Intel® FLEXlm* License Borrowing Capability

ID 659657
Updated 7/18/2017
Version Latest
Public

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Overview

This feature allows users to ‘borrow” a license seat from the license host server for a limited time, disconnect from the network and use the borrowed license even with no connection to the license server. This is very useful in case you want to use the software offline.

Required Information

To use the license borrow functionality for Intel floating product licenses, customers need to ensure they have the following items:

  1. A build of the Intel® License Manager for FLEXlm* (for the desired OS) that supports the Borrow capability.
    1. Users need to make sure that they are using a build of Intel FLEXlm* License Manager which supports borrowing and early return of borrowed licenses.
    2. We recommend the customer download and install one of the free license manager servers available from the Intel Registration Center.
  2. A license file which has the keyword BORROW in it: 
    1. Licenses for Intel® Software Development Products with version 2011 or above have the BORROW feature with a BORROW period of 7 days enabled by default.  
    2. To obtain a borrow-enabled license for a multi-seat floating product license with a version older than 2011, please submit a reqiest. Visit our Get Help page for support options.
  3. A single server configuration for the license server. The redundant triad server configuration currently does not support license borrowing.

Steps for starting the FLEXlm* License Manager (Server) for using the Borrow feature

  1. Start the license server using the new borrow-enabled license file(s).
  2. Check the log for the Intel® FLEXlm* License Server and make sure that it does not complain about BORROW keyword in the license file.
    By default, the log file location is:
    Windows: %ProgramFiles%\Intel\LicenseServer
    Linux* and Mac OS* X: wherever the FLEXlm server has been installed.

A typical log file when FLEXlm Server has started successfully looks like the following:

 3:31:59 (lmgrd) FlexNet Licensing (v11.12.0.0 build 136775 x64_lsb) started on LicenseServer (linux) (4/20/2016)
 3:31:59 (lmgrd) Copyright (c) 1988-2013 Flexera Software LLC. All Rights Reserved.
 3:31:59 (lmgrd) World Wide Web:  http://www.flexerasoftware.com
 3:31:59 (lmgrd) License file(s): server.lic
 3:31:59 (lmgrd) lmgrd tcp-port 28518
 3:31:59 (lmgrd) (@lmgrd-SLOG@) ===============================================
 3:31:59 (lmgrd) (@lmgrd-SLOG@) === LMGRD ===
 3:31:59 (lmgrd) (@lmgrd-SLOG@) Start-Date: Wed Apr 20 2016 03:31:59 CST
 3:31:59 (lmgrd) (@lmgrd-SLOG@) PID: 6423
 3:31:59 (lmgrd) (@lmgrd-SLOG@) LMGRD Version: v11.12.0.0 build 136775 x64_lsb ( build 136775 (ipv6))
 3:31:59 (lmgrd) (@lmgrd-SLOG@)
 3:31:59 (lmgrd) (@lmgrd-SLOG@) === Network Info ===
 3:31:59 (lmgrd) (@lmgrd-SLOG@) Socket interface: IPV6
 3:31:59 (lmgrd) (@lmgrd-SLOG@) Listening port: 28518
 3:31:59 (lmgrd) (@lmgrd-SLOG@)
 3:31:59 (lmgrd) (@lmgrd-SLOG@) === Startup Info ===
 3:31:59 (lmgrd) (@lmgrd-SLOG@) Server Configuration: Single Server
 3:31:59 (lmgrd) (@lmgrd-SLOG@) Command-line options used at LS startup: -c server.lic -l server.log
 3:31:59 (lmgrd) (@lmgrd-SLOG@) License file(s) used:  server.lic
 3:31:59 (lmgrd) (@lmgrd-SLOG@) ===============================================
 3:31:59 (lmgrd) Starting vendor daemons ...
 3:31:59 (lmgrd) Started INTEL (internet tcp_port 57389 pid 6424)
 3:31:59 (INTEL) Unable to initialize access to trusted storage: 2
 3:31:59 (INTEL) FlexNet Licensing version v11.12.0.0 build 136775 x64_lsb
 3:31:59 (INTEL) SLOG: Summary LOG statistics is enabled.
 3:31:59 (INTEL) SLOG: FNPLS-INTERNAL-CKPT1
 3:31:59 (INTEL) SLOG: FNPLS-INTERNAL-CKPT2
 3:31:59 (INTEL) Server started on LicenseServer for:
 3:31:59 (INTEL) ID9FC97B2 (consisting of:              AdvXEw
 3:31:59 (INTEL) ArBBW          CCompW          Comp-CW
 3:31:59 (INTEL) Comp-FW                Comp-OpenMP     Comp-PointerChecker
 3:31:59 (INTEL) DAAL-W         FCompW          MKernW
 3:31:59 (INTEL) PerfAnl                PerfPrimW       StaticAnlW
 3:31:59 (INTEL) ThreadAnlGui   ThreadBB)

Client System Setup for the Borrow feature (Application Setup)

NOTE: The term “Client” refers to the application that uses Intel FLEXlm floating license seat check-out and check-in.

