Upgrades and Downgrades

Upgrade licenses can reduce costs, particularly in networks that have grown over time. For example, an organization with 20 Office 2007 Professional licenses may purchase 20 upgrade licenses for Office 2013 Professional Plus instead of 20 new full licenses. Upgrade licenses are not valid on their own; they require the corresponding eligible base licenses.

Lan-Inspector can model the relationship between base licenses and upgrade licenses. A valid upgraded license requires an eligible base license that is not already consumed by another installation. Upgrade relationships can be defined as rules in the license record (see 6.5.1 License Pool / License Entry) and are then applied automatically when license balances are calculated.

Downgrade rules can also be defined. They are useful when an older software version remains in use even though licenses for that version can no longer be purchased directly. Downgrade relationships are maintained in the Downgrade Rules editor (see 6.5.6 Downgrade Rules).

Downgrade rights are vendor- and product-specific and cannot be treated as a universal rule. Some downgrade rights apply only when additional Software Assurance (SA) or similar contractual rights exist. Lan-Inspector is not a substitute for licensing advice; if the applicable license terms are unclear, consult a qualified licensing specialist.