Installing FlexNet License Server on Red Hat Distributions
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These instructions describe the installation and the configuration of the FlexNet License Server on Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 9+. They are generally applicable to other compatible Red Hat-based distributions, such as AlmaLinux 9+ or Rocky Linux 9+.
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To install FlexNet License Server on Red Hat-based Linux distributions, perform the following steps:
Prepare the System
1. Create the flexnet system user:
1. Log in to your server as a user with sudo privileges.
2. Create a flexnet system user and a group for the FlexNet service:
sudo useradd --system --create-home --home-dir /opt/flex --shell /bin/bash --user-group flexnet
2. Verify the hostname:
1. Verify the short and the full hostname of the server:
hostname
hostname -f
2. If you get an empty or incorrect result, set the hostname to the same value that you have in your license file:
sudo hostnamectl set-hostname <your hostname>
3. Verify the /etc/hosts file:
1. Ensure that the /etc/hosts file includes the short and the full hostname at the beginning of the alias list:
cat /etc/hosts
Example entry:
127.0.0.1 <full hostname> <short hostname> localhost localhost.localdomain localhost4 localhost4.localdomain4
::1 <full hostname> <short hostname> localhost localhost.localdomain localhost6 localhost6.localdomain4
2. If the hostname in the output is different from the hostname in your license, update the hostname in the license file to the same value as the hostname command.
| | If cloud-init or other tools regenerate your /etc/hosts file at the startup, ensure that these tools retain the entries for the short and the full hostname. If your hosts file is static and does not contain the short and the full hostname, you can update it using a text editor. |
4. Validate the host ID:
1. Verify the MAC addresses:
ip a
2. Ensure that one of the MAC addresses returned by the preceding command is the same as the host ID in your license file. The value of the host ID must be without colons and, preferably, from the ethernet device.
Configure the Network and the Firewall
1. Create a temporary folder for FlexLM:
sudo mkdir -p /usr/tmp/.flexlm
sudo chmod 1777 /usr/tmp/.flexlm
2. Open the required ports:
1. Verify the active firewall zones:
sudo firewall-cmd --get-active-zones
2. Open the ports for FlexLM and the vendor daemon:
sudo firewall-cmd --zone=<your zone> --add-port=27000/tcp --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --zone=<your zone> --add-port=28001/tcp --permanent
3. Reload the firewall configuration to apply the changes:
sudo firewall-cmd --reload
| | If you use a firewall service daemon different than firewalld, you must adapt the preceding firewall commands accordingly. |
Configure the Compatibility
1. Create an LSB link to the standard GNU loader:
sudo ln -s /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 /lib64/ld-lsb-x86-64.so.3
Install the FlexNet License Server
1. Switch to the flexnet user:
sudo su - flexnet
2. Define the variables for the installation:
BASEDIR="/opt/flex/flexnet/"
CFGFILE="/opt/flex/flexnet/flexnet.cfg"
LOGFILE="/opt/flex/flexnet/flexnet.log"
LICFILE="/opt/flex/flexnet/flexnet.lic"
DOMAIN=$(hostname)
HOSTID="<your hostid from the license file>"
3. Create the application directory:
mkdir -p "$BASEDIR"
cd "$BASEDIR"
4. Get the links for the FlexNet License Server installers:
1. Open the following page: Order or Download Software Updates.
2. Click > .
3. Open the PDF file that includes the links to the FlexNet License Server installers.
4. Copy the PTC_D and the PTC_E links of the Linux installers to the clipboard. Typical links are as follows:
https://download.ptc.com/download2/products/FLEXnet/PTC_D_<FlexNet License Server version>_Linux.zip
https://download.ptc.com/download2/products/FLEXnet/PTC_E_<FlexNet License Server version>_Linux.zip
You require these links for the next step.
