Names and version numbers   FlexSim releases have names like “FlexSim 2016 Update 1”, with corresponding version numbers in the format year.update.bugfix.   The year version number tracks with the “release year” when the software was released. For example, FlexSim 2016, having version number 16.0.0, was released for the 2016 “release year”. A “release year” roughly follows the calendar year, but a 2017 release could come at the end of the 2016 calendar year, for instance. The update version number is a count of how many feature-updates have been produced for a “release year”. For example, version 16.0.0 is the first feature-release for 2016. It is not an update, so the update version number is “0”. FlexSim 2016 Update 1 has version number 16.1.0 – it is the first update to the 2016 release. 16.2.0 is the 2nd update, and so on. Bugfix version numbers change when software is released without significant new features, but where errors, inconsistencies, or other bugs are fixed. For example, the first bugfix release for FlexSim 2016 Update 1 is 16.1.1, the next 16.1.2, and so on. Release schedule   New versions of FlexSim are released on a loose schedule:   Yearly release: November beta, December release. Update 1: March beta, April release. Update 2: July beta, August release. Bugfixes: as needed As with all future-looking plans, this schedule is subject to change. You should not rely on this schedule for making purchasing decisions.   How licensing works for a given version number   A new license is required for feature releases (i.e. year and update releases). Bugfix releases do not need a new license. For example, if you have a 16.1 license, you can license any FlexSim 2016 Update 1 releases, including all its bugfix releases, like 16.1.0, 16.1.1, 16.1.2, etc.   Licenses can also be used for older versions – i.e. they are backward compatible. For instance, if you have a 16.1 license, it can license any 16.1.x release, plus all older versions of the software back to 5.0.0. However, your 16.1 license will not work for any newer versions, such as 16.2.x or 17.0.x.   License Codes   Your license code should look something like mycompany.com03-A9B8C-7D6E5-F4G3H-FSENT17.1. Each part conveys some information:   mycompany.com- means this seat was initially licensed to mycompany. 03 is a unique index number for the license, but the actual number is meaningless. This number persists across upgrades. The mycompany.com03 license, if upgraded to version 18.0 or 18.1, etc, would still begin with mycompany.com03, even though the random characters and version number would change. A9B8C... The middle part of a license code is a unique, random mix of letters and numbers. It is different for each license, and changes when a license is upgraded for the next FlexSim version. FSENT signifies the product, in this case FlexSim Enterprise, but you may also see FSEDU for Educational, or OPTQU for OptQuest, etc. Each FlexSim product has a unique product code. 17.1 specifies the version number this license is good for. It can be used to license any FlexSim 17.1.x version or earlier, back to version 5.0. The license won't work for later software versions, like 17.2 or 18.0. For that, the license must have current maintenance and be upgraded for use with the new version. Upgrading Licenses   To use a new year or update release, your FlexSim license will need to be upgraded.   The exact steps for upgrading your license differ based on your type of license:   License Server - Upgrading your hosted licenses Standalone - Upgrading your license If your maintenance agreement has expired, or if you have timed licenses, your licenses will not upgrade. In either case, please contact your local FlexSim representative.   If you install and run a version of FlexSim software greater than your license’s version number, that newer software won’t be licensed, but will run in the feature-limited "Express" mode. To use a fully-featured, licensed copy of the software, make sure that the software’s year.update version number is not greater than your license’s year.update version number (which is typically visible in the license code itself as the final digits of the code - see License Codes above).   Long-term support (LTS) versions   From Wikipedia: Long-term support (LTS) is a product lifecycle management policy in which a stable release of computer software is maintained for a longer period of time than the standard edition.   FlexSim maintains the year release for more than a year, overlapping with the release of the next yearly release for a few months.   Here is an example of how it works:   In December 2017, the current LTS release was version 17.0.11. That same month version 18.0.0 was released. Because 18.0 was brand new, it was not yet considered the LTS version - we let it mature a bit before promoting it to the current LTS. During the time when 18.0 was the latest version, new bugfix releases were added for both 18.0 and 17.0. Finally, in April 2018, 18.1.0 was released. At that time the 18.0 branch was on its 4th bugfix release, 18.0.4, and the 17.0 LTS branch was up to 17.0.13. With the release of 18.1.0 the 18.0 branch was promoted to our current LTS release, and the 17.0 LTS was retired - it receives no further bugfix releases.   As with all future-looking plans, our LTS plan is subject to change. You should not rely on this plan for making purchasing decisions.   Downloading an appropriate version of FlexSim software   To download the version of FlexSim software that best matches your license version:   Log in to your FlexSim Account at https://account.flexsim.com/login/. Visit the downloads page at https://account.flexsim.com/downloads/. Download the latest bugfix release for your license’s version.   If a version of the software most appropriate for your license version is not listed on the main download page, click the More Versions button next to the product matching your license (see screenshot). This will open an expanded view with older versions of that product. Older software versions are not available for download from within unlicensed guest accounts.     If your FlexSim Account is a guest account (does not own a FlexSim license), only the latest software versions are available for download. Your FlexSim Account must own a license directly, or a license owner can share their license info with you, in order for you to see the More Versions button and have access to download older versions of the software. Visit your Licenses page to see if your account has access to licenses and have them loaded into your account session, then go back to the Downloads page and look for the More Versions button. Older software versions are not available for download from within unlicensed guest accounts.   Model compatibility across FlexSim versions   FlexSim versions are backward compatible, meaning that when a model built in an older year.update release of the software is opened in a newer year.update version, the model is put through an upgrade process that updates the model for use in that later version:     We recommend always saving this updated model under a new file name in order to preserve the original, non-upgraded model file, which you should archive for safe keeping.   FlexSim is NOT forward compatible, meaning that a particular year.update version of FlexSim does not support opening model files saved in newer year.update versions of the software. This is due to changes that are introduced to objects, data structures, added features, etc., that an older version of the software would not support.   A FlexSim model built with a particular year.release version of FlexSim can be opened by any bugfix release of the same year.release version, forward or backward. Bugfix releases do not change objects, data structures, etc., in such a way as to break model compatibility across different bugfix versions of the same year.update FlexSim release.   You should use judgment and care in upgrading models and continuing model development in newer versions of the software. If your simulation team has licenses that have expired at different times, and a colleague is on an older license and you are not able to renew maintenance at this time, you may want to standardize on that lowest version number of FlexSim so that models your team creates and edits can be interoperable among teammates.   FlexSim's model upgrade functionality is fairly robust, but if you are upgrading a model from a version of FlexSim many years older than the version you're opening it in, it may be necessary to open and save the model in an intermediate version (or two). Post a new question here on Answers if you encounter any problems upgrading your FlexSim model to a later version.   Opening Files from different versions (Flexsim Version Selector)   If this is a first time install of the FlexSim software, you can double click on any .fsm file and Windows will ask you what software you'd like to open .fsm files. In the program selection scroll down to the version entitled Flexsim Version Selector. This application will automatically open any .fsm file in the version that the file was originally saved or created in.   Alternatively, you can right click on a .fsm file in Windows and navigate to the option Open With > and then navigate to Flexsim Version Selector from here. This will set the version selector application as the primary method for opening .fsm files in the future.  

