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GIS at Penn State

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Frequently Asked Questions about ESRI Products and Site License

General

Getting Help

Installation

General

1. What is the ESRI site license? TOP

The ESRI site license is offered under the Computer Store's Licensed Software Services (LSS) group which negotiates vendor contracts and administers licensing programs which provides substantial software discounts from ESRI to the Penn State community. ESRI software is provided, at a price 90% less than retail price, for non-commercial research and educational use.

2. What is the difference between ArcView and ArcGIS Desktop ArcInfo functionality? TOP

From the ESRI knowledge base (http://support.esri.com/index.cfm?fa=knowledgebase.techarticles.articleShow&d=17134):

"Each of ArcGIS 9.x three main products (ArcView, Arc Editor, and ArcInfo) offers increasingly more capabilities. ArcView provides data visualization, query, analysis, and integration capabilities along with the ability to create and edit simple geographic features. ArcEditor includes all the functionality of ArcView and adds the power to create and edit features in a multi-user geodatabase [e.g. ArcSDE] or coverage. ArcInfo includes all the functionality of ArcEditor and adds advanced geoprocessing capabilities."

For more detailed information, refer to these links:

3. What is the difference between a single-use and floating license? TOP

A single-use license means that users are limited to installing the software on only one machine. The single-use license requires the user to obtain a software authorization file from ESRI, once the software has been installed. At version 9.0, single-use software products include ArcView single-use and all of the software extensions related to these products.

A floating, or concurrent, license requires a license (i.e. keycode) file, a hardware key and an installation of the FLEXlm License Manager software. This licensing scheme permits users to install the GIS software on multiple computers, and manage the use of the software via a centralized license manager. Additional floating seats (licenses) can be purchased, and added to the license manager, to accommodate the number of GIS users within an organization. At version 9.0, concurrent use software products include ArcInfo Workstation, ArcInfo Desktop, and ArcEditor.

4. What is a renewal fee? TOP

At Penn State, GIS users that purchase a concurrent (i.e. floating) use license are required to pay an annual maintenance fee that is due in October. All updates and upgrades to concurrent use software products are free, but users must pay a CD reproduction fee for the new media.

GIS users that purchase a single-use software product pay a one-time fee for the software. Minor updates (e.g. version 9.0 to 9.1) to single-use software are free (but require a CD reproduction fee for new media); however, major upgrades (e.g. version 8.3 to 9.0) must be obtained by purchasing the new software.

5. What are extensions? TOP

Extensions are "add-ons" to ESRI desktop GIS programs. Extensions allow you to perform extended tasks such as raster geoprocessing and three-dimensional analysis. Below are the extensions available from ESRI. If a product is not listed on the Computer Store's website, inquire at the computer store regarding its availability. It is likely that it can be purchased through the site license or it is available and has not been posted to the website because it has never been requested by someone in the Penn State community.

Analysis

Productivity

Solution-based

Web Services

No Cost Add-Ons

6. What is included with the purchase of ArcGIS Desktop ArcInfo? TOP

When you purchase ArcGIS Desktop ArcInfo from the Computer Store, you receive the following:

7. What data are included with the ESRI Data and Maps 2004? TOP

A detailed whitepaper describing the data can be found at http://www.esri.com/library/whitepapers/pdfs/datamaps2004.pdf

8. When will new versions of the software be made available at the Computer Store? TOP

New releases will be made available to the Penn State community as soon as possible from the ESRI notification of release date. Due to ESRI's shipping schedule, it typically takes at least 4-6 weeks for the University to receive the updates. Once the updates are received and made available by the Computer Store, an email notification will be sent to the GIS Community.

Getting Help

9. Where can I get help about using the software? TOP

10. I have a technical support question. Whom do I contact for help? TOP

All support questions must go through a Penn State technical support contact. There are four technical contacts at Penn State who can answer your question or forward it on to ESRI through their online support center. Click the GIS Support link at www.gis.psu.edu or your email your question to support@gis.psu.edu.

Tip: Before emailing a technical support contact, try searching the ESRI Knowledge Base (http://support.esri.com). Solutions to the most common bugs and technical issues are found there.

11. Can I buy hardcopies of the product documentation? TOP

Faculty and staff receive a 40% discount off ESRI printed documentation. To order, call ESRI directly at 1-800-447-9778 and mention your affiliation with Penn State.

Installation

12. What is a hardware key and why would I need one? TOP

Hardware keys are required for concurrent-use products (ArcInfo Workstation and Desktop) on windows machines. A hardware key is a parallel or USB port dongle that is used to validate the unique Sentinel key number within the ESRI license file. The hardware key must be installed on the computer that is running the license manager software. At Penn State, hardware keys are shipped along with the ArcInfo software media. UNIX machines do not require a hardware key. Single-user and departmental ArcView licenses do not require a hardware key. For additional information, refer to question 3, above.

13. When I try to start ArcCatalog or ArcMap, I get the error: "Flexlm Error -14: cannot find server hostname in network database. Server name: Not_Set." What's wrong? TOP

This error means that the license manager hostname (i.e. the computer containing the license manager and hardware key) was not set during the software installation. Please refer to the following ESRI Knowledge Base article for additional information. http://support.esri.com/index.cfm?fa=knowledgebase.techArticles.articleShow&d=26825

14. When I try to install ArcGIS, the dynamic link libraries (i.e. dll) fail to register causing error 1904. What's wrong? TOP

Please refer to the following ESRI Knowledge Base article for information on this error.

http://support.esri.com/index.cfm?fa=knowledgebase.techArticles.articleShow&d=28647