| | You must always obtain the latest versions of the PTC_D and the PTC_E links. This ensures the compatibility of your FlexNet License Server with other PTC products. |
5. Download the FlexNet packages:
1. Set the download variables using the PTC_D and the PTC_E installer links from the preceding step:
FLEXNET_DOWNLOAD_URL1="<PTC_D installer link from the preceding step>"
FLEXNET_DOWNLOAD_URL2="<PTC_E installer link from the preceding step>"
2. Use your PTC eSupport Portal credentials to download the installers:
wget --user=<your PTC eSupport portal username> --ask-password "$FLEXNET_DOWNLOAD_URL1"
wget --user=<your PTC eSupport portal username> --ask-password "$FLEXNET_DOWNLOAD_URL2"
6. Extract and clean up the packages:
unzip $(basename "$FLEXNET_DOWNLOAD_URL1")
unzip $(basename "$FLEXNET_DOWNLOAD_URL2")
cp PTCEswlm/ptc_e/ptc_e .
rm -r PTC*
rm ptc_d
7. Create the additional and required files:
touch "$LOGFILE" "$CFGFILE"
touch "$LICFILE"
8. Add the license content:
cat > "$LICFILE" <<EOF
#delete these lines starting with # and add the content of your license file
#make sure the hostname, hostid and ports are correct
#always set the ports explicitly for both the server and the daemon
#add full path for ptc_e daemon before the port in the VENDOR line
#when completed, the SERVER and DAEMON lines should look like these
#SERVER myhostname 1234567890ab 27000
#VENDOR ptc_e /opt/flex/flexnet/ptc_e PORT=28001
EOF
9. Create an environment configuration file for the FlexNet service:
cat > "$CFGFILE" <<EOF
LOGFILE="$LOGFILE"
LICFILE="$LICFILE"
EOF
Validate the FlexNet License Server Installation
1. Verify the FlexNet License Server version:
./lmgrd -V
The preceding command must print the lmgrd version. If the command does not return the lmgrd version number, verify the hostname resolution of your server.
2. Start FlexNet License Server:
./lmgrd -c ${LICFILE} -l ${LOGFILE}3. Verify the log file:
cat ${LOGFILE}If the logs do not show any errors, and the vendor daemons run correctly, proceed to the next step.
4. Stop and exit FlexNet License Server:
./lmutil lmdown -c ${LICFILE} -q
exitConfigure the FlexNet License Server as a systemd Service
1. Switch to root:
sudo su
2. Define the variables for the FlexNet License Server service:
BASEDIR="/opt/flex/flexnet/"
CFGFILE="/opt/flex/flexnet/flexnet.cfg"
LOGFILE="/opt/flex/flexnet/flexnet.log"
LICFILE="/opt/flex/flexnet/flexnet.lic"
3. Create the service file:
cat > /etc/systemd/system/flexnet.service <<EOF
[Unit]
Description=FlexNet License Server
Requires=network.target
After=local_fs.target network.target
[Service]
EnvironmentFile=$CFGFILE
Type=simple
User=flexnet
Group=flexnet
Restart=on-failure
WorkingDirectory=$BASEDIR
ExecStart=${BASEDIR}lmgrd -c \${LICFILE} -l +\${LOGFILE} -z -2 -p -local
ExecStop=${BASEDIR}lmutil lmdown -c \${LICFILE} -q
SuccessExitStatus=15
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
EOF
4. Reload the systemd daemons, and start the service:
systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl start flexnet
5. Verify the status to detect any errors:
systemctl status flexnet
If there are no errors, proceed with the next step.
6. Enable the FlexNet License Server service to load at the startup:
systemctl enable flexnet
If your Codebeamer server runs on the same machine as the FlexNet License Server, make sure to add the flexnet service as a prerequisite to your codebeamer.service file, as shown in the following example:
[Unit]
Description=Codebeamer Application Server
After=network.target iptables.service firewalld.service httpd.service flexnet.service
[Service]
Type=forking
User=codebeamer
Environment=CB_HOME=<Codebeamer installation folder>
Environment=CB_FLEXLM_ENABLED=true
Environment=CB_FLEX_LM_LICENSE_SERVER_LINES="SERVER <hostname> <hostid> <flexnet_port>"
ExecStart=<Codebeamer install folder>/bin/startup
ExecStop=<Codebeamer install folder>/bin/stop
WorkingDirectory=<Codebeamer installation folder>
PIDFile=<Codebeamer installation folder>/tomcat/cb.pid
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=10
TimeoutSec=150
[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target