Software licensing changes on CAEN computers for Fall 2014

The CAEN Lab Software Environment (CLSE) will be updated this summer in preparation for Fall 2014. Two software editions will be deployed to the CAEN computers beginning July 21: a “Student Instructional Edition” for students completing coursework, and a “Student Research Edition” for students performing non-commercial research. Computers will be labeled according to the edition they are loaded with, and students should choose a computer that is appropriate for their intended use:

Student Instructional Edition
The software available on a computer with this label is licensed for student instructional use only. Instructional use includes work for a U-M course in which the student is currently enrolled and will receive a grade.

Student Research Edition
The software available on a computer with this label is licensed for non-commercial student research use and student instructional use only. Student research is directly related to obtaining a degree from the University of Michigan. Instructional use includes work for a U-M course in which the student is currently enrolled and will receive a grade.

Instructors will continue to have access to CAEN computers for student instructional purposes. Podium computers and reservable CAEN labs will contain only computers with the Student Instructional Edition.

Approximately 20% of the CAEN computers on North Campus have been designated for the Student Research Edition. The location of these computers will be published on the CAEN Lab Status website.

CAEN is making this change to be compliant with software licensing agreements. Many engineering software applications are licensed according to whether they are used for student instruction or student research. Student instructional software licenses are usually inexpensive to purchase and are cost effective to deploy in the CAEN student computing environment. Student research software licenses are more expensive and therefore fewer licenses have been purchased to match available CAEN resources.

Due to the constraints and limitations noted above, the following list of software applications have a limited number of student research licenses available:

  • ANSYS products: ANSYS, Fluent, and ICEM
  • CES (is also further restricted to run on specific lab computers)
  • COMSOL
  • LINDO (is also further restricted to run on specific lab computers)
  • MATLAB (some toolboxes)
  • MSC products: Adams, Dytran, Marc, Nastran, Patran
  • ProModel
  • SimaPro (is also further restricted to run on specific lab computers)
  • SolidWorks

The CAEN website has software application listings for both the student instructional and student research editions, along with any particular restrictions.