Floating license installation and FLEXlm troubleshooting / debug – Altia Support

The following info will provide assistance to setup your FLEXlm server.

NOTE: FLEXlm licensing is only applicable for Altia Design 12.4 and earlier products. Altia Design 13.0 and newer products use a completely different licensing mechanism.

NOTE: Since FLEXlm is a third-party tool, Altia cannot support it directly. Also, some/many FLEXlm problems arise from internal IT/network/firewall configurations that Altia cannot assist with.

NOTE: Due to our knowledge base search history, we would like to clarify that the spelling is with an L, not an i, so we added this sentence to make sure searches for FLEXim and FLEXIm still end up here at the FLEXlm or flexlm support article.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Required Files for Altia FLEXlm floating license setup and usage
- Please note VERY IMPORTANT TIPS
Introduction to an Altia floating license file
Configuring the Altia FLEXlm Server software as a Windows Service on PC Windows
- Please note VERY IMPORTANT TIPS
Troubleshooting
About License Borrowing
- Please note the VERY IMPORTANT TIPS FOR BORROWING
Using an Options File

Required Files for Altia FLEXlm floating license setup and usage

In a standard Altia Design software installation, there is a folder named flexlm and it has these files:

ALTIALMD.exe (Altia FLEXlm vendor daemon)
enduser.pdf (An end-user guide provided by FLEXlm)
lmgrd.exe (Altia FLEXlm lmgrd for Windows XP)
lmgrd_vista.exe (Altia FLEXlm lmgrd for Windows Vista/7/8/10 and Server 2008 or newer)
lmtools.exe (Altia FLEXlm LMTOOLS for Windows XP)
lmtools_vista.exe (Altia FLEXlm LMTOOLS for Windows Vista/7/8/10 and Server 2008 or newer)
lmutil.exe (Altia FLEXlm utililty program)
README.txt (Altia instructions for setting up a server)
startflexlm.bat (A sample script for starting the server for test purposes)

NOTE: It is best to take the contents of this folder and copy them to the new server computer. Or, if the server computer has Altia software installed, these files are already on the server computer.

VERY IMPORTANT TIPS:

Only use an Altia version of the lmgrd program from the Altia software installation "flexlm" folder. The lmgrd program is the FLEXlm license manager daemon program. On Windows Vista/7/8/10/etc, only use lmgrd_vista.exe from the flexlm folder. On Windows XP, only use lmgrd.exe from the flexlm folder. Other versions usually do not work correctly with Altia's ALTIALMD process.
Only use an Altia version of the lmtools program from the Altia software installation "flexlm" folder. The lmtools program displays a window to get System Settings, check floating license server status, configure a floating license server as a Windows Service, and other options. On Windows Vista/7/8/10/etc, only use lmtools_vista.exe from the flexlm folder. On Windows XP, only use lmtools.exe from the flexlm folder. It is Altia's experience that lmtools_vista.exe may hang when choosing the System Settings tab if the computer is logged into a VPN. Disconnect from the VPN and try it again.
Only use an Altia version of the lmutil program: On Windows, only use lmutil.exe from the Altia software installation flexlm folder. The lmutil program is a FLEXlm command line utility for checking server status and borrowing. Other versions usually do not work correctly with Altia's ALTIALMD process. A possible error from lmutil.exe when using the wrong version is: No socket connection to license server manager. (-7,10015)
Do not merge an Altia FLEXlm license file with another vendor's license file. It is Altia's experience this will not work and it is unnecessary. A separate FLEXlm license server should be configured for each vendor's license file. Multiple instances of FLEXlm license servers can run on a single computer if each one uses a different TCP/IP port for communications with client computers. Continue reading the next section for how the TCP/IP port is set in a license file.

Introduction to an Altia floating license file

When lmgrd_vista.exe (used on Windows Vista/7/8/10) or lmgrd.exe (used on Windows XP) starts, it opens the license (.lic) file that has been provided as a command line option. An Altia floating license file has these 3 lines at the beginning.

NOTE: If you DO NOT see these 3 lines (but with info that matches your server) at the start of your lic file, you have a node-locked license and will need to contact support@altia.com to inquire about getting a lic file for floating licenses. This may have some commercial impact, depending upon what your organization purchased from Altia.

