To start the license manager daemon (lmgrd) execute a command similar to the following.

If you are running in the C shell:

% lmgrd_path -c license_file_path >& log_path &

If you are using either the Korn or Bourne shell:

$ nohup lmgrd_path -c license_file_path > log_pathname 2>&1 &

To start the lmgrd daemon automatically every time you reboot the license server add a line similar to the following to /etc/rc.boot, /etc/rc.local, or the appropriate startup file:

nohup lmgrd_path -c license_file_path > log_path 2>&1 &

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Note: This will not start the daemon until you reboot your license server.

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Because FLEXlm supports a large number of platforms, we can not describe all variations of system boot files in this manual. See your operating system's man pages for specific information about modifying startup files.

Use the environment variable LM_LICENSE_FILE to set the location of the license file. For example in the C shell:

% setenv LM_LICENSE_FILE license_file_path

In the Korn and Bourne shells:

# LM_LICENSE_FILE=license_file_path
# export LM_LICENSE_FILE

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Note: The “-c” option overrides the setting of the LM_LICENSE_FILE environment variable for lmgrd and other FLEXlm utilities like lmstat and lmdown. See “Using Separate License Files on the Same Server Node” for more information about LM_LICENSE_FILE.

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Note: Some applications do not recognize the LM_LICENSE_FILE environment variable.

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The SERVER line specifies the node name and hostid of the license server, and the port number of the license manager daemon (lmgrd). Normally a license file has one SERVER line. Three SERVER lines means that you are using redundant servers. The absence of a SERVER line means every FEATURE or INCREMENT line in the license file is uncounted. For more information about uncounted features, see “FEATURE or INCREMENT Lines”. License administrators do not have the option of deleting SERVER lines from a license file because the hostids from the SERVER lines are encrypted into the passwords on every FEATURE and INCREMENT line. For more information about redundant servers, see Chapter 5, “Selecting Server Nodes.” The format of the SERVER line is:

SERVER nodename id [port-number]

Example:

SERVER enterprise 0122345 1701

The DAEMON line specifies the daemon name and path. The format of the DAEMON line is shown below.

DAEMON daemon-name daemon_path [options_file_path]

Example:

DAEMON sampled /usr/local/sampled \
/usr/local/options/options.dat

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Note: “\” characters are only legal syntax in FLEXlm v3.0 and later. Previous versions required that each line in the license file fit on a single line.

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A FEATURE line describes the license to use a product. An INCREMENT line can be used in place of a FEATURE line, as well as to “incrementally” add licenses to a prior FEATURE or INCREMENT line in the license file.

Only the first FEATURE line for a given feature will be processed by the vendor daemon. If you want to have additional copies of the same feature (for example, to have multiple node-locked counted features), then you must use multiple INCREMENT lines. INCREMENT lines form license groups based on the feature name, version, and node-lock hostid. If the feature name, version, and node-lock hostid (and optionally, the vendor string, if the vendor specified this) match a prior INCREMENT or FEATURE line, the new number of licenses is added to the old number. If any of the three do not match, a new group of licenses is created in the vendor daemon, and this group is counted independently from others with the same feature name. INCREMENT is not available for pre-v2.61 FLEXlm clients or servers. A FEATURE line does not give an additional number of licenses, whereas an INCREMENT line ALWAYS gives an additional number of licenses.

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Note: There is a rarely used option in FLEXlm which causes FEATURE lines to function as INCREMENT lines. This option is called ls_use_all_feature_lines. You will have to ask your vendor if they use this option. If they do, then all FEATURE lines behave exactly as INCREMENT lines.

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The format for the FEATURE line changed in FLEXlm v3.0. The old format is understood by new clients and servers, but the new format is more flexible, and you will likely see it more often in the future.

Pre v3.0 format:

FEATURE|INCREMENT name daemon version exp_date #lic code “vendor_string” [hostid]

New format:

FEATURE|INCREMENT name daemon version exp_date #lic code \
[HOSTID=hostid][VENDOR_STRING=”vendor-string”] \ 
[vendor_info=”...”] [dist_info=”...”] [user_info=”...”] \
[asset_info=”...”] [ISSUER=”...”] [NOTICE=”...”] [ck=nnn] \
[OVERDRAFT=nnn] [DUP_GROUP=NONE|SITE|[UHDV]]

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Note: Nothing in a FEATURE/INCREMENT line is editable, except for values in the “name=value” syntax where name is all lowercase.

