License Partitioning TechNote

License partitioning does not apply to SELECT Server XM

Introduction

What is license partitioning?
SELECTserver license partitioning is the ability to support and process multiple license files on the same physical server.

What are some reasons to use license partitioning?

• The ability to manage multiple groups of product licenses.
• Individual departments in an organization can each account for their product licenses separately. For example, the engineering department's five licenses are managed on partition "1", while the architecture department's twenty licenses are managed on partition "2". Each department's software investment retains its identity and is managed autonomously by a single license server.
• Segregating license groups based on projects, new or termed purchases or other special needs. For example, evaluation or termed licenses could be managed on a new partition added to an existing SELECTserver installation without requiring the existing license (group of products) to be redefined.

What do I need to get started?

• SELECTserver v8.2 or greater
• License files: Each partition requires a separate license file, which can be obtained from the Bentley Administration Center. You cannot split existing SELECTserver license files into two or more partitions without the assistance of BAC.
• Windows operating system (for example, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 95, Windows 98)
• TCP/IP protocol
• a compatible Web browser (Internet Explorer 4.x or higher or Netscape Navigator 4.x or higher) to view the SELECTserver Manager page

Setting up License Partitioning on the Server

1. Install SELECTserver on a Windows operating system (see Bentley TechNote #8210, Quick Start: Setting Up SELECTserver License Manager).
2. Contact BAC to obtain the license files.
3. Edit the configuration variables in the lmserver.inf file located in the SELECTserver directory on the server. Each license file will have its own "license section" in the lmserver.inf file.

Configuration variables for lmserver.inf (see the example file below)

1. Using Notepad, open the selectserver\lmserver.inf file.
2. Edit LICENSE_COUNT in the lmserver.inf file to reflect the number of license partitions. For example, LICENSE_COUNT = 3. You will need one license file per partition.
3. Make a copy of the LICENSE1 section in lmserver.inf for each license partition (see example below)
4. Identify each license section. For example, [LICENSE1], [LICENSE2] and [LICENSE3] if you have three license partitions.
5. Each license section will have unique parameters that define the operation of that partition.
   1. Assign a unique port number in the PORT_SERVER field of each license section. For example, PORT_SERVER = 4002. The default PORT_SERVER number is 3998.
   2. Edit the FILE_LICENSE field for each license section to point to a unique license name (that is, the licenses you obtained from BAC). For example, license.lic, engineering.lic and architects.lic.
   3. Edit the name in the FILE_CHECKOUT_ACCESS field to a unique file name for each license section. For example, checkout.inf, engineering_checkout.inf and architects_checkout.inf.
   4. If you want to restrict access of each license to specific machines or IP addresses, edit the FILE_CLIENT_ACCESS field to a unique file name for each license section. For example, client.inf, engineering_client.inf and architects_client.inf.
   5. If you are using portfolio licensing and want to restrict access and search order of each license to specific machines or IP addresses, edit the FILE_PORTFOLIO_ORDER field to a unique file name for each license section. For example, portfolio.inf, engineering_portfolio.inf and architects_ portfolio.inf.
   6. Edit the FILE_LOG field to a unique name for each license section. For example, license.log, engineering_license.log and architects_license.log.
6. If you made changes to the file names in any of the following variables from section 5: IMPORTANT: Make copies of the original files and rename the copies to the file name you specified in these configuration variables.

   Example:
   FILE_CLIENT_ACCESS = engineering_client.inf
   FILE_CHECKOUT_ACCESS = engineering_checkout.inf
   FILE_PORTFOLIO_ORDER = engineering_portfolio.inf
   

7. Save the lmserver.inf file and exit Notepad.
8. Stop and restart the Bentley LMServer service.

To Verify that SELECTserver License Manager is Operating
Open your Web browser and enter http://YourServerName:3999 in the address field. This should bring you to the SELECTserver Manager page. If your browser can't find the page or produces an error, substitute the server's IP address for your server's name. If you are accessing the SELECTserver Manager page from the server you can substitute "localhost" for the computer name. When the License Manager page comes up, choose License List. Under License List, the current features total should be greater than zero and there should be a feature summary for each license partition that reflects your licenses.

