Everything You Didn't Know You Needed to Know about PACE iLok

One of the biggest impediments to creating and maintaining useful creative software is software piracy. If people steal your software they aren't likely to pay for it, and coders like to get paid. I'm not going to get into a philosophical debate about the various arguments people have entertained to justify piracy, and of course there are open-source alternatives to many popular software titles if we're talking about Office software and other widely used platforms. Music software appeals to a tiny audience comparatively, and there aren't nearly as many coders in the game commercially.

There have been all sorts of creative attempts by companies over the years to protect their software using strange methods to ensure only the paying user is using the software. Inevitably, while there are still other systems around, PACE's iLok system has become extremely common as it's not only secure, but portable as well.

It all starts with having a central account at iLok.com where licenses are either deposited directly by manufacturers, or created by end-users by entering an activation code received at time of purchase of the software. Accounts are free to create.

All 3 generations of iLok keys, the smallest is the current iLok 3

iLok 3 also comes in a USB-C version.

The iLok License Manager software once installed, allows you to log into your account and move any license deposited to your local system. In the example below, I'm logged into my account that when selected in the upper left, will show all currently owned licenses that are in your account in the window on the right. At present, the iLok key called "LMP - S4 Station" below is selected thus showing all the licenses currently on that key in the large window.

Licenses can in most cases be placed not on the inserted key, but attached directly to the computer itself. This allows for the ability to not require purchasing an iLok key. Please note however that this is a bit dangerous as, should anything happen to your hard drive or if the computer is damaged, you could lose your license altogether. This is very bad and could be extremely costly depending on how many licenses you lose, but more about this later.

Licenses can also be placed in your iLok account cloud, also shown above as 'lmpro2's Cloud'. The advantage here is that you can log in from any computer and simply sign-in to access your licenses. Handy if you use multiple workstations. Only one computer can be logged in at a time this way, and logging in on a second computer will kick the first one off.

There's another feature that the License Manager has, seen below. Certain types of licenses - often meant for schools and institutions - allow you to have multiple 'seats' i.e. multiple users simultaneously. As I have no such licenses, the list below is empty.

Below, you can see how to setup a Network Licenses Server if you have multi-seat licenses. As mentioned, unless you administrate school labs, you're. unlikely to use this.

Finally, we should discuss Zero Down Time (ZDT). ZDT is basically an insurance policy PACE offer on iLok keys against damage or loss. The annual subscription fee for Zero Downtime coverage is US$30 per iLok USB. If you are experiencing an emergency and do not have the coverage in place, you may purchase the ZDT coverage and bypass the ZDT 7-day cooling off period for a US$130 fee while you are submitting an RMA for your iLok USB.

So it's best - particularly if you have a huge investment in your software - to pay ahead of time. Otherwise you could be spending weeks tracking down all the various license manufacturers trying to explain your situation to people who are used to being scammed. Good luck. I've never had a key go bad, and while the failure rate is very low, we all know someone who has a horror story.

If you have any questions about iLoks please just reach out to one of us here at LM Pro or leave a comment below.