SERVER MSPM1BLIC04 0050563ffffe 5057
VENDOR ALTIALMD
USE_SERVER

The 1st line should always start with the argument SERVER

The 2nd argument on the 1st line (MSPM1BLIC04 in the example) is the server computer's name or it can be the server's IP address (e.g., 1.2.3.4). This field must be modified to match the server name or its IP address if the license file was provided by Altia with a default name. It should be the name or IP address of the server computer as it is known on the network so that other computers can find it. To test if another computer can reach the server computer using the specified name, open a command prompt window on the other computer and issue a ping command similar to: ping -4 MSPM1BLIC04

The 3rd argument on the 1st line is the server computer's hostid (typically its MAC address or multiple MAC addresses if the computer has multiple network interface cards). This field is set by Altia when the license file is created. If it needs to be changed, please submit a support ticket identifying the correct hostid for this field. To determine a server computer's hostid, run the lmtools_vista.exe program on the server computer and click the System Settings tab. The Ethernet Address field contains the computer's MAC address hostid(s) which you can provide to Altia (for example copy/paste into a support ticket).

The 4th argument on the 1st line is the TCP/IP port used for communication between the license server daemon process and client computers running Altia products. It must be a port number not used by any other application running on the server computer. The default 5057 has been found to work in almost all situations. Change it if it is known to conflict with the TCP/IP port number used by another software application on the server computer or the firewall only allows a TCP/IP port number from a fixed range.

The 2nd line tells lmgrd_vista.exe or lmgrd.exe the name of the vendor daemon. On Windows, always use the name ALTIALMD. This name starts the Altia vendor daemon program altialmd.exe. Every vendor, such as Altia, has its own daemon. The vendor daemon communicates with the server daemon on a random TCP/IP port by default. This may cause problems for systems with only a fixed set of TCP/IP ports made available through the firewall. To force ALTIALMD to a fixed port, change the VENDOR line to something like:

VENDOR ALTIALMD port=5060

The 3rd line is always USE_SERVER

Other lines in the license file are license keys for specific Altia product features. Do not modify these lines. Do not add a line below an existing line that ends with a backward slash (\) because it indicates that the next line is a continuation of the current line. For example, the following lines must be together for this license of the altia_design feature:

INCREMENT altia_design ALTIALMD 3.0 31-may-2016 1 \
    SUPERSEDE ISSUED=27-apr-2015 \
   SIGN="03E9 70A0 5C12 822F 9369 FB3F 34DB 24A1 32DA BD38 A900 \
   BB2D 21A8 400A 6AE5 8D09 9C25 984F 43A3 901E DE72"

Use a # at the beginning of a line to write a comment (but don't break up a set of license key lines with a comment otherwise they will stop working).

Configuring the Altia FLEXlm Server software as a Windows Service on PC Windows

Please be SURE to carefully follow all of the steps below to configure your flexLM server (95% of FLEXlm problems arise from not following these steps, or not having the proper type of lic file):

To configure the Altia FLEXlm Server as a Windows Service on the PC Windows computer designated as the license server machine, you must have Administrator privileges. Perform the following steps:

   1. On Windows Vista/7/8/10 (or Server 2008 or newer), execute lmtools_vista.exe as
      Administrator (right click on lmtools_vista.exe and choose the Run as administrator
      option) to start the LMTOOLS program.

Only on Windows XP, execute lmtools.exe to start the LMTOOLS program.

   2. In the Server/License File tab, click the Configuration using Server
       radio button.

   3. Change to the Config Services tab. In the Service Name field, type a
       name for the service that you want to define. For example:

          Altia FLEXlm Service

   4. In the Path to the lmgrd.exe file field, enter or browse to
      lmgrd_vista.exe for Windows Vista/7/8/10 or Server 2008 or newer.
      Only choose lmgrd.exe for Windows XP.

