On Linux, you have the option of forwarding license requests to a Windows license server rather than installing local licensing (standard Unix licensing).
Linux license forwarding was developed primarily for use on VMs and in containers (such as Docker), but it can be used on any Linux system. For example, you may want to use license forwarding to take advantage of the backup license server functionality available on Windows.
This topic includes the following sections:
- How license forwarding works
- Requirements
- Setting up license forwarding on a new installation
- Setting up license forwarding on a machine that currently has local licensing
- Changing the Windows license server
- Checking the status of license forwarding
- Reverting to local licensing
How license forwarding works
License forwarding requires that you register the name and port of the Windows license server on the Linux machine either during installation or with the lmu -nf option. Once a connection has been successfully established, any license requests received by synd on the Linux machine will be forwarded to synd on the specified Windows license server.
If a backup license server (BLS) is configured on the Windows license server, that information is automatically registered on the Linux machine, and the BLS will be used to fulfill license requests should the primary license server become unavailable.
Requirements
- The Linux machine must be running Synergy/DE 12 or higher.
- The Windows server must have subscription licensing (traditional ALM licenses are not supported).
- The Windows server must have REV11 licensing: it may have Synergy/DE 11 or higher installed, or it can be an earlier version of Synergy/DE with the REV11 licensing upgrade package installed. (Version 12 of Synergy/DE or the v12 licensing upgrade package is not required on the Windows license server.)
- The necessary licenses must be installed on the Windows license server before you can run applications on the Linux machine. Verify that you have enough licenses to accommodate users coming from Linux in addition to Windows users.
- The Linux client and the Windows license server must be on the same network.
- If there is a firewall between the two machines, a firewall rule will be required to open the port to Windows. (Windows licensing uses TCP/IP on a default port of 2380.)
- If you’re using Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL), you must have WSL 2, which requires Windows Server 2022, Windows 10, or Windows 11. In addition, if you’re using Ubuntu with WSL, you’ll need version 20.04 or higher. For more information on WSL, see the Windows Subsystem for Linux Documentation.
Setting up license forwarding on a new installation
When installing Synergy/DE 12 on a new machine or a clean VM, you can specify that you want to use license forwarding during installation.
| 1. | Run the install.sde script. |
| 2. | At the prompt “Use licenses from an existing Windows server?”, answer Y. |
| 3. | Enter the Windows license server name (or IP address). If the license server is using a non-default port, append a colon followed by the port number to the server name (e.g., Tiger:2445). The default port is 2380. |
| 4. | At the confirmation prompt, enter Y if the information is correct or N to re-enter it. If no errors display, the configuration was successful. If you get an error, check the table in Error messages returned by lmu |
Setting up license forwarding on a machine that currently has local licensing
When you switch from local licensing to license forwarding, you’ll need to inform Synergex Customer Service of your plans before switching to the Windows license server.
If you already have v12 or higher installed...
| 1. | Contact Customer Service to coordinate your license change with Synergex. This will enable us to inactivate the Linux license in our licensing database (once the switch is complete) and ensure you have enough licenses on the Windows machine. |
| 2. | Ensure that there are no licenses in use on the Linux machine: |
- Run lmu without any options to see whether any licenses are in use. The number of users displays in the left-most column under “Licensed Products” (see Displaying license information).
- If there are users, run synd -q (you must be UID=0 to do this) to stop synd and disconnect all users.
| 3. | Run lmu -nf and pass the Windows license server name (or IP address). If the license server is using a non-default port, append a colon followed by the port number to the server name. The default port is 2380. For example: |
lmu -nf Tiger
Or
lmu -nf Tiger:2445
If you are upgrading to v12...
Perform the upgrade as you normally would. The existing licenses will be used. Once the upgrade is complete, follow the steps in If you already have v12 or higher installed... above.
Changing the Windows license server
Follow this procedure if you need to change the Windows license server (and/or the port) that Linux is forwarding licenses to.
On the Linux machine, at a command prompt, run lmu -nf and pass the new server name (or IP address), followed by a colon and the port (if it’s a non-default port). For example:
lmu -nf Lion:2445
If only the port is changing, pass the current license server name and the new port number.
If only the backup license server changes, you don’t need to do anything on the Linux machine. Information about the backup license server is returned every time a license request is made, so it will be updated automatically the next time a license is used. If you want to make sure it’s updated immediately, you can run any Synergy application on the Linux machine after changing the BLS.
Checking the status of license forwarding
On the Linux machine (or in the VM), you can run lmu without any options to verify that license forwarding is in effect. The output will look similar to the sample below. The first two lines are from the Linux machine and show the Windows license server to which requests are being forwarded. The remaining lines display information from that license server.
For Linux X64 (428) Forwarding To: Lion:2380 Licensee Name: FFFR, store 145 Registration String: XFUMGXA-C3KPGUD-ILZ5AAQ-BE7E1WY-FZS Licensed Products: 2 999 RUN11 30 20210809 20220831 0 999 PSDE11 30 20210809 20220831
By running lmu -u app_code on the Windows license server, you can see whether any seats are currently taken by a Linux client, as shown in the example below. Seat 1 is a Linux client (system code 428) and seat 2 is a Windows client.
lmu -u RUN11
License: RUN11 Producer: 999 (30 User Subscription)
Description: Synergy Runtime
Licensed on August 09, 2021
Expires on August 31, 2022 at 11:59:59pm
Current usage: 2
Seat 1: [12.0.1 (428)] Fred64 (131360) - 1 active process
Seat 2: [12.0.1 (104)] BARNEY8038B4C04F573132362D744144454C4C48001032 – unshared
For detailed information on lmu output, see Displaying license information.
Reverting to local licensing
Follow these instructions if you want to switch from Linux license forwarding to local licensing. The instructions vary slightly depending on whether the Linux machine previously had licensing installed.
| 1. | Contact Customer Service to coordinate your license change with Synergex. |
- If the Linux machine previously had local licensing, Customer Service will need to reactivate the old license.
- If you configured Linux license forwarding during a new installation of Synergy, you will need to purchase a license for the Linux machine and provide Customer Service with the licensee name. You’ll receive a confirmation email that includes an install code.
| 2. | Contact Synergy/DE Developer Support for the -k password (a.k.a. kill string). |
| 3. | Run lmu -k on the Linux machine to remove the existing license configuration: |
lmu -kpassword
| 4. | Run lmu -c and specify the licensee name for the Linux license. |
- For a machine that previously had local licensing, this will be the original licensee name.
- For a machine that never had local licensing, this will be the licensee name you gave Customer Service in step 1.
For example:
lmu -c "Fred Friendly"
| 5. | Run lmu without any options to check for errors. |
- If the machine previously had local licensing, it should start polling immediately, and you’ll see the licensed products. However, if there were hardware changes on the machine that caused the registration string to change, you’ll see the message “Reg string not found,” and you’ll need to obtain and apply an install code. See Obtaining an install code and Applying an install code for instructions.
- If the machine did not previously have local licensing, you should see the message “Reg string not found,” and you’ll need to apply the install code sent to you by Synergex Customer Service. See Applying an install code for instructions.
| 6. | If you applied an install code, run lmu again to verify that everything is working correctly. |
