Dwarfguard deployment/distribution options
There are various options how to use the Dwarfguard software. The basic decision you need to make is:
- service-based usage - you are billed periodically based on number of assigned device seats (DT) or real devices (may be offered by partners)
- product-based usage - you obtain (upgrade, prolong) a license and use it during the whole validity period once making the one-time purchase.
Next there are various deployment options:
- On Dwarf Technologies servers (Internet)
- In the cloud (e.g. AWS) (Internet)
- In private cloud or own server (Internet / private network)
And finally, there is distinction of who manages the deployment:
- Managed by Dwarf Technologies or partners
- Self-managed by customer
You can have a look at the table showing possible combinations of deployment options:
| Type | Hosted at | Managed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| SaaS | DT servers | DT/partner | Limits may apply |
| SaaS | Cloud | DT/partner | |
| License | DT dedicated server | DT/partner | Limits may apply |
| License | Cloud | DT/partner | |
| License | Cloud | Customer | Direct cloud vendor payments for resources |
| License | Priv. Cloud / server | DT/partner | Needs remote DT access (not purely private network) |
| License | Priv. Cloud / server | Customer |
Support
Every commercial Dwarfguard deployment comes with at least the lowest support level. When you look into the license in System -> License Management, you can actually see two support levels mentioned:
Support level (manufacturer) ... support level provided by Dwarf Technologies to the distributor regarding this license. See the support level services description below.
Support level (distributor) ... support level provided by Distributor to the customer. If the distributor of this license is Dwarf Technologies, the support level services are equal to those described below. If the distributor differs, see the particular distributor's support level description. The number of support levels is still 5 as below.
The levels are as follows:
Free / Non-commercial / None support level
- No support service is provided for this license. There could be no licensing fees associated. User can still access the free resources.
Basic support level
- All patchlevel upgrade options during license validity period
- Read-only access to the ticketing system
- Access to customer forum
- License validity period is usually limited for 6 months (after that, license renewal is needed)
Standard support level
- One minor release upgrade + all patchlevel upgrades during license validity period
- Access to ticketing system and forum
- Validity period usually limited to 12 months
Advanced support level
- One major release upgrade + all minor + all patchlevel during license validity period
- Access to ticketing system and forums
- Includes 30 minutes/month on-demand Support online intervention
- Lower per-hour cost for additional on-demand Support online intervention
- Validity period usually limited to 24 months
Premium support level
- Any and all upgrade options during license validity period
- Guaranteed ticket response time
- All tickets are higher priority
- Includes 4 hour/month on-demand Support online intervention
- Lowest per-hour cost for additional on-demand Support online intervention
- Validity period usually limited to 36 months
To be able to access forums and ticketing system you need to register.
Details
Using Dwarfguard as a service (SaaS)
You may want to use the Dwarfguard SaaS in the case you are interested in carefree usage of the product, without a need to manage anything. Dwarf Technologies will take care of OS security updates, Dwarfguard upgrades, maintaining valid license, potential issues solutions and adequate connection and CPU resources.
Based on your expected number of devices, traffic and geographical locations, Dwarf Technologies will offer hosting on own physical servers or in a cloud.
The payment is usually in the form of monthly invoice and is based on the tier which the peak number or devices registered in Dwarfguard during the monthly period belongs to (the closest cap of device seats). This type of usage allows for best dynamic scaling (you do not need to take care of e.g. license upgrades) and best comfort (everything is managed by Dwarf Technologies) but the TCO per device is somewhat higher than other options - it also includes Advanced support level.
Deployment on your own server / private cloud
If you want complete control over the resources usage (e.g. control traffic / CPU costs by running on your own HW or using your own cloud account), DT is able to install Dwarfguard on your server, given you can provide the minimum required SW/HW configuration.
You can also manage the deployment fully yourself. In this mode you need just to prepare your server / VM, download deployment package and upload your license into Dwarfguard once deployment is done. See Install page information for more details.
When considering how much HW resources you need to dedicate to Dwarfguard server, please check out Performance and the performance testing protocol for the particular version being deployed.
Deployment on private network
Dwarfguard does not require Internet access. If you have all your devices on a private network, you may run the server on the private network as well.
Depending of the level of isolation of your private network, there may or may not be the option for DT to manage your deployment - in case you are interested: If your private network allows outside VPN connection, it is possible to use deployment management from DT. In case your private network is completely isolated from the Internet, your only option is to manage the deployment yourself.
Please see Dwarfguard Installation information for more details on Install page.