Migrating device licenses to multi-user licenses

[AdasanISD15]

I have the entire Creative Cloud Suite installed in 3 labs, and a number of smaller clusters of computers throughout the school that I work in. Upon logging into the Adobe Admin Console today, I see a notification bar across the top saying that device licenses are being retired as of 12/31/19, and that I should migrate to multi-user licenses instead, with a button to do so.

Obviously, with the school year in full swing, that's not something I want to be jumping into just yet - most likely something I'll dive into during the summer. My question is this - what is the difference between device licenses and the new multi-user licenses? I haven't been able to find any documentation on the differences, and what migrating from device licenses to multi-user licenses means for us.

[kglad]

[moved from Adobe Creative Cloud to Deployment for Creative Cloud for Team, Enterprise, & CS]

[alisterblack · Accepted solution]

Hi,

You can find some documentation below.

Shared device licensing | Deployment Guide

Migrate from Device Licensing to Shared Device Licensing

Shared device license FAQ

Creative Cloud in Lab Environments - VIP guide

Creative Cloud in Lab Environments - ETLA guide

[jasonh78977010]

That all sounds well and good, but the term "multi-USER license" is not mentioned anywhere in the documentation referenced, only shared device licensing.  How can we be confident when trying to explain to our end-users, administrators, and ultimately the school board, why and how our licensing is changing (that we just spent $12,500 for), when Adobe's own documentation can't do that?

[alisterblack]

Hi,

The previous device licenses licensed the device and not the user. The same remains true for the new Shared Device License which also allows users to bring any level of services they are entitled to when they sign in. This means they can used cloud-first apps like XD and Lightroom CC as well as services.

[jasonh78977010]

Understood, but the problem is that when I sign into the Admin Console, it says I need to migrate to the new multi-USER licenses, not Shared Device Licenses.  If I migrate now to multi-user licenses (which I have no idea what that even means), am I going to have to do another migration to a shared-device license in the future?

Or are the terms multi-user license and shared device license interchangeable?  And if that's the case, I really need some documentation or confirmation from Adobe that I'm not limiting myself or my users, going forward.

[alisterblack]

Hi,

If you mouse-over the information icon it makes it clearer.

[jasonh78977010]

Once again, there are two different license types even in your screenshot.  What, if any, are the differences between multi-USER and Shared Device licenses.  Please direct me to a walk through, video, step by step instructions, ANYTHING except a marketing brochure that tells me exactly what happens when I click that Migrate button.  I'm not clicking to migrate anything until I know exactly what to expect and how it will affect my end-users.

[alisterblack]

Hi,

This should be helpful.

Migrate from Device Licensing to Shared Device Licensing

[timothyp9202975]

Does this mean that for every student that uses the same device will have to have an account created?

[alisterblack]

Yes, each user will need an account.

The documentation above goes into detail regarding types of account (K-12 must use Federated ID) and how to set these up.

[timothyp9202975]

This is very disappointing. Would it be possible with Adobe's infinite wisdom to create a conversion process to convert the device license to a shared license on the computer side in the labs without uninstalling the software and redeploying this?

[MichaelD_LFD]

I can tell you this is starting to get ridiculous and very close to the boarder of stupidity, now every student and or staff member will now have to keep up with yet another account and you wont be able run the adobe programs without an account. The device license was easy and perfect for us and our users, they can sit down and just open one of the programs an not deal with having create an account just to do one thing. We will go from just dealing with making sure the license on about 100 machines are good, to 600 plus user accounts that will be a constant I can login or I forget my password. This means shoe horning the new license scheme in but in reality it probably means just re-imaging all the workstations that have the adobe CC installed.

[janiceb53493919]

I've read through the information you provided alisterblack, but I still have no idea how to deploy this to our current and future users.  What is the process for creating these new user accounts?  We get new students every year - what is the process I have to go through to get them registered?  Where are the login instructions?  Is there the capability of creating smaller customized packages for machines that cannot run a full complement of apps?  There's not enough information here to make me feel confident about switching.  I sincerely request that Adobe reconsider this change, and re-instate the old device license program, which worked like a charm both for users, and for those of us who are technical staff, and who have to deploy these packages.

[Tumo_Center]

Adobe's licensing and support are getting more and more ridiculous.

I have been on-line with their support for more than 45 minutes and still waiting for someone to start answering my questions.

I lost another hour or so yesterday waiting for a customer rep.

600 students...? I have 14,000...

Toon Boom, 3D Coat and others have given me roaming licenses to be installed on my own servers with a maximum number of connections. Easy as a breeze. When the maximum number is reached, the next student will have to wait for somebody to log off. Never had any problems or difficulties.

With Adobe, it's one disappointing process after another. Pushing my colleagues as hard as I can to find alternatives.

[MichaelD_LFD]

14,000 is sure way more than I have to deal with but I'm pretty much a one man band here. The running joke here is if it plugs into a power outlet its my problem.

[timothyp9202975]

Yeah. I really don't understand why Adobe is doing this. This will cause them to have more servers to accommodate millions of new accounts with cloud storage. We simply don't need this. Such a waste of time and money. So now our IT department will have yet another account to create and keep up with, "sigh"

[alisterblack]

Hi @janiceb53493919

You might benefit from booking an expert session with us to go through this in more detail, you can do this from your Admin Console.

1. What is the process for creating these new user accounts?
   - For K-12 you must use Federated or Enterprise ID. We have documentation that covers the exact steps for each Identity Provider. Examples of these are G-Suite, ADFS, Azure, Ping Federate and many more. You can use any SAML 2.0 compliant IDP. For Higher Education you can also use Adobe ID
2. We get new students every year - what is the process I have to go through to get them registered?
   - New user accounts can be added to the dashboard either manually, using a CSV file or can also be automated using the User-Sync Tool.
3. Where are the login instructions?
   - If you are using Federated ID the login is that set in your directory. So the same used to log on to the computer etc. For Enterprise ID and Adobe ID the end user is prompted to create a password.
4. Is there the capability of creating smaller customized packages for machines that cannot run a full complement of apps?
   - Yes, from the packages tab of the Admin Console you can build a new package containing whatever mix of applications you choose.