Bentley SACS – FAQ’s
1.When will SACS V8i with Bentley SELECT licensing be available?
Bentley has been consolidating SACS existing 48 modules from hardware locks to Bentley SELECT licensing and will be available at end of November 2011. 31 products (click here) are licensed on SELECTserver except SACS FEMGV and SACS Mora/Wamit (Contact Kent Fowler or Bill Genemaras for these licenses).
Note: SACS is only one software download deliverable. SACS uses embedded IEG security similar to other structural products. FEMGV 32 & 64 bit products are available as separate SELECT downloads.
2.How do we transition to SELECT Licensing?
Your Bentley Account Sales Manager and/or Channel Partner will be in contact with you over the next few months to explain the new Bentley licensing. One of the key changes is we have simplified to only 13 SACS packages that will now be available for purchase or subscription.
3.What are the benefits to converting to SELECT Licensing?
Bentley SELECT helps organizations optimize productivity and lower the total cost of ownership for Bentley software by providing flexible licensing options, 24/7/365 support and anytime software upgrades for a fixed annual fee per license. SACS users will be especially interested in the following SELECT benefits:
Flexible Licensing Options
Country-Level License Pooling
- Enabling users across offices to share Bentley licenses for maximum license utilization
- Providing flexible, easy-to-use license management in the cloud for all Bentley licenses
Portfolio Balancing
- Offering the option to exchange unused software for new software titles of equal value once each year
Simplified Billing and Administration
- Billing and payment in local currencies
- Monthly, quarterly or annual billing frequencies
Additionally, ELS subscribers can share licenses globally and optionally receive a single global invoice
4.Who do we contact if we have licensing questions?
Contact Jeremy Hoesly and include in the subject line “SACS Licensing”.
5.What modules are included in the Packages?
Below is the table describing the modules included in the current packages:
6.Can we continue to use the current SACS 5.3 SP2 release while we evaluate the SACS 5.3.1 V8i?
Yes, Bentley will allow a transition period in which both SACS 5.3 SP2 and SACS 5.3.1 V8i can be used simultaneously. Also, SACS 5.3.1 V8i is designed to work side-by-side with SACS 5.3 SP2.
7.Can we upgrade from “Offshore Structure” to “Offshore Structure Enterprise”?
Yes, and upgrades are also available in the Fatigue and Marine family of products
8.Will the users with older versions of SACS keep using dongles or will they also shift to SELECT Licensing?
Starting January 1st, 2012, SACS dongles will no longer be updated for renewed leases or maintenance. We will continue to support those customers who are ‘locked’ into using an older SACS dongle version for the duration of a long-term project.
This new SACS V8i v5.3.1 and all future versions will no longer support dongles (Hardware keys).
9.What is Disconnected Mode?
Disconnected mode allows the user to check-out a license(s) and “unplug” from the network to work offsite. To work in disconnected mode the user has to first switch to Manual Mode then check-out the desired licenses using the SACS License Explorer. The Explorer allows the user to set the licensed expiration date to a maximum of 30 days. These licenses will remain checked-out until either the user reconnects and checks them in or the expiration date passes.
10.Are individual modules available for licensing, and how will these work with the packages?
Yes, some modules can be licensed in addition to the packages to help in the transition to the new licensing. Below is an example on how these work together:
Offshore Structure - Package
Offshore Structure Enterprise - Package
Joint Can - Module
Assuming that the user A is the first one to launch the Executive, the Executive will check-out the Offshore Structure license. If the user A then runs an analysis that requires Joint Can, the Executive will see that the current package does not include Joint Can and that user has licensed an individual module of Joint Can and checks it out to continue the runs.
Now if the license has this configuration:
Offshore Structure - Package
Offshore Structure Enterprise - Package
User A launches the Executive and it checks-out the Offshore Structure package. He then runs the same analysis that requires Joint Can. The Executive sees that Joint Can is not included in the Offshore Structure package, looks for an individual module, does not find it but finds it in Offshore Structure Enterprise. The Executive will then “swap” the licenses and to do this it will check-out the complete Offshore Structure Enterprise package.
11.Is Bentley replacing the SACS Diffraction Analysis programs?
Yes Bentley is currently building a new state of the art technology including FORMSYS products Maxsurf, Hydromax and Seakeeper to provide a comprehensive integrated floating structures solution particularly for FPSO’s.
12.Are the SACS modules in RED and Green below no longer sold and supported?
a)All the Diffraction modules are no longer sold nor supported.
b)Ring and RIGID are now freely included with SACS V8i executive.
c)TopCAT was removed since it uses old technology and has little demand.
d)Modules like Combine, Concrete, Global loading, Topside Loading, Gap, MTO, SuperElement are now included with any Offshore Structure Package and not sold separately.
e)‘Retired’ Modules in Greenare available on SELECT licensing for first SACS V8i v5.3.1 release only but no new licenses will be sold and will NOT be licensed for future SACS versions.
