PaperCut introduced subscriptions in PaperCut MF version 24.0. For more information about version 24.0, take a look at our KB article: Important points to know about PaperCut MF version 24 . Your Accredited Reseller is also a great resource.
Subscription customers vs perpetual customers
PaperCut MF v24.0 and later supports both perpetual customers and subscription customers.
Subscriptions are not available for PaperCut NG.
The table below shows the differences.
Subscription customer | Perpetual customer | |
Given the right to access by | Submitting an activation key | Uploading a license file |
Functionality on expiry1 | Limited admin interface functionality. Blocked from logging in to user web interface and devices (MFDs). | Full functionality |
M&S included | Always | First year only |
PaperCut MF expires after | When all subscriptions expire | No expiry date |
Licensing info location in the PaperCut NG/MF admin interface | About > Registration > Subscriptions | About > Registration > License Info (or About > License Info for version 23 and earlier) |
Some cloud delivered functionality may be impact on expiry. Refer to the EULA Section 3.10, b.
Internet connection requirements
The Application Server only needs to be online when activating and claiming entitlements. Once activated, if your organization requires, you can disconnect the server from the internet. For more details, see When PaperCut MF is offline .
The table below explains the internet connection requirements for different types of existing and new customers.
Type of customer | Internet connection to the PaperCut MF Gateway service required? | If there is no internet connection |
Existing customers upgrading to PaperCut NG/MF v24.0 or later 1. | Yes | Functionality remains unchanged. There's a grace period given to allow connection to the Global Entitlements Service. After that, access to the PaperCut Admin interface is restricted. See When upgrading to PaperCut NG/MF v24.0 or later and the Application Server is offline. |
Existing customers already using version v24.0 or later who need to:
| Yes | Unable to activate the subscription or license. |
Existing customers already using 24.0 or later who need to add or remove entitlements (e.g. add/remove devices) | Yes | Released entitlements won't be reflected on other Application Servers sharing the same entitlements pool. See Entitlements for offline Application Servers. |
New customers trialing PaperCut NG/MF | No | Nothing |
New customers seeking a trial extension | Yes | Unable to apply trial extension so the trial ends at the 40-day mark. |
New customers who have finished their trial period and are purchasing PaperCut NG/MF | Yes | Unable to activate the subscription/license. |
1 Existing licenses will be automatically activated online during the upgrade.
Global set of entitlements
- Prior to PaperCut NG/MF version 24.0, each Application Server uses its own individual license file.
- For PaperCut NG/MF version 24.0 or later, all Application Servers use one global (central) set of entitlements per CRN (Customer Reference Number).
PaperCut NG/MF v24.0 or later uses the entitlements service instead of the old license file to work out your entitlements allocation. This means more stringent checks on how multi-site environments (multiple Application Servers using the same CRN) use entitlements, by ensuring that each Application Server draws from a single set of entitlements.
Example of how entitlements work
For an example of how this difference affects an organization, let’s imagine your organization has a live environment and a test environment.
Previously, you could use your license file on both Application Servers, and therefore use the same number of licenses in each installation environment.
In PaperCut NG/MF v24.0 and later, when you activate the second server, the Global Entitlements Service will link the two servers together, therefore sharing the total purchased number of devices available across both servers.
MF only - Devices/MFDs/SFPs are brand neutral
When using PaperCut MF subscriptions in PaperCut NG/MF v24.0 and later, the devices/MFDs/SFPs listed in your entitlements are brand-neutral.
For example, instead of listing 10 x Brand A MFDs and 3 x Brand B MFDs, your entitlements will show 13 brand-neutral MFDs to apply across whatever brands you use.
In the PaperCut NG/MF Admin web interface (About > Registration > License info > Devices and Connectors) you’ll see the brand-neutral details for the device type details:
- MFDs (multi-function devices) - sometimes called “Full embedded”
- SFPs (single-function printers) - sometimes called “Lite embedded”
Note that since version 24.0.4, you will also see the ‘Brand breakdown’ table pictured in the screenshot above. This shows the breakdown of devices by brand/manufacturer for ease of use.
- If you are a perpetual license customer, you will still be licensed by brand/manufacturer - see the ‘Note’ box above.
- If you are a subscription customer, you will not see the ‘Licensed’ column in the ‘Brand breakdown’ table - since your devices are licensed at the MFD/SFP level - see the ‘Devices and Connectors’ table for your Licensed count.
MF only - Maximum number of subscriptions for one customer
You can have unlimited subscriptions. For example, you can have different subscriptions:
- for extra devices that you buy after the initial subscription
- when you buy additional features, such as an Advanced Fax Connector
- whenever you make other modifications to your environment.
The start and end dates, length, and included entitlements can be different for each subscription, depending on your organization’s needs.
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