Endpoint Encryption

We upgraded from AIX 5.3 to 6.1, with a change from SMT2 to SMT4 (from 2 threads per core to 4 threads per core).

PGP now thinks we have 8 cpus instead of 4.

We are able to get it to accept the licence if we reduce SMT back down to 2, but this shouldn't be necessary, since our number of cores hasn't changed.

Is there a version of PGP available that supports SMT4?

Thanks.

Jim

Not exactly what you want to see/hear, but please see this Knowledge Base Article:

http://www.symantec.com/docs/TECH149739

Yeah, you're right.  Not exactly what I want to see/hear.  :-)

I had seen that Knowledge Base Article earlier.  I was hoping that Symantec had updated code to support SMT.  When do you expect to support SMT4, so that we are not erroneosly charged for cores we are not using?  Our current work-around is to reduce SMT from 4 to 2, which eliminates a potential performance advantage of AIX 6.1.

Below is an excerpt from Symantec’s PGP licensing web page.  It’s clear that we should only be paying for the number of processing units/cores that we are using (4), and not for the number of “logical” processors (threads) enabled by SMT (8 or 16, depending on whether we have SMT2 or SMT4 enabled).

Section 4 - PGP Command Line

PGP Command Line is licensed (i) per physical CPUs/processors, (ii) Keys and (iii) Functionality.

CPUs/processors refers to the number of physical CPUs on a system. If a computer has one or two physical processors, a 2-CPU license is required. If a computer has up to four processors, a 4-CPU license is required, and so on. For CPUs with multiple internal processing units (e.g., cores), each processing unit counts as a single processor.

We haven't yet updated to code to deal properly with hyperthreading on all supported platforms, sorry.

The best solution we have for this case is for you to contact Customer Service (not Support) and get a different license number, one that is valid for more CPU cores.

Regards,

Ok.  Thank you.

Is it safe to assume that this would be without additional cost?

Jim

:-)

Yes.  You are not the first customer who has run into this issue, so customer service should be able to assist you.  If you have any issues having this request fulfilled by customer service, send me a private message and I will get you in touch with the Product Manager for PGP Command Line.

Regards,

I'm not sure how to send you a private message.

Anyway, I called Customer Service and explained the situation and your solution.

A new license key was generated, but since nothing was changed with the number of cpus, I don't expect it to make any difference.

The case number is 04903038.

When do you expect a new release of PGP Command Line to support SMT4 in AIX?   

Jim

Hi Jim,

I've sent you an email.