iLok Service Breaks For 24 Hours, Causes Social Media Stir

June 11th, 2013 by

PACE launched a new desktop-based version of their industry-leading license manager late Sunday night. Unfortunately, the new release left some iLok users with a bit more than “Zero Downtime.”

Professionals know to expect some degree of hiccups and incompatibility issues with almost any type of new software launch these days, but the new iLok license manager seems to have been particularly unready for prime time.

For those who were unlucky enough to find themselves downloading the new license manager on Monday morning, a bug caused some types of licenses to temporarily fail. This was especially a problem for users who had issues with their license for Pro Tools, which relies on iLok for startup.

ilok2-TeaseFortunately, within 24 hours, PACE had already clamped down on the issue, putting fixes in place overnight late Monday evening. Tuesday morning, service on the website was sluggish as the system updated and many users worked to fix their issues, but at least a solution was in place.

I decided to take iLok at their word and risk my own personal authorizations for the sake of this write-up. After testing early Tuesday afternoon, I’m happy to report that despite the issues on Monday, the new system is now working pretty smoothly.

I did find that connecting to the server took longer than in the past. Instead of syncing within 2 or 3 minutes, it took more like 10 or 15. (I stepped away from the computer and a quick snack and by the time I was back, the sync was done.) My first attempt at starting Pro Tools was buggy, but a simple restart took care of that, and I’ve been up and running without issue ever since.

For iLok clients who updated their system within the 24 hour window when there was a major issue, PACE recommends the following fix:

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Steps you need to take once you see the license type of “License” instead of “Temporary”:

  • If your iLok with the license had not been seen by the server, just the updating of the database record for your license will take care of the issue.
  • If your iLok had been seen by our server and your license is no longer working, please plug in the iLok and deactivate each of the affected licenses. To do this, open the Detail pane, then select the license from the license grid at the top. Choose the Deactivate link. Once the licenses are deactivated, you may then activate it to any allowed location.

If you are still experiencing difficulties please use this link to contact us and we will work with you to fix your issues. We are monitoring our support tickets closely during extra long hours to right matters.

Some users who updated that first day report that they have also had to go through a tedious process of deleting corrupt files from their machines. To those who updated on the first day, iLok offered this public apology:

“We have let you down and we know it. We could have done a better job communicating that we were hard at work to fix the issues some of you have been having and for that we are truly sorry.

We handle tens of millions of licenses for users, some stretching back over a decade with legacy code. Whilst we have worked to ensure a seamless transition, some issues occurred.”

Fire at the Water Cooler

They say good news travels faster than bad news on social media. But warnings seem to travel even faster still.

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Almost immediately, the story of iLok’s rocky launch began to spread through forum postings, and even more rapidly, through shares on Facebook and Twitter.

One popular messageboard already has 12 pages of fervent posts about the issue. (Oh, wait. Make that 13.)

But despite the clamor on the web, a representative from PACE confirmed for us that only a small number of users were affected:

“All of our support tickets to PACE on this issue totaled less than 75 and some of those were duplicates,” he said. “We strive to answer all support tickets as quickly as possible.”

That number seemed surprisingly small to me, especially when compared to the pitched tenor of criticism on the web. I wondered how many total users there were in the iLok system for a sense of scale:

“Total users/accounts in the system… just shy of 1 million. Tens of millions of licenses moving around, and that number grows exponentially,” he said, adding, “Yes, 75 is a small number but any number is unacceptable to us.”

The Critique

Despite the actual service outage which may have ruined a day’s worth of work for scores of users, PACE’s biggest problem following the launch of the new license manager may have been lack of communication.

After the newly-introduced system was known to be experiencing issues, no message appeared on the company’s website advising that new users hold off from installing until the issues were resolved. The company seemed to take no initiative in making their customers aware of the issue, or of its timetable for completion.

This, coupled with the fact that the iLok website lists no contact information, is probably central to why PACE seems to attract such a significant amount of schadenfreude, despite offering a fairly reliable and reasonably-priced service that supports most of the major software developers in the industry.

Consumers, especially in the music world, just don’t feel very warmly about companies that seem like faceless monoliths. (Even if they so readily buy and rely on their wares without even thinking much about it.)

Of course, professional users know to never (as in never, ever) upgrade essential software either the first week it’s released (much less the first day) or immediately before a session.

With that in mind, many of iLok’s core users may be willing to accept a 24-hour startup SNAFU. But in the Internet age communication is expected. And it’s expected immediately.

Steven Slate, whose company relies on iLok for piracy protection, stepped up to issue a public statement of his own:

“I think PACE should have been much more up front yesterday in acknowledging the problems, and I’m glad that today they have finally taken measures to do so. That of course is not enough consolation for those who were unable to work yesterday. But at least it shows that they are taking some positive steps to communicate.

I can relate to PACE because like them, we are a small technology company that is trying to make a good product…Clearly, the system migration wasn’t tested enough before going live. This was a mistake, and now PACE, and anyone who is having problems, are paying the price for it. However, I can attest that fixes are already in place, and deactivating and reactivating licenses that say temporary seem to solve all issues.

Even before this new iLok client update error, there seemed to be an aura of hate against iLok and I truly don’t understand why. Because the iLok is the most convenient thing on the planet and I can’t live without it. And I’m talking as a USER now – not a developer. With the iLok, I never had to worry about switching systems, bringing plugins to other studios. I would be back into my session with all my plugins in minutes…

What happened yesterday is a real tragedy. But I hope more people will be forgiving, especially since in less than 24 hours there is already a solution, and realize that PACE isn’t the enemy. The enemy is SOFTWARE PIRACY. If you’re gonna be really angry at someone, be angry at the guys who are careless about the years of work and dedication from software developers and demolish their products by removing the much deserved revenue streams that they need to keep afloat.”

Personally, I like, use, and respect iLok as a product – exven if I have had to begrudgingly accept that PACE is a small, Web 1.0-era type of company that likes to systematize and streamline customer interaction, keeping the consumer at a bit of an arm’s length.

Perhaps this experience will teach PACE that customer interaction is crucial in this day and age, and particularly in this small industry. (Even if it does cost good money to fund a more accessible customer support or PR team.)

With new piracy protection systems from The Plugin Alliance and Waves becoming significant players in the field, PACE may finally have a real incentive to step up iLok’s game on that front.

Fortunately, the company already appears to be listening. This new license manager, which had such an unfortunate launch, is actually a direct answer to market demands and pressure from their competitors:

For the first time, users will be able to license iLok protected software directly to their machines – with no dongle necessary. Yes: iLok has finally gone ahead and taken the iLok out of iLok.

(Of course, not every plugin developer may choose allow this option, due to the increased security risk that goes along with any machine-based authorization system.)

They’ve also added a much-requested “TLC” option to their “Zero Downtime” coverage, which will officially insure lost and stolen iLoks for the first time.

So it’s clear that PACE does hear the market. They just have to do an even better job about responding to it in the future.

Justin Colletti is a Brooklyn-based audio engineer, college professor, and journalist. He records and mixes all over NYC, masters at JLM, teaches at CUNY, is a regular contributor to SonicScoop, and edits the music blog Trust Me, I’m A Scientist.

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