Basic Administration > Managing User Participation > Windchill License Administration
  
Windchill License Administration
All Windchill users are entitled to a license by the administrator which remain in compliance to license terms. The license profiles enable the Windchill administrators to entitle and manage licenses. A Windchill license limits an entitled user’s visibility to those features to which they are entitled through the license. Each license profile corresponds to a license group. The administrator extends the license entitlement to users by granting membership to the respective license group.
Windchill License can be categorized into two types:
Perpetual : A permanent license which does not require renewal. This license type supports the Named license model.
Subscription: A subscription license remains valid for fixed duration of time. At the end of the subscription period, you are required to renew the subscription to continue using the license.
A Windchill license can be retrieved and managed in online and offline mode.
The online mode enables you to automate license management lifecycle. An online mode manages the license subscription through the built-in license management utility, and changes in license subscription and entitlement are incorporated automatically. The PTC backend server synchronizes with online Windchill systems once every 24 hours to detect and update changes or edits to license entitlements.
The offline mode is useful when your Windchill instance works offline or cannot communicate with the PTC backend system. In this mode, the license must be retrieved and managed manually through the built-in license management utility.
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The Windchill license administration content assumes that you are familiar with the concepts of Participant Administration.