Why do I need to upgrade my BASIS License Manager (BLM)?

BASIS’ License System

BASIS’ licensing system requires either a BASIS License Manager (BLM) or a BASIS Licensing Service (BLS) to power any BASIS product. BASIS supports both licensing management mechanisms, dependent on the version of the BASIS product, for an unlimited period of time. However, the 3rd-party FlexNet-based BLM development is now frozen and will receive no updates. Customers should plan in the near future to upgrade to a 22+ version of their BASIS products which uses the BLS, which has no 3rd party dependencies that might be prone to security vulnerabilities. 

What’s changed?

BASIS relinquished ownership of the basis.com domain in 2022 and moved most of its operations to the basis.cloud domain. The subdomain that hosts the backend of BASIS’ licensing system moved in 2022 to the license.poweredbybbj.com subdomain; the license.basis.com subdomain redirects to license.poweredbybbj.com until September 30, 2023. After this date, we cannot guarantee that the redirection will continue to be in force.

What do you need to do?

All users of BASIS licensed products, whether enrolled in the BASIS Software Asset Management (SAM) Plan or not, must ensure by the end of September 2023, to either:

• update their BLM to the most current and secure BLM 21 or the insecure BLM 19 with known 3rd party FlexNet vulnerabilities, both of which are coded to obtain or update licenses via the license.poweredbybbj.com subdomain or 
• run the BLS. 

Do I need to immediately upgrade my interpreter and pay for a new license?

No, while the most secure and fully supported licensing solution from BASIS is the BLS, followed by the end-of-life BLM 21 and finally, the insecure BLM 19, there is no immediate need to upgrade your interpreter or purchase a new license in order to continue to be able to obtain a perpetual license from BASIS. The only component of your system that must be updated by September 30 is the licensing component. The BLMs are available as standalone downloads and do NOT require an upgrade to the BASIS interpreters (BBj or PRO/5 or Visual PRO/5). 

Which version does BASIS recommend and why?

The BASIS License Manager (BLM) is no longer being actively developed and, as such, will not receive further security patch updates or new releases. Therefore, BASIS recommends the BASIS Licensing Service (BLS).

Benefits of the BLS include the more efficient use of OS resources —  fewer socket ports and processes, and more security — a client certificate authenticates a connection to the License Server. Additionally, more licensing metrics are now available in the BLS for administrators to assess their system’s health and performance.

In Summary

• Product versions do NOT always have to match license versions
  • The license version must always be greater than or equal to the product version 
• Below is a quick summary table;
  • pick your
    • license version from the first column, (if you’re on SAM you have 23)
    • the version of your BASIS product from the second column, and then 
    • select the BLS or BLM needed;
  • Red is “dangerous”: insecure with known 3rd party FlexNet vulnerabilities, and therefore NOT recommended over BLM 21 or the BLS,
  • Orange is a more secure BLM, but development is frozen, and is an interim step,
  • As always, the best practice is to run the most updated version of BASIS’ licensing solution, which is the latest version of the BLS.