# VEP7 license question



## osterdamus (Jul 16, 2021)

Been looking into VEP7 as a part of a strategy to unload some of the work from my main computer (MacBook pro) while also opening up to having windows machine available(for other reasons).

When I look at the product page, it states a first license price and additional licenses priced lower.

I am a bit in doubt about how many licenses I need for a setup of one client (Mac) and one server (windows). Is it one license for each server (total of 1 license), or do I need one for each machine (total of 2)?






VIENNA ENSEMBLE PRO 7 - Vienna Symphonic Library


Vienna Ensemble Pro has become the definitive cross-platform network solution in studios and production facilities around the world. This mixing and hosting application enables you to set up a multiple computer network with both Macs and PCs.




www.vsl.co.at





Thanks!


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## Elmakai (Jul 19, 2021)

You only need one license per computer you plan to run the Server software on. You can connect to the Server software from any computer without a license. So in your case, you will only need one. 

The only reason that would change is if you need more than one computer running with samples loaded up. I hope that helps.


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## osterdamus (Jul 19, 2021)

Elmakai said:


> You only need one license per computer you plan to run the Server software on. You can connect to the Server software from any computer without a license. So in your case, you will only need one.
> 
> The only reason that would change is if you need more than one computer running with samples loaded up. I hope that helps.


Thank you for clarifying this.

Given that no samples are loaded in the VEP client, do you know roughly what the memory footprint is for a VEP client instance (pr track, that is)?


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## Elmakai (Jul 19, 2021)

That's a bit tricky, as there are a couple things to consider. I did some testing for you right now, to establish a baseline:

My computer was using 7.2gb of RAM, with Studio One up and not having any instruments/VSTs loaded.

I added one instances of VEP (client) to it, and it went up to 7.3gb. I added a 2nd one, and still at 7.3. I kept adding until I reached 10 instances of VEP, and it went to 7.4.

In other words, it's safe to say each instance of VEP is approximately 10mb of RAM - at least on my computer.


The tricky part is that these are blank instances of the client, not connected to a server. I opened the server software on my computer, connected to it, and did not see the RAM go up by connecting to it. That does not mean it won't have an affect on your RAM, but I suspect the footprint is very low. Also, this is probably not the way you will start adding instruments (more on this later).

To make it even more complicated, you can decouple instances of the VEP client, which means that it prevents your DAW from saving settings into the instance of VEP server. For example, let's say you are using an instrument and during the course of a project you tweak a setting. If you don't decouple it, when you save the file in you DAW, it will save the information that VEP is currently set to as well. If you turn this off, it greatly reduces how much time it takes to save, but you may need the functionality. I did some testing on this as well, and it doesn't seem to affect the RAM either, but it may for huge templates.


As far as how you are going to add instruments, it's unlikely (or at least, not as efficient) to load a new instance of VEP client for every single instrument you plan to have in your template. What you will most likely do is load up one instance of VEP, duplicate it, and set each duplicate to a different MIDI channel. That way you can have multiple instruments all connect to the same instance within VEP server. This should reduce the footprint further, as instead of having (for example) 16 VEP clients loaded on your DAW, all pointing to a different instance within VEP server, you would load one VEP client, duplicate it 15 times, and set each one to it's own MIDI channel (1-16).


I know this is a lot, but hopefully it's not overwhelming. Most of this stuff I had to learn the hard way a few months ago when I starting using VEP myself.


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## osterdamus (Jul 19, 2021)

Thank you for the detailed answer. Not overwhelming at all, in fact, it’s very interesting to get an understanding of the client / server relationship. 

The fact that ram doesn’t go up hints at either very low ram consumption or some other shared magic going on, even if you don’t choose shared instance. 

On the topic of instances, on your client computer, is there any stand-alone software running that behaves as intermediary, or does all client related happen inside the DAW, on the tracks?
I find it interesting that duplicating a track doesn’t mean that a new VEP client instance is added.

This setup does sound like a great ram saver on the client, if that’s an issue.


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## Elmakai (Jul 19, 2021)

_On the topic of instances, on your client computer, is there any stand-alone software running that behaves as intermediary, or does all client related happen inside the DAW, on the tracks?_

You need to have the client software installed in order to load it as a VST. But you don't need a separate program running in the background along with your DAW, if that's what you are asking.


_I find it interesting that duplicating a track doesn’t mean that a new VEP client instance is added._

This might not be true completely. Unfortunately, there is a lot of overlap in terms which might lead to confusion. You can only have one instance of the VEP Server executable running. If you try to open a second one on the same computer, it will tell you it's already running.

But within that executable, you will have "instances" (this is what Vienna calls them) loaded, and theoretically as long as your computer can handle it, you can keep adding more. Each instance can have multiple instruments loaded at once. So when you add a VEP VST to your DAW, and then duplicate it, the duplicates will all connect to the same instance in the server.

So for example, I might have a series of instances in VEP Server called Stings, Brass, and Woodwinds. Within Strings, I have violins, violas, cellos, and basses, each assigned their own MIDI channel in Kontakt. I will duplicate the VEP VST in my DAW, then set each one to a different MIDI channel that corresponds to the channels I set in VEP server.

If I were to change one of the duplicates from Strings to Brass, ALL of the duplications (including the original) will change instances to Brass. But if I had manually added the VST repeatedly, not making duplicates of previous ones, then each one would be isolated.



For the most part, you probably aren't going to have much issues on your computer with the DAW as far as system resources. The real issue would be the server computer, and how many instruments you have loaded at once. That will eat up a lot of RAM and CPU. The more instances you have loaded, the more CPU. The more instruments you have loaded, the more RAM.


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