You are here: Appendix C: Data Cartridges and Floating Licenses > Floating licenses

Floating licenses

Floating licenses enable a user on a networked computer to lease or “check out” a GeoExpress license for the period of time they are working. When the user exits the program, the license is returned to the License Server and available for another user.

On Windows, the License Server runs as a service named LizardTech License Server.

Windows

Install the License Server

  1. Download the License Server from GeoExpress Support.

  2. Run setup.exe.

  3. Follow the wizard steps to install the license server.

    When installation is complete, the License Server Utility will start. You can request a license immediately, or follow the steps below to add a license at anytime.

For additional information on the setup and usage of License Server, see the SentinelLM System Administrator’s Online Guide installed with your License Server.

Request a License

  1. Click Start > LizardTech > Add Floating License.

    This starts the License Server Utility.

  2. Click Request a License.

    This will open your default web browser at the Contact Us page.

  3. Click Customer Support to open the Support Request form.

  4. Fill out the form:

    1. Enter your email address.

    2. Enter “GeoExpress Floating License Request” as the subject.

    3. Paste your locking code in the Description field and add any further information about your license usage.

      For example, if you have purchased 10 floating licenses but need to deploy them among multiple locations, let us know how you will distribute these (“2 licenses for our Portland office, 3 for Seattle, and 5 for London.”) This way we can send you the license files you need for each location.

      To expedite the process, please also include your GeoExpress serial number.

    4. For Support Type, choose “Account Issue”.

    5. For Product, choose “GeoExpress”.

    6. Click Submit.

  5. Within about one business day you will receive an email from Extensis Support that includes your license file. Save this file on the system where you installed the License Server.

Add a License

  1. Click Start > LizardTech > Add Floating License.

  2. Click Import.

  3. Navigate to and select the downloaded license file (*.lic), then click Open.

    The License Server Utility will validate the license and display what type of license you imported.

  4. Click Add License to add your new license to the license server.

  5. Click Done to exit the License Server Utility.

Linux

Adding Floating Licenses under Linux

Once you have installed the License Server you must acquire a license code from Extensis. A license code is required for each License Server you add to your network.

To add a license for a License Server on Linux:

  1. Run the echoid file to display your locking code. On Linux this file is located by default in /usr/local/LizardTech/LicenseServer/licenseserver/.

  2. Record the value returned by echoid, then open the Support Request form.

  3. Fill out the form:

    1. Enter your email address.

    2. Enter “GeoExpress Floating License Request” as the subject.

    3. Enter your locking code in the Description field and add any further information about your license usage.

      For example, if you have purchased 10 floating licenses but need to deploy them among multiple locations, let us know how you will distribute these (“2 licenses for our Portland office, 3 for Seattle, and 5 for London.”) This way we can send you the license files you need for each location.

    4. For Support Type, choose “Account Issue”.

    5. For Product, choose “GeoExpress”.

    6. Click Submit.

    You will receive a response from Extensis within one business day.

  4. When you receive your license code, run the lslic file in the same Tools directory:

    Open a command line interface and enter lslic -A "license code" (where license code is the code given to you by Extensis; note that the quotes are required).

You can manually add the locking code to the file /usr/local/LizardTech/LicenseServer/licenseserver/lservrc.

To manually start the License Server, run the ./lserv utility.

While using License Server on a UNIX platform, you must be logged in as root to:

Only the user who started the license server can stop the license server. It is strongly recommended that only the root user administer the license server.

Select a license server

In most cases, you will not be aware of the floating license leasing process because it will occur invisibly and automatically. If you need to, you can choose to connect to a specific license server.

To specify a preferred License Server:

  1. Choose Options > Licensing.

    This opens the License and Cartridge Management dialog.

  2. Enter the IP address or network name of the license server.

  3. Click OK.

Server Administration

Configuring floating and commuter licenses

As the license server administrator, you may control the percentage of available floating license seats that can be used as commuter licenses. That is, the number that can be checked out and used without a connection to the network.

To configure licenses, set your LSERVOPTS system environment variable with the following:

-com <percentage>

where <percentage> is an integer between 0 and 100. Do not include a percent sign. This percentage value determines the number of licenses that can be checked out as commuter licenses.

For example, specifying ‑com 0 ensures that no floating licenses can be checked out as commuter licenses, while specifying ‑com 100 ensures that all floating licenses may be checked out as commuter licenses.

