Licensing Options in VRGS
VRGS uses LicenseSpring for node-locked and cloud-floating licenses, and the Reprise License Manager (RLM) for on-premises floating licenses. There are several licensing options depending on the license you have.
Large Enterprise Licenses
Large enterprise license holders (annual turnover greater than £2M) can operate VRGS using either a node-locked or cloud-floating configuration. An on-premises licensing server option is available for organisations that require operation behind a firewall. This tier provides full commercial use, priority support and assisted onboarding.
Capabilities
- Full commercial use
- Priority or scheduled video-call support
- Cloud-floating or node-locked license modes
- Optional on-premises RLM-based license server support
- Onboarding video-call included
Small Enterprise Licenses
Small enterprise licenses are suited to commercial organisations with annual turnover under £2M. Licensing may be node-locked or cloud-floating and can be deployed using VRGeoscience cloud services or a local license server. This tier includes full commercial usage and guided onboarding.
Capabilities
- Full commercial use
- Email support
- Cloud-floating or node-locked licensing
- Optional on-premises RLM-based license server support
- Onboarding video-call included
Individual and Consultant Licenses
For independent commercial users and single-operator workflows. This license provides the same core software access as enterprise tiers but for one professional user. The license can be configured as cloud-floating or node-locked.
Capabilities
- Full commercial use
- Email support
- Cloud-floating or node-locked
- Onboarding video-call available
Non-Commercial Licenses
For academic teaching, research, student work or personal non-commercial study. This license grants access for non-commercial use only and is activated as a node-locked seat. Standard email-based support is provided.
Capabilities
- Non-commercial use only
- Node-locked license
- Email support
Public and Non-Profit Organisation Licenses
For government bodies, geological surveys, public organisations, charities and NGOs. This category offers reduced-rate commercial licensing and flexible deployment similar to enterprise tiers. Onboarding is available on request.
Capabilities
- Discounted commercial licensing
- Email support
- Cloud-floating or node-locked
- Onboarding video-call available
Custom and Volume Licensing
For large-scale roll-outs, multi-site deployments or organisations requiring bespoke licensing terms. This option supports multi-license scaling, training packages and commercial negotiation. Deployment models may include cloud-floating, node-locked or hybrid configurations.
Capabilities
- Full commercial use
- Flexible multi-user bundles
- Cloud-floating or node-locked support
- Priority or scheduled video-call support
- Multi-year and volume discounts
- Optional training and workshop packages
Online license setup for node-locked and floating licenses
Upon starting VRGS for the first time you will see the activation window.
This dialog contains:
- A text field labelled Add license key (from email)
- Two buttons: OK and Cancel
To activate online:
- Copy your license key from the licensing email.
- Paste it into the Add license key field.
- Click OK.
If activation is successful, VRGS will continue to launch.
If you license VRGS from your own RLM server, you do not need this dialog. Set the VRGEOSCI_LICENSE environment variable on each workstation instead.
Offline license setup (node-locked only)
If VRGS cannot contact the licensing server (offline machine, air-gapped network or firewall-restricted environment), the following dialog will appear instead.
This window provides:
- A license key input field
- A disabled Export Activation File button that becomes active once a key is entered
- Instructions for uploading the request file to the LicenseSpring offline portal
- Two buttons: Export Activation File and Import License File
Activate offline as follows:
- Enter your license key into the text field.
The Export Activation File button will activate. - Click Export Activation File and save the generated request file.
- On a machine which can connect to the LicenseSpring server, open:
https://saas.licensespring.com/offline/ - Upload the request file and follow the instructions to generate the return activation file.
- Move the returned activation file back to the offline PC.
- In VRGS, select Import License File and choose the returned activation file.
If successful, your license is activated and VRGS will start normally.
