FLEXnet Publisher

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FlexNet Publisher is license management software based on the concurrent user license model . It is mainly used in company networks to make licenses available to a large number of users who require licensing software (floating or network licenses) .

Licensing models

Software can be licensed in various ways and this licensing can be monitored with license manager software. A license to operate software on exactly one defined computer is referred to as node-locked in the FlexNet Publisher software ; it allows the software to be used on exactly one computer, a node or node, a precisely defined computer in a computer network . The use of such a license is tied to exactly this computer.

Alternatively, a company can also purchase a certain number of floating licenses that are dynamically assigned to the machines or users of the software. When the license is used, it is marked as occupied in the license manager software and is then in the checked-out status . When the use of the software is ended, the license is marked as freely available again and is therefore in the checked-in status . In this way, a company can limit the acquisition to, for example, 50 licenses and make the software available to occasional users on a far larger number of computers, even if not more than 50 users can use the software at the same time.

The FlexNet Publisher software supports both licensing models, the floating licenses and the node-locked licenses. The prerequisite is that the computer on which the license is to be used has a connection to the license server via the computer network. The license server can also be represented by several computers functioning as servers, which virtually represent each other in the event of failure of one of the computers involved.

The software is generally used for license management for electronic design automation software on computers running the Unix operating system .

history

The FlexNet Publisher software was originally developed by Globetrotter and temporarily marketed by Highland Software. Globetrotter later took over the marketing rights again until the company was taken over by Macrovision .

The software was renamed FLEXnet Publisher . In 2008 Macrovision again sold the business software division, which was initially called Acresso Software. Since October 2009 the company has been called Flexera Software .

Complementary software

  • JTB Flexreport is an application software from JTB World that creates overviews as graphics and in HTML format as well as database reports on the license usage of software products that use the FLEXnet or FlexNet Publisher license mechanism.
  • X-Formation is the manufacturer of license management software that extends the use of FlexNet Publisher / FLEXnet, LM-X, IBM LUM and Sentinel LM. These software tools contain license statistics software that offers an inexpensive solution for analyzing license usage through graphics generated in real time, query software that can be operated by the user, and the display in HTML format of which user is using which license and which license extension. With the license statistics software you can also put together your own query options.
  • Optilicense is software that connects to the license server and records the license usage for each application software. The recorded data is stored in a database and can be output in a variety of graphic and text reports. Optilicense is a simple, intuitive software that enables even less trained people to monitor license usage and increases the productivity of the CAE and EDA departments.
  • Open iT is a software solution for measuring and evaluating license usage that was developed to provide experienced users and in multi-layered organizations with the most flexible and powerful reporting tools possible for FlexNet Publisher, IBM LUM, Sentinel / Abaqus / Elan, RLM and other license managers. The advantages include comprehensive, global reporting, cost allocation or billing according to usage and the ability to differentiate between active and inactive license usage and to automatically release unused licenses if necessary. In addition, additional modules allow the monitoring of stand-alone or web applications in order to obtain a complete overview of the global use of the software licenses.
  • phpLicenseWatcher is an open source program for monitoring and evaluating FlexNet Publisher (and LUM) license servers
  • inCharge is a professional application that enables you to acquire all of a company's licenses that have been purchased by FLEXnet or IBM LUM (e.g. Dassault Systèmes ( CATIA , SolidWorks ), Siemens PLM Software ( Siemens NX , Solid Edge ), Adobe , Autodesk ( AutoCAD , Inventor )) are managed, monitored centrally. You can view the information of all servers from one workstation and monitor statistical parameters - such as license utilization.
  • OpenLM enables the use of a company's software licenses that are managed by license managers such as FlexNet (formerly FLEXlm), IBM LUM, Sentinel RMS, Sentinel HASP, RLM and others to be centrally recorded; z. B. for: ArcGIS ( ESRI ), CATIA (Dassault Systems), NX, Teamcenter (Siemens PLM Software ( Unigraphics )), Creo Elements / Pro , Pro / Engineer ( PTC ), AutoCAD (AutoDesk). This information can be used with OpenLM to optimize the use of the licensed software with regard to the factors “productivity - costs - compliance”. OpenLM is represented in Germany and Austria by SECOPTENA GmbH.

Problems

The DRM software FlexNet has been criticized because, similar to a rootkit, it writes data directly to the master boot record and overwrites any existing data. This can lead to problems with boot loader programs such as GRUB or the TrueCrypt encryption service , which use the same area in the MBR.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ JTB FlexReport
  2. ^ JTB World
  3. ↑ X formation
  4. ↑ Open iT
  5. ↑ phpLicenseWatcher
  6. ↑ inCharge - Management and analysis of software licenses
  7. ↑ OpenLM - active license management
  8. ↑ SECOPTENA - productivity • cost optimization • compliance
  9. ↑ Freeze when you reboot a Windows system that has TrueCrypt Disk Encryption software and Adobe applications installed

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