Is Arla free for accessing IBM AFS servers?

[Gerhard Gonter]

According to banz robert:
> Ok, so I guess I need to firewall my AFS ports, since I don't want to have
> to pay IBM fees for someone who may be accessing it via a non-IBM client,
> right?  Damn...  There goes 'public AFS'...

A while back, the new licensing terms were discussed on the
info-afs at transarc.com mailing list and I also contacted Transarc sales
persons directly.  After a few months, they clarified what a
"registered entity" is:

  One registered entity is *roughly* one entry in the KAS database.

You do not have to firewall your DB servers or file servers.

Btw, with 20.000 registered entities at our site, we would have to drop
AFS like a hot potato.  However, the new absurd licensing scheme
applies to new customers, old customers like we are will be
"grandfathered" as one Transarc person mentioned.

This licensing scheme is (IMO) a major blow for AFS as a product.
There are features which might be very suitable for operations such
as ISPs, but the licensing terms renders it unusable for them.

Well, time to look for alternatives ...

+gg
 
--
Gerhard.Gonter at wu-wien.ac.at  Fax: +43/1/31336/702  g.gonter at ieee.org
Zentrum fuer Informatikdienste, Wirtschaftsuniversitaet Wien, Austria