PDF1. Steps to Setup and Configure FlexNet Publisher
Getting Your License File
- Send your FlexNet Publisher server name, server operating system (either Windows or Solaris), and host ID (MAC address for Windows and host ID for Solaris) to Agreements@ni.com. State that you prefer to use FlexNet Publisher to manage your licenses.
NOTE: NI Volume License Agreements are not supported on Linux systems
Configuring FLEXnet Publisher
- Install the most recent FLEXnet Publisher LMTOOLS from the following link.
- NI recommends creating one folder on your computer that will contain all the required files for licensing.
- Download the license manager deamon (lmgrd.exe) and the NI License Manager vendor deamon (nilm.exe) from the flexlm.zip in the attachments of this Developer Zone Tutorial and copy the files into the licensing folder.
- After receiving your license file, copy the license file into the licensing folder.
- Create a new text document in the licensing folder for the debug log file and rename the file "debug log.log"
- Make sure the licensing folder is similar to the following folder (for more information about nilm.opt, read the Creating an Options File section):
- In the Config Services tab in LMTOOLS, type in a new Service Name such as "NILM License Manager" and point LMTOOLS to the lmgrd.exe, license file, and debug log.
Creating an Options File
If your license file requires computer-based permissions for the software to be used, you will have to create an options file denoting which computers have permission to use each product. Create your options file, which is a text file named nilm.opt, using the following standard FlexNet Publisher formatting:
INCLUDE HOST
Note that computer names are case-sensitive and are based off of the Windows computer name.
If your license file requires named-user permissions for the software to be used, you will have to create an options file denoting which users have permission to use each product. Create your options file, which is a text file named nilm.opt, using the following standard FlexNet Publisher formatting:
INCLUDE USER
Note: The user names are case-sensitive and based off of the Windows login name.
The options file should be saved in the same directory as the vendor daemon nilm.exe. If you have both named-user and computer-based licenses, you can put both types of "INCLUDE" lines in the same options file.
Starting the Server
- On the Service/License File tab in LMTOOLS, select to use the NILM License Manager Service that we created in the configuration tab.
- On the Start/Stop/Reread tab in LMTOOLS start the server.
Configuring Client Computers
Client software is not configured to look to the FlexNet Publisher server by default. In order for client machines to look for the license server, you can set environment variables, specify the server in NI License Manager, or create a Volume License Installer to automatically point the machine upon installation of the client software. To find more information on how to create a Volume License Installer, please see KnowledgeBase 47IAHTQA: Creating a Volume License Installer for NI VLM. You can download NI Volume License Manager 2.1.1 at the following location:
Drivers and Updates: NI Volume License Manager 2.1.1
Environment Variables or NI License Manager
There are three locations where NI software looks for a server name and port:
- Windows environment variable NILM_LICENSE_FILE
- Windows environment variable LM_LICENSE_FILE
- NI License Manager in the Options»Preferences»Use Volume License Servers field.
You can set this value directly at one of the following locations, based on your operating system:
Windows Vista/7 and Later:
<ProgramData>\National Instruments\License Manager\Data\servers.ini
Windows XP:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\FLEXlm License Manager\NILM_LICENSE_FILE
Updates to the server name and port within the servers.ini file or in this registry key will be reflected in the NI License Manager location shown above.
NI VLM Volume License Installers
Using NI VLM Volume License Installers adds installer steps to automatically point client computers to the FlexNet Publisher server. One of huge benefits is that end users don't have any additional steps after installing the software. To prepare your software for Volume License installation, complete the following steps:
- NOTE: NI VLM can be installed on a machine that is NOT the server machine.
- Create a Volume License Installer for your licensed software by going to Options » Create Volume License Installer... within NI VLM. Enter the server name of the FlexNet Publisher server. Be sure to enter the administrator information. This information is displayed to the end user when they need a license or if the license server is inaccessible. You can configure a client computer to get a license from the server as part of the software installation process or after the software is installed.
- Have your end users install the software from the Volume License Installer.
- If the software is already installed on the end user's machine, users can leave the software installed and simply run the program vlmclient.exe found in the same location as the Volume License Installer. In the created Volume License Installer folder, copy the Client folder onto the client machine, and run the vlmclient.exe in that folder.
You don't have to keep track of how many people have installed the software since the licenses are managed by FlexNet Publisher.