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where:		is the:
name		name given to the feature by the vendor.
daemon		name of the vendor daemon; also found in the DAEMON line. The specified daemon serves this feature.
version		version of this feature that is supported by this license.
exp_date		expiration date, for example, 7-may-1993. Note: Note: If the year is 0, then the license never expires.
#lic		number of concurrent licenses for this feature. If the number of users is set to 0, the licenses for this feature are uncounted and no lmgrd is required but a hostid on the FEATURE line is required. See “Counted Vs. Uncounted Licenses” and Appendix C, “Hostids for FLEXlm-Supported Machines.”
code		license key for this FEATURE line. Two identical looking FEATURE or INCREMENT lines may have different license keys if the start dates are different.

The following fields are all optional (except for vendor-string in the old format). For optional fields of the “name=value” syntax, if the name is lowercase, it can be modified and the license will remain valid.

DUP_GROUP=NONE|SITE|[UHDV]
       U = DUP_USER
       H = DUP_HOST
       D = DUP_DISPLAY
       V = DUP_VENDOR_DEF

Examples:

FEATURE xyz_app xyzd 2.300 31-dec-1997 20 1234567890 “xyz”
INCREMENT f1 demo 1.000 1-jan-0 5 12345678901234567890 		\
              HOSTID=INTERNET=195.186.*.* NOTICE=”Licensed to XYZ corp”

The FEATURESET line is used to prevent FEATURE lines from being added to or removed from the license file. The format of the FEATURESET line is shown below.

FEATURESET daemon-name code

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Note: Nothing in a FEATURESET line is editable. Use the FEATURESET line exactly as it comes from your vendor.

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Example:

FEATURESET sampled 12345678

The purpose of the PACKAGE line is to support two different licensing needs:

A PACKAGE line, by itself, does not license anything—it requires a matching FEATURE/INCREMENT line to license the whole PACKAGE. A PACKAGE line can be shipped by your software vendor with a product, independent of any licenses. Later, when you purchase a license for that package, one or more corresponding FEATURE/INCREMENT licenses will enable the PACKAGE.

Example:

PACKAGE pkg_name vendor pkg_version pkg_key \ COMPONENTS=pkg_list OPTIONS=pkg_options ]

feature[:version[:count]]

Examples:

PACKAGE suite demo 1.0 20CHARCODEXXXXXXXXXX\
                COMPONENTS=”comp1 comp2” OPTIONS=SUITE	
FEATURE suite demo 1.0 1-jan-0 5 20CHARCODEXXXXXXXXXX

This is a typical SUITE example. You will have 2 features: comp1 and comp2, which are each version 1.0, with 5, non-expiring licenses available. When comp1 or comp2 are checked out, “suite” will also be checked out.

PACKAGE suite demo 1.0 \
                COMPONENTS=”comp1:1.5:2 comp2:3.0:4 comp3”
FEATURE suite demo 1.0 1-jan-95 3 20CHARCODEXXXXXXXXXX\
                ISSUER=distrib1

In this example, the component versions override the FEATURE versions, and the number of licenses available for any component is the product of the 3 licenses for suite and the number of licenses for that component. The result is equivalent to:

FEATURE comp1 demo 1.5 1-jan-95 6 20CHARCODEXXXXXXXXXX\
                ISSUER=distrib1
FEATURE comp2 demo 3.0 1-jan-95 12 20CHARCODEXXXXXXXXXX\
                ISSUER=distrib1
FEATURE comp3 demo 1.0 1-jan-95 3 20CHARCODEXXXXXXXXXX\
                ISSUER=distrib1

UPGRADE name daemon fromversion version exp_date #lic code “string” [hostid] ck=nnn

All the data is the same as for a FEATURE or INCREMENT line, with the addition of the fromversion field. An UPGRADE line removes up to the number of licenses specified from any old version (>= fromversion) and creates a new version with that same number of licenses.

