Background   The method for licensing a single-user client PC saves client PC license settings to the Windows profile data of the signed in user, so license settings are saved on a per-user basis.   In cases where the exact number or identity of PC users is not predetermined, such as in a university computer lab, it is impractical to license users individually in this manner. Another use-case for this method is when FlexSim Software is automatically pushed or deployed to client PCs. Having the licensing as part of the deployment is useful.   For this mult-user method we'll use a license file on the client PC to license FlexSim software generally for any user of the PC.   Use a license file   Create a plaintext license file   On the client PC create a plaintext license file named flexsim.lic with the following 2 lines (exclude any line numbers):   SERVER 127.0.0.1 ANY 26914 USE_SERVER   If your Windows settings do not show file extensions, it is possible that your flexsim.lic license file is actually named flexsim.lic.txt, which will not work. Be sure to show file extensions and make sure your license file ends with the .lic file extension. The actual name of the file is not important (it could be helloWorld.lic, for instance), but it needs to end in .lic.   Modify   On the client PC, modify your new license file with the following changes:   On line 1 change "127.0.0.1" to the IP address or fully qualified domain name of your license server. If you modified your license server with custom port numbers, on line 1 replace the default port 26914 with your custom port number.   Install   With FlexSim software installed on a client PC, your new license file should be copied into FlexSim’s installation directory in the following location:   C:\Program Files\FlexSim <version>\program\   Your exact folder path could differ based on custom installation locations or FlexSim version, but it should be placed into FlexSim’s program\ folder.   Multiple license servers?   If your FlexSim licenses/seats are spread across multiple license servers, you can configure your client software to try to pull a license from any of your multiple license servers. Simply create a new license file for each possible license server and save each to the same program\ folder. In this scenario, in your program\ folder you would have multiple license files listed, like this:   flexsim1.lic flexsim2.lic flexsim3.lic etc. Each license file should reference a different license server and its port number.   Next   Check out the next article to learn how to verify that your client PC is licensed, and what to do if it isn't: License Server - Verify client PC licensing.  

Sometimes things don't work out the way you thought they would. Usually, at least with license servers, it just means that you missed a step, or there is some issue that wasn't considered. Below we'll outline some things you should check:   Server configuration   - Check the service   Is the FlexSim_License service you created using LMTOOLS up and running? When you created and configured your licensing service, did you check the log file? Look for any errors or issues in the log. Troubleshoot the service if necessary.   - Local test   You can rule out configuration issues by installing FlexSim locally on your license server. Configure the local FlexSim installation using the port you specified (default is 26914) and the local IP address 127.0.0.1, to point your local FlexSim installation to the local license server to see if your license server can license itself.   - Connectivity problems   If your local test works, then your client PC licensing issues may actually stem from connectivity problems. In that case, check out our article Client/Server connectivity.   - Check, check again   Double check that your server is configured properly. When viewing your license service’s log file, you should see indications of ports in use, features being served, etc. (lmtools, lmadmin). If no features are listed, or port numbers are different than what was expected, please revisit the configuration guide (lmtools, lmadmin). Carefully read and execute each step of the instructions to make sure that you have properly configured your license server.   Overzealous anti-virus   Some anti-virus solutions prevent unrecognized services from running or accessing necessary functionality. If a local test (above) works, you may only need to test disabling anti-virus solutions on the client PC. Or if you're trying to get the license service to run on the server, you may need to test there also. Remember to reactivate your anti-virus software after this experiment.   Version or product mismatch   Your actual license, activated to your server using flexsimserveractutil.exe (online, manual), must be for a FlexSim version the same or greater than the software’s version number.   Your license is also for a specific product (FlexSim vs FlexSim Healthcare vs FlexTerm, etc.).   See the article FlexSim Version Numbering, for more information regarding FlexSim versioning and how it relates to licensing.   Seats all in use   If your FlexSim client software is not obtaining a license from the server, it’s possible that all seats are already in use on other client PCs. Check the log files (lmtools, lmadmin) to determine where your seats are currently in use.