EDI Product / New Package Lookup / New Bentley Product nameCollapse / Collapse / SACS Collapse
COMBINE / Included with Offshore Structure package
Concrete / Concrete / SACS Concrete
Diffraction Interface I / No longer sold
Diffraction Interface II / No longer sold
Diffraction Wave I / No longer sold
Dynamic Fatigue I with Dynamic Response / Fatigue Advanced - Dynamic Response / SACS Fatigue Advanced - Dynamic Response
Dynamic Fatigue I with Wave Response / Fatigue Advanced - Wave Response / SACS Fatigue Advanced - Wave Response
Dynamic Fatigue II / Fatigue Enterprise / SACS Fatigue Enterprise
Dynamic I with Dynamic Response / Dynamic Response / SACS Dynamic Response
Dynamic I with Wave Response / Wave Response / SACS Wave Response
Dynamic II / Dynamic / SACS Dynamic
Dynamic Response / Dynamic Response / SACS Dynamic Response
Dynpac / Dynpac / SACS Dynpac
Fatigue Pro / Fatigue Pro / SACS Fatigue
FEMSYS / FEMSYS / SACS FEMGV
Flotation / Flotation / SACS Flotation
GAP / Included with Offshore Structure package
GLOBAL LOAD / Included with Offshore Structure package
Interactive Fatigue / Interactive Fatigue / SACS Interactive Fatigue
Joint Can / Joint Can / SACS Joint Can
Launch / Launch / SACS Launch
LINEAR DIFFRACTION / No longer sold
Marine II / Marine / SACS Marine
Marine III / Marine Enterprise / SACS Marine Enterprise
Material Takeoff / Material Takeoff / SACS Material Takeoff
Mora/Wamit / Mora/Wamit / SACS Mora/Wamit
Motion/Transportation / Motion/Transportation / SACS Motion
Non-Linear I / Pile Structure Design / SACS Pile Structure Design
Non-Linear II / Collapse / SACS Collapse
PILE / Pile / SACS Pile
Postvue / Postvue / SACS Postvue
Precede / Precede / SACS Precede
RIGID / Free with Executive
Ring / Free with Executive
SACS IV / Solver / SACS Solver
Seastate / Seastate / SACS Seastate
Static I Pro / Offshore Structure Enterprise / SACS Offshore Structure Enterprise
Static II Pro / Offshore Structure / SACS Offshore Structure
Static III Pro / Offshore Structure Advanced / SACS Offshore Structure Advanced
Superelement / Superelement / SACS Superelement
Time Domain Diffraction / No longer sold
TopCat / Removed older technology
Topside Loading / Included with Offshore Structure package
TOW / Included with Offshore Structure package
WAVE RESPONSE / Included with Fatigue Advanced - Wave
Response or Fatigue Enterprise
13.What is Automatic Mode?
In Automatic Mode the executive manages which package is selected for check-out; e.g. if a user initiates a “Time History Earthquake” analysis, the executive would query the server for a license that contains the necessary modules and attempt to check them out. In this mode the executive checks-out the package(s) when it starts the analysis and checks it back in when the analysis is complete.
14.What is Manual Mode?
In this mode the user selects the license(s) to check-out/check-in. When running the analysis, the Executive prompts the user to check-out any required packages. These licenses would remain checked-out until the user checks them in manually in the SACS License Explorer or Bentley’s license manager or the license period expires.
This mode also handles the “disconnected” mode equivalent to taking the hardware lock off-site. In disconnected mode the license is still checked out to the site so if the user does not check it in it will remained tied-up for up to a maximum of 30 days. The same happens on the computer, the license will expire in a period of time if the user does not plug back in a refreshes the license.
15.What is Basic Modeling Mode?
This is when the Executive is not able to successfully check-out or reuse an Offshore license. In this case the user can open Datagen, the free utilities, the editor and use the “Analysis Generator”. In this mode the Executive will attempt to check-out a license before performing an analysis or launching any of the licensed interactivemodules.
16.Do I require an active connection to the license server to run SACS?
An active connection to the license server is only required to check-in/check-out licenses. Once the required license(s) are checked-out you don’t need and active connection to run SACS. The license(s) will continue to work in “Disconnected Mode” until you reconnect or the license(s) expire.
17.What happens if the Executive cannot communicate with license server after checking-out the license?
In the case that communication with the license server is broken the Executive will keep the license check-out for the default period of two days if in Automatic Mode or the selected expiration date if in Manual Mode.
18.Can the SACS license Explorer run standalone or always inside Executive?
The SACS license explorer only runs inside the executive.
19.Is there a Demo mode in SACS?
No demo mode at this time.
20.What happens if the executive cannot communicate with the license server at startup?
The SACS system does not have a trial mode or demo mode. If the Executive cannot successfully check-out a license at startup it start in “Basic Modeling Mode”
21.While running a SACS analysis how do I know which package/module is being run? Or when has the license switched or swapped? Will the license explorer show the licenses being switched at the time of analysis execution?
The Executive has business rules that determine which modules are necessary to run the analysis and the order of execution. The Executive also has a map of modules to packages and it will take care of check-out/check-in and updating the License Explorer. In automatic mode the switch will occur automatically and you will see the change in the license explorer. In manual mode the user will be prompted to select the license.