Understand Base Tier, Effective Tier, All Access, and Max Preview in QCDR

QCDR separates the installation's underlying entitlement from the features it is allowed to use right now. The Status tab exposes those concepts as Base tier and Effective tier.

Base Tier: the Underlying Entitlement

Base tier represents the underlying QCDR access that should remain after a temporary Max Preview ends. For a normal product entitlement this is Basic, Pro, or Max. When the entitlement source is All Access, QCDR presents the Base tier as Max via All Access.

Starting a Max Preview does not rewrite the underlying Base tier.

Effective Tier: What QCDR Can Use Now

Effective tier is the feature rank QCDR currently permits after it resolves entitlement validity, All Access, Max Preview, task integrity, known expiration, and bounded communication grace. Feature gates in the Rule/Token editors and Runtime Engine use this effective result.

All Access Provides Max-Level QCDR Access

When the Authorized Domain is covered by All Access, QCDR treats the product as Max-level for feature gating. Status identifies the verification source as Authorized Domain + All Access.

Max Preview Temporarily Elevates Effective Tier

An active one-time 30-Day Max Preview sets Effective tier to Max until its server-authoritative fixed end time. A Basic installation therefore operates as Max during the preview, while a Pro installation temporarily gains the Max-only tools.

When the known preview end passes, QCDR stops the preview locally even before the next network check. It then returns to a still-current paid Base tier, such as Pro, or to Basic if no paid Base entitlement exists.

Task Health Can Force Effective Tier to Basic

Paid and preview entitlement requires structurally healthy Entitlement Revalidation. If the plugin/task is missing, disabled, unpublished, duplicated, or scheduled slower than once per hour, QCDR immediately resolves Effective tier to Basic until the task is repaired.

This does not mean the stored Base tier or higher-tier configuration was deleted. It means QCDR will not execute paid capability while its required revalidation control is structurally unsafe.

Temporary Network Failure Uses Bounded Grace

If the entitlement server becomes temporarily unreachable, QCDR can retain a recently confirmed paid tier or active preview only within a 24-hour grace measured from the last successful validation and never beyond a known paid/preview expiration. Once that continuity window is no longer eligible, Effective tier becomes Basic.

Explicit invalid, expired, revoked, or other terminal entitlement responses do not receive transport grace.

Read the Current State in Status

Use QC Dynamic Replacer → Status → Current Entitlement rather than inferring access from which controls happen to be visible. Review Base tier, Effective tier, Verification, Access until, Max Preview end, Last checked, Next automatic check, and any communication-grace message together.

Community Discussion

Want to compare workflows, share practical tips, or discuss how you use this QCDR feature? Visit the QC Dynamic Replacer Community. For private support, bug reports, account-specific issues, or feature requests, use the QuantaCade support system.