WHY is this still a thing?

Why is steinberg still using a 32bit process “SYNSOPOS.exe” ? to validate licenses for 64bit Cubase 12 pro components? such as HALion sonic 3 ? not SE but the full version. I thought we are moving away from the 32bit processes, running in 32bit memory space?

while we clearly have a 64bit license engine…

Hi,

You really don’t need such a big amount of memory for the license check. In this case, it really doesn’t matter, if the process is 32- or 64-bit.

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I am talking about moving away from the old architecture ,the new license system , runs in 64-bit process x64 (see image above). It also does not take much memory, as you can see, but that’s not the point, the point is, why are we still talking to 32 bit processes? The reason I ask, is, I still have to use a dongle to use HALion Sonic full version.

But we are moving away from it. It just takes some additional time as we are still in the transition period and will be for some time. Also, on many systems not using the latest releases, the old eLicenser and its components are still needed as well.

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Halion Sonic 3 (And halion 6) didnt move yet to the new license (SAM)
probably “Soon” for Halion 7 and Halion sonic 3 (or 4? )

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What’s the problem with it being a 32 bit process?

Why have a 32bit process in a 64bit application… and why not migrate all licenses to the latest 64bit system, so we can truly get rid of the dongle. That was the point…

Windows & a gillion other apps & programs do the same thing calling 32-bit code from 64-bit programs. It doesn’t hurt anything.

…ummm cause work takes time to actually occur. Licenses are being migrated as products are updated, which seems like a pretty sensible approach. Would you prefer they held off on introducing the new licensing for a couple of years so that all the products could switch to the new scheme all at once?

Yes :grin: .

I am one of the folks who never really had a problem with the dongle, so I would have preferred it to be a done deal when it was “ready”. I completely understand that I am probably in the minority. Whatever … it is what it is.

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Perhaps you have a better understanding of how Strindberg licensing systems works. But what fail to understand is why would it take years to migrate an application to the new licensing system, which is already validating cubase 12?

Because it’s not “an application”, it’s dozens of products that use the same licensing system and not everyone is going to update to the new stuff right away.

There really is better stuff to worry about. Might I suggest making some music or whatever audio you work in? :slight_smile:

There really isn’t one.

And having the licensing software run in 32 bit rather than 64 bit probably has nothing to do with getting rid of the dongle.

Actually it may have something to do with getting rid of the dongle.

Licensing is usually much more than just querying the dongle, which could easily be done with a 64 Bit process using the 32 Bit querying process (SYNSOPOS.EXE).

It also involves encrypting the program itself (its binary code), so a hacker cannot reverse engineer the code and remove the license checks. If the eLicenser licensing mechanism is based on a 32 bit system, it cannot encrypt/decrypt 64 bit programs, because while processes with different architecture can “talk” to each other, they cannot directly modify each other.

I am guessing that this is maybe one of the reasons behind Steinberg decision to move away from eLicenser. It wouldn’t support 64 bit CPUs, so they would have to either do a complete rewrite or move to a different system altogether. Although I am surprised, they didn’t just switch to iLok or similar.

Just my 2cents.

Regards
Hajo

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I write music still, I just finished this yesterday :slight_smile: LOL

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I write music still, I just finished this yesterday :slight_smile: LOL

Well you obviously know how to write and record music. Very nice.

But you know jack about how computers work internally or how software development works. :joy: :+1:

But that’s OK. Keep doing what you do well!

It basically bakes planned obsolescence into the application, should the platform ever decide to ditch 32-Bit processes. macOS did this. Any application dependent on such components became instantly incompatible with the new version, which simply didn’t run 32-bit code.

The likelihood of Microsoft doing this is slim - at least any time soon - but for people who tend to sit on software revisions for many years, this can be a slight concern.

lol! no actually, I am a fullstack C# developer , I work with medical imaging systems DICOM etc. I do music for fun, I have been using Cubase since Cubase 6,… been using sequencers since I was 16 and back then Cakewalk (midi only) came on a floppy disk lol.

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Nice one. I started on an Atari ST 1040 with a floppy disk. in the 80’s. Still got some of the disks, but nothing to play them on.

Much less complex and able, but also far less bugs… :slight_smile:

Progress huh!

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ah the good old days…