1. How to Use lmgrd as an Alternative of lmadmin
2. How to Change the Vendor Daemon Port with lmadmin
3. How to Manage Redundant FlexNet License Servers
4. How to Install a FlexNet License Server on a Virtualized Machine
5. Slow Server Startup TroubleShooting Suggestions
6. mcslmd Vendor Daemon Startup Troubleshooting Suggestions
7. How to Display Features In Use using Lmutil

Back to Installing, Configuring, and Administrating a FlexNet License Server main page.

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1.1 Prerequisite

You must have downloaded the FlexNet server tools v11.16.6.0. Note: Your licenses must be installed before starting the server. To manage the licenses of a Thermo Scientific software product, please refer to the documentation “Installing, Configuring, and Administrating a FlexNet License Server for Thermo Scientific Software Applications” at “Administrating your licenses“.

1.2 Information Required for Creating the License Server File

In order to generate a FlexNet server license file, you need to get the following information about the system the license server will be running on:

• Host ID (i.e., Ethernet address)
• Hostname (or IP address)

Instructions for capturing this information are given below for UNIX (Linux and Mac OS X) and Windows.

1.2.1 UNIX (Linux and Mac OS X)

Warning: To install lmadmin, the administrators rights are required, (non-root user).

1. 1. On the system the FlexNet server is running on, open a command shell, go to the directory where the server will be installed:

          cd <server_install_dir>/FlexNetLicenseServerTools

   2. To get the host ID (i.e., Ethernet address), execute the lmhostid program as follows:

      ./lmutil lmhostid

      The output will look like:

      lmhostid - Copyright (c) 1989-2013 Flexera Software LLC. All Rights Reserved.
          The FlexNet host ID of this machine is "012345678901"
          Only use ONE from the list of hostids.

      If the command fails with error: No such file or directory. You need install as root the LSB (Linux Standard Basic) libraries.
   3. To get the hostname, you can use the following command:

          ./lmutil lmhostid -hostname

   4. To get the IP address (optional):

      ./lmutil lmhostid -internet -v4

   5. Save the lmhostid output and the hostname (or IP address) for the creation of the server license file.

1.2.2 Windows

1. 1. On the system where the FlexNet server is running/will run, run LMTOOLS. It should be located in:

         <server_install_dir>\FlexNetLicenseServerTools\lmtools.exe

      
   2. Click on the System Settings tab.
      • The Computer/Hostname field contains the required hostname.
      • The Ethernet address field contains the required host ID.
      • The IP Address field contains the optional IP address.
   3. Save the lmhostid output and the hostname (or IP address) for the creation of the server license file.

1.2.3 Installing the FlexNet Server

Create the server license file in:

    <server_install_dir>/FlexNetLicenseServerTools/passwordServer.dat

Enter your information:

    SERVER <hostName> <hostId> [<portNumber>]
    VENDOR asglmd

Example:

    SERVER BOD1060 0024e83de91e
    VENDOR asglmd

Note: If you have several Ethernet addresses, use the first one.

1.2.3.1 UNIX (Linux and Mac OS X)

At this point, we assume that the FlexNet files are installed in the default location:

   cd <server_install_dir>/FlexNetLicenseServerTools/

The vendor daemon asglmd must be in the same directory as lmgrd.

The command to start the server looks like:

   ./lmgrd -c <server_license_file> -l [+]<debug_log_path>

where:

Prepending the + character to the log file name causes log entries to be appended.

The following is the suggested command to use:

   ./lmgrd -c passwordServer.dat -l +flexnet.log

Note: Any time you make a change to the server licenses, you should use the above command. If the operation fails the first time you enter it, wait a few seconds and retry.

Tip: It can be convenient to set up the server so that it is started automatically upon system reboot. This would involve editing the system boot script. For information about how to start lmgrd automatically under UNIX (Linux and Mac OS X), please refer to FlexNet Publisher – License Administration Guide chapter 10 – “lmgrd – License Server Manager“.

1.2.3.2 Windows

At this point, we assume that the FlexNet files are installed in the default location:

   <server_install_dir>/FlexNetLicenseServerTools/

FlexNet uses a program called lmgrd to manage licenses. On Windows, FlexNet provides an advanced tool called LMTOOLS that allows one to configure lmgrd to run as a service. This is the preferred method of configuring FlexNet and is outlined below. Note: To configure a license server as a service, you must have Administrator privileges. The vendor daemon asglmd.exe must be in the same directory as lmgrd.exe.

1. Run LMTOOLS.
2. Click the Configuration using Services radio button to select it.
3. Click the Config Services tab.
4. In the Service Name field, type the name of the service that you want to define. It is recommended that you use the name Thermo Scientific Applications License Manager.
5. In the Path to the lmgrd.exe file field, enter or browse to lmgrd.exe for this license server. In many cases the path will be:

      <server_install_dir>\FlexNetLicenseServerTools\lmgrd.exe

6. In the Path to the license file field, enter or browse to the license file for this license server. It is recommended that you copy the server license file to:

      <server_install_dir>\FlexNetLicenseServerTools\passwordServer.dat

7. In the Path to the debug log file, enter or browse to the debug log file that this license server writes. For example, FlexNet.log.(Prepending the debug log file name with the + character appends logging entries. The default location for the debug log file is the C:\WINDOWS\System32 folder. To specify a different location, make sure you specify a fully qualified path.) For most users, the following should be appropriate:

      <server_install_dir>\FlexNetLicenseServerTools\flexnet.log

8. (Optional) Click on the View Log button to display the log file. Check that no logging errors occur (i.e., log file can be opened and it contains readable text). Click on the Close Log button to close the log file.
9. To ensure that the license service is always running and automatically started upon system reboot, it is necessary to set the two checkboxes, Use Services and Start Server at Power Up, at the bottom of the dialog.
10. To save the new Thermo Scientific Applications License Manager service, click the Save Service button.