Licence environment variables
VRGS reads three licence environment variables. Which one you need depends on how you are licensed:
| Variable | Licence type | Accepted value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
VRGEOSCI_LICENSE | On-premises floating (RLM server) | port@host, for example 5053@licserver | The usual way to point workstations at your RLM server. |
VRGS_LICENSE_FILE | On-premises floating (RLM server) | host:port, port@host, or the path of a licence file | An alternative to VRGEOSCI_LICENSE. If both are set, VRGEOSCI_LICENSE wins. |
VRGS_LICENSE_KEY | Node-locked or cloud-floating (LicenseSpring) | Your licence key, as it appears in the licensing email | Activates the key without the Add license key dialog. Mainly used for site deployments. |
Setting either RLM variable switches VRGS to the on-premises server, so
VRGS_LICENSE_KEY is ignored on any machine where VRGEOSCI_LICENSE or
VRGS_LICENSE_FILE is set. VRGS only checks that an RLM variable exists, not
what it contains, so a stray empty variable is enough to send VRGS looking for
a server. A generic RLM_LICENSE variable on its own does not select the
RLM server.
Deploying a key to many machines (site licences)
Site licences, such as a non-commercial teaching lab, can be deployed without typing the key on each workstation:
- On each machine that will run VRGS, create a system environment variable
named
VRGS_LICENSE_KEY. - Set its value to your licence key.
When VRGS starts it reads the variable and activates the key for that machine without asking. Activation needs the machine to reach the LicenseSpring server; an offline machine falls through to the offline activation dialog instead.
On-Premises RLM License Server (Enterprise Only)
VRGS Enterprise customers can serve floating licenses from an RLM license server on their own network.
This option is intended for secure networks or firewall-restricted systems where cloud activation is not suitable.
On Premises Server Setup covers setting up the server and connecting workstations. To request the server files, your license file or onboarding support:
https://www.vrgeoscience.com/contact-us/
Licences on virtual machines
A node-locked licence binds to the identity of the machine, and a virtual machine's identity is less stable than a physical one — a cloned, re-provisioned or non-persistent VM looks like a new machine and consumes another activation. Always deactivate before destroying a VM (Home ribbon → Update → License Status → Deactivate), and prefer cloud-floating or an on-premises server for pooled or non-persistent desktops. See Remote Desktop and Virtual Machines for the full detail.
Modules and licence codes
VRGS is sold as a core product plus optional modules. Each module is switched on
by one or more licence codes, which are what License Status lists and
what an on-premises licence file carries in its options field:
| Module | Licence code(s) | What it unlocks |
|---|---|---|
| Core | (none: every licence) | Projects, meshes, point clouds, photographs, interpretation, logging, stereonets and analysis |
| Photogrammetry | SFM | The SfM panel and tree, and the photogrammetry workflow |
| Collaboration & training | RC, INTEG | Multiuser sessions and field trips; GeoTour / Outcrop.io sign-in and sync |
| VR | VR | Connect to HMD and the VR session (a headset is also needed) |
| DFN | DFN | The Discrete Fracture Network and Discrete Element Model branches |
| Geomechanics | GEOMECH | Multiple stress tensors, Mohr diagrams and stress axes on stereonets |
| Seismic | SEISMIC | The Seismic Volumes branch (Vulkan renderer only) |
| CT imaging | CTIMAGE | The CT Image Stack branch (Vulkan renderer only) |
| Athos | CHAT | The Athos AI assistant |
| (site restriction) | NOCLOUD | Not a module: it turns online services off. See What VRGS Sends Online. |
Two more codes, CT and DM (data mining), are part of every on-premises
licence and are not sold separately. Which modules a given licence tier
includes is set when the licence is issued; contact us
if a module you need is missing.
Which features does my licence include?
Home ribbon → Update → License Status shows what your licence carries. A feature you do not hold usually means the corresponding branch is absent from the project tree rather than greyed out, which is why a missing feature can look like a fault. See Why is this greyed out? for the full list of entitlements and what each one unlocks.