      For example, if the computer is running Windows 10 and Altia Design
      is installed in C:\usr\altia124Build1400, enter or browse to:

          C:\usr\altia124Build1400\flexlm\lmgrd_vista.exe

VERY IMPORTANT TIPS:

Choose lmgrd_vista.exe for Windows Vista/7/8/10 or Server 2008 or newer.
Only on Windows XP, choose lmgrd.exe. It does not run correctly on newer Windows versions.
On Windows, only use lmgrd_vista.exe or lmgrd.exe from the Altia software installation flexlm folder. Other versions usually do not work correctly with Altia's ALTIALMD process.
When the service starts (starting the service is described in the upcoming steps), there will be two lmgrd_vista.exe processes running (as viewed in the Task Manager when it is showing running processes from all users). This is the expected behavior when using a FLEXlm lmgrd version 10.8 and higher as required for starting as a service on Windows Vista/7/8/10/etc. When the lmgrd_vista.exe executable starts, it checks to see if it is starting as a service. If it is starting as a service, it spawns another lmgrd_vista.exe process. This results in two lmgrd_vista.exe processes.

   5. In the Path to the license file field, enter or browse to the
      FLEXlm license file for this license server. For example:

          C:\usr\altia124Build1400\license\flexlm.lic

   6. In the Path to the debug log file field, enter or browse to the
      debug log file that this license server should write. Prefixing the debug
      log file name with the + character appends logging entries. Use a
      .txt extension to open the file easily in Notepad. For example, to
      append to C:\usr\altia124Build1400\flexlm\debug.txt, enter:

          +C:\usr\altia124Build1400\flexlm\debug.txt

   7. Check the Use Services box and the Start Server at Power Up
      box if the new service should start automatically on system
      boot. If the Start Server at Power Up box is not checked, the
      service must be started manually from LMTOOLS or from the Windows
      Services panel each time the system restarts.

   8. Click the Save Service button to save the new service.

   9. You can use LMTOOLS to start the new server this first time.
      Change to the Start/Stop/Reread tab and press the Start Server
      button. Starting and Stopping the service is also possible from
      the Windows Services panel.

10. At a later time, to start, stop, or force the service to reread the
      license file, execute lmtools_vista.exe for Windows Vista/7/8/10/etc.
      (lmtools.exe for a Windows XP) to start LMTOOLS.

      On the Services/License File tab, enable the
      Configuration using Services radio button and highlight
      the service's name from the available list. Change to the
      Start/Stop/Reread tab and choose an operation to perform.

When the Altia FLEXlm License Server is installed as a service, there is information added to the registry here:
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\
FLEXlm License Manager\Altia FLEXlm Service

Complete information about FLEXlm and more information about LMTOOLS
is available from the FLEXlm End Users Guide. Open enduser.pdf
from the Altia software installation flexlm folder to view it.

Finally, ensure you have copied your lic file to both:

1) The folder location on the server computer where you pointed LMTOOLS to find the lic file

2) Each installation of Altia Design or Altia PhotoProto (on the server computer or other computers). For example:

Altia Design:

C:\usr\altia{version}Build{number}\license

Altia PhotoProto:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Altia\PhotoProto\License

Troubleshooting

In this trouble-shooting section, we only refer to lmgrd_vista.exe and lmtools_vista.exe under the assumption that most servers are Windows Vista/7/8/10 or Server 2008 or newer and should be using lmgrd_vista.exe as well as lmtools_vista.exe to configure the service.

Troubleshooting: General Tips (license file has errors, wrong lmgrd version, firewall blocking the TCP/IP ports)

If the lmgrd_vista.exe is not able to start or cannot run ALTIALMD.exe, there could be several reasons:

1. The SERVER line in the license file has the wrong server computer name or the wrong hostid (which is usually a MAC address).

2. The SERVER, VENDOR, or USE_SERVER line in the license file is missing or misspelled (e.g., USE_SERVE instead of USE_SERVER.

3. The license keys in the license file have expired.

4. The license file was created with an error. Open the license file in a simple text editor. If feature lines (for example, altia_design is a feature) use SUPERSEDE, such lines will override all other lines for the same feature that have an ISSUE data that is earlier, even if the other lines also use SUPERSEDE. It also does not matter whether one line is permanent, another has an expiration date, or another has license counts. Verify all ISSUE dates are the same date for all lines that should be active for the same feature.