For example, the two lines:

FEATURE f1 demo 1.000 1-jan-94 5 9BFAC03164EDB7BC0462 ““
UPGRADE f1 demo 1.000 2.000 1-jan-94 2 1B9A30316207EC8CC0F7 ““

would result in 3 licenses of v1.0 of f1 and 2 licenses of v2.0 of f1.

UPGRADE will operate on the most recent FEATURE or INCREMENT line (i.e., closest preceding FEATURE or INCREMENT line) with a version number that is >= fromversion, and < version.

Note that UPGRADE does not work for node-locked, uncounted licenses. A new FEATURE line should be issued in this case, since the license count is irrelevant.

This section lists the limits on end-user editable FLEXlm license file parameters:

A Floating license means anyone on the network can use the licensed software, up to the limit specified in the license file. (Also referred to as concurrent usage or network licensing.) Floating licenses have no hostids on the individual FEATURE lines. This configuration requires an lmgrd daemon because the daemon is going to count the concurrent usage of the licenses.

An example of a license file that provides floating licenses is:

SERVER lulu 17001234 1700
DAEMON xyzd /etc/xyzd
FEATURE f1 xyzd 1.00 1-jan-95 2 code1 "" 
FEATURE f2 xyzd 1.00 1-jan-95 6 code2 ""
FEATURE f3 xyzd 1.00 1-jan-95 1 code3 "" 

This license file specifies that two licenses for feature “f1”, six licenses for feature “f2”, and one license for feature “f3” are available anywhere on the network that can access the license server “lulu”.

Node locking means the licensed software can only be used on one node. A node-locked license has a hostid on any FEATURE line that is node-locked to a particular host. There are two types of node-locked licenses; uncounted and counted.

If the number of licenses is set to 0, then the licenses are uncounted and unlimited use is permitted on the specified node. This configuration does not require an lmgrd daemon because it is not going to count the concurrent usage of the features.

The following license file allows unlimited usage of feature “f1” on the nodes with host IDs of 12001234 and 1700ab12:

FEATURE f1 xyzd 1.000 1-jan-95 0 code1 "" 12001234
FEATURE f1 xyzd 1.000 1-jan-95 0 code2 "" 1700ab12

If these were the only FEATURE lines in this license file, no lmgrd daemon would be necessary and you should not start one.

The following license file allows three licenses for feature “f1” to be run, but only on the node with host ID 1300ab43. (In this case, the daemons should be run on the same node that runs the software, since there is no reason to run the daemons on another node.)

SERVER lulu 1300ab43 1700
DAEMON xyzd /etc/xyzy
FEATURE f1 zyzd 1.00 1-jan-95 3 code "" 1300ab43

Another solution that some vendors choose is a combination of the node-locked solution in “Node Locked Licenses” and the floating option described in “Floating (Concurrent) Licenses”. This provides a fixed number of floating licenses for use only on a set of servers you define when you request your license.

In this configuration, the license file has one node-locked FEATURE line for each node that is to be able to run the software. The same number of licenses is generally specified on each FEATURE line. This configuration does require an lmgrd daemon because it is going to count the concurrent usage.

For example, the following license file allows a total of two simultaneous licenses of a feature called, “f1” on any of the three nodes specified, with the daemons running on the license server “lulu”:

SERVER lulu 17001234 1700
DAEMON xyzd /etc/xyzd
FEATURE f1 xyzd 1.00 1-jan-93 2 code1 "" 17001234
FEATURE f1 xyzd 1.00 1-jan-93 2 code2 "" 17002222
FEATURE f1 xyzd 1.00 1-jan-93 2 code3 "" 17003333

Uncounted node-locked and concurrent usage licenses can be mixed in the same license file.

The following license file allows unlimited use of feature “f1” to be used on nodes 17001111 and 17002222, while allowing two other licenses for feature “f1” to be used anywhere else on the network:

SERVER lulu 17001234 1700
DAEMON xyzd /etc/xyzd
FEATURE f1 xyzd 1.00 1-jan-93 0 code1 "" 17001111
FEATURE f1 xyzd 1.00 1-jan-93 0 code2 "" 17002222
FEATURE f1 xyzd 1.00 1-jan-93 2 code3 ""

This configuration does require an lmgrd daemon because it is going to count the concurrent usage of the two licenses on the third FEATURE line.