A license server hosting FlexNet enabled products like FlexSim relies on a service called FlexNet Licensing Service 64. As of FlexSim version 25.2, FlexSim requires FlexNet Licensing Service 64 version 11.19.8.0 or higher.   Is FlexNet Licensing Service 64 already installed?   There is a chance that you already have a version of FlexNet Licensing Service 64 installed. Let’s check: Click the Start button or press the Windows key, then type “Services” into the search box in the Start menu, and press Enter. Windows will search for and open Windows Services Manager. If the list of services is not already sorted by name, click the Name column heading. Scroll down to services beginning with F. Do you see a FlexNet Licensing Service 64?   If you find that FlexNet Licensing Service 64 is not installed, or if you only have the 32-bit version (missing the ‘64’ in the service name), skip below to the heading Install the FlexNet Licensing Service.   Check the installed version of FlexNet Licensing Service 64   If FlexNet Licensing Service 64 is already installed, we should make sure it is version 11.19.8.0 or higher. If your FlexNet Licensing Service 64 has a lower version number, you will need to remove the older service and upgrade. We’ll get to those steps soon, but first, let’s check what version is installed:   In Windows Services Manager, scroll down to the entry for FlexNet Licensing Service 64. Double click the service name to open its Properties window. In the middle of the General tab, find the Path to executable. Copy the path location from just after the opening double quote (“) until the final backslash (\) before the filename. This is the path. It is probably something like C:\Program Files\Common Files\Macrovision Shared\FlexNet Publisher\. With the path now copied to your clipboard, note the name of the .exe. It is probably FNPLicensingService64.exe. Open a file explorer (Windows Key + E) and paste the path into the Address bar. Hit Enter to navigate to the path. Right click the .exe file that the service's Properties indicated is the service executable. Select Properties to view the .exe file’s properties. Navigate to the Properties window’s Details tab. The Product version should be version 11.19.8.0 or greater. Make sure that the Product name indicates 64-bit.   If you found that you don’t have FlexNet Licensing Service 64 installed, skip below to the heading Install the FlexNet Licensing Service.   If you found that your version number of FlexNet Licensing Service 64 is lower than 11.19.8.0, you will need to upgrade the service.   Upgrade FlexNet Licensing Service 64   To upgrade your FlexNet Licensing Service 64 to version 11.19.8.0, first complete the following: In Windows Services Manager, right click FlexNet Licensing Service 64 and choose Stop. Navigate to the Path to executable shown in the service’s properties. Rename the service’s .exe file by putting an underscore (_) in front of the .exe’s name. Continue with the instructions below under the heading Install FlexNet Licensing Service 64.   Install FlexNet Licensing Service 64   In your extracted download folder of FlexSim license server materials, navigate into the folder flexsimserveractutil. Right-click flexsimserveractutil.exe and select Run as administrator. Select the menu option Tools > Licensing Service > Install anchor service.   You should receive a confirmation that FlexNet Licensing Service 64 is now installed.     For further information on compatibility of various Flexnet licensing components, see Version Compatibility Between Components.  

Preparation   You may want to brush up on how a license version is related to a product version.   When you understand what version of FlexSim will work with your license, download and install an appropriate software version for your license.     Find your licenses   From your FlexSim Account, click the Licenses link in the top menu. In the submenu, choose List. Expand the various product and version folders to find the Activation ID you wish to activate. An Activation ID looks similar to this example: yourcompany.com01-ABCDE-FGHIJ-KLMNO-FSENT21.2 Highlight and copy the Activation ID you will activate.   License your software   Open FlexSim Software. Click Help in the main menu. Choose License Activation. Paste your Activation ID into the field. Click the Activate button. Wait for an indication of success. Repeat for any other Activation ID you wish to activate to this computer.   Your license activates via the Internet, so make sure your computer is connected!   If your computer is offline or has trouble connecting to FlexSim's license server, try the Standalone - Activation - XML / Offline instructions.     If you have any questions or problems, please search our Answers Community for possible solutions. There is a good chance someone else has already asked your question.   Still not finding what you're looking for? Submit a new question and we'll check it out. Please do not include any confidential information, such as license codes, since anything posted on the forum is public! You can also contact your local FlexSim distributor for live phone, web, or email help.

This table is meant as a reference and guideline. While we strive to maintain this list regularly, it may be out of date at any given time. If an advertised feature of FlexSim is not listed here, it is generally not subject to limitations by license type.   The Express license type is FlexSim's default, unlicensed state. Downloading and installing FlexSim to a new computer, it will be in Express mode. The other license types require you to obtain a license and apply it to the software. Please refer to FlexSim's End User License Agreement (EULA) for details on allowed uses, restrictions, and other considerations. If you wish to test a particular license type, please contact your local distributor to request a test license.   Please Note: Runtime seats are no longer available for new purchase or renewal but are referenced in this table to support those Runtime licenses still outstanding.   Please Note: Autodesk sells a node-locked subscription license. This is the same as Enterprise in the table below, with some restrictions on moving the license. Please see our article Node-locked license vs Transferable license.       Express Runtime Student Educational Enterprise Use Cases (see EULA) Testing, evaluation, and model viewer only. Run only (no model building). Educational use only. Educational use only. See EULA. Open, Run, Save open and run any size model ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ open and save models in XML format     ✔ ✔ ✔ unlocked random streams   ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ compile models built with C++ (optional, requires Visual Studio)   ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ save model size limitations model size must be under limitations none model size must be under limitations none none experimenter   ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ OptQuest optimizer   with OptQuest add-on license up to 10 optimization variables with OptQuest add-on license with OptQuest add-on license webserver (requires separate download) ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ Model Building model building features available ✔ no ability to add objects or activities, but any objects and activities used by existing models are editable ✔ ✔ ✔ create objects and activities ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔ object creation limit 30   100 none none process flow activity creation limit 35   250 none none execute FlexScript in script console     ✔ ✔ ✔ tree view     ✔ ✔ ✔ Tool Box Add Tools ✔ no ability to add tools, but all tools used by existing models are editable ✔ ✔ ✔ FlowItem Bin ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔ Global Tables ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔ Time Tables ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔ MTBF/MTTR ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔ Down Behavior ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔ Dashboards ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔ Groups ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔ Process Flow (all options) ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔ Global List (all options) ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔ Statistics - Statistics Collector ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔ Statistics - Milestone Collector ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔ Statistics - Calculated Table ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔ Statistics - Experimenter     ✔ ✔ ✔ Statistics - Tracked Variable     ✔ ✔ ✔ FlowItem (all options) ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔ Modeling Logic (all options)     ✔ ✔ ✔ Visual - Model Floor ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔ Visual - Model Background ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔ Visual - Video Recorder     ✔ ✔ ✔ Visual - Fly Path     ✔ ✔ ✔ Connectivity - Database Connector ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔ Connectivity - Excel Import/Export ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔ Connectivity - Visio Import     ✔ ✔ ✔ Connectivity - Emulation (Modbus and OPC DA connections only. Other connection types require an Emulation license.) ✔   ✔ ✔ ✔