The percentage value rounds down so that, for example, specifying ‑com 50 on a server that has three licenses allows only one license to be checked out as a commuter license.

This environment variable affects all application licenses your license server is serving out, whether for GeoExpress or other applications. This means users of other software applications whose licenses you are administrating through your license server can be affected. For example, suppose you have four licenses for GeoExpress and you want to make two of them available for commuting. Suppose also that you have one license for Acme Supersoft. Specifying ‑com 50 will make half of your GeoExpress licenses available as you planned but will have the additional side effect of restricting your Acme Supersoft license from being checked out (one license rounded down 50% yields zero licenses).

Utilities

Several utilities are available to help server administrators manage the License Server on their network. By default these tools and their documentation are installed from the GeoExpress DVD when you install the License Server.

The License Server should be installed on the same subnet as any clients who wish to access it. If your License Server is not installed on your local subnet, you will be prompted to specify the name of the computer you wish to connect to for a floating license in the GeoExpress Licensing dialog.

Here are descriptions of other utilities included in GeoExpress that administrators are likely to need to access and use. For more information on these utilities and on others not listed below, see the SentinelLM System Administrator’s Online Guide installed with your License Server.

Utility Platform Description
echoid All Generates a locking code.
lserv Linux Starts the server (requires administrator rights).
lservnt Windows NT Starts or stops the server (see the SentinelLM System Administrator’s Online Guide for parameters).
loadls Windows NT Loads the License Service into NT Services.
WinAdmin.exe Windows Displays a list of servers and licenses.
lsrvdown All Stops the server (requires administration rights).
lslic All Adds a license to your license file.
lsmon All Monitors license server transactions.
lswhere All Displays a list of license servers.

Using floating licenses

Using floating licenses on a network

In most cases, you will not be aware of the license check-out process because it will occur invisibly and automatically (see Select a license server).

When using floating licenses a constant connection to the license server is required to perform encodes. If network connectivity is lost, encodes will fail.

Using commuter licenses

A commuter license is a floating license that has been disconnected from the network. If you are using a portable (laptop) computer, as for traveling purposes, you can check out a license from a license server on your network and then disconnect from the network. You can then use GeoExpress to encode images, no matter where you go, even out of the country.

You must have purchased the Floating License option for GeoExpress in order to use commuter licenses. For more information, contact Extensis.

To check out a commuter license, run the appropriate commuter utility as shown in the table below. These utilities ship with GeoExpress. Instructions for using them are given below.

You must check in a commuter license when you are through using it (see instructions for each utility below). If you leave a license checked out after you are finished using it, it remains unavailable for other users.

On this platform Use this utility
Windows ltcommute.exe
Linux lcommute

Commuter Licensing utility

Use the Commuter Licensing utility for Windows as an alternative to lcommute or ltcommute.

To check out a license using the Commuter Licensing utility:

  1. Choose Start > Programs > LizardTech > GeoExpress > Commuter Licensing.

    You can also run the executable wcommute.exe.

  2. Click Single Server and specify a server name, then click OK.

    You can also click Search Subnet to display available licenses.

  3. Select a license and click Check Out. The license is now marked with a red check.

To check in a license using the Commuter Licensing utility:

  1. Choose Start > Programs > LizardTech > GeoExpress > Commuter Licensing, or type wcommute.exe at a command prompt.

  2. Click Single Server and specify a server name, then click OK.

    You can also click Search Subnet to display available licenses.

  3. Select the license (it will be marked with a red check when it is checked out) and click Check In. The license becomes unmarked and is now available for another user.

ltcommute (or ltcommute.exe)

On Windows, use the ltcommute utility.

To check out a license using ltcommute use the following command:

-co -s <server> -fn <feature name> -fv <feature version>

To check a license back in using ltcommute use the following command:

-ci -s <server> -fn <feature name> -fv <feature version>

lcommute (or lcommute.exe)

Use the lcommute utility for Linux platforms.

The lcommute utility can be used either with parameters or interactively. To operate interactively, specify no arguments at the command line (for more information see the System Administrator’s Online Help, distributed on your GeoExpress DVD-ROM).

To check out a license using lcommute use the following command:

-c o -o n -s <server> -f <feature> -v <version> -d 0

Zero (0) must be used with the ‑d argument.

To check a license back in using lcommute use the following command:

-c i -0 n -s <server> -f <feature> -v <version>

Using Terminal Services

If you wish to use GeoExpress in a Terminal Services environment, you must use a floating license.