How to control network license access using an options file

Scenario

You would like to know how to control network license access using an options file with the FLEXnet® network license manager.

Solution

Note: This information applies to all network versions of Autodesk products.

Access to licenses is controlled with a FLEXnet options file that is configured with the settings you want to use. The options file is an optional component of the FLEXnet license management system and is not required for normal license operation.

Creating the options file

1. Create a new text file named ADSKFLEX.OPT and add your options. It is strongly recommended that you only use a plain text editor, such as Notepad, for editing options files.
2. Place this file in the same directory as your Autodesk license file.
3. Stop and Start the license server from the Start/Stop/ReRead tab in LMTOOLS.
4. Examine the debug log file to confirm that your options file changes have been implemented by the license manager.

Note: The examples in this document are intended to serve as samples only. Many options file commands, such as INCLUDE/EXCLUDE, are mutually exclusive. When you use these types of commands you should make sure that the syntax is correct.

Entering comments in the options file

All syntax following a number sign (#) will be ignored by the license manager.

An example of an options file comment is shown below:

#This is a comment

Defining groups

You can define groups using the Windows login name or the computer name. By default, computer names and user names are case sensitive unless the GROUPCASEINSENSITIVE ON statement has been added to the options file.

GROUP [groupname] [user1] [user2] [user3]

HOST_GROUP [groupname] [computername1] [computername2] [computername3]

The following example defines a group called EngineeringGroup for three users:

GROUP EngineeringGroup smithj jonesb whitef

The following example defines a group called DraftingDept with three computers:

HOST_GROUP DraftingDept computer1 computer2 computer3

Disabling case sensitivity for user and computer names

You can enable/disable case sensitivity for user names and computer names when using the GROUP or HOST_GROUP commands.

The following example disables case sensitivity for user and computer names:

GROUPCASEINSENSITIVE ON

The following example does not disable case sensitivity for user and computer names:

GROUPCASEINSENSITIVE OFF

Defining project association

Specific computers can be defined as part of a project by configuring an environment variable on those client machines. This project designation can then be used to control license access in the options file. The project environment variable is an optional component and is not required when you define groups directly in the options file.

To designate a computer as a member of a project

1. On the Start menu (Windows), click Settings > Control Panel.
2. In Control Panel, double-click System.
3. In the System properties dialog box, click the Advanced tab.
4. On the Advanced tab, click Environment Variables.
5. Under System Variables, click New.
6. In the New System Variable dialog box, enter LM_PROJECT for the Variable name and the project name for the Variable value.
7. Click OK to close each dialog box.

Your project is now defined and you do not have to reboot the computer for these settings to take effect.

Reserving licenses

You can reserve a specific count of licenses for a user, computer, group of users or computers, IP address, IP address range or by LM_PROJECT variable association (computer names and user names are case sensitive).

RESERVE [count] [productfeature] [type] [name]

The following examples reserve either 1 or 5 AutoCAD® 2006 licenses for a variety of types:

RESERVE 1 48800ACD_2006_0F USER smithj

RESERVE 1 48800ACD_2006_0F HOST computer1

RESERVE 5 48800ACD_2006_0F GROUP EngineeringGroup

RESERVE 5 48800ACD_2006_0F HOST_GROUP DraftingDept

RESERVE 1 48800ACD_2006_0F INTERNET 192.168.0.100

RESERVE 5 48800ACD_2006_0F INTERNET 192.168.0.*

RESERVE 5 48800ACD_2006_0F PROJECT CivilProject

Restricting maximum license usage

You can limit usage of specific licenses for a user, computer, group of users or computers, IP address, IP address range or by LM_PROJECT variable association (computer names and user names are case sensitive).

MAX [count] [productfeature] [type] [name]

The following examples set a limit of either 1 or 5 AutoCAD 2006 licenses for a variety of types:

MAX 1 48800ACD_2006_0F USER smithj

MAX 1 48800ACD_2006_0F HOST computer1

MAX 5 48800ACD_2006_0F GROUP EngineeringGroup

MAX 5 48800ACD_2006_0F HOST_GROUP DraftingDept

MAX 1 48800ACD_2006_0F INTERNET 192.168.0.100

MAX 5 48800ACD_2006_0F INTERNET 192.168.0.*

MAX 5 48800ACD_2006_0F PROJECT CivilProject

Excluding license usage

You can block access to specific licenses for a user, computer, group of users or computers, IP address, IP address range or by LM_PROJECT variable association (computer names and user names are case sensitive). Any users, hosts or IP addresses not explicitly excluded will continue to have access to these licenses.

EXCLUDE [productfeature] [type] [name]

The following examples block access to AutoCAD 2006 licenses for a variety of types:

EXCLUDE 48800ACD_2006_0F USER smithj

EXCLUDE 48800ACD_2006_0F HOST computer1

EXCLUDE 48800ACD_2006_0F GROUP EngineeringGroup

EXCLUDE 48800ACD_2006_0F HOST_GROUP DraftingDept

EXCLUDE 48800ACD_2006_0F INTERNET 192.168.0.100

EXCLUDE 48800ACD_2006_0F INTERNET 192.168.0.*

EXCLUDE 48800ACD_2006_0F PROJECT CivilProject

Including license usage

You can provide access to specific licenses for a user, computer, group of users or computers, IP address, IP address range or by LM_PROJECT variable association (computer names and user names are case sensitive). Any users, hosts or IP addresses not explicitly included will not have access to the specified licenses. If you want to block license usage for only a few users you should consider using the EXCLUDE syntax.