You should have already completed all preceding steps found in the article Hosting your FlexSim licenses with lmtools, including all those under the headings "Preparation and Prerequisites" and "Activate licenses to your license server". At this point you're ready to install, configure, and start the service that will serve your FlexSim licenses.   Create the service Configure service permissions Start the service Check the service status Troubleshooting problems with the service   Create the service   We'll use lmtools to create your new licensing service.   On your license server, in your extracted download folder of FlexSim license server materials, right-click lmtools.exe and choose Run as administrator. Go to the Config Services tab. Create a new licensing service by typing FlexSim_License into the Service Name input field. The Service Name field looks like a dropdown selector, but you can click in it to type a new name. Use the 3 Browse buttons to specify the paths to files (lmgrd.exe, flexsim.lic, log.log) that are also included with the FlexSim license server materials. Check the boxes for Use Services and Start Server at Power Up. Press the Save Service button in the upper right. Confirm the save by choosing Yes. You may receive an error message regarding "Windows preferred path". This is normal and this message can be safely ignored.   Configure service permissions   Your new FlexSim_License service needs permissions set to function properly.   Click the Windows Start button or press the Windows key, then type “Services” into the search box in the Start menu, and press Enter. Windows will search for and open Windows Services Manager. Find FlexSim_License in the list of services. If it is missing from the list, see the section Troubleshooting the licensing service below. Open the FlexSim_License service’s Properties window by double-clicking its name. Go to the Log On tab. Choose the option to Log on as: Local System account. Press OK to close the FlexSim_License Properties window.   Start the service   While still in Windows Services Manager, use the Start link to start your new FlexSim_License service.     You should see a status bar showing the startup progress. The service usually starts in under a minute.   If there are any errors or other problems with starting the service, skip to the section Troubleshooting problems with the service.   Check the service status   After the service is started, head back to lmtools to check the log. You can view the service log from the Config Services tab, press the View Log... button, located toward the lower right of the Config Services panel.   You should find the following information in your log file:     lmgrd.exe is listening on port 26914. This is the port the licensing service will use when listening for client PC communication. The bootstrap license file flexsim.lic was found and loaded. (This is not a license file specific to you and does not contain your license info. FlexSim licenses use Trusted Storage and licenses are activated to your license server using flexsimserveractutil.exe). The flexsim.opt Options file was found and loaded. A list of product features activated in your server's Trusted Storage. Your feature set may differ somewhat from this example, depending on your license and product, but you should see several of the features above. 900 seconds is the minimum timeout allowed by FlexNet, and we configure our installation to use this minimum value using the options file. The flexsim.exe vendor daemon is using port 56914.   To close the log, press the Close Log button, toward the lower right of the Config Services panel in lmtools.   Troubleshooting problems with the service   Did everything work? If not, perhaps you have one of these issues:   The FlexSim_License service is not listed as an installed service in Windows’ services. The FlexSim_License service does not start manually. The FlexSim_License service does not start up automatically when the computer restarts.   If any of these apply to you, please check the following:   You ran lmtools as a user with admin rights, and right clicked the program to choose Run as Administrator. On the Config Services tab, you checked the boxes Use Services and Start Server at Power Up. There isn’t already a process running or service installed named FlexSim_License. lmgrd.exe, flexsim.exe, and all other files downloaded together with them are in the same folder, and in a file path that does not contain any folder named “FlexSim” (case insensitive). The FlexSim_License service must run as an account with proper permissions. It’s possible that the Local System Account setting specified in Configure service permissions above does not have adequate permissions, and you will need to specify the service to run under a different account. Work with your server administrator or IT department to determine an account with the proper permissions to run your license service. You could have a port conflict, where one or both of the ports specified in your flexsim.lic license file are in use by another service on your license server. Check the section Resolving port conflicts. Some anti-virus solutions prevent unrecognized services from running or accessing necessary functionality. If your license service won't start, try temporarily disabling any anti-virus solution installed on your license 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.  

