Obtaining the IPfonix, Inc. PacketCable KDC software for use in your lab

If you are an MSO wishing to purchase a license for deployment to paying customers, please contact us. This page is intended for vendors and MSOs wishing to use a KDC in a lab or small-trial environment without paying subscribers.

A time-limited version of the IPfonix, Inc. PacketCable KDC executable code is available for vendors designing and building PacketCable™ devices to use in their labs. Apart from some extra facilities for forcing the KDC to return bad messages (so that vendors can debug their error-handling code), this code is identical to that being used by MSOs in deployments.

The cost of a site-license for the executable is $600 per calendar quarter (for however many quarters you want -- many vendors prefer to order a one-year license for $2400, rather than have to deal with the inconvenience of obtaining a new license every three months). For this you get:

• The same code used by IPfonix, Inc. in MSO networks
• A choice of Windows or Linux executable (note that the MSO KDC product itself is not available for Windows; however, a Windows version is made available to vendors to allow them to use an ordinary Windows-equipped PC in their testing labs.)
• The right to make multiple copies of the software for a single site
• Prompt resolution of bugs or other problems
• Detailed documentation of setup and configuration options
• Debugging output
• Extensive protocol and format error messages, to help you debug any problems with your code
• The ability to configure the KDC so as to return messages that violate specific requirements in the PacketCable security specification, so that you can ensure that your client handles these in accordance with the security specification
• Automatic and free code updates for the duration of your license
• Code (including updates) and documentation delivered electronically
• Support for up to 1,000 client devices (more can be added at additional cost; the practical limit exceeds any plausible number of clients)
• For more details, or if you wish to use a KDC in an environment with paying subscribers, please contact info@ipfonix.com.

Payment is required in US funds, normally via a check drawn on a US bank unless other arrangements have been made. Applicable taxes are the responsibility of the customer.

For customers outside the US, please contact us for details of how to arrange a wire transfer. We have to add an additional charge of $30 to orders that will be paid by wire transfer (to cover the typical fees charged against the transfer by the originating and terminating banks).

System Requirements

Hardware

• The software should run on any general-purpose computer available since the turn of the century; the practical minimum is 128 MB RAM and 1 GB of disk space (almost all the disk space is to provide room for detailed logs on an active KDC). Naturally, a network connection to your lab network is necessary.

Software

• Linux: the KDC is currently built and stress-tested under a Debian 7 system prior to release. Both 32-bit and 64-bit executables are included. The code should run under any binary-compatible version of Linux.
• Windows: any version of Windows from Win98SE onwards

Additional users

By default, licenses allow a maximum of 1,000 client devices. If you wish to perform system stress-testing and require a license for larger numbers of clients, please add the following to the base price (regardless of the duration of the license):

• 1,001 to 10,000 clients: $0.10 per client over 1,000
• 10,001 to 100,000 clients: $900 + $0.02 per client over 10,000
• 100,001 to 1,000,000 clients: $2,700 + $0.004 per client over 100,000

Note that since this is a flat-rate charge regardless of the duration of the license, you may want to consider purchase of relatively long-term licenses if you need to support large numbers of clients in your testing environment.

Additional licenses

If your company wishes to operate the KDC at multiple physical locations, a site license is necessary for each location. The cost for additional licenses (after the first) is discounted 50%.

In order to obtain the discount, additional licenses must:

1. run concurrently with the initial (full-price) license (i.e., somewhere in the company there must be a single full-price license in order for a vendor to take advantage of the discount on additional licenses);
2. be for the same version of the KDC. In other words, if one location runs a PacketCable KDC, discounts are available to a second location only if it also runs the PacketCable KDC;
3. be managed by a single contact person within your organization.

The order for additional licenses does not have to be made at the same time as the original order; however, the license period of the discounted licenses cannot extend beyond the period covered by the full-price license.

Important note:

We have unfortunately found it necessary to require payment before we will ship the code to first-time users. We apologize for the inconvenience that this causes; unfortunately, some companies seem to interpret a 30-day payment period as meaning "some indefinite time in the future". We are happy to handle renewals with an ordinary purchase order.

Updates are sent automatically upon release to customers whose accounts reflect a zero balance due. Customers who have renewed a license but for which payment has not yet been received will be sent any updates as soon as the outstanding payment is received.