Use a virtual machine or IPv6 network for concurrent license server

Golden Software's concurrent use licenses are designed with flexibility in mind, accommodating both traditional and virtual environments. For those utilizing virtual machines (VM) as their license server, the setup process for Strater, Surfer, and Grapher remains consistent with standard installations. However, there are specific considerations to keep in mind, especially regarding system requirements and potential hardware changes when moving a license server VM.

Additionally, for networks operating on IPv6, specific steps are required to ensure seamless communication between the license client and server. This article provides a comprehensive guide to navigate these nuances, ensuring a smooth experience for all Golden Software users. Whether you're setting up a new virtual environment or transitioning between IPv4 and IPv6, we've got you covered.

How to set up a license server on a virtual machine

Golden Software concurrent use licenses do permit virtual machines to be used as the license server. The installation of the license manager and the license administrator are the same. See this article for license server software installation instructions.

There are, however, some additional things to consider.

System requirements for using a virtual machine as a license server

• See this article for operating system and server hardware requirements: What are the system requirements for setting up a license server?
• The license manager and license administrator can run with VMware ESX/Workstation, VirtualBox, Hyper-V, Xen, and XenServer.
• The license manager and license administrator can be run on cloud-based virtual machines such as Amazon Web Services EC2 or Microsoft Azure, and a private VPN connection.
• The guest operating system should be Windows Server 2016 or newer, or Windows 10 or newer.
• The client PCs running the software must be able to reach the license manager running on the license server using UDP port 5093. That port must be open both in the Windows OS as well as any VM or Instance firewalls.

Moving a license server virtual machine

When you activate a concurrent use license on the license server, the activation is "locked", meaning that the activation is tied to the hardware.  By default, the activation is locked to the MAC Address + UUID (note, if your license was created prior to 8-March-2023, the default locking criteria is MAC Address + UUID + CPU Info String).

If you move this VM from one physical host server to a different physical host server, it is possible that one of the locking criteria will change which will result in that license activation no longer being valid.  The end-user client software will display an warning "Failed to retrieve license due to client/server locking code mismatch."

If you want to move your license server from one physical server to another, use the License Administrator to deactivate the license before moving your license server VM to a different physical server. Then you can activate the license on the VM on the new physical server.

If you are using a more complex VM environment that includes clustering or load sharing, like an VMware ESX Server group, we recommend that you contact Golden Software Support. We can create a custom license that uses different hardware locking criteria so that the license will still be valid after an automatic move of your license server VM to a different physical server.  Please let us know which of the hardware locking criteria you expect will change in your VM environment.

Concurrent licensing over an IPv6 network

Concurrent licenses are acquired by the license client (Surfer, Grapher, or Strater) over the network using UDP over IPv4 by default.  If your network only supports IPv6, you can still use concurrent licensing, but you need to set the license client PC with a Windows environment variable which tells the software to use IPv6 when communicating with the license server.

These steps are also valid for Microsoft DirectAccess environments which use IPv6.

IPV6 requirements

• The license server must have IPv6 enabled.
• The client PC must have IPv6 enabled and working.
• The client PC must be able to reach the license server on the IPv6 network over UDP.
• On the client PC, you must set a system environment variable: LSTCPIPVER = 6
• Setting the variable will force all Sentinel licensing on the client to use IPv6.  To switch back to IPv4, either clear the value or set it to "4".

Set the environment variable with a deployment or system management tool

1. Use your in-house PC management/deployment tools to set the system environment variable LSTCPIPVER value to 6 on the client computer(s).
2. Run Surfer or Grapher.
3. Click Select License Server in the <Product> Licensing dialog.
4. In the Golden Software License Server Selection dialog:
     If your IPv6 network supports UDP broadcast:
          Toggle Search for license servers on the local network and then click Search.
     If your IPv6 network does not support UDP broadcast:
          Toggle Enter license server name and then enter the license server's name or IPv6 IP address.

You can also set the client computer to connect to the license server automatically through the Windows Registry or using a Settings file.

Set the environment variable manually

1. Go to the client PC (the one running Surfer or Grapher).
2. Close Surfer or Grapher if currently open.
3. Add a new Environment Variable to force the licensing to use IPv6:
1. