While SelectServer remains a term used widely in the industry, Bentley has transitioned many of its clients toward a cloud-based equivalent known as the .

Requires an active internet connection. You can use the "Test Connection" button in the Product Activation Wizard to verify reachability. Deployed SELECTserver (Local):

If an administrator sets an idle timeout too aggressively (e.g., 5 minutes), an engineer walking to get coffee will lose their license and may lose unsaved work context (the app is still open, but when they return, they are in "read-only demo mode"). Conversely, a timeout too long (2 hours) wastes licenses. Tuning requires monitoring actual usage patterns.

SelectServer enables the SELECT (Standard Enterprise License Entitlement and Tracking) program, moving customers from owning software to accessing it via subscriptions, usage-based models, and concurrent licensing. It is the "brain" that sits between Bentley’s cloud infrastructure and an end-user’s workstation.

SelectServer dynamically enforces the rules: for concurrent licenses, it checks check-in/check-out status; for usage-based, it tracks wall-clock time the application is in focus.