While the number of users is restricted by the available database license at startup (DLC/progress.cfg), the Licensed user count is not a restriction and in no way directly limits the value set for Maximum Number of Users -n (maxusers) for the database startup parameter on Enterprise Licenses.
For further discussion on the subject, refer to Article
Licensed User Count vs Number of Database Connections (-n) A very long time ago, on non-shared memory systems, the -n parameter was used to prevent the database server from being overloaded by limiting total number of concurrent users connected.
On shared memory systems the -n parameter is used to determine how many semaphores are required upon initialization of the database server. This parameter cannot be tuned while the database server is running.
The -n parameter is a numerical representation of total number of concurrent connections to the database at any given time. The value is in effect a limit on the number of concurrent connections to the database, whatever that connection may be, excluding remote servers (-Mn).
When a connection is made to the database, it is counted as part of the usrcnt for the database. For example when an online PROBKUP is initiated, as with any connection to the database, the usrcnt value is incremented then decremented when the online backup completes, freeing up the usrcntrl slot for the next connection.
Answering the question: What processes contribute to the -n parameter?
For a Progress OpenEdge Database, all and any connections that can be made to the database, where each process started counts as 1 user against the -n value, including:
- Client-Server connections (connecting with -S -H)
- Self-Service connections - clients (progres, prowin32, prowin, proapsv etc) and utilities (rfutil, dbutil, _mprshut such as PROMON, PROSHUT, PROQUIET, PROBKUP)
- Background processes such as the WDOG (Watch Dog) and APWs (Asynchronous Page Writers), BIW (Before Image Writer), AIW (After Image Writer) available with an Enterprise database license.
- Listener processes such as FMAGENT (DBAGENT) when OpenEdge Management/Explorer are used to manage the database