5. The lmgrd_vista.exe is not Altia's version of lmgrd_vista.exe v11.6.

6. The ALTIALMD.exe is not in the same folder as the lmgrd_vista.exe. Both programs must be in the same folder.

7. There is a firewall stopping the lmgrd program or ALTIALMD program from using their TCP/IP ports. Fix the firewall to not block the port number that is specified on the license file SERVER line or change the port number on the license file SERVER line to a range that is not blocked by the firewall. The lmgrd and ALTIALMD programs also communicate on another port number that is randomly chosen by default. To force ALTIALMD to use a fixed port number, change the license file VENDOR line to specify a port. For example:

VENDOR ALTIALMD port=5060

VERY IMPORTANT TIPS:
It is Altia's experience to only use an Altia version of lmgrd_vista.exe or lmgrd.exe from the Altia software installation flexlm folder. Other versions of the lmgrd program may not interface correctly to Altia's ALTIALMD process. Please check the output from lmutil.exe lmstat -c <license_file_name.lic> to confirm that it shows something like this:

XXXXXXXXXX: license server UP <MASTER> <version number>
Vendor daemon status <on XXXXXXXXXX>:

Where <version number> is v11.6 for lmgrd_vista.exe (on Windows Vista/7/8/10 and Server 2008 or newer) or v9.2 for lmgrd.exe (on Windows XP). If the version number shows differently, it indicates the license server program is not an Altia version of lmgrd_vista.exe or lmgrd.exe. Also be sure to use the Altia version of lmutil.exe. A possible error from lmutil.exe when using the wrong version is: No socket connection to license server manager. (-7,10015).

Troubleshooting: Check the Debug Log File

The Altia FLEXlm server software should be configured to write to a debug log file.

If the log file does not exist, it suggest the lmtools_vista.exe was never able to start. If running the Altia FLEXlm server as a service, open lmtools_vista.exe, select the service from the Service/License File tab, check the settings from the Config Services tab. Most likely, there is an error in one of the file paths.

If the log file does exist, open the log file in just a simple text editor such as Notepad to see what might be the cause of the problem. The log file is specified when using lmtools_vista.exe to configure the server as a Windows service. The debug log file is set from the Config Services tab by setting the Path to the debug log file field. If the server is not being set up as a Windows service, then command line options are used when starting lmgrd_vista.exe to specify the log file as in: -l debug_log_file_path

If you are running the Altia FLEXlm server as a Windows service, the typical approach is to use the lmtools_vista.exe program to set this up. The earlier instructions explain how to do this. It is the best practice to configure this service to use Altia's lmgrd_vista.exe and the license (.lic) file and ALTIALMD.exe should be in the same folder as lmgrd_vista.exe.

It is also Altia's experience that lmtools_vista.exe is not very good at stopping and starting the service. It works better to go to the Windows Services panel (under Administrative Tools in the Windows Control Panel) to start/stop the service.

Troubleshooting: Try starting lmgrd from a Command Prompt window

Start lgmdr_vista.exe from a Command Prompt window like this:

lmgrd_vista.exe -z -c license_file.lic

This removes all possible issues with starting lmgrd as a service. The output from this command often yields very good information.

Troubleshooting: Verify a client computer can correctly access the Altia license server software on the server computer

1. Open a Command Prompt window on the client computer. Use the ping command to verify the client computer can communicate with the server computer using the server computer name that is specified on the license file SERVER line. For example, if the computer name specified on the SERVER line is MSPM1BLIC04, do:

ping -4 MSPM1BLIC04

2. In the Command Prompt window on the client computer, change directory (cd) to the Altia Design flexlm folder. For example:

>  C:
>  cd  \usr\altia{version}Build{number}\flexlm

3. In the Command Prompt window, verify the name of the license files in the license folder like this:

>  dir  ..\license

4. If the new license file is in the license folder, the dir command should show the file name in a format like the following:
CompanyName.Person_Name.Date.expiresDate.lic

5. In the Command Prompt window, execute this command (replace the license file name with the file name shown by the previous dir command):

>  lmutil  lmstat  -a  -c ..\license\CompanyName.Person_Name.Date.expiresDate.lic

6. The command from the previous step should report on the available licenses from the server. Something like this:

lmutil - Copyright (c) 1989-2003 by Macrovision Corporation. All rights reserved.
Flexible License Manager status on Thu 12/29/2016 09:36

