__Include: Charon-SSP Product Overview v4.4.x

Stromasys provides Charon-SSP for on-premises installations and cloud environments. For both environments, there are several different options. Depending on the cloud environment, the availability of cloud-specific options may differ. The typical cloud-specific options are:

Prepackaged images provided on the cloud-specific marketplace:
1. Cloud-specific Charon-SSP AL (Automatic Licensing) image using a public, Stromasys-operated, cloud-specific license server (license created automatically at first instance launch).
2. Cloud-specific Charon-SSP VE (Virtual Environment) image using a customer-operated, private VE license server in the cloud (license must be obtained from Stromasys).
Installation of Charon-SSP for Virtual Environments (VE) on a Linux server in the cloud using RPM packages provided by Stromasys, and utilizing a customer-operated, private VE license server in the cloud (license must be obtained from Stromasys).

Overview of the relevant documentation for Charon-SSP for cloud environments:

This Getting Started Guide covers basic cloud-specific aspects when installing a Charon-SSP product in the cloud. The main focus is on the prepackaged images provided on the cloud-specific marketplaces. However, it can also serve as an introduction to general cloud-specific aspects when installing the individual Charon-SSP RPM packages on a server in the cloud.
The general Charon-SSP User's Guides (see CHARON-SSP for Linux) cover features, configuration, and management of the Charon-SSP products.
The VE License Server User's Guide covers features, installation, and management of the VE (Virtual Environment) license server and the VE licenses.
The Release Notes of your product provide important information regarding known problems and possible workarounds.

Charon-SSP overall product overview:

The following table provides an overview of Charon-SSP packaging in cloud and non-cloud environments, the associated licensing, and the applicable product documentation:

Basic Packaging	Packaging Variants		Installation Location ⁵⁾	Licensing	Documentation
Prepackaged Versions including underlying host OS and Charon-SSP software	Cloud marketplace image	Automatic Licensing (AL)	Cloud only	Public, Stromasys-operated license server ¹⁾	Cloud-specific Getting Started Guide General Charon-SSP User's Guide
	Cloud marketplace image	Virtual Environment (VE)	Cloud only	Private, customer-operated VE license server ²⁾	Cloud-specific Getting Started Guide General Charon-SSP User's Guide VE License Server Guide
	Baremetal ISO		On-premises (physical HW or VM)	HASP license (local or via license server)	General Charon-SSP User's Guide

Individual RPMs	VE-enabled emulator		Cloud or on-premises (physical HW or VMware VM) ³⁾	Private, customer-operated VE license server	General Charon-SSP User's Guide VE License Server Guide
	Non VE-enabled emulator		On-premises (physical HW or VM)	HASP license (local or via license server)	General Charon-SSP User's Guide
	Marketplace RPM packages ⁴⁾		Cloud only	Public, Stromasys-operated license server ¹⁾	Cloud-specific Getting Started Guide General Charon-SSP User's Guide
¹⁾Use of public license server requires Internet access of Charon host. ²⁾ Typically the VE license server is installed in the same cloud environment - either on the Charon host itself or a separate license server system. ³⁾ For the VMware case, there are some restrictions: The Charon emulator must be on the same VM as the VE license server, or on a VM running on the same ESXi host as the VE license server (ESXi binding), or on a VM running on an ESXi host managed by the same vCenter Server as the ESXi host on which the VE license server VM runs (vCenter binding). ⁴⁾ Only for updating the Charon-SSP emulator software on hosts based on Charon-SSP cloud-specific marketplace images for Automatic Licensing (AL). ⁵⁾ Non VE-enabled packages can also be installed in cloud environments. However, this is not recommended as HASP licenses are not suitable for clouds.