Does DEVONthink Server 3.0 include seats?

[chreliot]

Does DEVONthink Server 3.0 include seats? In other words, could a second Mac run a full instance of DEVONthink, synced to the server, just as you would sync two versions of DEVONThink Pro Office between two Macs? Or, alternatively, in moving to the Server version do you give up the possibility of having a full, synchronized version on a second Mac?

[anon6914418]

I think your answer can be found here:

Just thinking about my wife (or "how many seats for the server edition?")

I’m just thinking about how best to propagate the databases relating to my family to my family. Obviously one of the options is the server edition. Equally obviously, there are a whole bunch of considerations. One of them is: how many seats do I get when upgrading from the pro to the server edition? Will I still have two (or more?) seats available?

[chreliot]

Thanks, that thread actually doesn’t answer it. It doesn’t appear to be one of the cases Jim discusses. He notes that the Pro (as opposed to Server) version has seats, and that the web interface on Server can have unlimited users. But that doesn’t entail that the Server version can have (or not have) seats — that is a full version, running locally, not requiring an internet connection.

[Blanc]

Whilst he doesn’t actually say server has two seats, I inferred from what Jim wrote that every edition of DT3 comes with two seats for that respective version.

[BLUEFROG]

et al:

The purchase or upgrade of all editions of DEVONthink 3 have two seats. This allows you to install the licensed edition of two machines.

You buy Server, you have two seats of Server. That doesn’t mean you must run the web server on both machines, but it’s technically possible.

[chreliot]

So, can a server be serving a particular database, while I access the same database from my main, non-server laptop, without corruption?

In other words, I don’t have to shut down the server (running on a “headless”/no-monitor/no-keyboard Mac Mini) every time I want to use a database — with the full power of the full DT application, not just the limited web interface — on my laptop/main computer, do I?

[BLUEFROG]

That is correct.
Each machine is independent and has its own copy of the database. This is due to being a decentralized system.

[chreliot]

If so, then why do the in-app notifications in DEVONthink Server 3.0 seem to advise that this is dangerous every time I open a database on the non-server device? As follows:

Press ‘Continue’ to open the database anyway if you are sure it is not in use by another copy of DEVONthink 3.

Of course the database is in use by another copy of DEVONthink 3; the server has it open. Should I always simply ignore this warning, in the usage I described above above (to “use a database — with the full power of the full DT application, not just the limited web interface — on my laptop/main computer” while it is also constantly running elsewhere as a server?)

[BLUEFROG]

The message has nothing to do with the webserver.

No you should not ignore the warning. You should do a File > Verify & Repair on the database to ensure it’s healthy.

[chreliot]

Thanks — What this does have to do with the webserver is that the webserver copy of DT3 Sever, as described above, stays on all the time. So, every time the second seat opens the database, it’s already running elsewhere, and this error message appears. The proper workflow for the second seat is, I suppose then, to bypass the warning and Verify and Repair every time the second seat opens the database.

[rkaplan]

@chreliot

So, every time the second seat opens the database, it’s already running elsewhere, and this error message appears.

The second seat may (or may not) be Synced to the same database as the first seat. If so, each seat will have its own local copy of the database. They will never both open the same physical database file. So the error message should not happen simply because two seats are sharing a database through a sync store.

[BLUEFROG]

Where are you opening the database from on each machine?

[cgrunenberg]

@BLUEFROG

No you should not ignore the warning. You should do a File > Verify & Repair on the database to ensure it’s healthy.

The latest releases perform this automatically if a database wasn’t closed properly.

[6L6]

What about this usage and licensing scenario.

• I upgraded to DtServer3 and added two seats to the new server license
• I have DT3 installed on both my desktop and laptop.
• Do my seat purchases give rights to install DEVONthink3 on a third Mac for a second user?
• The second user would be in the same databases that reside (synced) from the server.

In summary, two users and three macintoshes, all with DEVONthink installations working on the same databases synced from the “Server.”

Thanks

[BLUEFROG]

Welcome @6L6

If you have three seats - two seats from the purchase plus an additional seat purchase - you can install it on three Macs, regardless of them number of users.

There is no extra licensing required to sync or access web sharing.

[fharvey]

This exchange gave me important information. I’m looking at a server-based setup with 7 seats for a large university research project. How can I get a quote with the total costs in EUR?
Thanks