What is the ETAP License Manager? #
ETAP is electrical engineering software from Operation Technology, Inc. Engineers use the ETAP program to model power systems and run load flow, short circuit and arc flash studies. ETAP won’t start until the ETAP License Manager grants it a license.
Where it runs depends on the license you bought. With a stand-alone license, the license manager and the security key sit on the engineer’s own computer. With a network license, engineers run ETAP on their workstations, and the license manager and key go on a network server, a virtual machine or a cloud host. ETAP itself isn’t installed there.
On launch, the ETAP License Wizard asks where the key is. If it’s on another machine, the engineer enters that server’s name or IP address. After that, every ETAP start is a request to the server.
For IT, that’s one more license server to look after. It’s also a record of how your engineers use ETAP, if something reads it.
Which license types does the ETAP License Manager support? #
ETAP sells two kinds of license, and the network kind comes in three tiers.
| Type de licence | Where the key sits | Who can use it |
|---|---|---|
| Stand-alone | USB port of the workstation running ETAP | Whoever works at that workstation |
| Concurrent-user network, LAN | Licensing server | Users in one physical office |
| Concurrent-user network, Regional WAN | Licensing server | Users in all offices in one country |
| Concurrent-user network, Global WAN | Licensing server | Users in all offices worldwide |
“Concurrent user” means you buy a number of seats, not named users. Anyone the license covers can take a free seat. When all seats are taken, the next engineer waits.
How ETAP decides between LAN and WAN #
ETAP compares the IP addresses of the license server and the workstation. Private addresses on both sides (10.x.x.x, 172.16–31.x.x or 192.168.x.x) count as LAN. A routable address needs a Regional or Global WAN license. Check before you move the license server to a cloud host or another site.
Hardware or software keys #
ETAP’s installation guide says the network security key can be hardware or software. Keyless network licensing arrived in ETAP 14.
License borrowing #
Any multi-user network license can lend a seat to a laptop that leaves the network, for 1 to 120 days. You set the period per user account in the LM Configuration Utility. When it ends, the seat goes back to the server automatically.
Commercial terms #
ETAP’s sales page names subscriptions and a maintenance contract, the ETAP Upgrade and User-Support Contract (UUC). It doesn’t publish prices.
Which software runs on the ETAP License Manager? #
Only ETAP’s. Some license managers are sold to software publishers to build into their own products. This one isn’t. It licenses the ETAP platform, which ETAP sells as packages of analysis modules. The Network Analysis package, for example, covers load flow, short circuit, AC and DC arc flash, harmonics and motor acceleration.
Behind the brand is Operation Technology, Inc., founded in 1986 and based in Irvine, California. Schneider Electric announced a controlling stake in November 2020 and closed the deal in June 2021. Whether your engineers say “ETAP” or “Schneider Electric ETAP,” it’s the same product and the same license manager.
The catalogue on etap.com now also lists Caneco and SEE Electrical. ETAP doesn’t say whether those products use the ETAP License Manager, so ask your account manager before you assume they share a license server.
For a SAM team, that has one practical effect. If your SAM tool can’t read it, ETAP drops out of your usage reports while its seats stay on the invoice.
How Open iT supports your work with ETAP #
Open iT makes software that measures how licenses are used. Its main product, LicenseAnalyzer™, collects records from more than 100 license managers, the ETAP License Manager among them, and turns them into usage reports.
Setup on the ETAP side is short. You install Open iT’s agent, the Core Client, on the ETAP license server, which takes administrator rights. One command switches on data collection. From then on, the agent reads the Windows Event Logs where the ETAP License Manager records usage, every five minutes by default. It sends the fields needed for reporting to an Open iT Core Server. Two data sets are on by default: license events, refused requests included, and license use by person, user group, computer and computer group.
This is LicenseAnalyzer Level 1, which Open iT calls Runtime Usage. It shows what the license server sees: who held a seat, on which computer, for how long, and who was turned away. It can’t tell whether the engineer was working in ETAP or had it open in the background.
The two numbers that matter at renewal #
Put two numbers side by side: the seats on your ETAP contract and the most seats in use at the same moment. Open iT’s Max Available vs Max in Use report shows both for each feature, the licensed items the server hands out. If the peak never gets near what you own, you have room to cut at renewal. If it hits the ceiling every week, you’ve found why engineers complain.
Two more reports fill in the detail. License Usage and Event Logs lists every check-out and check-in by user, computer and time, which settles audit questions. Feature Elapsed Time per User shows how long each person holds each feature. You’ll see who relies on ETAP daily and who opens it twice a quarter.
Foire aux questions #
What is ETAP software?
ETAP is electrical engineering software from Operation Technology, Inc., which Schneider Electric controls. Engineers use it to model power systems and run load flow, short circuit and arc flash studies.
What does the ETAP License Manager do?
It grants permission to run ETAP. On a stand-alone license it runs on the engineer’s computer. On a network license it runs on a server, VM or cloud host and hands out a fixed number of concurrent seats.
Who owns ETAP?
ETAP is the brand of Operation Technology, Inc., based in Irvine, California. Schneider Electric has held a controlling stake since June 2021.
How much does an ETAP license cost?
ETAP doesn’t publish pricing. You request a quote, and its sales page names subscriptions and an Upgrade and User-Support Contract. The part of the cost you control is the seat count, and usage data shows how many seats you need.
Know your ETAP numbers before the next renewal #
You don’t have to guess how many ETAP seats you need. Your ETAP License Manager already keeps the records. Open iT turns them into the two numbers that matter: seats owned and peak seats in use. Pick your evaluation path, from a self-service trial to an in-depth ROI analysis.
Setup guide: How to configure Open iT for the ETAP License Manager
