License Manager

Version 5.0.15 / 5.6.00

License Manager is implemented to allow for better control of user counts and to address licensing requirements for host and mirror/backup servers.

Environmental variable PFLMHOST tells filePro where the license manager resides.  The values of PFLMHOST must match the register license (licfp.dat) for the machine that it resides and runs on.

Syntax

PFLMHOST=address:port

Most of the licenses will use the default port of 6556. If the address is the local machine and the port is the default, PFLMHOST does not need to be set.

Example:

Machine 192.168.0.1 is the host and license server. PFLMHOST need not be set.

Machine 192.168.0.2 is a backup/mirror machine.

Set PFLMHOST in the starting environment or the config file for filePro of machine 2 as follows.

PFLMHOST=192.168.0.1:6556 (on the backup/mirror machine)

filePro will operate on each of the machines using the license server on machine 1.

NOTE: User counts per product will be accumulated as if all programs were running local. Should the host server (machine 1) be "out of service" machine 2 will run in a seven (7) day grace period using the backup/mirror (machine 2). If you install a new machine, you will need to request a new license with new machine information. By using the license manager, you can utilize one (1) license on both the host and backup/mirror machine and still be in compliance with the filePro licensing policy of one license per server since the 2nd machine is a mirror of host machine and not an active machine. Should the backup/mirror machine be put into an active non-mirror/backup status, a valid license must be obtained from www.fptech.com website or by calling our sales office at 1-800-847-4740.

License Server Program

The license server will look for the license file %pfprog%/fp/lib/licfp.dat. Make sure that you have downloaded and saved the license file in the right location before attempting to start the license server program.

Starting the License Server Program

You can start the license server program from a terminal window command prompt on NIX and Windows systems by changing to the directory where the license server program resides and starting the license server program.

Examples:

AIX / LINUX / UNIX

cd /u/appl/fp
nohup ./fplmserver&

Windows

cd \appl\fp

fplmserver

Although the above will start the license server, this would only be used for testing or troubleshooting to make sure that the license server will start and that you have a good license in the right location e.g. %pfprog%/fp/lib/licfp.dat.

LINUX/UNIX

For LINUX and UNIX systems, you will typically want to ‘autostart’ the license server by creating a script that can be launched during the system boot process or by including the required lines in an existing script that is called during the boot process.

cd /u/appl/fp
./fplmserver

A sample script named "startfplmserver" is included in the filePro distributions for UNIX and LINUX systems in the ~/fp directory containing the above lines.

Modify the first line of the sample script to change directory to your filePro program directory and then call this script from a boot startup script. The location and filename of boot startup script varies depending on the Operating Systems version and particular distribution. Refer to the operating system documentation for details on how to ‘autostart’ scripts. Some typical locations/filenames for ‘autostart’ scripts are provided in the following table.

Windows NT, 2000, 2003 and XP

Although you can use "fplmserver.exe" to start the license server on Windows NT type operating systems, the license server is normally installed as service name "fplm_service" during the filePro install and uses the "fplmservice.exe". Since the license file "licfp.dat" will normally be copied after the installation is complete, the service will not automatically start after the installing filePro on new installations. Once you have placed the license in the appropriate directory e.g. ~/fp/lib/licfp.dat, you can start the license server by going to the Windows Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Services. Find the fplm_service and click on "start". You should see "started" in the service status.

Installing the filePro License Service from a command line using "sc.exe"

In some instances, you may have a need to install the fplm_service as a service on your server without doing it during the filePro install. This is true for NETWARE installations where the service would be installed on a Windows box that serves as your filePro License Server or in cases where you are temporarily using a Mirror/Backup server as your filePro License Server.

Also, some anti-virus software will prevent the license service "fplm_service" from being created during the install. Use this section to install the service when the "fplm_service" is not shown as a service in the Window’s "Service" panel.

Microsoft provides a command line utility named "sc.exe" that allows you to start a service.

To install the filePro License Server from a command line, do the following.

sc create "fplm_service" binpath= "c:\fp.56\fp\fplmservice.exe c:\fp.56\fp"

where "fplm_service" is the service name and "binpath" contains the full path to "fplmservice.exe" executable and the path parameter "c:\fp.56\fp" identifies the location of the \lib directory containing the license file "licfp.dat".

Important: You need a space after each equal sign when using the sc.exe utility program.

The "sc.exe" allows you to manage the service based on the parameters that you pass to it. When executing sc.exe without parameters, the syntax and acceptable parameters are identified for things like Stopping, Pausing, Removing and Querying the service.

Workstations - Connecting to a Windows NT License Server

Once the License Server is running, you will need to identify the server in your workstation startup file(s). The PFLMHOST variable is used to identify the server name or the server IP address as follows.

 set PFLMHOST=servername:6556

where servername is the Windows computer name where the filePro license server is running and "6556" is the reserved port number.

 set PFLMHOST=xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:6556

where xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx is the statically assigned IP address of your server and ""6556" is the reserved port number.

Recommend using the "servername" rather than IP address since the license server will be found whether the server IP address is either statically or dynamically assigned.

Stopping the License Server Program

LINUX and UNIX systems

%pfprog%/fp/stopfplmserver contains the following.

kill `cat /u/appl/fp/lib/licfp.pid`

Note: Gentoo LINUX, add stopfplmserver to file /etc/conf.d/local.stop to allow you to stop the server.

Windows NT

Go to Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Services and select fplm_service. Click on "Stop" to stop the service.

License Server Logs

Located in the %pfprog%/fp directory is a directory called logs. In logs is a file for server logging configuration.

servlog.cfg

Default:

# type, level [,filename] [,max_size]
# type could be CONSOLE,FILE,ROLLING,or DAILY
# FILE,ROLLING, and DAILY require a filename
# ROLLING requires a maximum size
# level could be FATAL,ERROR,WARN,INFO, or DEBUG
# lines beginning with # are comments
# blank lines are skipped
# keywords are case-insensitive
# forward slashes (/) must be used for path separators
CONSOLE,FATAL
# ROLLING,DEBUG,server.log,60000
NEWFILE,DEBUG,server.log
DAILY,WARN,server_warn.log

ROLLING indicates that file will be renamed to a backup name (using the current timestamp) when it exceeds the specified size (60000). A new file with the specified name will then be opened.

NEWFILE indicates for server to remove the file and create a new log file when the license server is started.

By changing the name of servlog.cfg file to servlog.cfg.sv the server will eliminate creating any log files.

IMPORTANT: An update or upgrade of filePro will overwrite the servlog.cfg file or reinstall it if it does not exist or has been renamed.

Turning off Logging

Once you are comfortable with the licensing you can turn off the logging by commenting out the DEBUG line in the log file. You should leave the WARN line though.  You can also change the logtype from NEWFILE to DAILY.  NEWFILE causes the server to restart the log file each time the server is started. Daily causes the server to restart the log file each day when the server is continuously running.