INCLUDE [productfeature] [type] [name]

The following examples provide access to AutoCAD 2006 licenses for the specified type only:

INCLUDE 48800ACD_2006_0F USER smithj

INCLUDE 48800ACD_2006_0F HOST computer1

INCLUDE 48800ACD_2006_0F GROUP EngineeringGroup

INCLUDE 48800ACD_2006_0F HOST_GROUP DraftingDept

INCLUDE 48800ACD_2006_0F INTERNET 192.168.0.100

INCLUDE 48800ACD_2006_0F INTERNET 192.168.0.*

INCLUDE 48800ACD_2006_0F PROJECT CivilProject

Setting license inactivity timeout

You can configure the license manager to automatically reclaim inactive licenses after a specified time. Inactivity is defined as an idle product with no commands issued in the specified time. Users will be given the option to save their current drawing if a license is revoked by the license manager for inactivity. Time is specified in seconds and the lowest acceptable value for these options is 900 seconds (15 minutes).

TIMEOUT [productfeature] [seconds]

TIMEOUTALL [seconds]

The following examples set inactivity timeouts of 30 minutes for AutoCAD 2006 and all respective products:

TIMEOUT 48800ACD_2006_0F 1800

TIMEOUTALL 1800

Report log creation

You can configure the creation of a report log (RL) file for use with the SAMreport™ or SAMreport™-lite usage reporting tools. For more information about configuring SAMReport-Lite, you should refer to the related documentation.

The plus sign (+) preceding the report log file path indicates that the license manager should append to the report log instead of overwriting it. Also, the path for the report log should not contain spaces and must already exist (the license manager will not create this location for you). The license manager will create the report log file.

REPORTLOG +<Path\ReportLog.rl>

The following example defines a report log file to be created in a specific location:

REPORTLOG +C:\Reports\MyServer.rl

Controlling license borrowing

Several options file commands control license borrowing for specified licenses.

Maintaining a pool of available licenses

You can specify a number of specific licenses that cannot be borrowed.

BORROW_LOWWATER [productfeature] [count]

The following example blocks license borrowing for 5 AutoCAD 2006 licenses:

BORROW_LOWWATER 48800ACD_2006_0F 5

Setting the borrow period

You can specify the maximum duration of time that a specific license can be borrowed for in hours. This value cannot be above the maximum borrow period specified by Autodesk in the product license file.

MAX_BORROW_HOURS [productfeature] [hours]

The following example limits license borrowing of AutoCAD 2006 licenses to 3 days:

MAX_BORROW_HOURS 48800ACD_2006_0F 72

Excluding license borrowing

You can block the ability to borrow specific licenses for a user, computer, group of users or computers, IP address, IP address range or by LM_PROJECT variable association (computer names and user names are case sensitive). Any users, hosts or IP addresses not explicitly excluded will continue to have the ability to borrow licenses.

EXCLUDE_BORROW [productfeature] [type] [name]

The following examples block borrowing of AutoCAD 2006 licenses for a variety of types:

EXCLUDE_BORROW 48800ACD_2006_0F USER smithj

EXCLUDE_BORROW 48800ACD_2006_0F HOST computer1

EXCLUDE_BORROW 48800ACD_2006_0F GROUP EngineeringGroup

EXCLUDE_BORROW 48800ACD_2006_0F HOST_GROUP DraftingDept

EXCLUDE_BORROW 48800ACD_2006_0F INTERNET 192.168.0.100

EXCLUDE_BORROW 48800ACD_2006_0F INTERNET 192.168.0.*

EXCLUDE_BORROW 48800ACD_2006_0F PROJECT CivilProject

Including license borrowing

You can provide the ability to borrow specific licenses for a user, computer, group of users or computers, IP address, IP address range or by LM_PROJECT variable association (computer names and user names are case sensitive).

Note: Any users, hosts or IP addresses not explicitly included will not have the ability to borrow the specified licenses. If you want to block license borrowing for only a few users, you should consider using the EXCLUDE_BORROW syntax above.

INCLUDE_BORROW [productfeature] [type] [name]

The following examples allow borrowing of AutoCAD 2006 licenses for the specified type only:

INCLUDE_BORROW 48800ACD_2006_0F USER smithj

INCLUDE_BORROW 48800ACD_2006_0F HOST computer1

INCLUDE_BORROW 48800ACD_2006_0F GROUP EngineeringGroup

INCLUDE_BORROW 48800ACD_2006_0F HOST_GROUP DraftingDept

INCLUDE_BORROW 48800ACD_2006_0F INTERNET 192.168.0.100

INCLUDE_BORROW 48800ACD_2006_0F INTERNET 192.168.0.*

INCLUDE_BORROW 48800ACD_2006_0F PROJECT CivilProject

A video tutorial with additional information on using an options file can be found at the following solution:
How to understand and manage your Autodesk licenses