[Detecting lmgrd processes...]
License server status: 5057@your_server_name_here
    License file(s) on your_server_name_here: C:\your_path_here\CompanyName.Person_Name.Date.expiresDate.lic
  your_server_name_here: license server UP (MASTER) v11.6

Vendor daemon status (on your_server_name_here):

  ALTIALMD: UP v9.2

Feature usage info:
(list of your licensed products....an example list is below)
Users of altia_design:  (Total of 12 licenses issued;  Total of 0 licenses in use)
Users of deepscreen_1001:  (Total of 1 licenses issued;  Total of 0 licenses in use)
 Users of deepscreen_10010991:  (Total of 1 licenses issued;  Total of 0 licenses in use) 
Users of deepscreen_1081:  (Total of 1 licenses issued;  Total of 0 licenses in use)
 Users of deepscreen_10810991:  (Total of 1 licenses issued;  Total of 0 licenses in use) 
 Users of connection_991:  (Total of 12 licenses issued;  Total of 0 licenses in use)

Using steps 1 through 6 above, you can both confirm that the client PCs can properly access the server, but also get a count of the total licenses in use. Please see below if the count seems inaccurate.

Troubleshooting: How to release a license that is checked out by a computer that lost its network connection

Altia uses a heartbeat message to check if the server is still alive. This is part of the FLEXlm software. Altia sends the heartbeat message every 60 seconds.

If the connection between Altia and the license server computer goes down between heartbeat messages and comes back up before the next heartbeat, Altia’s experience is that there is no problem.

If the connection is down when the heartbeat message is sent, that’s a problem and the license will not release when Altia exits. The license server software keeps the license checked out for 2 hours.

One workaround is to shut down and restart the server, but sometimes this is not possible.

Use the following steps from the client computer to release the license gracefully.

VERY IMPORTANT TIP:

In the steps below, only use an Altia version of the lmutil program: On Windows, only use lmutil.exe from the Altia software installation flexlm folder. Other versions usually do not work correctly with Altia's ALTIALMD process. A possible error from lmutil.exe when using the wrong version is: No socket connection to license server manager. (-7,10015).

For example, if Altia Design is installed in C:\usr\altia11Build783, do:

1. Open a Command Prompt window.

2. Change to the Altia Design flexlm folder with the command:

             cd C:\usr\altia11Build783\flexlm

3. Execute lmutil for the lmremove operation. The usage is:

             lmutil lmremove -c licfile <feature> <user> <host> <display>
           OR:
             lmutil lmremove -c licfile -h <feature> <host> <port> <handle>

4. To determine the <feature> and <user> and <host> and <display>
     to pass to lmremove, the lmstat operation is helpful as in:

         lmutil lmstat -c licfile -f feature_name

     Here is an example:

     lmutil lmstat -c ..\license\flexlm.lic -f altia_design

         John Doe johndpc johndpc (v2.0) (johndpc/5057 201), start Mon 11/29 14:43
         Jane Doe janed1 janed1 (v2.0) (janed1/5057 102), start Mon 11/29 14:51

     lmutil lmremove -c ..\license\flexlm.lic altia_design "John Doe" johndpc johndpc

     In the above example, the feature is altia_design, the <user> is "John Doe",
     the <host> is johndpc, and the <display> is johndpc. For a complete description
     of the lmremove operation, open enduser.pdf from the Altia software installation
     flexlm and see section 7.10 (page 90).

5. If it is frequently necessary to perform an lmremove because of a poor network
     connection to the server, put commands into a Windows BAT script to easily
     execute with a double-click from a Windows Explorer window. Here is
     an example for the contents of the BAT script. Doing an lmstat before and
     after the lmremove will show if a license has actually been released by the
     lmremove operation.

 lmutil  lmstat  -c  ..\license\flexlm.lic  -f  altia_design
 lmutil  lmremove  -c  ..\license\flexlm.lic  altia_design  "John Doe"  johndpc  johndpc
 lmutil  lmstat  -c  ..\license\flexlm.lic  -f  altia_design
 pause

Troubleshooting: What happens when the Altia software "license" folder contains multiple license files?

