Installing a FlexNet Publisher (FNP) License Server

A TotalView FNP license server must be hosted on a platform that TotalView supports. For platform support specifics, see the FlexNet Publisher License Administration Guide PDF included in the distribution under <installdir>/toolworks/flexlm-<version>/doc.

On this page:

For further consideration, see the following pages in this section:

FNP License Server Prerequisites

To install an FNP license server:

  • The license server must be installed on a platform supported by TotalView.

  • A dedicated unprivileged user account is recommended on the system that hosts the license server.

Installing the FNP License Server

1. Install the FNP Software

The FlexNet Publisher license server tar bundle flexlm-<version>.tar is available for download on the TotalView website at https://www.perforce.com/products/totalview/downloads.

For served license renewal, skip this section and see FlexNet License Updates or Renewal.

  1. Unpack your TotalView FlexNet Publisher distribution on the license server system.

    To install the FNP license server software, unpack the FlexNet Publisher tar bundle onto the machine that will host the license server, then run the Install script from the resulting directory:

    tar xvf flexlm-<version>.tar -C ~

    cd ~/flexlm-<version>

  2. Run the Install script using sudo. (optional but recommended)

    sudo ./Install

    This runs Install in interactive mode in which you are prompted with options or to provide information.

    • Choose an installation directory, e.g., /opt.

    • At the prompt, select the components to install.

      Choose to install the license common files and the relevant license platform files for your license server. (The tarball includes license server software for multiple platforms.)

    After the Install script completes, you should have a flexlm-<version> directory under <installdir>/toolworks.

2. Generate a Host ID for the FNP License Server

To obtain host information, run the toolworks_hostid script, as follows:

<installdir>/toolworks/flexlm-<version>/bin/toolworks_hostid

Do not use the UNIX hostid command, as it will not return the proper host ID for FNP.

This script writes the host name and one or more FlexNet Publisher host ID values to standard output, for example:

The host name for this machine is: fast-server

The FlexNet Publisher host ID for this machine is:   08122b2cf32d

Several factors can influence how toolworks_hostid behaves, as follows:

  • Running from the flexlm-<version> directory returns a host ID for FNP only.

  • Running from the <installdir>/toolworks/totalview.<version> directory (on platforms that support FNP) returns host IDs for both FNP and FNE.

  • Depending on the TotalView version, an RLM host ID might also be generated.

Send the host ID to the TotalView license team, license@perforce.com, who will then send you a permanent/subscription license.

If toolworks_hostid returns multiple FlexNet host IDs, select a persistent host ID, i.e., one for a device that is always part of the system when the license server software is running. The license server host ID is derived from the physical MAC address of a network interface card, and the host ID chosen must be a persistent address.

3. Verify Your FNP License Type and Product

After receiving your license, you can verify your license type and product by running the utility toolworks_licensetype and provide as input the license file:

<installdir>/toolworks/totalview.<version>/bin/toolworks_licensetype <licensefile>

The script returns the license type (either RLM, FNP, or FNE), the product, and whether a license server is required. For example:

FlexNet Publisher (FNP) TotalView for HPC license(s) detected

These licenses are counted. A license server is required.

For license setup help refer to TotalView for HPC > FlexNet Publisher (FNP)

in the TotalView Installation and Licensing Guide.

4. Configure the FNP License Server

  1. Create a file named license.src in your <installdir>/toolworks/flexlm‑<version> directory.

    • Change to the flexlm-<version> directory on the license server

      cd <installdir>/toolworks/flexlm-<version>

    • Copy and paste the new license keys — this is the information that you received through email — into a file named license.src in the <installdir>/toolworks/flexlm‑<version> directory.

      The text in your license.src file is derived from your host information, number of license keys, and license configurations.

  2. Create a dedicated unprivileged user account.

    Skip this step if you already created the user as a prerequisite to installing and running the license server as discussed in FNP License Server Prerequisites.

    While not required, it’s recommended to have a dedicated, unprivileged user account to run the license server. Note that the login shell should be /bin/sh.

  3. Run the <installdir>/toolworks/flexlm‑<version>/bin/Configure_License script on the license server, to create the following files:

    • <installdir>/toolworks/flexlm‑<version>/license.dat

    • <installdir>/toolworks/flexlm‑<version>/license.opt

      If you already have a license.opt file, the script prompts whether you want to overwrite it. Answer “n” to preserve your existing file. If you answer “y”, a new file is created, but your existing file is saved as license.opt.old.

    • <installdir>/toolworks/flexlm‑<version>/license.client

    • <installdir>/toolworks/flexlm‑<version>/bin/toolworks_init

5. Point TotalView Client Installations to the FNP License Server

Each client machine that will run TotalView needs access to a license. If you are running TotalView and the license server in the installation directory on the same machine, you can skip this step.

If TotalView and the license server are not running on the same machine, you need to ensure that TotalView can find the license, using one of the following methods:

  • Using the license file: Copy the <installdir>/toolworks/flexlm-<version>/license.client file from the license server into the <installdir>/toolworks/tv_license directory on each client machine and rename that file license.dat.

  • Using the environment variable LM_LICENSE_FILE

    Add the license server’s port@host specification to environment variable LM_LICENSE_FILE to direct TotalView to the license server.

    For example (bash):

    LM_LICENSE_FILE=7127@licserver.mycompany.com

    export LM_LICENSE_FILE