Studio RM V2 and Studio RM Pro Licensing Changes

Technical Note: TN00440

Note: Throughout this document, “Isatis.neo” is a shorthand representation of “Isatis.neo Mining”. Any reference to “Studio RM V2” relates to the publicly released version of Studio RM 2.0 or any later version.

Background

Datamine Studio products automatically install or upgrade Datamine License Services, a support service used to protect your software from unauthorized use.

Prior to November 2023, Datamine’s Studio resource modelling functionality was delivered primarily using two product variants; Studio RM and Studio RM Pro, with the latter including the additional Advanced Estimation module functionality. These applications were independently licensed.

To make things simpler and to provide more value to customers, all maintained Studio RM customers will now automatically receive the Advanced Estimation functionality within Studio RM V2 as part of their maintenance.

Studio RM Pro will continue to exist as a bundled offering of Studio RM V2 and Supervisor, but going forward it will include Isatis.neo.

Studio RM Pro Changes from November 2023

From November 2023 onwards, a single Studio resource modelling product is available; Studio RM. Starting with Studio RM V2, this single product includes the Advanced Estimation functionality previously found in Studio RM Pro, plus new features, improvements and fixes over earlier versions.

Studio RM development will continue throughout 2024 and beyond, to realise an ambitious and exciting resource modelling roadmap. These new developments will only be accessible in Studio RM V2 and later versions via a Studio RM 2+ license.

Studio RM Pro remains as a bundled offering and now includes Studio RM V2, Supervisor and Isatis.neo. Clients who purchased Studio RM Pro prior to November 2023 will have access to Studio RM V2 and Supervisor, with discounted upgrade options for including Isatis.neo within the bundle.

The contents of the Studio RM Pro bundle before and after November 2023 is summarised in the table below.

Before November 2023 After November 2023
Studio RM Pro Studio RM Pro
Studio RM V1 plus the Advanced Estimation module

Studio RM V2

Includes Advanced Estimation functionality as standard. (The Advanced Estimation licensed module is discontinued.)

Supervisor Supervisor
  Isatis.neo (supported by Datamine License Services)

Studio "RM 2+" License

Studio RM V2 requires a new license to run it (“Studio RM 2+”).

This license is different to previous Studio RM and Studio RM Pro versions and is provided by your local Datamine office. Once received, the new Studio RM 2+ license(s) must be registered either locally or on a server.

Studio RM V2 will not operate with a Studio RM or Studio RM Pro license issued prior to November 2023. For clients with maintained Studio RM and Studio RM Pro licenses, these legacy licenses will continue to be available for the duration of the maintenance period.

Legacy Studio RM and RM Pro maintenance keys will no longer be issued.

Questions & Answers

Licensing is an important aspect of Datamine software and unexplained changes to our licensing model can cause concerns. These changes shouldn’t affect anyone adversely, although new licenses will need to be registered, and for Studio RM Pro users, legacy scripts may require a small adjustment.

The following information is intended to clarify the licensing situation and allay concerns you may have about how it may affect your usage of our flagship resource modelling product.

Deployment & Installation

Can I upgrade a legacy Studio RM or RM Pro product with a Studio RM 2+ key?

As before, you can upgrade a legacy version of Studio RM to version Studio RM V2 or later. Studio RM Pro, however, is a different product and can’t be upgraded in this way (which has always been the case).

Will Studio RM Pro be developed in the future? Will I ever get a patch on Studio RM Pro?

Studio RM Pro will continue to refer only to the bundle of products Studio RM V2, Supervisor and Isatis.neo. Studio RM V2 has no optional modules; the Advanced Estimation module is being discontinued and its functionality is included Studio RM V2 as standard.

What happens when Studio RM V2 is released – do I get a new key?

Once Studio RM 2.0 is released, all Studio RM and Studio RM Pro clients with active maintenance contracts will receive Studio RM 2+ licenses to cover their current license quota. These licenses will be issued using the same license ID as their legacy licenses.

What if I want to use a legacy version of Studio RM?

Datamine may issue maintained customers with a bundled Studio RM and a Studio RM 2+ licence (on the same UID). This will replace your existing licence in Licence Manager. This will grant access to legacy version of Studio RM (versions 1.13 and lower) and current versions (Studio RM V2 and higher). Bundled Studio RM 2+ and Studio RM/Pro licences will be available for the current maintenance period.

