kajAnd I have another question on this subject. If my app cannot access the TF server at the lease length time is there a period of grace during which it retries? Can I set this period?
Maximum lease length
kajWhat is the maximum lease length that can be set in the TFS config file?
I just want to check that a user can't set an insanely long value and keep using his program long after the server has been closed down.
kaj
The maximum length of a lease is very large (4294967295 seconds = 136.19 years). So, customers can do stupid things if they are so inclined.
In TFS 4.0 (out soon) it will remember all leases that were available the before it was shutdown. So, customers won't be able to do shady things to get "free" leases.
kajIt's not a stupid thing to do from a customer's point of view, if they want to cheat the floating licence system. They can set the lease length to a very large value, start the app. Then reset the server and re-use the same licence on another machine.
I cannot see why the lease_length, days_between and grace values are not set as part of the key by the supplier instead of being modifiable by the customer who has access to the TFS config.
I can overcome modification of the the days_between and grace values by using an expiry date custom field. But is there any way I can force my app to access the TFS server more frequently than the lease_length is set to. I suppose I could periodically drop the lease and immediately re-request it. Would that work?
>> "Then reset the server and re-use the same licence on another machine."
Like I just said, this will not be possible in TFS 4.0. We've solved this particular type of fraud.
>> "I suppose I could periodically drop the lease and immediately re-request it. Would that work?'
Yes, it would. And when 4.0 is out, you can remove that workaround.