Interacting with your licenses isn't something you do every day, but it doesn't need to be intimidating. We've documented all the main procedures you'll use to manage your FlexSim licenses like a pro.   When you purchased your FlexSim licenses you chose one of two methods for licensing your software. Click below to jump to the licensing procedures for your style of licenses:   Network Licensing Standalone Licensing Need a refresher on the differences between network and standalone licensing? Our Standalone vs Network Licensing.pdf is a basic intro or check out our in-depth article on License Models. Network Licensing With an in-house license server you don't activate your licenses directly in the software (as in standalone licensing). Instead, your FlexSim software is configured to obtain a seat from a license server in your organization's network. Your organization will need to provision, install, and maintain a license server.   Here are instructions for all the primary server licensing tasks.   Install, Configure, Activate Here are our instructions for installing, configuring, and licensing your server, and for configuring FlexSim to get a seat from your license server. This document covers both online and secure/offline scenarios.   PDF installation guide Online Answers articles index We have some shorter guides focused specifically on just the license activation step. If you already have an installed and configured license server, these guides are provided as a convenience for use in subsequent licensing procedures, like upgrading your licenses.   License Server - Activation - Online License Server - Activation - XML / Offline   Return You may occasionally need to migrate your licenses to a new license server or return your license as part of a license version upgrade.   License Server - Return - Online License Server - Return - XML / Offline   Repair In rare circumstances your activated license can become "broken". This means that even though the license is still activated on your server it is no longer able to serve seats to client PCs. This can happen if your server hardware or operating system changes significantly.   License Server - Repair - Online License Server - Repair - XML / Offline   Upgrade FlexSim releases new feature-versions several times per year. If the licenses activated on your license server are lower than the version of FlexSim software you're trying to run, FlexSim software won't be able to be licensed by your license server. You can learn more about how licensing works for a given version number in our Answers article FlexSim Version Numbering.   In this case you'll need to upgrade the activated licenses on your license server. If your maintenance is current, follow the procedure linked below to upgrade your license server for use with the latest versions of FlexSim. If your maintenance is expired contact your local FlexSim distributor to renew.   This article covers both online and secure/offline scenarios.   License Server - Upgrading your hosted licenses   Miscellaneous These items don't pertain to any particular licensing procedure but may be useful in some situations.   License Server - View licenses License Server - Delete fulfillment License Server - Troubleshooting tips License Server - Client/Server connectivity   Standalone Licensing With standalone licensing you'll activate a license code (also called an Activation ID) directly in FlexSim.   Below are detailed instructions for all the primary licensing tasks used in managing your standalone licenses:   Activation To apply a license to your computer, follow the linked instructions depending on whether your computer or network allows FlexSim to communicate online.   Standalone - Activation - Online Standalone - Activation - XML / Offline   Return Returning your license removes it from your computer and makes your seat available for a new activation. This is useful if you need to free up a seat for a colleague or move your license to a different computer. You may also return your license as part of the upgrade process for a new version of FlexSim - returning the old version so that you can activate an upgraded Activation ID.   Standalone - Return - Online Standalone - Return - XML / Offline   Repair In rare circumstances, your activated license can become "broken". This means that even though the license is still activated on your computer it no longer enables additional features allowed by your license type. This can happen if your computer hardware or operating system changes significantly.   There is no online method available. Please use the XML / Offline method. Standalone - Repair - XML / Offline   Upgrade FlexSim releases several new feature-versions per year. An upgraded version of the software requires an updated license key to enable its licensed features. Licenses with a current maintenance subscription are eligible to be upgraded to the new version. You can learn more about how licensing works for a given version number in our Answers article FlexSim Version Numbering.   If your maintenance is current, follow the procedure linked below to upgrade your license for use with the latest versions of FlexSim. If your maintenance is expired contact your local FlexSim distributor to renew.   This article covers both online and secure/offline scenarios:   Standalone - Upgrading your license   Miscellaneous These items don't pertain to any particular licensing procedure but may be useful in some situations.   Standalone - View licenses Standalone - Delete fulfillment

Introduction Several times per year we release a new feature-version of FlexSim Simulation Software. In order for client PCs to be able to run a licensed version of the upgraded software, you'll need to upgrade the activated license(s) on your license server. Licenses with a current maintenance subscription are eligible to be upgraded to the new version. If you don't understand how licensing works for different FlexSim versions, please review our Answers article FlexSim Version Numbering. Overview There are 5 main steps to upgrading the licenses hosted on your lmadmin or lmtools license server: Return the licenses you intend to upgrade Upgrade your licenses Activate the upgraded license Reread the license Upgrade client PCs Several of these steps have their own fully documented procedures. We'll link you to those resources below. 1. Return the licenses you intend to upgrade The steps to return a license-server-based license are fully documented. Choose the link below that best matches your needs, depending on whether your license server can connect to the Internet: License Server - Return - Online License Server - Return - XML / Offline Be sure to return ALL licenses you wish to upgrade. 2. Upgrade your licenses NOTE: Licenses with expired maintenance will not upgrade. Timed licenses do not upgrade. Only permanent (not timed) licenses under current maintenance can be upgraded. Log in to your FlexSim Account. If you were already logged in to your FlexSim Account, in the top navigation menu hover over your initials icon and choose Reload Account. Now in the top navigation menu, choose Licenses > List. Check that the available seat count is equal to the total. All of a license’s seats should be returned for it to upgrade. Click on the Upgrade Licenses button. If you have several licenses to upgrade and all are owned by or shared with your FlexSim Account, they will all be upgraded at once. Please be patient while the upgrade process works in the background. When the page refreshes, eligible licenses will have a new activation ID for the latest version of the software. Your license code indicates its version at the end of the code to help you know what versions your license will properly activate. Review license code format. 3. Activate the upgraded licenses The steps to activate a license-server-based license are fully documented. Choose the link below that best matches your needs, depending on whether your license server can connect to the Internet: License Server - Activation - Online License Server - Activation - XML / Offline 4. Reread the license Your license server needs to start serving up your newly activated licenses. You can either restart your license manager service, or use your license manager's option to reread your licenses. The steps to reread your licenses differ depending on which license manager you are using to host your licenses. Use these links to jump to instructions for the license manager you're using: lmadmin lmtools+lmgrd 5. Upgrade client PCs Finally, upgrade your PC with a version of FlexSim appropriate for your new license (learn how licenses work across versions). After installing a new version of FlexSim, you will need to configure it to get a license from your license server. There are two ways a client PC can be configured. Choose the method below that most closely matches the main use case for your client PC: Single-user client PCs - this method configures settings that are saved on a per-user basis. Multi-user client PCs - usually appropriate for a university computer lab or other shared-PC situation, where the configuration should be computer-based. Having trouble licensing your client PC? Verify client PC licensing to find out how to tell if your client PC is successfully getting a license from your new license server. If you have any questions or problems, please search our Answers Community for possible solutions. There is a good chance someone else has already asked your question. Still not finding what you're looking for? Submit a new question and we'll check it out. If you're including any confidential information, such as license codes, be sure to mark your question as private! You can also contact your local FlexSim distributor for live phone, web, or email help.