Altia software checks the .lic files in alphabetical order. If a floating license file has a name a.lic, another floating license file has a name b.lic, and Altia Design is able to check-out its altia_design feature from the license server machine identified in a.lic, it will stay connected to that license server machine.

For example, if the Altia Design session found a floating altia_design feature license in a.lic and it now needs to check-out a 3D model license, it will only try to check-out a floating 3D model license from the server machine associated with the a.lic license file. If that machine does not have a 3D model license available, check-out will fail. Altia Design will not attempt to connect to the b.lic floating license server machine because it is already connected to the a.lic floating license server machine for the altia_design license. It is a little different for DeepScreen license check-out because the check-out is from a different process (the code generator executable). If it has no luck checking out a DeepScreen feature from the license server machine identified in a.lic, it should try b.lic and so on.

If there is also a node locked license file, the typical practice is to name it so it is checked first (e.g., name it a.lic). In this way, node locked licenses are used before any floating license (e.g., that are in a b.lic).

In summary, Altia software can only communicate with 1 floating license server machine per session, but it can read any number of .lic files for node locked licenses.

Toubleshooting: What if Altia Design is not finding the license file(s) in its "license" folder?

If Altia Design is unable to start even though you are sure the license folder has a working .lic license file. Or, Altia Design starts, but it cannot check out some expected features (e.g., a DeepScreen code generator), FLEXlm might be finding the wrong license file in a different installation of Altia software on the same computer. Use the following steps to troubleshoot and resolve this issue:

It is possible that the computer's registry has special knowledge of a license file in another Altia software installation folder. This can happen if you previously started a different Altia product executable as Administrator.
Start regedit as Administrator (of course, be careful!).
Browse to the registry folder Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\FLEXlm License Manager. If there is a ALTIALMD_LICENSE_FILE entry, highlight it and then delete it.
Restart the Altia product executable. If you are still having trouble, it is probably operator error. Most often, it is because you are actually starting an Altia product executable that is in a different installation tree from the license folder containing the .lic file. Another possibility is that you have the ALTIAHOME environment variable set. This forces all Altia Design sessions to look at %ALTIAHOME%\license for a license files. Please never set the ALTIAHOME environment variable!

Troubleshooting: It is helpful to know the license file search algorithm

Here is the search priority from highest to lowest:

Environment variable ALTIALMD_LICENSE_FILE can be set to a folder and Altia’s FLEXlm software will look for .lic license files in the folder. For example:
set ALTIALMD_LICENSE_FILE=C:\usr\altia114Build914\license
If an Altia Design editor is started as Administrator, it will add an ALTIALMD_LICENSE_FILE entry at this following location in the registry for the license folder that is relative to the bin folder containing the Altia Design executable (see previous troubleshooting section for more details):
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\
FLEXlm License Manager\ALTIALMD_LICENSE_FILE
If 1 and 2 fail, the Altia Design executable looks in the license folder that is relative to the bin folder containing the Altia Design editor executable.
As a last resort, there is a search for a .lic license file in the current working directory. When double-clicking on a .dsn file to open it in Altia Design, the current working directory is the directory containing the .dsn file. When starting the Altia Design editor executable from a Command Prompt window, the current working directory is the current directory of the Command Prompt window.

Troubleshooting: "Invalid license key (inconsistent authentication code)" error

If the debug output shows messages like the following:

13:46:46 (ALTIALMD) Invalid license key (inconsistent authentication code)
13:46:46 (ALTIALMD) ==>INCREMENT altia_design ALTIALMD 3.0 permanent 3 ISSUED=08-apr-2014

It is usually because the SERVER line was missing a computer server name at the time the license file was encrypted by Altia. The SERVER line must have a name, any name, when it is encrypted. In the following example the name is just name which is sufficient at encryption time:

SERVER name 0123456789abcdef 5057

If the name field does not exist, the host id number (0123456789abcdef in the above example) is taken as the name and the port number (5057 in the above example) is taken as the host id number at encryption time. This generates wrong SIGN keys throughout the file.

If you believe a license file has this issue, make a request to Altia Support to generate a new license file with a name in the SERVER line and attach the license file to the request.

