CSM Software Licensing & Asset Management 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What type of software license grants an organization the right to deploy software across all users for a single flat fee?
- Per-seat license
- Site license (Correct answer)
- Concurrent user license
- Subscription license
Correct answer: Site license
A site license covers an entire organization's user base under one fee, rather than charging per individual user.
Question 2: Which software licensing model charges based on the number of CPU processors or cores running the software?
- Named user license
- Per-seat license
- Processor-based license (Correct answer)
- Enterprise license
Correct answer: Processor-based license
Processor-based (per-processor) licensing ties fees to the number of CPUs or cores on which the software runs, not to user counts.
Question 3: Which of the following best defines Software Asset Management (SAM)?
- Tracking only physical software installation media
- Managing and optimizing the purchase, deployment, maintenance, and disposal of software applications (Correct answer)
- A framework exclusively for open-source software
- A method for developing new software applications
Correct answer: Managing and optimizing the purchase, deployment, maintenance, and disposal of software applications
SAM is a business practice covering the full lifecycle of software — from procurement through deployment, maintenance, and eventual retirement.
Question 4: A software license audit is best described as:
- Developers reviewing code quality metrics
- A vendor verification that customers comply with license terms (Correct answer)
- An internal IT assessment of hardware inventory
- A user acceptance testing procedure
Correct answer: A vendor verification that customers comply with license terms
Software license audits are typically vendor-initiated reviews to verify that customers are using software within the boundaries of their license agreements.
Question 5: What is a concurrent user (floating) license?
- A license tied to one specific named user
- A license allowing a set maximum number of users to access software simultaneously (Correct answer)
- A license bound to a specific device
- A license that renews automatically each month
Correct answer: A license allowing a set maximum number of users to access software simultaneously
A concurrent user license permits up to a specified number of users to access the software at the same time, regardless of the total number of users in the organization.
Question 6: Which license type grants users the freedom to use, modify, and distribute software and its source code?
- Proprietary license
- Freeware license
- Open source license (Correct answer)
- Shareware license
Correct answer: Open source license
Open source licenses explicitly grant users rights to use, study, modify, and redistribute the software and its source code.
Question 7: What is the primary legal risk of software underlicensing?
- Paying too much for unused software
- Legal liability for using more software copies than licensed (Correct answer)
- Reduced software performance
- Inability to apply software updates
Correct answer: Legal liability for using more software copies than licensed
Underlicensing — using more copies than licensed — exposes an organization to vendor legal action and potentially significant financial penalties.
CSM Software Licensing & Asset Management 1
What type of software license grants an organization the right to deploy software across all users for a single flat fee?