SmartBrowser Licensing Models — When to Use Each

SmartHub supports three ways to assign license seats to devices: Auto-Enrollment, Manual Enrollment, and Reserved Licenses. Each option is designed for different operational needs and levels of control.

Auto-Enrollment

Best for most customers and large device fleets

What it is

Auto-enrollment automatically assigns an available license seat to a device when SmartBrowser first checks in to SmartHub.

How it works

• Device starts SmartBrowser
• SmartHub detects the device
• A seat is assigned automatically (if available)
• The seat remains valid until it expires or the device stops checking in

When to use it

• Warehouses, distribution centers, ports, rail yards, and retail stores
• Environments with frequent device swaps, repairs, or replacements
• Large or growing fleets
• Organizations that want minimal IT involvement

Key benefits

• Fastest onboarding — no manual steps
• Handles repairs, loaners, and replacements automatically
• Automatically frees seats from lost or inactive devices
• Most efficient use of licenses

Manual Enrollment

Best for controlled or offline scenarios

What it is

Manual enrollment assigns a license seat explicitly to a device, typically using a code or administrator action.

How it works

• Administrator manually assigns a seat to a specific device
• The seat remains tied to that device until revoked or expired

When to use it

• Highly controlled or regulated environments
• Devices that operate offline or with limited connectivity
• Testing, staging, or lab environments
• Situations where auto-enrollment is intentionally disabled

Key considerations

• Requires more administrative effort
• Replacement devices must be re-licensed manually
• Lost or retired devices must be cleaned up by IT

Reserved Licenses

Best for critical or permanent devices

What it is

A reserved license guarantees that a specific device always has a seat and cannot lose it to another device.

How it works

• A seat is permanently reserved for a device
• That seat is not reclaimed automatically
• Even if the device is offline, the seat remains reserved

When to use it

• IT, supervisor, or administrative devices
• Kiosks or fixed workstations
• Diagnostic or staging devices
• Devices that must never lose access

Key benefits

• Guaranteed availability
• Predictable behavior
• Strong control for mission-critical devices

Recommended Best Practice (Hybrid Approach)

Most customers use a hybrid model:

• Auto-Enrollment for the majority of mobile devices
• Reserved Licenses for critical or fixed devices
• Manual Enrollment only when required (offline or restricted use cases)

This approach provides:

• Maximum flexibility
• Minimal administrative overhead
• Strong control where it matters

Quick Comparison Summary

Feature	Auto-Enrollment	Manual Enrollment	Reserved Licenses
Onboarding speed	Fastest	Manual	Manual
IT effort	Minimal	Higher	Low (after setup)
Handles repairs well	Yes	No	No
Handles lost devices	Automatic cleanup	Manual cleanup	Manual cleanup
License efficiency	Highest	Medium	Lowest
Control level	Moderate	High	Highest
Best for	Large, dynamic fleets	Controlled or offline use	Critical devices

Best Practices for License Seat Expiration and Check-In Interval Settings

SmartHub licensing behavior is controlled by two key settings:

• License Expiration (Seat Duration) — how long a device retains a license seat without renewal
• Check-In Interval — how often a device contacts SmartHub to renew its seat

Choosing the right values depends on how devices are used, how often they change, and how much administrative control is required.

This article outlines best-practice recommendations for each licensing strategy.

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Understanding the Two Settings

License Expiration (Days)

Defines how long a license seat remains valid if a device does not check in.

• Shorter durations reclaim licenses faster
• Longer durations provide more tolerance for downtime or connectivity loss

Typical range: 1–5 days

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Check-In Interval (Hours)

Defines how often a device contacts SmartHub to renew its license.

• Shorter intervals provide faster status updates
• Longer intervals reduce network chatter

Typical range: 1–4 hours

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Auto-Enrollment — Best Practices

Recommended for most customers

Auto-enrollment is designed for dynamic, high-turnover device fleets where devices are repaired, swapped, or replaced frequently.

Recommended Settings

• License Expiration: 3–5 days
• Check-In Interval: 2–4 hours

Why this works

• Devices have plenty of tolerance for temporary connectivity loss
• Lost or inactive devices naturally release licenses after a few days
• Replacement devices can auto-enroll immediately
• IT does not need to manually manage seat cleanup

When to shorten expiration

• High risk of lost devices
• Strict license usage controls
• Shared or transient device pools

When to lengthen expiration

• Remote yards or ports with intermittent connectivity
• Devices that may be powered off for extended periods

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Manual Enrollment — Best Practices

Recommended for controlled or offline environments

Manual enrollment is best suited for restricted, regulated, or offline scenarios, where devices should not automatically consume licenses.

