The FLEXlm® network license management used in AutoCAD 2002, 2004, 2005, and other Autodesk products is designed to manage licenses in local and wide area networks (LANs and WANs). This document discusses the technical aspects of implementing FLEXlm license management technology to manage license usage across WANs.
For the purposes of this document, WAN will be categorized by workstation connection type, as follows:
- Local and leased line. T1 or faster leased line or internal wiring 10 MBS or better
- Broadband. DSL, Cable, ISDN
- Dial-up. 56k or slower connections
Special consideration must be made in the case of redundant server usage and "raw Internet" connections. Packet filtering at routers and firewalls must also be considered.
Local and leased line connectivity is the most reliable connection type and also offers the advantage of being on your private network. If your network is properly configured and healthy, there should be no connection-induced network license management issues.
The Autodesk® License Manager (AdLM), which uses FLEXlm license management technology, generally works quite well managing license usage on workstations connected via broadband. It is essential that name resolution be enabled between your workstations and the license server. This means that the workstations must be able to ping the license server by hostname. License manager location may be specified using any valid method (see related solutions TS64756 or TS64909). With this kind of connection, clients may have to make several attempts to start the application before a license is successfully obtained. In rare cases, the program may terminate due to connection loss or extended latency. If such failures occur on a frequent basis, the performance and reliability of your broadband or VPN connection should be monitored. If you are using a VPN connection, the speed and reliability of your VPN connection may influence license management behavior.
Autodesk does not recommend using dial-up connections for use with license management due to excessive latency and the lack of reliability of such connections.
If you intend to implement redundant servers in a wide area network environment, all three redundant servers must be connected to the same local network segment of 10 mbs or better. Workstations on remote segments should point to all three redundant servers in the licpath.lic file. In addition, all workstations must be able to ping the license servers by hostname and the servers must be able to ping each other by hostname.
By default, the Autodesk implementation of FLEXlm uses the following TCP ports, which must be enabled for two-way communication between the license server and workstations:
- LMGRD uses TCP ports 27000 through 27009
- ADSKFLEX uses TCP port 2080
Ports may be filtered at routers and firewalls, in which case the AdLM will be unable to communicate across that connection. It is also possible that another program is using one or more FLEXlm port numbers, even though they are internationally registered with IANA. If necessary, consult related solution TS1465 for information about changing port numbers.
The AdLM can share licenses either on a private network or over raw Internet connections. For security and performance considerations, Autodesk recommends that you share licenses over private network connections only.
The End User License Agreement (EULA) may limit the scope of implementation of the license management in your environment. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are in compliance with the EULA. Questions regarding the EULA should be directed to your authorized Autodesk Dealer.
Support – Terms of UseAUTODESK DOES NOT GUARANTEE THAT YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SUCCESSFULLY DOWNLOAD OR IMPLEMENT ANY SERVICE PACK OR WORKAROUND, OR ANY OF THE TIPS, TRICKS, EXAMPLES OR SUGGESTIONS OUTLINED IN ANY AUTODESK PRODUCT SUPPORT TECHNICAL DOCUMENTS. TECHNICAL DOCUMENTS, SERVICE PACKS AND WORKAROUNDS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE TO YOU. AUTODESK PROVIDES TECHNICAL DOCUMENTS, SERVICE PACKS AND WORKAROUNDS "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL AUTODESK OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF DATA, OR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, THAT MAY OCCUR AS A RESULT OF IMPLEMENTING ANY SERVICE PACK OR WORKAROUND, OR ANY SUGGESTION OUTLINED IN ANY AUTODESK PRODUCT SUPPORT TECHNICAL DOCUMENT, EVEN IF AUTODESK OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.