  1. lmutil is available from Intel® License Manager for FLEXlm* installation folder. You can either get a copy from your license server if operating systems are the same, or download and install one of the free license manager servers available from the Intel Registration Center.
  2. Verify that no Intel product components’ license seats (i.e., compiler, VTune, etc.) can be borrowed by running the lmutil lmborrow -status command. If you see any information that indicates one or more features/components were borrowed, then borrowing has already been enabled for those licensed features/components. Here is an example of output when no borrowing is enabled.
    Example:
    lmutil lmborrow -status
    lmutil - Copyright (c) 1989-2013 Flexera Software LLC. All Rights Reserved.
  3. 3 Configure the borrow duration and FLEXlm feature to be borrowed: lmutil lmborrow INTEL dd-mmm-yyyy [hh:mm]
    Example:
    lmutil lmborrow INTEL 19-Apr-2016 12:00
    The command above borrows a license seat from the vendor INTEL until 19th Apr 2016 using the license file server.lic. After running this command, the customer should see the following:
    lmutil - Copyright (c) 1989-2013 Flexera Software LLC. All Rights Reserved.
    Setting LM_BORROW=19-apr-2016:INTEL:19-Apr-2016:12:00

    NOTE:  The time specified on command line of lmborrow is the end date/time the user planned to borrow, which must be <= 168 hours, which is the maximum borrow period. If the user wants to borrow the license seat for only 1 or 2 days, the corresponding date/time for that period should be set.
    Users cannot borrow a license seat for more than the 168 hour barrier that is set in the license file and in the license server logic. If an extended borrow time is required, please submit request, providing a justification of why you need to extend the borrow time beyond 7 days. Visit our Get Help page for support options.

  4. If the above steps are successful, you are now ready to borrow a seat by running the client application (e.g. – Composer XE, Vtune Amplifier XE, Inspector XE, etc). The FLEXlm feature will be borrowed when you run the client/application and a successful check-out happens. As soon as the first license is checked out, the server log file will confirm the borrowed feature with the following message in the log file:
    3:54:21 (INTEL) OUT: "ID9FC97B2" User1@Host1
    3:54:21 (INTEL) OUT: "Comp-FW" User1@Host1

    Note that there are no corresponding IN entries in the server log. This is different behavior than a normal check-out where corresponding to every two OUT entries in the server log file, you will also see two IN entries after the OUT entries after the application exits.
  5. Verify that the FLEXlm product feature was really borrowed by running the lmutil lmborrow –status command on the client system.
    Example for borrowing a seat for the Intel C++ Compiler for Linux*:
    lmutil lmborrow –status
    lmutil - Copyright (c) 1989-2013 Flexera Software LLC. All Rights Reserved.
    Vendor     Feature                             Expiration
    ______     ________                            __________
    INTEL      Comp-FW                             19-Apr-16 11:59

    NOTE: Before the Borrow period expires, the product will always get the license from the local storage for the Borrowed license seat when it tries to check-out license. The Client system on which the product is used does not need to be attached to FLEXlm* license host server.

  6. Disconnect the client system from the server network. Now with the borrowed license, you can use the software application with the borrowed license.

    NOTE: After the Borrow period expires, the product license seat will no longer to be able to check-out the license from local storage. Instead, the client system must be “attached” to the FLEXlm* license host server to check-out a product license seat.

  7. Run the following command to return a borrowed license: lmutil lmborrow -return featurename
    Example:
    lmutil lmborrow -return CCompL
    lmutil - Copyright (c) 1989-2011 by Flexera Software, Inc. All rights reserved.

    On the FLEXlm server side, you will see the following message in the log file for the borrowed feature which was returned. This message is different compared to a normal check-in.
    14:40:17 (INTEL) REMOVING User1@Host1:/dev/pts/0 from CCompL by administrator request.
    14:40:17 (INTEL) IN: "CCompL" User1@Host1 (USER_REMOVED)
    14:40:17 (INTEL) IN: "I3F97C15E" User1@Host1 (USER_REMOVED)

    Note: We have known issue for this early return feature in current version ISL 2.3(FlexNet v11.12.0.0). The issue will be fixed in next release ISL 2.4(FlexNet v11.13.*.*).

  8. Run the lmutil lmborrow -status command to verify that the license was returned successfully back to the server.
    Example:
    ./lmutil lmborrow -status
    lmutil - Copyright (c) 1989-2013 Flexera Software LLC. All Rights Reserved.

    Note: If you try to return a license which has not been borrowed, you will see a message like this:
    ./lmutil lmborrow -return CCompL
    lmutil - Copyright (c) 1989-2013 Flexera Software LLC. All Rights Reserved.
    Error: CCompL not currently borrowed.