1.4 Starting the Server (Windows)

Once the license manager service is configured, lmgrd is started by starting the service from the LMTOOLS interface: Run LMTOOLS if it is not already running. LMTOOLS appears with Service/license file tab open. Click the Configuration using Services radio button. Select the service name from the list presented in the selection box. Look for the Thermo Scientific Applications License Manager service. If you followed the recommendations above, the service name should be Thermo Scientific Applications License Manager. Click the Start/Stop/Reread tab. Start Thermo Scientific Applications License Manager by clicking the Start Server button. The Thermo Scientific Applications License Manager license server should now be started and writing its debug log output to <server_install_dir>\FlexNetLicenseServerTools\flexnet.log. Note: Any time you make a change to the server configuration, you should stop the server then restart it in order for the changes to take effect. Note: Any time you make a change to the server licenses, you should use the Start/Stop/Reread tab, and press the ReReadLicenseFile button. If the operation fails the first time you press it, wait a few seconds and retry.

1.5 Administrating your Licenses

To manage the licenses of a Thermo Scientific software product, please refer to the documentation “Installing, Configuring, and Administrating a FlexNet License Server for Thermo Scientific Software Applications” at “Administrating your licenses“. To reread the license file and start the asglmd vendor daemon, use the following command:

./lmgrd lmreread -c <server_license_file> -vendor asglmd

Note: After any change in license server, you must stop the asglmd process, which is reloaded automatically by lmgrd, to take into account the last changes. Tip: If you encounter any issues with your configuration, please ensure that lmgrd and asglmd are allowed to communicate through the firewall.

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1. Go to http://localhost:8090/vendor.
2. Click on the “asglmd” line.
3. In “General Configuration”, set the “Vendor Daemon Port” with “Use this port:”
4. Click on “Save” button
5. Click on “Stop” button
6. Click on the “asglmd” line.
7. Click on “Start” button

Note: Make sure the chosen port number is not blocked by a firewall or any internet security programs. Make sure it is not already in use by another application.

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Redundant FlexNet license servers are not supported by the new activation licensing. In such a configuration, the previous licensing mechanism (based on password.dat) must be used instead. Please contact your Thermo Scientific license department. For more information, please refer to FlexNet Publisher – License Administration Guide chapter ” Ensuring License Availability”.

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The installation of a virtualized license server is complicated and limited to a few virtualization platforms (VMware ESX, Microsoft Hyper-V and Citrix XenServer). For more information, please refer to FlexNet Publisher – License Administration Guide “Trusted Storage – Licensing in Virtual Environments”. Warning: In some virtual systems such as VMware ESX, licensing activation can fail because only a single Unique Machine Number can be detected. This issue can happen if the system has no Network Interface Controller. With a NIC interface, additional UMNs would be detected, and activation would succeed.

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The slowness of startup are probably due to problems of communications between the Thermo Scientific software client application and the server.

• Check the time elapsed to check out a FlexNet license by the client: on the client machine, add the environment variable VSG_LICENSE_DEBUG. Set VSG_LICENSE_DEBUG to a file name (make sure it is set to a path where you can write files) and start the client application. Licensing debug output will be written to the specified file when the client application is launched.
• Check the configuration of the “DNS search path”.
• Check the route packets trace from the server to client and from the client to server. E.g.: traceroute (Linux/Mac) or tcproute.exe (Windows).

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The asglmd vendor daemon can fail to start for various reasons. Here are some things to check for.

• Invalid license.dat file:
  • Make sure you did not include angle brackets (“<” and “>”) around the hostname and Ethernet address.
  • Make sure you provided an Ethernet address as the second field on the SERVER line, not an IP address.
  • Check the file carefully for incorrect values, typos and/or syntax errors.
  • Make sure the file is a plain text file (e.g., not a Word file, not an RTF file…).
• Software activation errors. To check the activation status of your licenses:
  1. Open a command prompt/terminal in the directory where you have extracted the FlexNet server tools archive and go to the FlexNetLicenseServerTools
  2. Run servercomptranutil -v
  3. Check the output, making sure the Status of each license is Enabled, and the Trust Flags are Fully Trusted. If they are not, please contact our customer support group for assistance.
  4. If no activations are available, please activate your licenses by following the instructions in section 4 Adding (New) Licenses.
• asglmd files not copied to the lmadmin directory. Please be sure to have followed carefully the instructions in section 3.4.2 Adding the asglmd Vendor Daemon to lmadmin.
• for versions before 2020.3, mcslmd files not copied to the lmadmin directory. Please be sure to have followed carefully the instructions in section 3.4.3 Adding the mcslmd Vendor Daemon to lmadmin.
• On Windows, the vendor daemon can fail to start if there is a permission issue with the FlexNet Licensing Service. To apply the required permission to FlexNet Licensing Service, please follow those steps:
  1. Download installs.exe
  2. Open a command prompt with administrator rights in the directory where you have downloaded installs tool and enter this command : installs.exe -a lmadmin
• The server firewall must be configured to allow communication between lmadmin/lmgrd and the vendor daemon asglmd. We suggest that you configure lmadmin/lmgrd to use a static port for communicating with asglmd and to open this port on the server firewall. For information on configuring the lmadmin port, see How to Change the Vendor Daemon Port with lmadmin.

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