Contract pricing for container products with AWS License Manager - AWS Marketplace
License modelsAWS License Manager integration prerequisitesIntegrating a container product with License ManagerLicense Manager API operationsLicense renewals and upgrades

Contract pricing for container products with AWS License Manager

For container-based products with contract pricing, you can use use AWS License Manager to associate licenses with your product. AWS License Manager is a license management tool that enables your application to track and update licenses (also known as entitlements) that have been purchased by a customer. This section provides information about how to integrate your product with AWS License Manager. After the integration is complete, you can publish your product listing on AWS Marketplace.

If you're integrating License Manager with an AWS Marketplace for Containers Anywhere product for Amazon EKS Anywhere, Amazon ECS Anywhere, Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), or on-premises infrastructure, follow the instructions in Integrating an AWS Marketplace for Containers Anywhere with License Manager.

For more information about AWS License Manager, see the AWS License Manager User Guide and the AWS License Manager section of the AWS CLI Command Reference.

Topics

License models

AWS Marketplace integration with AWS License Manager supports two license models:

Configurable license model

The configurable license model (also known as the quantifiable license model) entitles a buyer to a specific quantity of resources after a buyer has procured a license.

You set a pricing dimension and a per unit price. Then, the buyer can choose the quantity of the resources that they want to purchase.

Example of pricing dimension and per unit price

You can set a pricing dimension (such as data backup) and per unit price (such as $30/unit).

The buyer can choose to purchase 5, 10, or 20 units.

Your product tracks and meters usage to measure the quantity of resources consumed.

With the configuration model, the entitlements are counted in one of two ways:

Drawdown license

The license is drawn from the pool of allowed amount of licenses upon use. That entitlement is checked out permanently and can't be returned to the license pool.

Example of processing a limited amount of data

A user is entitled to process 500 GB of data. As they continue to process data, the quantity is drawn from the pool of 500 GB until all 500 GB licenses are consumed.

For drawdown licenses, you can use the CheckoutLicense API operation to check out license units (entitlements) that are consumed.

Example of backup to S3 for a number of units/year

You have a storage product that allows backup to Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) for up to 1,024 units for data for one year. Your application can be launched by using multiple Amazon EC2 instances. Your application has a mechanism to track and aggregate data. Your software calls the CheckoutLicense API operation with the Product ID upon every backup or at fixed intervals to update the consumed quantities.

In this example, your software calls the CheckoutLicense API operation to check out 10 units of data. When the total capacity reaches the backup limit that the customer has purchased, the API call fails.

Request

linux-machine ~]$ aws license-manager checkout-license\
--product-sku "2205b290-19e6-4c76-9eea-377d6bf7la47" \
--checkout-type "PERPETUAL" \
--key-fingerprint "aws:294406891311:AWS/Marketplace:issuer-fingerprint" \
--entitlements "Name=DataConsumption, Value=l0, Unit=Count" \
--client-token "AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE"

Response

{"CheckoutType": "PERPETUAL",
"EntitlementsAllowed": [{
"Name": "IntermediateTier",
"Units": "None"
}],
"Expiration": "2021-04-22Tl9:02:36",
"IssuedAt": "2021-04-22Tl8:02:36",
"LicenseArn": "arn:aws:license-manager::294406891311:license:l-16bf01b...",
"LicenseConsumptionToken": "AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE"
}

Floating licenses

The license is returned to the pool of the allowed amount of licenses after use.

For floating licenses, the application checks out entitlements from the entitlements pool using the CheckoutLicense API operation when the resource is being used. The response of the CheckoutLicense API operation includes a license consumption token which is a unique identifier for the checkout. The license consumption token can be used to perform additional actions on the entitlements checked out, such as checking them back into the license or extending the checkout.

To check the entitlement back into the pool, use the CheckInLicense API operation when the resource is no longer in use.

aws license-manager check-in-license --license-consumption-token "f1603b3c1f574b7284db84..."

In case of failure to check in the entitlement (in case the application crashed), the entitlement checks back into the pool automatically after 60 minutes. If the resource is in use longer than 60 minutes, it is a best practice to keep the entitlement checked out of the pool by using the ExtendLicenseConsumption API operation as long as the resource is being used.

aws license-manager extend-license-consumption --license-consumption-token "f1603b3c1f574b7284..."
Example of number of users from a fixed upper limit

A user is entitled to 500 simultaneous users on the application. As users log in and log out, the users are drawn and returned to the pool of 500 users. However, the application can't draw more than 500 users from the pool because 500 simultaneous users is the fixed upper limit.

For floating entitlements, you can use the CheckInLicense API operation to return the license units to the entitlement pool.

Example of number of concurrent users for one year

Your product is priced based on number of concurrent users. The customer purchases a license for 10 users for one year. The customer launches the software by providing AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) permissions. When a user logs in, your application calls the CheckoutLicense API operation to reduce the quantity by 1. When the user logs out, the application returns that license to the pool by calling the CheckInLicense API operation. If you don't call CheckInLicense, the license unit will be automatically checked in after 1 hour.

Note

In the following Request, the key-fingerprint isn't a placeholder value but the actual value of the fingerprint with which all licenses will be published.

Request

aws license-manager checkout-license\
--product-sku "2205b290-19e6-4c76-9eea-377d6bf7la47" \
--checkout-type "PROVISIONAL" \
--key-fingerprint "aws:294406891311:AWS/Marketplace:issuer-fingerprint" \
--entitlements "Name=ReadOnlyUSers, Value=l0, Unit=Count" \
--client-token "AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE"

Response

{
  "CheckoutType": "PROVISIONAL",
  "EntitlementsAllowed": [
    {
      "Name": "ReadOnlyUsers", 
      "Count": 10,
      "Units": "Count",
      "Value": "Enabled"
    }
},
  "Expiration": "2021-04-22Tl9:02: 36",
  "IssuedAt": "2021-04-22Tl8:02:36",
  "LicenseArn": "arn:aws:license-manager::294406891311:license:l-16bf01b...",
  "LicenseConsumptionToken": "AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE"
}

Tiered license model

The tiered license model entitles a buyer to a specific level, or tier, of application features after a buyer has procured a license.

