I am trying to convince my employer to purchase Reflect for imaging a set of a dozen or so PCs, and it seems like to Technician's License may be a good fit both in terms of pricing and how we may use the product.

I'm wondering how the terms of the license are actually worded -- basically, what counts as "one technician" (given that license costs is set per number of technicians)?  Does this have to be a specific, named person?  Or would it be that a single Technician's USB stick can be created, but that stick could be used by more than one person within the department or unit that has purchased the license (only one person at a time, obviously)?  If the license is tied to a named person, can the license be transferred to another person if the first technician leaves the employer that purchased the license, or if their role changes to a position that does not require use of license?

Finally (and especially given the discussion in one of the other threads), is this license purchased on a lease-only model?  The website indicates that an annual renewal is required, at a price equal to the original purchase prices.  However, in addition, the website confusingly indicates that a "perpetual" Server license (which permits the creation of a Technician's USB stick) in included.  So, what exactly happen if one stops paying the annual renewal cost?  Since the Server license is "perpetual", and the server is used to create the Technician's USB stick, could new USB sticks be created in perpetuity?  After the annual license has expired (and not renewed), what happens to images made while the license was active?  Can they still be restored, or not?

                                

I would imagine that Site Manager might be useful to you if you're going to manage the dozen or so.   I wonder how a Technician License interacts with SM.  {Just asking. )


L.W. (Dan) Danz, Overland Park KS
Reflect v8.1.7771+ on Windows 11 Home 23H2 22631.2715+  

The reason I wasn't considering SM was that some of the computers we would like to image may not be networked.  My understanding is that a network connection is required for all computers in a SM installation.

Pricing wise, SM is $1360 (with a $310/year annual renewal) for a set of 10PCs. The Technician's license would be $1200 (with a $1200/year annual renewal fee) for an unlimited number of computers.  Depending on whether the annual subscription fees are only for maintenance (support and software upgrades) or more like a lease (software becomes unusable if the subscription lapses), one or the other of these two products may be the more cost-effective option.

                                

The Technician's License comes with an entitlement to have one active installation of Reflect Server at any given time.

That Server installation can create Technician's Kit Rescue Media, which includes Reflect Portable. That Rescue Media and Reflect Portable itself can then be used by the owner of that Server license to work with an unlimited number of PCs.

The Server license is NOT a perpetual license. It is a subscription, and if it lapses, it will cease to function. Technician's Kit Rescue Media created by that lapsed installation would not expire, though the Technician's Kit license checks the validity of your license prior to every Rescue Media build given how powerful Reflect Portable is. I remember reading that you have to have an Internet connection each time you create Rescue Media with the Technician’s Kit option enabled. (You can also create standard Rescue Media without Reflect Portable if you choose.)

I believe if you were for example operating a PC repair shop and had two technicians, you would need two separate licenses. If you're academically curious about scenarios such as a shop that had two people with non-overlapping work shifts, that's probably worth asking Macrium if you can't find a definitive answer in the available resources. I would have to imagine that the entitlement to use the license can be transferred to another individual if for example the original user left the company though.

But if you plan to use this for a dozen PCs, understand that the only way you will be able to make backups of all PCs except the one where your single Server license is installed will be to use Reflect Portable or Rescue Media. You are not entitled to install Reflect on an unlimited number of PCs.

JP, thanks for your response, which clears up some things and raises new questions.  My interest in these scenarios is not "academic", as I'm trying to figure out whether the Technician's License would be a good for my employer (before I pitch the idea to the powers that be).  The only online references I've found are the Technician's License product page, and the product comparison page, which do not provide a lot of detail about licensing.

We are not a computer repair shop.  Within our larger unit/department, there is a small group of people (1-4 individuals, give or take) who provide general hardware-related support for the shared facilities that include the computers that I would like to be imaged.  Recently, there has been a fairly high turn-over among this group, due to promotions, retirements, new hirings, and re-assignment of duties.  Thus, the person who might be responsible for computer imaging this year may not be the same person responsible for imaging next year.

The computer data is fairly static, so imaging would only need to be done maybe once or twice a year.  Thus, using a portable version of Reflect would not be an inconvenience.

I'm still not fully clear on the consequences of non-renewal of a Technican's License, as your explanation seems to be the opposite of what the website says (literally: "Technicians licenses are renewed annually and each license includes 1 x perpetual Macrium Reflect Server license").  From your description, it is the other way, which makes more sense:  the Server license is only good for the duration of the subscription, but any USB flash drives (with Rescue Media & Reflect Portable) that were created during the active subscription would not expire, and could be used after the expiration of the Server license.  Have I understood this correctly?

                                

The wording that a license has to be renewed annually and yet comes with a perpetual license is strange. My own Technician’s Kit installation shows the expiration date directly in the title bar, so it’s not perpetual.

The Rescue Media does not expire. Whether that means it is actually legitimate to use after the expiration date is a separate question. I personally would think not, even if there are no technical impediments to doing so.

I can’t answer how many licenses you would need to cover your scenario. But I’m sure Macrium would be happy to do so, and the Technician’s Kit is designed for precisely that sort of use case.

Technicians license keys are generally per "Technician" it is for use by a single named person. In the event of this person leaving it can be transferred to another technician.

Regarding the "perpetual server license", this refers to the server edition of Reflect that is used to create the Technician's license. In the event that the yearly subscription lapses, you will still have a Macrium Reflect server edition but just won't be able to create the tech USB sticks.

If you would like further information please let open a ticket and I will forward it to the presales team.

Kind Regards

Joe A

Macrium Support Team

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Joe Allen - 18 September 2023 9:19 AM

Technicians license keys are generally per "Technician" it is for use by a single named person. In the event of this person leaving it can be transferred to another technician.

Regarding the "perpetual server license", this refers to the server edition of Reflect that is used to create the Technician's license. In the event that the yearly subscription lapses, you will still have a Macrium Reflect server edition but just won't be able to create the tech USB sticks.

If you would like further information please let open a ticket and I will forward it to the presales team.

@JoeA  Thank you.  I have opened a ticket with follow-up questions (#248071).

                                

@JK, Your ticket has been passed onto the sales team in the US, they will be in touch shortly

Kind Regards

Joe A

Macrium Support Team

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