Licensing Options for Arbortext Software

Your Arbortext software needs either a node-locked FlexNet license or a floating FlexNet license to run. Arbortext software licenses are available online for customers covered by an active maintenance agreement. You must have a PTC support account and a Customer Number to get a license. If you do not already have one, you can establish a PTC support account at www.ptc.com/en/support/.

There are three basic types of licenses:

• A node-locked license for use on a single computer. This type of license is usually obtained by the end user.

• A floating license pack for a single computer that will be serving floating licenses to end users. This type of license is usually obtained by a system administrator.

• A floating license pack for a set of three servers (called a triad license server) that will be serving floating licenses to end users. This type of license is usually obtained by a system administrator.

Be sure to read Requesting Licenses for more information. Licensing information is stored on the user’s system in an environment variable, regardless of the type of license. Refer to PTC_D_LICENSE_FILE Environment Variable for information.

It’s possible that a system administrator will deploy the licensing information to your computer (which is stored in the PTC_D_LICENSE_FILE environment variable), and you may never be prompted for the information unless you encounter a problem. Refer to Windows Installation Alternatives for more information.

A node-locked license is a local license file that allows Arbortext products to run on an authorized computer. The license file itself is stored on the computer. License files are generated from a Host ID code unique to each system. You can run an unlimited number of instances of Arbortext software on one authorized computer.

The PTC licensing web site uses your Arbortext software selection and version, customer number, and Host ID code to generate a node-locked license for the specified software.

Floating licenses are made available from a license server on a network to a set of users running the software. A license server allows multiple computers (license clients) on the network to run Arbortext software concurrently. The client computers running Arbortext software must specify the port and server name of the license server to obtain a floating license. If a license is available, the user is allowed to run the application.

The PTC licensing web site uses the Arbortext software selection and version, customer number, and Host ID code of the license server or servers to generate floating licenses for the specified software.

Your system administrator must install the FlexNet license management software and set up the necessary floating licenses before users can run their Arbortext products. See the instructions in Installing and Updating the License Server.

A single-server configuration uses only one computer as the license server. Your site can implement server redundancy by using a triad license server. A triad server configuration uses three license servers. A triad server provides a fallback mechanism for Arbortext products to obtain licenses even if the main server goes down. Because a majority rule is in effect, at least two of the servers must be running for the triad server to function.

When you run Arbortext software with a floating license, you may need to specify the communications port number and license server name the first time you run the software. If prompted, you would enter the server information in the form port@servername; for example, 6789@aberdeen.

You should verify the following with your network administrator:

• The FlexNet license server software has been installed and configured on the license server machine.

The FlexNet license management software and installer program are available in the license server download zip file from the PTC Support site. Refer to support.ptc.com/WCMS/files/121640/en/PTC_LMS_Download.pdf for information on downloading the license server download zip file. Choose the latest version of the download file for your system.

After the FlexNet software is installed, it must be configured to recognize the client computers as floating license clients. Consult the FLEXnet Licensing End User Guide in the flexlm directory for license management software setup and configuration instructions. You can also download this guide from the Reference Documents section on the PTC Support site at:

Occasionally, someone may want to use both license types (either a node-locked license or a floating license) to enable Arbortext software to run. The application can search for both node-locked and floating licenses when attempting to obtain a license.

You must enter the information to locate both types of licenses, meaning the license file path for the locked license as well as the port@servername specification for the floating license server.

The values for both types of licenses are stored in the PTC_D_LICENSE_FILE Environment Variable.