Preparation   You may want to brush up on how a license version is related to a product version.   When you understand what version of FlexSim will work with your license, download and install an appropriate software version for your license.   If your computer is not connected to the Internet, you will need to transfer FlexSim's installer to your computer on a USB drive or some other method.   You will also need to be able to transfer XML license files to and from your offline computer.   NOTE: If this is the first time a license has been activated on this computer, an initial XML request/response communication will be needed to configure your local Trusted Storage.   This means that for a first ever license activation on a given computer, complete the steps below for just a single Activation ID - that will configure your computer's Trusted Storage.   Once that is complete, repeat again the entire Manual XML activation process for that initial Activation ID and any other Activation IDs that will be installed to this computer.   Find your licenses   Log in to your FlexSim Account, click the Licenses link in the top menu. In the Licenses submenu, choose List. Expand the various product and version folders to find the Activation ID you wish to activate. An Activation ID looks similar to this example: yourcompany.com01-ABCDE-FGHIJ-KLMNO-FSENT16.2   Create manual activation requests   Open FlexSim Software. In FlexSim's main menu, Go to Help > License Activation. Click the Advanced tab. Go to the Manual Activation sub-tab. Enter a valid Activation ID into the field (see the Find your licenses heading, above). Click the Generate Request button. You will be prompted to save an XML file. Choose a location and filename to save your XML activation request. If this is your first time ever activating any FlexSim licenses on this PC, only generate an XML request for one activation ID (see red-highlighted note above). Otherwise, repeat steps 4-6 for all licenses you wish to activate on this PC, so that all your XML activation request files can be transferred at one time.   Submit your manual activation requests   Transfer your XML activation requests to a computer with Internet access. From your Internet-connected computer, open a web browser and login to your FlexSim Account. Click the Licenses link in the header, then choose Manual XML in the Licenses submenu. Upload your XML files by dragging them onto the drop zone. Your uploaded XML requests will be processed. Upon completion, you will be prompted to download each XML response.   Process your manual activation responses   Transfer your downloaded XML activation responses to the offline computer you are licensing. In FlexSim, using the same licensing interface where you generated your request, click the Process Response button. Browse to an XML activation response file. FlexSim should give you an indication of successful processing of your activation, and your activation will be complete. Repeat to process the XML activation responses for any other licenses you are manually activating.   IMPORTANT NOTE   If this is the first time a license has been activated on this computer, an initial request/response communication will only serve to configure your local Trusted Storage.   This means that for a first ever license activation on a given computer, after this first request/response has been successfully processed on the offline computer, a 2nd request using the same license code will need to be generated/uploaded/processed/downloaded/processed to fully activate your license.   This is a one-time event per-computer. Subsequent license activations to the same system require only one request/response XML pair. If you have any questions or problems, please search our Community for possible solutions. There is a good chance someone else has already asked your question.   Still not finding what you're looking for? Licensed users can submit a support request and we'll check it out.

The instructions below are for Internet-connected license servers.   If your server cannot connect to the Internet or to FlexSim's main license server, try our offline/Manual XML license return instructions.   Assumed configurations   All steps below assume that you followed the installation instructions as described in our license server installation instructions, and that all FlexSim's license server files were extracted to the location C:\FlexSim_LMTOOLS. Throughout these instructions we will reference files inside that folder.   Find your fulfillment ID   On your license server, run the flexsimserveractutil.exe program (C:\FlexSim_LMTOOLS\flexsimserveractutil\flexsimserveractutil.exe) by right-clicking and selecting Run as Administrator.     In the FlexSim ServerActUtil program, go to Tools > View License Rights.     Copy the Fulfillment ID for the Activation ID you are upgrading by highlighting the Fulfillment ID and pressing Ctrl+C.     Attempt online return   When your license server returns a license over the the Internet, flexsimserveractutil.exe will communicate with the following FlexSim servers via HTTP (port 80) and HTTPS (port 443):   www.flexsim.com sw.flexsim.com sw1.flexsim.com license.flexsim.com   In the FlexSim ServerActUtil program, select Connect > Return.     Paste the Fulfillment ID into the field using Ctrl+V, and press the Return button.     After a few seconds and several status messages, you should receive an indication of success.     If you have any questions or problems, please search our Answers Community for possible solutions. There is a good chance someone else has already asked your question. Still not finding what you're looking for? Submit a new question and we'll check it out. If you're including any confidential information, such as license codes, be sure to mark your question as private! You can also contact your local FlexSim distributor for live phone, web, or email help.

Help->License Activation" />Open FlexSim Software. Click Help in the main menu. Choose License Activation. Click the Return tab. Each of your activated licenses will be listed in the dropdown selector. Select a license you want to return. Click the Return button. Please wait while your FlexSim Software communicates with the license server. The status text will update, and should end with an indication of success. Repeat to return any other Activation IDs that need to be returned. If you have any questions or problems, please search our Answers Community for possible solutions. There is a good chance someone else has already asked your question. Still not finding what you're looking for? Submit a new question and we'll check it out. If you're including any confidential information, such as license codes, be sure to mark your question as private! You can also contact your local FlexSim distributor for live phone, web, or email help.

Download the files Download FlexSim’s latest lmtools-related files here: https://flexs.im/lmtools-download You can browse archived versions of both lmtools and lmadmin here: https://flexs.im/licenseserver-archive Extract the download Once the download is complete, right-click the .zip archive and choose to Extract All… Save to a folder directly on your root drive. Your lmtools download folder Your extracted folder should end up looking something like this: In later instruction steps, any time we refer to the downloaded files, these are the files we're talking about. Note on location Technically you could save your download files in any folder, but we recommend right at the root drive level for convenience. If you choose to save your download folder in an alternate location, please make sure that the directory path doesn't include any folder named "FlexSim". Since Windows files are not case sensitive, this prohibition also applies to variations like "Flexsim" or "flexsim". We have seen instances where some versions of FlexNet licensing encounter errors when the name of the vendor daemon ("flexsim" in our case) is the same as a folder in the path. A folder that includes "FlexSim" as part of a larger name is fine. For example "FlexSim_Licensing" is a fine folder name. Examples of good paths: C:\FlexSim_LMTOOLS C:\licensing\vendors\FlexSim_LMTOOLS\ C:\Program Data\FlexSim_License\ Examples of bad paths (incompatible folder names bolded): C:\flexsim\ C:\licensing\vendors\Flexsim\ C:\Program Data\licensing\FlexSim\files\