You create tiers for your product, such as Basic, Intermediate, and Premium. The buyer then selects one of the predefined tiers.

The application doesn't need to track or meter usage of the application.

With the tiered license model, the entitlements aren't counted but instead signify a tier of service that was procured by the customer.

If you want to offer bundled features together, tiers are preferable.

Example of Basic, Intermediate, and Premium tiers

A customer can sign a contract for one of three possible tiers of the software: Basic, Intermediate, or Premium. Each of these tiers has its own pricing. Your software can identify the tier that the customer has signed up for by invoking the CheckoutLicense API operation and specifying all possible tiers in the request.

The response of the request contains the entitlement corresponding to the tier that the customer has procured. Based on this information, the software can provision the appropriate customer experience.

Request

linux-machine  ~]$ aws  license-manager   checkout-license\
--product-sku  "2205b290-19e6-4c76-9eea-377d6bf7la47"  \
--checkout-type  "PROVISIONAL"  \
--key-fingerprint  "aws:294406891311:AWS/Marketplace:issuer-fingerprint" \
--entitlements  "Name=BasicTier,  Unit=None"   "Name=IntermediateTier,  Unit=None"	\ "Name=PremiumTier, Unit=None"

Response

{
  "CheckoutType": "PROVISIONAL",
  "EntitlementsAllowed": [
    {
      "Name": "IntermediateTier", 
      "Units": "None"
    }
},
  "Expiration": "2021-04-22Tl9:02:36",
  "IssuedAt": "2021-04-22Tl8:02:36",
  "LicenseArn": "arn:aws:license-manager::294406891311:license:l-16bf01b...",
  "LicenseConsumptionToken": "AKIAIOSFODNN7EXAMPLE"
}

AWS License Manager integration prerequisites

Before publishing the product, you must do the following:

  1. Create a new container product in the AWS Marketplace Management Portal, and make a note of its product code.

    For more information, see Overview: Create a container product.

  2. Use an IAM role for the task or pod running your application with the IAM permissions necessary to call the CheckoutLicense, ExtendLicenseConsumption, and CheckInLicense API operations.

    The required IAM permissions are detailed in the following IAM policy.

    {
   "Version":"2012-10-17",
   "Statement":[
      {
         "Sid":"VisualEditorO",
         "Effect":"Allow",
         "Action":[
            "license-manager:CheckoutLicense",
            "license-manager:GetLicense",
            "license-manager:CheckInLicense",
            "license-manager:ExtendLicenseConsumption",
            "license-manager:ListReceivedLicenses"
         ],
         "Resource":"*"
      }
   ]
}

  3. Make a test call to the RegisterUsage API operation with a record for all of the pricing dimensions you define.

Integrating a container product with License Manager

To integrate your container-based product with License Manager

  1. Set IAM permissions to call License Manager. For more information, see AWS License Manager integration prerequisites.

  2. Download the AWS SDK.

    Note

    Don't configure AWS credentials within your software. AWS credentials for the buyer are automatically obtained at runtime when your container is running within an Amazon EC2 instance, Amazon ECS task, or Amazon EKS pod.

  3. Add license checks to your product.

    Your product can call the CheckoutLicense API operation wherever the license check should be performed. To check the license, your product must know:

    1. The trusted issuer of the license (AWS Marketplace)

    2. The application's Product SKU (Product ID)

    3. The entitlement to check for this application

    The API calls vary based on what kind of pricing licenses you set up.

  4. Publish your product listing on AWS Marketplace.

License Manager API operations

To manage the licenses stored in the customer's License Manager account, your software can use the following API operations:

  • GetLicense – An API that the software can query. It retrieves the status of a purchased license (i.e. expired or expiring soon) and sends a status notification to the customer.

  • CheckoutLicense – Discovers licenses that the user has purchased. You can also use the CheckoutLicense API operation to update the license quantity when the user has consumed some quantity of licenses. With CheckoutLicense, you can keep checking out the quantities of licenses used by the customer. When the customer exhausts all the licenses, this call returns an error. For information about the suggested cadence to run CheckoutLicense, see License renewals and upgrades.

  • ExtendLicenseConsumption – In case of floating dimensions, when the software checks out a license, the license will return to the pool automatically after 60 minutes. If you want to extend the time the license remains checked out, use the ExtendLicenseConsumption API operation to extend the license for another 60 minutes.

  • CheckInLicense – In case of floating dimensions, when you want to return the license to the entitlement pool, use the CheckInLicense API operation.

  • ListReceivedLicenses API – Lists licenses purchased by the buyer.

License renewals and upgrades

Customers can renew or upgrade their licenses on the AWS Marketplace Management Portal. After they make an additional purchase, AWS Marketplace generates a new version of the license that reflects the new entitlements. Your software reads the new entitlements by using the same API operations. You don't have to do anything different in terms of License Manager integration to handle renewals and upgrades.

Due to license renewals, upgrades, cancellations, and so on, we recommend that your product calls the CheckoutLicense API operation at a regular cadence while the product is in use. By using the CheckoutLicense API operation at a regular cadence, the product can detect changes in entitlements such as upgrades and expiry.

We recommend that you perform the CheckoutLicense API call every 15 minutes.