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Floating License Operation Manual-On-Premises Version

The following describes the floating license for the on-premises version.

  • set up
  • Operation
    • Check license usage
    • Renew license
  • Uninstall
  • troubleshooting

set up

Learn how your system administrator can set up a floating license server for Next Design. To set up a floating license server:

  1. Download
  2. Installation
  3. Configuration
  4. License activation
  5. Server auto-start registration
  6. Change firewall settings
  7. Operation check
Attention

When operating multiple editions with a floating license, it is necessary to prepare a different license server for each edition.

info

You need administrator privileges to execute the commands described in the following steps. For Windows, run the command prompt as an administrator to use it. For Linux, use the sudo or su command together.

1. Download

Download the files needed to build a floating license server from the Next Design Support Page. The required files are:

  • LexFloatServer-Win.zip
  • NextDesignProduct.dat
Attention

After downloading the zip file, remove the security protection as follows before extracting the file.

  1. Right-click on the zip file to display Properties.
  2. Read the Security description at the bottom of the General tab, check the Allow check box on the right, and click the OK button.

2. Installation

Extract the downloaded zip file and store it in a folder of your choice.

  • LexFloatServer.exe ･ ･ ･ License server executable file
  • config.yml ･ ･ ･ Configuration file
  • NextDesignProduct.dat ･ ･ ･ Next Design product identification data
info

You need the Visual Studio 2015 redistributable package to run the floating license server. If it is not installed, download it from Microsoft Site and install it.

3. Configuration

Configure the information required to operate the floating license server.

Open "config.yml" stored in the folder with a text editor and edit it as follows.

server:
  port: {port number used by the floating license server}
  licenseKey: {License key for the issued floating license}
  productFilePath: NextDesignProduct.dat
auth:
  admins:
    - username: {username to sign in to the license management screen}
      password: {Password to sign in to the license management screen}
note

Next Design Product Identification Data File: If "NextDesignProduct.dat" is stored in a different folder than the license server executable file, specify the relative path from the license server executable file for productFilePath: above.

4. License activation

License activation is done at the command line. Learn how to activate online and how to activate offline.

note
  • Activation can also be performed on the license management screen accessed from the browser, but since the procedure is simpler using the command line, the procedure on the command line is explained below.
Operation procedure

Execute the following command.

lexfloatserver -a

5. Server auto-start registration

Service registration is required to start the floating license server. It is registered as a service by executing the following command, and the floating license server also starts the service automatically when the server starts.

lexfloatserver -i --service-name {service name to register} --service-display-name {service name to be displayed on the management tool}

6. Change firewall settings

Set up a firewall to access the floating license server.

  1. Open [Network and Internet] from [Winodws Settings].
  2. Open Windows Firewall.
  3. Open Allow Applications by Firewall.
  4. Press Allow another app to open the Add App dialog.
  5. Click the Browse button and select LexFloatServer.exe.
  6. In the list of Allowed apps and features, check Floating license server for Private and Public.
  7. Click the [OK] button to close the dialog.

7. Operation check

Here are the steps to check if the floating license server is working properly.

You can confirm that it is working properly by starting Next Design on a machine different from the server and actually authenticating the license.

  1. Start Next Design.
  2. If you have not registered the license for Next Design, the [Register License] dialog is displayed.
    (If the license has already been registered, cancel the license according to the procedure for canceling the license below.)
  3. Select Floating License from the License Type choices.
  4. Select On-Premises from the License Server choices.
  5. For Server Address, specify the URL of the server where you set up the license server.
  6. For Port, specify the port number specified in the license server configuration.
  7. Change your system's proxy settings to connect to the license server as needed. Please check with your network administrator for details.
  8. Click the [Register] button.
  9. If the license server is working properly and the license is activated, Next Design will start.
Unlicensing procedure
  1. Select Help> Manage Licenses to display the License Management dialog.
  2. Click the [Unlicense] button, and then click OK in the confirmation dialog that appears.
  3. The license is released and Next Design ends.

Operation

Check license usage

The system administrator can check the license usage status from the browser. The information that the system administrator can check is as follows.

  • Current license usage / maximum available
  • License activation status
  • Information on users who are currently using the license
    • Machine name
Operation procedure
  1. Start your browser.
  2. Enter [http://Floating License Server Hostname: Port Number] to Use as the address.
  3. Sign in with the configured user name and password.

Renew your license

To renew your license, such as extending your license expiration date or adding the maximum number available, you need to perform the following steps:

Operation procedure

  1. Execute the following command on the command line to activate it again.

    lexfloatserver -a

  2. Execute the following command on the command line to restart the service.

    sc stop {registered service name}
    sc start {registered service name}

Uninstall

Service registration is canceled by executing the following command.

lexfloatserver -u --service-name {registered service name}
lexfloatserver -d

troubleshooting

This section describes the causes and remedies when license authentication fails.

1. Could not connect to the floating license server.

Cause

  • The server address or port is incorrect

  • Floating license server is not started

  • Floating server firewall is blocking license authentication

  • The proxy server is blocking license authentication

Occurrence condition

  • [Server address] is different from [http://floating license server host name], or [Port] is different from the port number specified in the config.

  • Floating license server is not started

  • Floating license services are not excluded in the server firewall settings

  • Floating license server addresses are not excluded in client proxy settings

Workaround

  • Enter the correct values ​​for the server address and port.

  • Start the floating license server. Follow the steps described in Service Registration.

  • Allow the floating license service with the firewall application permission. Follow the firewall steps in your configuration.

  • Do not use a proxy server for local addresses or exclude floating license server addresses. Perform step 5 of the operation check.

2. The license is not registered on the floating license server.

Cause

  • License is not registered on the floating license server

  • The registered license key is incorrect

Occurrence condition

  • The procedure (-a) for registering the license on the floating license server has not been executed.

  • The registered license key is incorrect, and an error occurs when executing -a.

  • License key registration has been canceled

Workaround

  • Check the license key of the floating license and perform the activation procedure.
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