Recommended Settings

• License Expiration: 1–2 days
• Check-In Interval: 1–2 hours

Why this works

• Shorter expiration prevents unused or retired devices from holding licenses indefinitely
• More frequent check-ins provide better visibility
• Administrators maintain tighter control over license usage

Important considerations

• Manual cleanup is required for lost or decommissioned devices
• Replacement devices must be licensed manually
• Short expiration reduces long-term license leakage

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Reserved Licenses — Best Practices

Recommended for critical or permanent devices

Reserved licenses are designed for devices that must always retain access, regardless of connectivity or usage patterns.

Recommended Settings

• License Expiration: Maximum allowed (or non-expiring)
• Check-In Interval: 3–4 hours

Why this works

• Reserved devices should never lose their license due to downtime
• Longer expiration avoids unnecessary administrative intervention
• Less frequent check-ins reduce overhead for fixed or kiosk devices

Typical use cases

• IT or administrative devices
• Supervisor handhelds
• Fixed workstations or kiosks
• Diagnostic and staging units

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Recommended Hybrid Strategy (Most Common)

Most customers achieve the best results by combining all three approaches:

Device Type	Strategy	Expiration	Check-In
Frontline mobile devices	Auto-Enrollment	3–5 days	2–4 hours
Temporary / loaner devices	Auto-Enrollment	2–3 days	2 hours
Offline or restricted devices	Manual Enrollment	1–2 days	1–2 hours
IT / supervisor / kiosk	Reserved License	Max	3–4 hours

This balances:

• Flexibility for large fleets
• Strong control where required
• Efficient license utilization

Spare License Strategy

SmartBrowser deployments typically involve mobile devices used across warehouses, ports, yards, rail operations, and retail environments. These fleets experience regular operational changes, including repairs, replacements, device loss, equipment rotation, and sometimes network dead spots. SmartHub’s licensing system is designed to adapt to these conditions while ensuring uninterrupted access to mission-critical browser workflows.

Maintaining a small pool of spare licenses and configuring SmartBrowser’s seat behavior appropriately enables smooth device lifecycle management across all industries and deployment sizes.

A spare pool of licenses provides flexibility to handle device turnover without operational delays. Spare seats allow replacement or temporary devices to become licensed through auto-enrollment as soon as they check in with SmartHub.

Why Maintain Spare Licenses

• Ensures uninterrupted operation when devices are swapped, replaced, or added
• Avoids administrative bottlenecks during repairs or peak activity
• Supports rapid deployment of new or loaner devices
• Prevents unplanned downtime if multiple devices become unavailable

License Management Across Common Device Lifecycle Events

1. Devices in Repair

Devices sent for repair may return with modified hardware identifiers or be replaced entirely.

Recommended approach:

• Use spare licenses to allow immediate replacement
• Allow repaired devices to auto-enroll when returned
• Revoke seats only for permanently retired or unrepairable devices

2. Lost Devices

Devices can be misplaced during shifts, mixed into pallets, left in vehicles, or otherwise become unreachable.

Recommended approach:

• Use shorter seat durations (1–2 days) to automatically reclaim unused seats
• Manually revoke the device if it reappears and checks in
• Rely on spare licenses to keep operations moving during investigations

3. Devices Leaving the Premises

Devices may leave the building temporarily or permanently due to contractors, inter-site transfers, or logistics errors.

Recommended approach:

• Allow seats to expire naturally if the device does not return
• Optionally disable auto-enrollment to prevent licensing on unauthorized networks

Assign spare licenses to replacement units without administrative delay

4. Destroyed or Unrecoverable Devices

Forklift impacts, drops from height, exposure to weather, and other hazards can render devices unusable.

Recommended approach:

• Revoke the seat if the device ever reconnects
• Otherwise, allow normal expiration to recycle the seat
• License the replacement device using the spare pool via auto-enrollment

Strategies by Organization Conditions

Small Deployments (10–100 devices)

Small businesses experience fewer swaps but higher operational impact per device.

Recommended configuration:

• Maintain 5–10% spare licenses
• Seat duration: 3–5 days for operational stability
• Auto-enrollment: Enabled
• Reserved seats: Use sparingly for IT and supervisory devices

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Medium and Large Enterprises (100–5,000+ devices)

Larger fleets have structured repair cycles, device pools, and frequent turnover.

Recommended configuration:

• Maintain 10–15% spare licenses
• Seat duration: 1–3 days to automatically reclaim unused seats
• Auto-enrollment: Enabled to simplify large-scale replacement
• Reserved seats: For critical or diagnostic units only

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High-Security / Restricted Environments

Organizations with strict device-control policies may require manual oversight.

Recommended configuration:

• Consider disabling auto-enrollment
• Use reserved seats for approved devices
• Assign seats manually to repaired or replacement units
• Maintain a smaller emergency spare pool