The simplest thing to do is put the license file where the vendor suggests putting it. If you've received the file via e-mail, you can use the email message itself as the license file, since all lines not beginning with FLEXlm keywords are considered comments.
The sure-fire place to put a license file is in the default location: /usr/local/flexlm/licenses/license.dat.
Normally, the only things you can change in a license file are
FEATURE lines in the new (v3.0+) format sometimes have name=value pairs, which can be changed IF the 'name=' is lowercase.
For reasons unknown some /etc/rc (/etc/rc2.d, /sbin/rc2.d, etc.) files refuse to run lmgrd with the
simple command listed above. There are 2 workarounds we know to work - either or both
should fix the problem:
Finally, on RS-6000 systems, you have to use /etc/inittab to start the license server. The reason
is that AIX has not started TCP networking when /etc/rc is run, and lmgrd requires TCP
networking.
That's because the license file has only `uncounted' licenses, and these don't require a server.
Uncounted licenses have a '0' in the `number-of-licenses' field on the FEATURE line.
Yes. A server on the internet will serve licenses to anyone else on the internet. This can be
limited with the INTERNET= attribute on the FEATURE line, which limits access to a range of
internet addresses. You can also use the INCLUDE and EXCLUDE options in the daemon
option file to allow (or deny) access to clients running on a range of internet addresses.
Yes. Assuming communications is TCP, the license is automatically freed immediately. If
communications are UDP, then the license is freed after the UDP timeout, which is set by each
vendor, but defaults to 45 minutes. UDP communications is normally only set by the end-user,
so TCP should be assumed.
FLEXlm applications send periodic heartbeats to the server to discover if it has died. What
happens when the server dies is then up to the application. Some will simply continue
periodically attempting to re-checkout the license when the server comes back up. Some will
attempt to re-checkout a license a few times, and then, presumably with some warning, exit.
Some GUI applications will present pop-ups to the user periodically letting them know the
server is down and needs to be re-started.
The license file was typed in incorrectly, or it was changed by the user. Use the 'lmcksum' utility
to verify the license file. For v4.0+, if the file has 'ck=nnn', lmcksum will report simply OK or
BAD for each line. Otherwise, you'll have to compare the numbers lmcksum reports with a
good file, presumably run by your application's vendor.
If the file was good, and then fails with this error on a new release from your software vendor,
it means that they've changed their license key seed, and you'll require a new license file.
99.44% of the time, if it's in use, it's because lmgrd is already running on the port - or was
recently killed, and the port isn't freed yet. Assuming this is not the case, then use 'telnet host
port' - if it says `can't connect', it's a free port.
There's two methods
- install it as a service, or type the command in a DOS window. For a
DOS window, assuming the license file is in the default location
(C:\FLEXLM\LICENSE.DAT), use
Note that -app MUST be there, and it must be lowercase. If it's not there, or it's typed uppercase,
it will hang for 10 seconds, and then the DOS prompt will return. To install as a service, use the
INSTALL.EXE command provided by FLEXlm. For example:
Note that the full pathname to lmgrd.exe must follow the install command, and you must make
sure that the full path name, including drive letter, for your vendor daemon is specified in the
license file, C:\FLEXLM\LICENSE.DAT. Finally, as usual, lmgr32.dll must be in the system's
DLL search path. As a service, lmgrd is started when the system is booted. The log file is located
in SYSTEM32\LMGRD.LOG.
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Q5.2 How do I start the FLEXlm license server?
% lmgrd -c `path-to-license-file' > logfile &
Q5.3 I'm having trouble starting the license server in the system bootup files. How can I get this to work?
Q5.4 My server refuses to start. I get the message `No licenses to serve'.
Q5.5 Does FLEXlm work across the internet?
Q5.6 If my client dies, does the server free the license?
Q5.7 What happens when the license server dies?
Q5.8 I'm getting the error `encryption code in license file is inconsistent'. What does this mean?
Q5.9 How do you tell if a port is already in use?
Q5.10 How do you start lmgrd on NT?
D:\FLEXLM> lmgrd -app -l logfile
D:\FLEXLM> install d:\flexlm\lmgrd.exe