This article explains how Backup Radar assigns and counts licenses, how Device Type values affect license categories, and how to verify your current license usage.

License categories

Backup Radar organizes licenses into three categories. Each category represents a different type of protected device:

• Unit: Servers, virtual machines (VMs), NAS devices, databases, phone systems, network equipment, and any device that does not fit into the Workstation or Mailbox categories. Unit is the default category.

• Workstation: End-user devices such as desktops and laptops.

• Mailbox: Email and collaboration platforms such as Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, SharePoint, Exchange, Teams, and OneDrive.

Your Backup Radar plan includes a set number of licenses for each category. To confirm your current plan, go to the Billing page in ScalePad Hub.

If your license usage exceeds your plan limits, Backup Radar automatically moves your subscription to the next tier after a seven-day grace period. Use this time to confirm that your assigned device types and license usage are accurate.

How Backup Radar counts licenses

Backup Radar counts licenses based on unique device names, not the number of backup jobs or backup sources associated with a device.

The following rules apply:

• Each unique device name counts as one license per company.

• Device name matching is not case-sensitive.

• Multiple backup jobs associated with the same device name use one license, regardless of how many backup sources or platforms are involved.

• The company name and device name must both match for Backup Radar to recognize backups as belonging to the same device.

For example, if the same server is monitored through Veeam and Veeam Service Provider Console (VSPC), it uses one license as long as both sources report the same company and device name. Different job names do not necessarily create additional licenses. However, if a backup application reports the same device under different device names, Backup Radar will count those as separate licenses. For example, if one source reports a server as DC01 and another reports it as DC01.domain.local, Backup Radar counts them as separate licenses.

Device Type and license categories

The Device Type field determines which license category a backup belongs to. Because Device Type is tied to subscription costs, accurate categorization is important.

Backup Radar recognizes the following Device Type values for licensing:

Use the standard Device Type values Mailbox and Workstation whenever possible. Variations such as OneDrive, SharePoint, or other custom values may be treated as Unit and can affect license counts.

For more information about Device Type and other backup settings, see About backup settings.

Microsoft 365 and cloud backup example

Microsoft 365 backups are a common source of license-counting questions.

If a backup application such as CloudAlly, Datto SaaS, or Dropsuite reports one user under the same device name, Backup Radar treats that data as one Mailbox license. This remains true when the user has separate backup entries for:

• Email

• Calendar

• Contacts

• OneDrive

• Teams

These entries may appear as separate backups in Backup Radar, but they use one Mailbox license when they share the same company and device name.

The same principle applies across backup platforms. License counts can increase when a backup application reports separate items under different device names. How a backup application provides this data varies by product and is not controlled by Backup Radar.

After onboarding a new backup application, run the Backup List Report to confirm how its backups are being counted.

Verify your license usage

You can check your license usage in two places: Manage > Overview and the Backup List Report.

Manage overview

For a high-level summary:

1. In Backup Radar, go to Manage > Overview.

2. Review the Management Overview inventory.

The page includes the following counts:

• Active Units: The number of active units being monitored. Each unique unit name counts as one active unit.

• Active Mailboxes: The number of active mailboxes being monitored. Each unique mailbox name counts as one active mailbox.

• Active Workstations: The number of active workstations being monitored. Each unique workstation name counts as one active workstation.

• Active Backups: The total number of unique backups being monitored before grouping by device name.

• Inactive Backups: Backups awaiting activation. These do not count toward monthly invoicing.

• Retired Backups: Backups that are no longer being monitored. These do not count toward monthly invoicing.

• Companies with Backups: The number of companies with active backups assigned to them.

Backup List Report

For a detailed breakdown of license assignments:

1. In Backup Radar, go to Reporting > On Demand.

2. Select Backup List Report.

3. Select Generate with Defaults.

The report provides:

• A device inventory grouped by company.

• The Device Type assigned to each backup.

• A license usage summary showing the Unit, Workstation, and Mailbox licenses each company is consuming.

Backup Radar automatically groups duplicate device names and counts them as one license. The report reflects this grouping, giving you a detailed view of your license usage. For more information about generating and interpreting reports, see Working with On Demand reports.

Correct license assignments

If a backup is assigned to the wrong license category, update its Device Type using one of the following options:

• Go to Manage > Edit Backups, select the relevant backups, and use Bulk Edit.

• If the backups are linked to a template, update the Device Type in Manage > Templates.

After making changes, run the Backup List Report again to confirm that the backups are assigned to the intended category.

Best practices

• Use the standard Device Type values Mailbox and Workstation to ensure accurate license categorization.

• Remember that non-standard Device Type values default to Unit.

• Run the Backup List Report after onboarding a new backup application.

• Review the report for duplicate or inconsistent company and device names.

• Update incorrect Device Type values on the backup or its template.