Verify Connectivity   Issues with client-server licensing can often be traced to communication issues that prevent the client PC and server from communicating. The first step is to verify whether the client PC can connect to the license server over the licensing ports.   Even if you successfully establish connectivity, remember that server configuration or license issues can also keep a client PC from becoming licensed. See our Troubleshooting Tips article for guidance.   Basic connectivity (ping test)   On the client PC, click the Start button or press the Windows key, then type “cmd” into the search box in the Start menu, and press Enter. Windows will search for and open the Command Prompt.   From the command prompt, enter ping [server name or IP address]. For example, if your license server has a local IP address of 10.0.0.135, then type on the command line ping 10.0.0.135.   If you are referencing your license server by name in FlexSim software’s License Activation interface, use the same fully qualified domain name here instead of the IP address:     If your client PC receives a response from your license server, then the server is visible across the network, by name or IP address, from the client PC.   Advanced connectivity - ports test   If you can pass the ping test the next step is to see if the required ports are open for communication. There are a couple of methods you can use to test if your client PC can connect to your license server over the ports specified in the .lic file.   PowerShell Test-NetConnection   From Windows PowerShell, enter Test-NetConnection [server name or IP address] -Port [port number]. For example, if your license server has a local IP address of 10.0.0.135, and is hosting FlexSim licensing over our default ports 26914 and 56914, you should run the following two commands:   Test-NetConnection 10.0.0.135 -Port 26914 Test-NetConnection 10.0.0.135 -Port 56914   If both of these commands include in their response TcpTestSucceeded : True, then the required connectivity is available. Test-NetConnection documentation   Telnet   Check out our tutorial video at https://flexs.im/telnet that guides you through the basic steps of enabling telnet on your client PC, then using it to test port connections from a client PC to your license server.   Double check your configurations   If you can't establish a ping connection or a port connection, use the suggestions below to double-check your settings. Or perhaps you passed the connection verification checks but FlexSim Software is still not getting licensed? These connectivity tips may reveal the solution:   CLIENT PC SETTINGS - You may have a typo or otherwise have misconfigured the settings that point your client PC to the license server. Double check that your settings are entered using the correct format (single-user client PC, multi-user client PC).   PORT & ADDRESS - Double check the port number and server address/name used in activating licenses on your client PC. Make the port number specified is the number in use for your license service. Our default port number is 26914 but enter your custom port number if you set your own.   SERVER FIREWALL - Did you add the required exceptions to your license server’s firewall (lmtools, lmadmin)? To any other network appliances and firewalls (lmtools, lmadmin)?   Connectivity suggestions   You've triple-checked your client PC settings. You've set firewall exceptions. The port test still shows that you can't connect from the client PC to the server. What can you do?   These aren't fixes, but they can help you narrow the source of the problem so that you can find a solution.   CHECK THE LICENSE SERVER - Maybe your license server isn't actually serving your licenses. You can install the FlexSim simulation software locally on your license server, then using the port you specified (default is 26914) and the local IP address 127.0.0.1, you can point your local FlexSim installation to the local license server to see if your license server can license itself. If it can't, check out these license-server troubleshooting tips (where you'll also read about this local test troubleshooting method).   DISABLE FIREWALLS (temporarily as a test) - A connection issue could be caused by a firewall configuration problem on the client PC, on the license server, or on some network appliance in between. One at a time, disable intervening firewalls on the client PC, the license server, and appliances in-between, as applicable. With each disabled firewall, retest connectivity. If connectivity is established after disabling a firewall, work on that firewall's configuration, then reenable it. Test again. Repeat for each firewall until a connection between client and server can be established.   DISABLE ANTI-VIRUS (temporarily as a test) - Some anti-virus solutions will block application communications. Disable anti-virus software on the client PC. If nothing changes, also disable anti-virus on the server. If this fixes the issue, work with your IT administrator to modify your anti-virus settings. Remember to reactivate your anti-virus software after this experiment.   ASK YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD ADMIN - Your network may have settings, topology, filtering, etc. that affect the client PC’s ability to communicate with the license server. Work with your network administrator to make sure the client PC can communicate with the license server across your network using both port numbers - for the licensing service and the vendor daemon. See default and custom port numbers.

Background   Often a client PC is used by a single user who should have access to change license settings.   This method saves licensing settings to the user’s Windows profile. In this manner licensing is saved on a per-user basis and should be completed in advance for each FlexSim user on this client PC.   In some situations it is better to license the PC once for any user who might log in. This can be the case for a university computer lab, for instance. If your situation would be better served by licensing the software one time for all users of the PC, please check out our guide to license a mult-user client PC.   Configure Licensing   To license an individual Windows user, do the following while logged into Windows as that user:   Open FlexSim software on the client PC by right clicking the program icon and choosing Run as Administrator. You won't normally need to start FlexSim under elevated privileges, but sometimes licensing the PC for the first time requires it. Go to the software’s main menu and select Help > License Activation. Navigate to the License Server tab. Check Use concurrent licensing. Enter the License Server Address using the form port@host, where host is an IP address or fully qualified domain name (FQDN). For example, if your license server is reachable via the FQDN licenseserver.mycompany.com: If you used FlexSim’s default license service port number, enter 26914@licenseserver.mycompany.com. If you specified a custom port, use that number instead. For example, if you entered 27500 as your custom port number, you should enter 27500@licenseserver.mycompany.com. Click Apply Configuration.   Multiple license servers?   If your FlexSim licenses/seats are spread across multiple license servers, you can configure your client software to try to pull a license from any of your multiple license servers. Simply enter all available license server options, separated using a semi-colon, like this:   26914@lic.server.one;27001@lic.server.two;27009@lic.server.three   Here is an example image:   The software will attempt to contact each license server in turn until it obtains a seat or has attempted all license servers and failed.   In the example above, lic.server.one and lic.server.two are fully qualified domain names to properly configured license servers, with lmgrd serving on ports 26914 and 27001 respectively. You could also use an IP address instead of a FQDN.   Next   Check out the next article to learn how to verify that your client PC is licensed, and what to do if it isn't: License Server - Verify client PC licensing.

You've installed, configured, and started your license server. FlexSim is installed and your client PCs are set to get a license from your license server. How can you tell if they're communicating and licensing properly? You can check both the client PC and the license server to make sure that licensing is happening: Client PC Within FlexSim software on the client PC, go to the main menu, Help > About FlexSim. The popup should indicate the activated license type. Test licensed features to see if they work. Check the article FlexSim Feature Limitations by License Type to see what features should be available given your license type (Enterprise, Educational, Student, Runtime). For instance, the Experimenter feature should be available to each of those license types. License Server In lmtools logs (Config Services > View Log…), you should see that a seat is in use. (See How do I read/analyze my vendor daemon logs? What do the various lines mean?). In lmadmin logs you should see that a seat is in use. If your client PC is not getting licensed and/or your license server logs don't indicate communication with a client PC, check the license server troubleshooting steps.