SAP ASE licensing and Cockpit

[oneeyeman1]

Hi, ALL,

I recently updated my Linux box and because my old install wasnt able to run, I tried to reinstall (I had 16.03 version).

Unfortunately the install was crashing all the time on NULL pointer.

So I decided to get the next version - 16.04.

When I ran the installer it gave me only 2 options: Licensed (paid) and Evaluation 90-days (free). With my old version I had an additional license - For developers, which is also free.

Is this license dropped completely? Is it not currently possible to keep the server for development and not 90-days evaluation time?

Also, last tie II was here, I was told that the Cocpit part is going away.

However trying to rnn the 16.04 installer I still see it.

What happened? You decided to keep this portion?

Thank you.

[Mark_A_Parsons]

I can't speak to a) the NULL pointer issue (would need more details) nor b) the Cockpit issue (I don't use Cockpit so haven't kept up with the never ending ASE GUI of the year saga)

As for the licensing issue ...

• SAP has discontinued the Developer Edition (DE) license and replaced it with the Evaluation (EV) license (see this answer from Bret to a related question); just like the DE license, the EV license gives you access to all features
• you can generate a new 12-month EV license @ https://go.support.sap.com/minisap

[oneeyeman1]

iron_horse ,

Apparently there more than 1 "Mark A Parsons", so apologies if the wrong one is selected... 😉

Follow-up questions:

1. Is 16.04 the latest release at this point? Or I downloaded the old version?

2. Is there a documentation on how to generate the license? I never had to do something like this...

3. Will I be notified when the current install license is about to expire? If yes - I presume I will have some kind of link/button I will click and be re-directed to renew the license...

Thank you.

I didn't yet installed 16.04 version. I will try to do that over the weekend and if I get another JAVAException, I will update this thread.

[Mark_A_Parsons]

1. I don't currently have access to an S-user account so the only way I know of finding the latest release version is by looking at the drop-down list box of versions @ ASE documentation (currently showing 16.0 SP04 PL02). If you don't have an S-user account then I assume you're downloading the free/trial version of ASE and in that case the only way I know to determine the version (of said download) is to perform the actual download and review the installation files (or initiate the software installation process).
2. Generating a new EV license is fairly straightforward ... pick the radio button next to the desired product (AS1 - SAP ASE Enterprise Edition evaluation in this case); this will open up a form at the bottom of the page; fill in the form (get Host ID from runnning the SYSAM cpuinfo script), then hit the Generate button. I seem to recall this will generate a popup after which you'll have the option to download the license ... just cut-n-paste the text into your license file (eg, for Unix/Linux: SAP_ASE_16.EV.lic); then install the license file as you normally would.
3. During startup the ASE instance should print messages to the errorlog about the license file (eg, could not find file, invalid file, found file and enabled features, etc). There should also be some warning messages about when the license will expire (should match the expiration date in the EV license file). It's up to you to monitor the ASE errorlog to keep track of the expiration date. [FWIW: a) in my home setups I just create some calendar reminders of when my EV licenses expire; b) in a client setup I have a custom errorlog monitoring script that watches for these messages and sends an alert/email to the DBA team; some clients already have an errorlog monitoring process in place that does something similar]

[oneeyeman1]

@Mike A Parsons,

Just tried to install version 16.04.

The install also crashed with the NULL pointer exception.

However, unfortunately, the full install is too big to post here.

What is the best way to submit it for you guys?

Thank you.

[Mark_A_Parsons]

If you have a support contract then you'll want to open a ticket.

If you don't have a support contract:

• I'd suggest asking a new question and make sure to provide as many details as possible ...
• you mentioned a linux upgrade so for starters you'll want to mention a) OS/ASE version that used to work and b) OS/ASE version(s) that does not work
• when the install fails (with the NULL pointer error) make sure you ^C back to the command prompt; if you let the installation process exit 'cleanly' it can remove some log files that may be of use
• obviously post the entire error message (yeah, I know, said message is typically of little use by itself)
• troubleshooting a failed installation can require a bit of luck as well as a healthy dose of perseverance; the installation script actually calls other installation scripts for various modules, many of which generate their own log files; you'll need to peruse the assortment of log files looking for reference to the installation failure (eg, NULL pointer) and then work backwards there to figure out the module that had the issues and (hopefully) some details on what operation was being performed when the error occurred (ie, the root cause of the error)
• all of this assumes you've reviewed the associated release bulletin and installation guide to make sure the target OS is supported and has all prerequisite software/library updates installed
• if you have a large volume of data to post into the question (eg, snippets from a few log files) then consider appending them to the question as a *.txt file (see the paperclip icon == Insert File)

[oneeyeman1]

iron_horse ,

I just made a new post. I attached the log from the Terminal from the Install and the information about the system.

Hopefully someone can look at it and spot the problem.

I also added the ASE_Suite.log from the install.

Thank you.