The instructions below are for Internet-connected license servers.   If your server cannot connect to the Internet or to FlexSim's main license server, try our offline/Manual XML license activation instructions.   Getting ready   If you're configuring a new license server, please stop now and follow the complete license server installation instructions.   This shorter guide just focuses on one piece of the installation instructions: license activation. We've broken the activation step out into this standalone article for convenience in subsequent licensing procedures, like upgrading your license server.   These instructions assume that:   you followed the steps outlined in our license server installation instructions including download of all required files and installation of the FlexNet Licensing Service; FlexSim's license server files were extracted to the location C:\FlexSim_LMTOOLS.   Online vs XML/offline licensing   Online activation is faster and easier, so if your license server connects to the Internet, follow the instructions below to activate your seats to your server. If your server is not connected to the Internet, or communication with FlexSim's servers is blocked, you can try the offline/XML activation method.   Endpoints, protocols, firewalls   When your license server activates a license over the the Internet the FlexSim server activation utility communicates with one or more of the following FlexSim servers via HTTP (port 80) and HTTPS (port 443):   www.flexsim.com sw.flexsim.com sw1.flexsim.com license.flexsim.com   Your license server should be able to communicate across the Internet with these addresses in order to successfully activate your licenses online.   Activate your license   On your license server, run the flexsimserveractutil.exe program (C:\FlexSim_LMTOOLS\flexsimserveractutil\flexsimserveractutil.exe) by right-clicking and selecting Run as Administrator.     In the FlexSim ServerActUtil program, go to Connect > Activate.     Enter the Activation ID and Count (seat quantity) for your license.   NOTE: If you have a 20-seat license but want to host 12 seats on this server and 8 seats somewhere else, you can do so. Simply enter 12 for the Count value.   Press Activate.   After a few seconds, and several status messages, you should receive an indication of success.     Repeat the steps above to activate any other license codes you are hosting on this license server.   Reread license files   If this license activation follows a license return, either as part of upgrading the license on your license server or some other procedure, don't forget to reread license files.   If you have any questions or problems, please search our Answers Community for possible solutions. There is a good chance someone else has already asked your question. Still not finding what you're looking for? Submit a new question and we'll check it out. If you're including any confidential information, such as license codes, be sure to mark your question as private! You can also contact your local FlexSim distributor for live phone, web, or email help.

FlexSim licenses can either be standalone or network-based. Each license model has its pros and cons. Learn more about these two different license models. You're here because you've chosen network licensing and you're ready to get started. A license manager by any other name FlexSim is licensed using technology from Revenera's FlexNet. FlexNet is one of the top software licensing technologies and is used by many large software companies, including several others in the engineering software space. FlexNet offers two different license managers: lmtools and lmadmin. You decide which platform will work best for your organization's needs. (Spoiler alert: we like lmtools best). lmtools Hosting your FlexSim licenses with lmtools lmtools is a simple utility for creating and managing the licensing service that will serve your FlexSim licenses to your organization's client PCs. This basic utility isn't installed - it is a simple executable. It has no 3rd party dependencies. For maximum security, compatibility, and simplicity, FlexSim recommends using lmtools. Many organizations that add FlexSim to their toolkit already use lmtools for managing their license hosting services for other software, so using lmtools to manage your FlexSim licenses just makes sense. Even if your FlexSim purchase marks the first time your org has set up a license manager, lmtools is a great way to go, and is our recommended license manager. Visit Hosting your FlexSim licenses with lmtools for a complete reference on configuring your license server using lmtools. lmadmin Hosting your FlexSim licenses with lmadmin lmadmin is FlexNet's newer, shinier license manager. It includes a web-based front end, so all the administration is done from your web browser. It is more complex than lmtools, serving both the licensing service and a management front end, and lmadmin relies on Java, which you will need keep up to date with patches and security updates. FlexSim usually does not recommend lmadmin, mainly because of the more complex configuration needed to host and manage the web front end (including additional firewall considerations, an extra username and password, etc.), its reliance on Java, and the fact that many FlexSim users already host other software licenses using lmtools. Visit Hosting your FlexSim licenses with lmadmin for a complete reference on configuring your license server using lmadmin.

Introduction to lmtools   This article is a sort of table of contents to the various articles that will take you from start to finish in installing, licensing, configuring, and running your FlexSim license server using the lmtools license manager.   background info   Server-based vs Standalone licensing - Learn the differences between these two license models, and when you might choose one over the other. License managers - lmadmin vs lmtools - FlexSim supports these two FlexNet license managers. Learn the differences, and why FlexSim recommends lmtools.   Let's get started   When installing a new license server, start here at the top and work your way down the list of articles linked below. By the end you should be in good shape to properly host and serve your FlexSim licenses.   Each link should open in its own browser tab, so once you complete a sub-task just close that tab. Then back here in this main tab click the link to the next step.   The list of links below might seem intimidating, but conceptually it's just 4 main things we're about to work through:   Preparation and Prerequisites Activate licenses to your license server Configure the licensing service Configure client PCs   If you run into any problems, you can also find additional helpful resources linked at the end of this article:   Troubleshooting Related links     1) Preparation and Prerequisites   System Requirements - almost any Windows computer could act as your license server. Click inside for the details. Download files - download the required lmtools files and extract them to an appropriate folder on your license server. FlexNet Licensing Service 64 - FlexSim is licensed using Revenera's industry-standard FlexNet licensing platform. This article prepares your license server with the background service necessary for hosting your FlexSim licenses.   2) Activate licenses to your license server   Choose the right steps below to license your server, depending on whether or not your license server can communicate over the internet directly with FlexSim's main license server.   • Online, Internet-enabled systems   License Server - Activation - Online - Activate your FlexSim licenses to your license server directly over the Internet. Should be easy-peasy. • Secure / Offline / Air-gapped systems   If your license server will not connect to the Internet (or if for any reason it cannot communicate with FlexSim's license servers) there are a few extra steps to get up and running. You've got this!   Configure Trusted Storage - Your new license server has a secure storage area for holding license info, but first it must authenticate with FlexSim's main license server. License Server - Activation - XML / Offline - the manual steps to activate your FlexSim licenses onto your license server.   3) Configure the licensing service   Configure your license service - use FlexNet's lmtools license manager to create and configure the service that will serve up your FlexSim seats. Add Windows Firewall exceptions - your licensing service needs to communicate with other PCs on the network. This will get you started.   4) Configure client PCs   With your license server installed and configured, it's finally time for your license server to fulfill its destiny and serve licenses to your client PCs.   Make sure you know the IP address or fully qualified domain name for your license server, as well as the license service port number (see #1 under Check the service status). You'll use your server's address/name and service port when configuring the client PCs.   FlexSim Version Numbering - your FlexSim license is for a particular version of FlexSim. If your software maintenance is not current, you may need to use an older version of the software. In this article you'll learn how licensing works for a given version number and where to download an appropriate version of FlexSim that will work with your license. With an appropriate version of FlexSim installed on the client PCs, you're ready to configure them to communicate with your license server. There are two ways a client PC can be configured. Choose the method below that most closely matches the main use case for your client PC:  Single-user client PCs - this method configures settings that are saved on a per-user basis. Multi-user client PCs - usually appropriate for a university computer lab or other shared-PC situation, where the configuration should be computer-based. Verify client PC licensing - Not sure if your client PC is getting licensed properly? Dive in to find out how to tell your client PC is successfully getting a license from your new license server   Troubleshooting   Isn't there a law in the universe that if something can go wrong, it will? If you're stuck in a licensing black hole, these tips might be just the thing to help you get moving.   Client/server connectivity - if the client PC and the license server can't communicate, the client PC won't be able to get a license. Troubleshooting tips - when you're pretty certain that connectivity isn't an issue, but your client PC still isn't getting a license, check here for some ideas.   Related Links   FlexSim's license file - your new licensing service uses a license file to specify port numbers. Get more background on license files and ports here.  

