DocsA. Suggested Licensing Policies
The authorization data passed by the client in the initial connection setup information may be used by the font server to implement restrictions on which fonts may be accessed. Furthermore, the font server is free to refuse new connections at any time.
Configuration or management of the license restrictions is outside the scope of the font service protocol and is done in a server-dependent manner. Possible policies might include, but are not limited to, combinations of the following:
No restrictions - anyone may access any fonts. The server neither refuses any connections nor generates AccessContext errors on any fonts. For environments without specially-licensed fonts, this is sufficient.
Per-machine - only those clients connecting from a known set of machines are permitted access. The server could get the address of the connection and look in a list of allowed machines.
Per-user - only a known set of users may access the fonts. The server can use the authorization data (such as a Kerberos ticket or a Secure RPC credential) to verify the identity of the user and then look in a list of allowed users.
Simultaneous Use - only a certain number of clients may use a given font at any one time. Additional clients would receive AccessContext errors if they attempt to open the font. This is only effective if the initial clients keep the font open for the entire time that it is being used (even if all of the data has been transmitted and is being cached).
Postage Meter - a particular font may only be accessed a limited number of times before its license must be renewed. Each time the font is opened, the server decrements a counter. When the counter reaches zero, all further attempts to open the font return an AccessContext error.
It should be noted that chaining of font servers (obtaining font data from other font servers) may conflict with certain license policies.