Auto-release LAN license seat from a client PC

[Ben_WilsonADSK]

[ FlexSim 16.1.0 ]

We have 3-seat LAN license. There are instances where a user forgets to close FlexSim before she leaves for the day. The seat is then blocked until the person comes back and releases it.

Is there a way to auto-release the license after a period on inactivity?

[Ben_WilsonADSK · Accepted solution]

As you mention, the ideal behavior is to save what you are doing and close FlexSim before disconnecting the client PC from the LAN License server (a disconnect can be leaving the network, shutting down, or hibernating your machine). The action of closing FlexSim while still in communication with the license server allows the server to immediately regain control of the seats that had been on that client PC, without waiting for any timeout period.

But now to your question. What do you do if the user just drops the lid on their laptop and walks out of the building, without saving and closing FlexSim? Can you regain those seats?

The LAN license tools referenced below can be downloaded here:

https://www.flexsim.com/ftp/LAN/LANlicense.zip

As you follow the LAN License Server Installation Instructions (included in the linked .zip archive), step 5. Copy the vendor daemon files shows that one of the copied files is flexsim.opt. This is an Options file, as described in Chapter 13 (page 155) of FlexNet's License Administration Guide (included in the linked .zip archive).

An options file can be configured to control many aspects of your LAN licenses, including a timeout value for how long a client PC can be missing before a server considers its seats returned.

The flexsim.opt file that is included in a default lmadmin installation does just that. It includes the following line:

TIMEOUTALL 900

This directive is exactly what you are looking for. It specifies that after 900 seconds (15 minutes) without communication with a client PC, all checked out features on that client PC will be automatically returned on the server. The value specified (900) is already the minimum allowed value.

If for some reason your FlexSim vendor daemon is not reading your options file, first make sure that your flexsim.opt options file is located in the same directory as your vendor daemon's flexsim_server.lic file. It is possible that your vendor daemon is using a copy of flexsim_server.lic that is in a different location than you think. Check the C:\Program Files (x86)\FlexNet Publisher License Server Manager\licenses\flexsim directory to see if there is both a license file (.lic) and an options file (.opt).

You can reread the license file (which should reload the options file as well) by going to your lmadmin web console, logging in to the Administration area, going to the Vendor Daemon Configuration tab, clicking Administer for your FlexSim vendor daemon, and clicking Reread License Files.

Finally, a brute force method for having all seats returned to the license server is to restart the vendor daemon, or lmadmin itself. This isn't the ideal solution as it could cause any other connected client PCs to temporarily lose their license. In my testing, an open FlexSim instance was able to automatically reconnect to the server so theoretically others working with FlexSim will be ok.

[Ben_WilsonADSK]

Another reading of your question indicates it could be the following scenario:

A user is using FlexSim, then she locks her computer and leaves for the day, leaving FlexSim open on her locked PC.

The computer is still connected to the LAN license server, and FlexSim is still open, so the computer maintains its license, making it unavailable for other users to access. As long as the client software and server can still communicate, it will maintain its license. There is no way for the server to know that the open FlexSim instance is idle.

In this case you have to take more brute force action to retrieve the license from this idle computer. You have several options:

• If possible, log in as the user and close FlexSim (be kind - save first!).
• Unplug the computer's Ethernet cable, or otherwise disconnect it from the network. This will cause the server to eventually timeout that license seat and consider it returned. See my other answer to this question for more information on specifying time out values.
• Restart the vendor daemon, or lmadmin itself. This isn't the ideal solution as it could cause any other connected client PCs to temporarily lose their license. In my testing, an open FlexSim instance was able to automatically reconnect to the server so theoretically others working with FlexSim will be ok - however, its possible that the idle instance will also regain its license. If you restart the vendor daemon or lmadmin, have your live users immediately click Apply Configuration on the License Activation window's License Server tab to manually request licenses from the server before the idle machine can reclaim its seat.