The Zoo lets you share Rhino, Flamingo, Penguin, Brazil, and Bongo licenses (CD-Keys) among users on the same network workgroup. When these products are installed as the workgroup nodes instead of stand-alone, it works like this:
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When a workgroup node starts, it requests a license from the Zoo.
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An unused license is assigned to the node.
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When a node shuts down, the license is returned to the Zoo's license pool.
The Zoo is free!
Download Zoo 5 for Rhino 5 (Rhino 4, Flamingo, Penguin, Brazil, and Bongo not supported).
Download Zoo 4.0 for Rhino 4, Flamingo, Penguin, Brazil, and Bongo (Rhino 5 not supported).
Note: it is possible to have both Zoo 4.0 and Zoo 5 running on the same network, and even installed on the same server, without conflict.
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No extra costs - Special versions of Rhino, Flamingo, Penguin, Brazil, or Bongo are not needed.
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No special hardware needed - The Zoo will run on any system in the same network workgroup.
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No special software needed - The Zoo will run on any Windows system, including Windows XP, Vista, or 7, and Windows Server 2000, 2003 and 2008 systems.
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Simple setup - Install the Zoo on any system in the workgroup and type the license keys into the Zoo instead of the individual systems.
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Check out - License keys can be checked out so laptop users can disconnect from the network. The key can be checked in again when the laptop is reconnected to the network.
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Robust - Workgroup nodes will keep working even if the network connection or server is down.
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Routable - The Zoo works on both single-segments networks, or networks where systems are separated by routers.
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Mixed environment - A mixture of Workgroup Nodes and Standalone Nodes on the same Windows Domain or Workgroup is supported.
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Runs as a service - If you reboot the system with the Zoo, the Zoo will automatically start up.
What's New in Zoo 5?
Zoo 5 is a brand new version of the Zoo. Completely rewritten, Zoo 5 provides a number of new features not found in prior Zoo versions, including:
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Standard Internet Protocol Support - Clients communicate with Zoo 5 using
HTTP (Port 80) protocol. This makes it much easier for system administrators to route Zoo requests on complex networks or even over the Internet.
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Firewall Friendly - Zoo 5 requires the client to periodically check with the server, but never initiates connections back to the client. Administrators no longer need to open firewall ports on client machines.
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Limited License Check Out - Prior Zoo version allows for license check out to support laptop users or for business travel. But there was no limit to the check out duration. Zoo 5 allows the administrator to specify the license check out duration.
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3rd Party Plug-in Support - Prior Zoo version only maintained licenses for McNeel product (e.g. Rhino. Flamingo, Bongo, Brazil, and Penguin). Zoo 5 allows 3rd party plug-in developers to add support for their products to the Zoo.