You should have already completed all preceding steps found in the article Hosting your FlexSim licenses with lmtools, including all those under the headings "Preparation and Prerequisites" and "Activate licenses to your license server". Your license server will communicate with client PCs using two executables, the lmgrd.exe licensing service and the flexsim.exe vendor daemon.   This article shows how to add exceptions for these applications through Windows Firewall. If you have additional firewalls or network appliances that need to be configured, please check the section Port Considerations at the end of this article.   Allow an app through Windows Firewall Port Considerations   Allow an app through Windows Firewall   Windows Firewall allows you to specify certain applications that will be allowed through different network types. If you're not sure about firewalls and networking, be sure to contact someone in your organization that administers these things.   You will need administrator privileges on your license server to add firewall exceptions.   Open the Allowed apps interface   Click the Start button or press the Windows key, then type Firewall into the search box. Choose the option to Allow an app through Windows Firewall.     If you don't see that option, you can choose the option Windows Defender Firewall at the top of the search results. This will open the Windows Defender Firewall topic the Control Panel. There you can choose Allow an app or feature through Windows Defender Firewall in the side panel:     Add a firewall exception for lmgrd.exe   In the Allowed apps window, click the Change Settings button, then the Allow another app… button.     In the Add an app window that opens, click the Browse… button. Navigate to extracted license server downloads. Double click lmgrd.exe to choose the file.     Click the Network types… button.   Check the boxes for the various network types that the firewall should allow. We recommend allowing your FlexNet licensing to communicate across all network types, but contact your server or network administrators if you're not sure.     Click Okay to close the Choose Network Types window.   Back on the Add an app window, click the Add button.   Add a firewall exception for flexsim.exe   Repeat the steps above for flexsim.exe:   Click the Allow another app… button. Browse… to your extracted license server downloads. Select flexsim.exe. Click Network types… and choose the appropriate networks to allow access to lmgrd.exe. These should be set to the same settings chosen for lmgrd.exe, and you can usually allow all network types - domain, private, and public. Click the Add button. Click OK to close the Control Panel window.   Port considerations   You may need to allow communication through other firewalls or network appliances, depending on your network topology and specific licensing plans for how and from where client PCs will connect to the license server. Usually for such firewalls or devices you will configure inbound and outbound port exceptions to allow your license server communications to pass through.   A FlexSim license server has its ports defined in a flexsim.lic license file, specified when you configured your FlexSim_Licensing service.   Our default ports are as follows:   lmgrd.exe - licensing service - port 26914 - TCP flexsim.exe - vendor daemon - port 56914 - TCP   There is a chance you specified custom your port numbers. If you're not sure you can check your flexsim.lic license file. Read more about FlexSim's license file and default vs custom port numbers in our article FlexSim's license file.

If you have colleagues who should also have visibility to your license codes, you can "share" your licenses with their account. Licenses should only be shared in accordance with FlexSim's end user license agreement. When you share your licenses with another FlexSim Account, they are able to view all of your activation IDs in full, as well as the activation histories of those licenses. To share your licenses with another FlexSim Account, do the following: Log in to your FlexSim Account at https://flexs.im/account. In the navigation header, click the Licenses link, then choose Sharing from the submenu: Follow the instructions to add one or more FlexSim Accounts to share your licenses with. The FlexSim Accounts must already exist. Press the Add button to submit the accounts. When you submit, if you are navigated away from the Share page, simply revisit the Sharing link as described in step 2 above. You should see the results of your share attempt. You will also see a list of the accounts you're sharing with, as well as any accounts that are sharing with you: Your licenses will now be listed in your colleague's FlexSim Account. They will see your licenses listed on their Licenses page the next time they log in. If they were currently logged in to their account while you shared your licenses, they should log out, then log back it to note the change.

Introduction Several times per year we release a new feature-version of FlexSim Simulation Software. In order for your PCs to be able to run a licensed version of the upgraded software, you'll need to upgrade your standalone FlexSim license. Licenses with a current maintenance subscription are eligible to be upgraded to the new version. If you don't understand how licensing works for different FlexSim versions, please review our Answers article FlexSim Version Numbering. Overview After installing your new version of FlexSim, there are 3 main steps to upgrading your standalone license: Return the licenses you intend to upgrade Upgrade your licenses Activate the upgraded license Several of these steps have their own fully documented procedures. We'll link you to those resources below. 1. Return the licenses you intend to upgrade The steps to return a standalone license are fully documented. Choose the link below that best matches your needs, depending on whether your PC can connect to the Internet: Standalone - Return - Online Standalone - Return - XML / Offline Be sure to return ALL licenses you wish to upgrade. 2. Upgrade your licenses NOTE: Licenses with expired maintenance will not upgrade. Timed licenses do not upgrade. Only permanent (not timed) licenses under current maintenance can be upgraded. Log in to your FlexSim Account. If you were already logged in to your FlexSim Account, in the top navigation menu hover over your initials icon and choose Reload Account. Now in the top navigation menu, choose Licenses > List. Check that the available seat count is equal to the total. All of a license’s seats should be returned for it to upgrade. Click on the Upgrade Licenses button. If you have several licenses to upgrade and all are owned by or shared with your FlexSim Account, they will all be upgraded at once. Please be patient while the upgrade process works in the background. When the page refreshes, eligible licenses will have a new activation ID for the latest version of the software. Your license code indicates its version at the end of the code to help you know what versions your license will properly activate. Review license code format. You'll be able to use the upgraded license codes in the next step. 3. Activate the upgraded licenses The steps to activate a standalone license are fully documented. Choose the link below that best matches your needs, depending on whether your PC can connect to the Internet: Standalone - Activation - Online Standalone - Activation - XML / Offline If you have any questions or problems, please search our Answers Community for possible solutions. There is a good chance someone else has already asked your question. Still not finding what you're looking for? Submit a new question and we'll check it out. If you're including any confidential information, such as license codes, be sure to mark your question as private! You can also contact your local FlexSim distributor for live phone, web, or email help.

