In webMethods 3.X, the Partner Server key locks you into exchanging data with a single IP address. I think in 4.X and beyond, the “Partner” aspect is locked by restricting to one TN Partner profile (rather than IP). We do mostly RosettaNet integrations, so TN is required. Not sure how this would play out if you’re doing EDI or other messaging standards w/o going through TN.
The whole idea behind this is that a large enterprise could buy a Partner licenses for their critical custmers/vendors not having integration architecture in place (and therefore it’s priced accordingly). The license lock in this case would protect the enterprise too. Imagine paying for license and consultants for your vendor, and they turn around and use that capability (which you’ve paid for) to provide B2B services to your competitor.
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