When it comes to software, the money that you spend — or save — on licensing can be substantial. Because of this, you are seeing questions on the topic starting to appear on certification exams such as CompTIA's Server+.

How much do you know about software licensing concepts and various models that exist? How well can you answer questions on the basics of it? What follows is a self-test of 25 questions based on the general concepts and topics related to the licensing models and concepts.

In all cases, pick the best answer(s) to each question. The answers appear at the end of the questions. Good luck!

1. Under which licensing model is each server running the software assigned licenses to then allow access for an unlimited number of users or devices to connect from either inside or outside an organization's firewall?
A. Per instance
B. Per node
C. Per core
D. Per server

2. Dulaney Enterprises made a good faith estimate of how many software licenses it thought it would need of a licensed program for the year and purchased that many at the start of the year. At the end of the year, Dulaney Enterprises did an audit and realized they had had 10% more users using the program than they had estimated and must now pay the difference in the licensing fees. What is this known as?
A. True up
B. Settling scores
C. Resolving dispensations
D. Carte blanche

3. One of the most well-known licenses is the GNU GPL. What does GPL stand for?
A. GNU Private License
B. General Public License
C. Globally Protected License
D. Granted for Public License

4. Which type of license allows users to review and modify the source code for their own customization needs?
A. Non-limiting
B. backward/forward compatible
C. transparent
D. open source

5. Any software license agreement that is inaccessible to the customer until after purchase is known as a(n):
A. Choice-of-law provisions
B. Subjective assent
C. Shrink-wrap license
D. Non-reliance license

6. The vendor of the software you are negotiating to license has provided a roadmap for compatibility between this version of the software and the new one they are planning to release in the future. The vendor assures that the current version will be compatible with the future release. What is this known as?
A. Backward compatible
B. Congruent
C. Forward compatible
D. Discordant

7. Which type of licensing often employs a hardware device like a dongle or a value from a single machine to allow any user on that machine to use the installed software?
A. Node-locked
B. Subscription
C. Per-socket
D. Site-based

8. Designating a license for one device (or for one user) is known as:
A. Consigning a license
B. Transferring a license
C. Confiscating a license
D. Assigning a license

9. What is the practice of selling a license authorizing one software program to be used on a large number of computers (or by a large number of users) known as?
A. Open licensing
B. Volume licensing
C. Retail licensing
D. Infinite licensing

10. Many software licenses are legally grounded in the basis that the intellectual property owner can control the resale of products based on that intellectual property. What doctrine of copyright law makes this stance possible?
A. First-sale
B. Fair-use
C. Preemption
D. Functionality

11. What is the most significant difference between a perpetual license and an annual license?
A. An annual license requires a maintenance contract to accompany it
B. A perpetual license requires a maintenance contract to accompany it
C. With the annual license, there is no renewal and a new license must be purchased after expiration
D. With the perpetual license, no renewal is possible as the one-time fee is collected upfront

12. Requiring the user to indicate acceptance of a license agreement by clicking on something like an 'I accept'� icon before being able to download or install a program is known as:
A. formal acceptance
B. click-wrap
C. malfeasance
D. misfeasance

13. Which of the following is a legal contract entered into between a software vendor and the user of the software?
A. KSM
B. CAK
C. MLA
D. EULA

14. License [Fill in the blank] involves the user interacting with a 'wizard' to enter a serial number or code, after which the software conveys information to the vendor's registration server and either allows or denies use.
A. corroboration
B. activation
C. corroboration
D. ratification

15. At XYZ Business, more users are using a copy of a program accessed through the network than there are licenses for. What does this constitute?
A. Piracy
B. Squander
C. Misappropriation
D. Exploitation

Please visit GoCertify to attempt the remaining 10 questions of this quiz.



ANSWERS

1. C — Under the Per Core licensing model, each server running the software must be assigned an appropriate number of core licenses and this model then allows access for an unlimited number of users or devices to connect from either inside or outside an organization's firewall.
2. A—To 'true up' is to do a license count validation and reconcile differences between what was purchased in good faith and what was actually used.
3. B—In the GNU GPL, GPL stands for General Public License.
4. D—An open source license allows users to review and modify the source code for their own customization needs.
5. C—Any software license agreement that is inaccessible to the customer until after purchase is known as a shrink-wrap license (named after the shrink-wrapped boxes that that software used to be bundled in for purchase).
6. C—Being forward compatible means that the current version will be compatible with the future release.
7. A—With a node-locked licensing model, either a hardware device (such as a dongle) or a value from a single machine (such as the MAC address) is used to allow any user on that machine to use the installed software.
8. D—Designating a license for one device (or for one user) is known as assigning a license.
9. B—Volume licensing is the practice of selling a license authorizing one software program to be used on a large number of computers (or by a large number of users).
10. A—The first-sale doctrine provides the foundation governing the relationship between the intellectual property owner and their ability to control the resale of products based on that intellectual property.
11. C—With the annual license, there is no renewal and a new license must be purchased after expiration. A maintenance contract may be required with a perpetual license (though not always) and it is often marketed as a subscription.
12. B—Requiring the user to indicate acceptance of a license agreement by clicking on an 'I accept' icon ' or something similar - before being able to download or install a program is known as click-wrap licensing.
13. D—An End User License Agreement (EULA) is a legal contract entered into between a software vendor and the user of the software.
14. B—License activation involves the user interacting with a 'wizard' to enter a serial number or code, after which the software conveys information to the vendor's registration server and either allows or denies use.
15. A—One form of software piracy is using more copies of a program than there are licenses for. This is known as overuse.