I previously had a bundled Studio RM Pro licence, which gave me access to Studio RM, Advanced Estimation and Supervisor. Studio RM Pro now includes Isatis.Neo. Does this mean I get a free licence for Isatis.Neo going forward?

Going forward, you will have access to Studio RM V2 and Supervisor. There is an upgrade fee (less than the standard price of Isatis.Neo) to add Isatis.Neo to the licence bundle.

License Registration & Compatibility

I have a Studio RM Pro (or Studio RM legacy) full license key and it is maintained. What happens when I install a new Studio RM 2+ license key?

Once the new Studio RM 2+ license is installed, you can:

  • run Studio RM V2 (or later) on the licensed PC.

  • continue to run legacy Studio RM or Studio RM Pro products through a bundled licence, but only during the current maintenance period.

  • run both Studio RM V2 (or later) and a legacy Studio RM Pro product at the same time, on the same machine, but only during the current maintenance period.

In summary, you will, for a period of time, be able to run legacy and new Studio RM products in parallel on the same PC. Once the current maintenance period has ended, and assuming maintenance is renewed, a new maintenance key is issued to cover (only) the Studio RM V2 (or later) product.

Can I use a legacy Studio RM or RM Pro license key to run Studio RM V2 or later?

No, you can’t. To run Studio RM V2 or later versions, you will need a Studio RM 2+ license key as provided by your local Datamine office.

It’s not convenient for me to upgrade to Studio RM V2 right now. Can I continue to use my legacy version, potentially beyond my current maintenance period?

Yes, please ask your local Datamine office and they can extend your legacy keys if there is a valid reason not to upgrade and your maintenance is up to date. If a program defect is preventing you from moving forward with Studio RM, please let us know as soon as possible.

Can I split my newly issued license (that allows legacy and new RM versions to run simultaneously) so that I can run Studio RM Pro (legacy) on one machine, and Studio RM 2.0 (or later) on another?

No, you can’t. The newly issued Studio RM 2+ license is bound to your legacy key(s), meaning they can only be installed, checked out or locked on one PC.

I’ve installed my new Studio RM 2+ license key and can now run 2 versions of Studio RM on my machine at once. What happens when the current maintenance period expires?

At the next issue of maintenance key(s) for your organization, keys will be issued to allow Studio RM V2 or later versions to run. Keys for the retired products will expire and those legacy products will no longer be accessible.

My license(s) are contained within one or more solutions. What happens when the new license is installed?

Solution-bound licenses will automatically be replaced with a bundled license that allows legacy and new Studio RM products to operate. Manual solution adjustment is not required.

Project & Data Compatibility

Will projects saved in legacy Studio RM or Studio RM Pro versions be accessible in Studio RM V2 or later?

Project compatibility is unaffected by these changes; projects and data generated by legacy Studio RM or Studio RM Pro versions can be loaded into Studio RM V2 or later. As always, backwards-compatibility is not possible due to the rapidly evolving Studio RM functional framework.

So, if I save a project in Studio RM 1.13, I can load it into Studio RM V2?

Yes, you can.

To be completely clear… if I save a block model in Studio RM 1.13, I can load it into Studio RM V2?

That’s correct. You can load RM V2 data into an earlier RM version in most cases, although this isn’t strictly supported as the latest functions (e.g. advanced estimation) may save data in a way that can’t recognized by older versions of the same tools.

What about scripts? Can I run my legacy scripts in Studio RM V2 and later versions?

This depends on the format of your scripts and the legacy product used to create them.

  • Legacy Studio RM users: no script changes are required. Scripts will continue to operate in RM V2 or later versions without modification.

  • Legacy Studio RM Pro users: as you are changing from one product (Studio RM Pro) to a different one (Studio RM), if your script(s) instantiate the DmStudioApplication directly, by referencing its registered class, such as:

    variable = new ActiveXObject("StudioRMPro.Application");

    …the ActiveXObject reference should be changed to:

    variable = new window.external.System.CreateObject("StudioRM.Application");

    If you are accessing the Datamine Application object via the ScriptHelper class, or window.external, no changes are necessary.

 

If you have further questions about these changes, please contact your local Datamine representative.