not use the “Trial License” option if CONNECT Licensing is installed.
To access the Bentley Licensing Tool from STAAD.Pro use the License link on the left of the program splash screen.
Additionally, there are optional modules that can be licensed within STAAD.Pro. These are STAAD.beava, Ram Connection, Nuclear
Design Codes etc. Only check these options when needed.

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 STAAD.Pro can also be used to launch STAAD Foundation Advanced or Ram Concept. STAAD Foundation Advanced is launched from
the “Foundation Design” workflow with the “STAAD Foundation Advanced” button in the lower right corner. Ram Concept is launched from
the “Advanced Slab Design” workflow with the Open in RAM Concept button in the ribbon menu. In either case, the second application will
start up as a stand-alone application and each adheres to any license settings for that application.

CONNECT Licensing for RAM

7.1. RAM Structrual System
Within the Ram Structural System application there are 6 modules that are separately licensed. If license restrictions are to be fully
implemented each module should have alerts set. Note a Ram Modeler License is always required to use any of the modules. All the
program modules are covered with the Structural Enterprise License.
To access the Bentley Licensing Tool from Ram Manager, use Tools – Manage Licenses.
Ram Manager – Tools menu – Manage License Restrictions can be used to restrict access to specific modules. This is useful to prevent
accidentally opening a module that has no license with CONNECT or SELECT Licensing.

Ram Manager can also be used to launch Ram Connection or Ram Concept if those applications are installed. In either case, the
application will start up as a stand-alone application and each adheres to any license settings for that application.

7.2. RAM Concept

Within Ram Concept there are 2 licenses that can be used, Ram Concept (for the design of reinforced slabs) or RAM Concept Post
Tension Module for slabs that include post-tensioning. To access the Bentley Licensing Tool from Ram Concept, use Help – Manage
Licenses.

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 Use Help – Manage License Restrictions… to control which license is used.

7.3. RAM Elements

Ram Elements is a single license application with no advanced options or modules. To access the Bentley Licensing Tool from Ram
Elements, use File – Settings – License Configuration – License Management Tool.
Always use the Full version, not the “Trial version” option when CONNECT Licensing is installed.
Ram Elements can be used with Ram Connection to design steel connections. Ram Connection features will not be available in Ram
Elements unless Ram Elements is configured to start a Ram Connection license under File – Settings – License Configuration

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 7.4. RAM Connection
RAM Connection Stand-alone has no separate modules or license settings other than the option to use a Trial version license. To access
the Bentley Licensing Tool from Ram Connection Stand Alone use File – Settings – License Configuration – License Management Tool.
Always use the Full version, not the “Trial version” option when CONNECT Licensing is installed.

A Ram Connection licensing can also be used within Ram Elements or STAAD.Pro as noted above. Ram Connection can be launched as
a separate application from Ram Structural System as noted above.

CONNECT Licensing for AutoPIPE

8.1. AutoPIPE

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 AutoPIPE has three license levels; AutoPIPE Standard, Advanced, or Nuclear. Choose the option that matches the license owned. Do not
use the “Trial key” option when CONNECT Licensing is installed. To access the Bentley Licensing Tool from AutoPIPE use the button on
the welcome screen or File – License - Management Tool.

Only choose the KHK 2 Add-on if you also have that license.
Note, the AutoPIPE Advanced and Nuclear license also include AutoPIPE Nozzle which can be launched from within AutoPIPE.
Standard license users cannot access AutoPIPE Nozzle. AutoPIPE Nozzle stand-alone is not certified for CONNECT licensing.
The Stress Isometrics feature in AutoPIPE requires OpenPlant Isometrics Manager to be installed and is limited to Advanced and
Nuclear licenses.

8.2. AutoPIPE Vessel

AutoPIPE Vessel has two license levels to choose from, AutoPIPE Vessel (Standard) or Vessel Enterprise. Choose the option that
matches the license you have. Do not use the “Trial” option when CONNECT Licensing is installed. To access the Bentley Licensing Tool
from AutoPIPE Vessel use File – License Management Tool.

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 When using the Standard License at least one Add-on code is typically required to be activated.

CONNECT Licensing for MAXSURF

MAXSURF has three primary license levels; MAXSURF Suite (Standard), MAXSURF Advanced Suite, and MAXSURF Enterprise Suite.
Choose the option that matches the license owned. To access the License Management tool in MAXSURF click the Bentley License Tool
button on the License Configuration welcome screen.
Do not use the Trial Activation Key option when CONNECT Licensing is installed.

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 Stand-alone licenses for the MAXSURF Modeler, Stability Advanced or Stability Enterprise can also be used, but for accounts with a mix
of Suite Licenses and Standalone licenses the user must actively change the license setting in the dialog shown above based on which
application they are using. For example, if a user has the Maxsurf (Standard) suite, and a standalone license for Maxsurf Stability
Advanced, he must select the Maxsurf Suite option when launching Maxsurf Modeler and the Standalone Maxsurf Stability Advanced
license when running Maxsurf Stability.

CONNECT Licensing for MOSES

MOSES has three primary license levels; MOSES Suite (Standard), MOSES Advanced Suite, and MOSES Enterprise Suite. To access
the License Management tool in MOSES, click the Bentley License Tool button on the License Configuration welcome screen.

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 CONNECT Licensing for SACS
SACS has four primary license levels; SACS Offshore Structure (Standard), SACS Offshore Structure Advanced, SACS Offshore
Structure Enterprise, and SACS Wind Turbine. To access the License Management tool in SACS, click the Bentley License Tool button on
the Default License welcome screen.

Within SACS there are some commands that can trigger the use of a higher-level SACS license. Users who have a specific license of
SACS, such as SACS Offshore Structure Advanced that want to restrict access to elevated features should restrict access to all the other
licences levels in Entitlement Management.

Recommendations for SEL

A Structural Enterprise License entitles the user to all the Ram and STAAD products including Microstran, Limcon, but only certified
products work with CONNECT Licensing. License alerts can be set for SEL and threshold alerts work even if a variety of individual
products are used. Note however, the alert message will indicate the specific product that is being started, not SEL (unless custom user
alert messages are created).
For example, if the SEL Alerts are set to “Require User Acknowledgement”, after the threshold limit is reached, if another user tries to run
Ram Concept, the warning will indicate “RAM Concept – You have reached a license threshold…“. If the user goes on to run another
product the alert will again be shown for that product.

FAQ
See https://communities.bentley.com/products/licensing/w/licensing__wiki/38532/3---connect-licensing-faq
Note, usage less than 10 minutes is still disregarded in our term licensing calculation.

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