Installing Sibelius on Networks

A multiseat Sibelius license allows one Sibelius serial number to be used on multiple computers. There are two ways in which a multiseat license can be used: network and standalone. This article gives an overview of the differences.

Network Usage

In this mode, the Sibelius License Server program is installed on one computer, and registered using the multiseat serial number (e.g. SCMM, SCEW, SCEM, SCEG, SCEF, SCMF). Any number of computers with Sibelius installed, up to the limit allowed under the license, can then connect to the License Server over the network and run Sibelius - there is no need to individually register each computer.

If users need to be able to run Sibelius without being connected to the network (for example, a teacher needs take their laptop home), the administrator can allow licenses to be checked-out. Once a user checks out their license, they are able to run Sibelius, while away from the network, for an amount of time specified by the administrator. Licenses can be checked back in at any time, and the administrator is free to choose the number of allowed simultaneous check-outs, up to the limit allowed under the license.

Network installation using the License Server is required in order to use the Classroom Control feature of Sibelius.

Benefits of running in Network mode

• Install Sibelius on any number of computers on your network. The Sibelius License Server will keep count of the client computers that are concurrently running Sibelius. To free up a license, simply close Sibelius and it will allow another client computer to use Sibelius.
• The Classroom Control features in Sibelius allow you to get files from other copies of Sibelius on the network, send files to particular students, “freeze” copies of Sibelius to focus the attention of the class on you, and more.
• Allow teachers and students* to take Sibelius off the network on their laptops for a set period of time. The License Server can be configured to set the number of days the license can be checked out for, as well as the number of licenses that can be checked out.

* local administrator account needed on the computer to check a license out.

Further information is available at the following links:
Sibelius 1-6 license servers (documentation included)
Sibelius 7 license server documentation

Standalone Usage

In this mode, the mutliseat serial number is used to register multiple computers, up to the number of registrations allowed in the license. Each computer being used must individually be registered (using the serial number and computer number) in the same way as a single-user license would be registered.

This makes the process of transferring installations between computers more time-consuming than in network usage. For example, if a computer on the license is being retired and replaced with another, the old computer must be explicity unregistered using from the Help menu within Sibelius. In the network case, this could be acheived simply by closing Sibelius on the old computer, freeing up a space on the license server's connection list, and connecting the new computer's installation of Sibelius to the server. In cases where such flexibility is not required and network usage is in some way impracticable, standalone usage may be preferred. Remember though that a 'standalone-like' effect, where computers are able to run Sibelius away from the network, can be acheived simply, and in a more controllable fashion, through the check-out feature of the network usage mode.

How to set the usage mode

In earlier versions of Sibelius, separate serial number formats existed for network and standalone licenses. As of Sibelius 6.2, there is no distinction between the behaviour of the network serial number types SCMM, SCEW, and so on. The mode of usage is chosen by the user the first time a multiseat serial number is entered into Sibelius. When you first enter a network serial number, you will be able to choose Network installation using the Sibelius License Server, for network usage, or Stand-alone installation. Note that mixed usage of standalone and network modes on the same serial number is not possible.

If standalone mode is chosen, the serial number is registered in a similar way to a single-user one. If network mode is chosen, you must also install and register the Sibelius License Server. Each Sibelius installation on the network, when it is provided with the network mode serial number, will ask for the IP address of the license server. On Windows, the Sibelius installer can be passed switches which automatically set these variables, which simplifies network deployment (www.sibelius.com/A646).

It is possible to switch between usage modes by following the instructions in this article.