Setup on the Client
Using a text editor (Notepad is recommended), create the client license file (msv8.lic for Microstation V8) and save it to the appropriate licensing directory on the client computer. For Microstation V8 the directory would be C:\program files\bentley\program\licensing. Be sure the client license file does not have have a .txt extension--right-click the file, choose Properties, and check the MS-DOS name. (Some Bentley products require different client license file names. For example, InRoads Bridge requires a client license file named selectcad.lic. For a list of these file names, please see TechNote #8174.

Add the following line to the client license file:

SERVER="YourServerName" PORT="4001"
(where "YourServerName" is the name of the computer on which SELECTserver License Manager is installed and the PORT number is the port number assigned to the partitioned license)

If you are not using DNS or WINS for IP-to-name resolution you need to add the following line:

SERVER="YourServerName" IPADDRESS="255.255.255.255" PORT="4001"
(where 255.255.255.255 is your server's IP address)

Note: The PORT number in the license file of each client machine must match the PORT_SERVER defined in its associated license section in the lmserver.inf file. If you change the PORT_SERVER value, you must add the PORT= argument to the client's .lic SERVER= line.

Example of the lmserver.inf File (Configurations that need to be changed are highlighted in red)

LICENSE_COUNT = 3 

# ----------- LICENSE1 Section ---------- ORIGINAL SECTION---------- 
# 
[LICENSE1] 
# 
# Client Connection Port preference 
# - If you change your PORT_SERVER value, you will need to add a PORT= 
#   arguments to your client's .lic SERVER= line to specify a non-default PORT: 
# 
#      SERVER="LicenseServer" PORT=4001 
# 
PORT_SERVER = 3998 

# 
# Override of Server-level IP Address 
# 
#SERVER_IP = 255.255.255.255 

# 
# Heartbeat preferences 
# - Time between client to server heartbeat in seconds 
# 
HEARTBEAT_DELTA = 120 

# 
# File location preferences 
# - Use full path or put in lmserver.exe directory 
# 
FILE_LICENSE = license.lic 
FILE_CLIENT_ACCESS = client.inf 
FILE_CHECKOUT_ACCESS = checkout.inf 
FILE_CHECKOUT_STATUS = checkout.sta 
FILE_LOG = license.log
FILE_CLIENT_LOG = clients.log
FILE_PORTFOLIO_ORDER = portfolio.inf
 

#----------------------------------------END ORIGINAL SECTION---------- 

# ----------- LICENSE2 Section Engineering ---------- 
# 
[LICENSE2]
# 
# Client Connection Port preference 
# - If you change your PORT_SERVER value, you will need to add a PORT= 
#   arguments to your client's .lic SERVER= line to specify a non-default PORT: 
# 
#      SERVER="LicenseServer" PORT=4001 
# 
PORT_SERVER = 4002

# 
# Override of Server-level IP Address 
# 
#SERVER_IP = 255.255.255.255 

# 
# Heartbeat preferences 
# - Time between client to server heartbeat in seconds 
# 
HEARTBEAT_DELTA = 120 

# 
# File location preferences 
# - Use full path or put in lmserver.exe directory 
# 
FILE_LICENSE = Engineering.lic
FILE_CLIENT_ACCESS = Engineering_client.inf
FILE_CHECKOUT_ACCESS = Engineering_checkout.inf
FILE_CHECKOUT_STATUS = Engineering_checkout.sta
FILE_LOG = Engineering_license.log
FILE_PORTFOLIO_ORDER = engineering_portfolio.inf

# ----------- LICENSE3 Section Architects---------- 
# 
[LICENSE3] 
# 
# Client Connection Port preference 
# - If you change your PORT_SERVER value, you will need to add a PORT= 
#   arguments to your client's .lic SERVER= line to specify a non-default PORT: 
# 
#      SERVER="LicenseServer" PORT=4001 
# 
PORT_SERVER = 4003

# 
# Override of Server-level IP Address 
# 
#SERVER_IP = 255.255.255.255 

# 
# Heartbeat preferences 
# - Time between client to server heartbeat in seconds 
# 
HEARTBEAT_DELTA = 120 

# 
# File location preferences 
# - Use full path or put in lmserver.exe directory 
# 
FILE_LICENSE = architects.lic
FILE_CLIENT_ACCESS = architects_client.inf 
FILE_CHECKOUT_ACCESS = architects_checkout.inf
FILE_CHECKOUT_STATUS = architects_checkout.sta
FILE_LOG = architects_license.log
FILE_PORTFOLIO_ORDER = architects_portfolio.inf