For floating licenses, two FLEXlm daemons work in conjunction: the FLEXlm license manager daemon ( lmgrd) and at least one vendor daemon. Both daemons run on the license server, but function differently. The lmgrd daemon is standard for all installations, while the vendor daemon is customized by the vendor (PTC) to manage license usage.

The FLEXlm license manager daemon (lmgrd) runs on the license server and works in conjunction with the vendor daemons. The lmgrd daemon does not manage license usage. The lmgrd daemon:

Refer to the floating license acquisition process for more details on how lmgrd works with the PTC daemon.

Vendor daemons are customized FLEXlm software programs that are developed by the vendor who has integrated FLEXlm into their licensing environment. PTC is considered a vendor and has developed a vendor daemon called "ptc_d". The ptc_d daemon runs on the license server as well as lmgrd.

Like all other vendor daemons, ptc_d’s function is to grant/deny floating licenses upon request from client applications. The ptc_d daemon, developed by PTC, contains the authentication information for license security; not lmgrd.

For customers who have multiple products licensed with FLEXlm, it is common to have a single lmgrd daemon running along with multiple vendor daemons.

For floating licenses, the license acquisition process works as follows:

1. The PTC client communicates with the lmgrd daemon on the server requesting a PTC license.

2. The lmgrd daemon refers the PTC client to the ptc_d daemon for a PTC license. The lmgrd daemon does not issue licenses.

3. The PTC client requests the usage of a license by feature name from ptc_d.

4. The ptc_d daemon grants or denies the license depending upon availability.