Troubleshooting: "System clock setback detected" error

If the debug output shows a message like the following:

8:40:51 (ALTIALMD) System clock setback detected

This indicates a computer system file was found that has a date far ahead of the current date. FLEXlm interprets this as an attempt to set the system clock backwards to override the expiration dates for the licensed features. This is not allowed.

Troubleshooting: Altia FLEXlm Server for Linux "Can't get hostid of type 2 []" error

Some newer versions of Linux on Intel x86/x64 (as of 2021, maybe also back a couple more years) now use "em1" as the network interface name instead of "eth0". The Altia FLEXlm Linux ALTIALMD daemon executable expects to see "eth0" as the network interface name. When it does not, it sends messages like the following to its debug output with <HOSTID_NUM> set to the hex host id number of the server:

(ALTIALMD) SERVER line says <HOSTID_NUM>, hostid is (Can't get hostid of type 2 [])
(ALTIALMD) Invalid hostid on SERVER line
(ALTIALMD) Disabling X licenses from feature altia_design
...
(ALTIALMD) No valid hostids, exiting

Because all features in the license file are disabled, all checkouts from the license server will fail. If this issue is encountered, a package is available to replace the original ALTIALMD daemon executable with a new version that uses "em0" as the network interface name.

Here is the download link to altiaFLEXLMlinux_ALTIALMD_EM1.tar that contains the new ALTIALMD and a copy of the original ALTIALMD:

https://altia.box.com/s/4o4uxleexg9ebmqhj6ozr9g60sk0h9cr

Here is the download link with a description of the tar file contents and instructions:

https://altia.box.com/s/1fjwyu4k28qprh493yvavutv1zgk2twu

Troubleshooting: Use Google search on the error message

If the debug output displays an error message not described in this document, do a Google search on it. Because FLEXlm has been around for several decades, there are many internet search results available for FLEXlm errors and issues. For example, the previous troubleshooting topic described the solution for the Can't get hostid of type 2 [] error message. The following Google search will bring up very relevant results:

flexlm "Can't get hostid of type 2 [])"

About License Borrowing

If a feature in the license file has a BORROW[=hours] option, it can be borrowed from the server by a client computer for some number of hours. If no hours number is specified, the default is the maximum borrow time of 168 hours (7 days). When a license is borrowed by a client computer, it can be used when the client computer does not have network access to the Altia FLEXlm server computer.

For instructions on how to borrow a license, please read the Altia software installation flexlm\README.txt file. For example, if Altia Design is installed in C:\usr\altia124Build1400, please read the file:

C:\usr\altia124Build1400\flexlm\README.txt

After opening the file, search for the word: borrow

VERY IMPORTANT TIPS FOR BORROWING:

Only use Altia's version of lmtools.exe from the Altia software installation "flexlm" folder for borrowing actions from the Borrowing tab.
- DO NOT use lmtools_vista.exe from the Altia "flexlm" folder. It does not function correctly for borrowing even if the computer is Windows Vista/7/8/10.
- DO NOT use a different version of lmtools.exe from a different software application. Only use the version from the Altia software installation flexlm folder. Other versions usually do not work correctly with Altia's ALTIALMD process.
If you are using lmutil.exe to perform borrowing actions from a script or Command Prompt window command line:
- The lmutil.exe program has an lmborrow option to perform all of the actions available from the Borrowing tab of lmtools.exe. Just execute lmutil.exe in a Command Prompt window to see a usage summary for each of its options.
- DO NOT use a different version of lmutil.exe from a different software application. Only use the version from the Altia software installation flexlm folder. Other versions usually do not work correctly with Altia's ALTIALMD process. A possible error from lmutil.exe when using the wrong version is: No socket connection to license server manager. (-7,10015).

Using an Options File

According to the FLEXlm End Users Guide (open enduser.pdf from the Altia software installation flexlm folder to view it), an administrator of a FLEXlm floating license server can create an "Options File." See the FLEXlm End Users Guide chapter on Options File for details. It explains what an Options File can do. This is a feature of the FLEXlm software, not the Altia software. Altia has no experience with this feature and is not able to support questions about this feature. The FLEXlm End Users Guide is the one and only source for informaton about this feature. According to the Options File chapter, the Options File can be used to:

Allow the use of features
Deny the use of features
Reserve licenses
Restrict the number of licenses available.