Have you received this licensing error?   Operations error: 7288 The activation of the fulfillment is denied by the activation policy because fulfill count exceeded the available seat count.     Here are some common reasons you may encounter this error, along with some possible solutions.   All seats are already in use   Problem: All the seats of this license are already activated. There are no available seats left to activate.   Solution: You must return a seat from a computer where it is currently activated. Once a seat has been successfully returned it is available for a new activation.   If you are not sure where your license is currently activated, there are two main methods for finding out:   Go on a hunt: On each computer where the license may be activated, check the license status by opening FlexSim and going to Help > License Activation > View Licenses tab > press the View Licenses button. This will show you the license information for the current PC. Check the history: You can view your activation/return history from your FlexSim account's licenses page. On the Licenses page, expand the folders until you can see the Activation ID you are trying to track down. Click the Activation ID to load the history for this license. This history includes dates/times of the activations and returns. If the information is available it will also list the computer name where the license was last activated and the Windows username of the logged in user who completed the action. If the computer where your license was activated has been stolen, destroyed, wiped, etc., please contact your local distributor to discuss a solution.   Activation ID is obsolete   Problem: You are trying to activate an obsolete activation ID. An activation ID can become obsolete if it has been cancelled, replaced, or upgraded.   Solution: Make sure to use the most up-to-date version of your license. Log in to your FlexSim account to view your latest license codes.   Consider the following scenario: You purchased a FlexSim license and were emailed a license code. You used that license on your laptop for several years, upgrading FlexSim as new versions were released and following the prompts to upgrade your license as needed. Now you have purchased a new laptop. You successfully returned your license from your previous laptop. On the new PC you installed FlexSim and needed to get it licensed. You looked up your original license code from your years-old email, but when attempting to activate you received error 7288.   The reason is that over the years as you upgraded FlexSim you also upgraded your license code. The old, original license code is obsolete. You must log in to your FlexSim account to get the most recent license code. With the new license code you are able to successfully activate your license on your new laptop.

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.  

Not sure about the differences between network and standalone licenses? No worries! Read on for an in-depth explanation of each license model: Standalone Licensing (Client-Activatable) Network Licensing (Server-Concurrent) You can also download our printable reference, which includes some example scenarios: Standalone vs Network Licensing.pdf. Standalone Licensing (Client-Activatable) Once a standalone license is activated to a PC it remains there permanently until it is returned. The PC could be rebooted, taken offline, or even have FlexSim uninstalled - the license remains on the PC. The steps to activate and return a license are user-accessible from within FlexSim software. Once FlexSim is installed, there are no special PC permissions required to activate or return licenses. See our licensing procedures article for instructions for managing your standalone licenses (activate, return, repair, upgrade). User-managed license movement The ability for the user to activate and return their license at will is a big advantage. It allows teams the freedom to share a license, while still giving individuals the freedom to take a license off-site or off-Internet. As long as a team sharing a license communicates effectively, the license can be passed around to whoever needs it at the moment, by returning the license from one PC and activating to another. History Log FlexSim's main license server logs a license's activation/return history, including who last activated (in case you need to contact someone about returning it!). The license history log can be viewed by any FlexSim account that can view the license. This includes the license owner and any account the owner has shared with. Your activation IDs (the license codes copied into FlexSim to activate your license) can be shared and visible - including the activation history - with every member of your group. See the Sharing tab on your FlexSim account's Licenses page. Trusted Storage Your standalone FlexSim licenses are activated to a special holding area on your computer called Trusted Storage, which exists outside and independently of FlexSim software. FlexSim's activation process will authenticate your computer with our main license server and store your license credentials in Trusted Storage, completely outside of any FlexSim installation. You could uninstall FlexSim, but your license will still reside in your computer's Trusted Storage. You would need to reinstall FlexSim in order to access the return functionality to move your license off of your computer. So, you can go ahead and use ANY version of FlexSim to activate ANY version of your license so that it will be stored in your computer's Trusted Storage. Whether the activated license will enable features in your version of the software is a separate question - and as a quick reminder, FlexSim's licenses are backward-compatible, meaning that if you have a 21.2 license, you can use that with any version of the software up to version 21.2.x, including all older versions back to 5.0. The crux is, your standalone license can be accessed by any version of FlexSim installed on your computer, regardless of what version was used when activating the license, because all versions just put your license into Trusted Storage, and all versions check license rights by reading out of Trusted Storage. Standalone pros User-level control of the license gives flexibility in who has the license at any given moment. FlexSim maintains the license server, so you don't have to (avoids complexity of installing, configuring, maintaining, and upgrading your own separate license server). Online tools to see the license history and who currently has the license (via your FlexSim Account). In-software auto-upgrades makes upgrading your license easy. Standalone cons People sharing the license need to coordinate who will use it when and remember to return the license when unused. Lost, stolen, or broken licenses require interaction with your local FlexSim rep to fix. Network Licensing (Server-Concurrent) Let's begin with an overview of the setup (simplified from our license server installation instructions😞 Provision a computer/VM to act as the license server. It should remain powered on and attached to the network at all times. Activate your FlexSim licenses to your local license server. Install and configure the license manager software. Configure firewalls and permissions on the server and/or network to allow communication with FlexSim client PCs. Next, the client PCs: Install FlexSim on the client PC. Configure licensing settings in the client software to point to the license server. Configure firewalls and permissions on the client PC and/or network to allow communication with the license server. The network connection between client and server must be maintained throughout use of FlexSim software. If the network connection breaks, FlexSim software reverts to the feature-limited Express mode. This sort of setup is great for computer labs at universities, for instance, where there are many client PCs, and license server hardware or virtual machine is easy to obtain or already exists. Also, where the client PCs are stationary and always on the network, and where network topology makes it easy for the clients to stay connected to the server. Opening FlexSim software requests a seat from the organization's license server. Closing the software returns the seat. Network pros Allows for management of many licenses (seats) from a single location. Some server settings are customizable (Options files can be quite powerful - see chapter 13). Licenses can never become lost or stranded on client PCs. If a client PC loses its connection to the server, the server will reclaim the seat after a timeout period (default timeout is 15 minutes). Network cons Complexity of installing, configuring, maintaining, and upgrading a separate license server. Client PCs must maintain a constant connection to the server. No online record of activations/returns (but you can examine your own raw server logs).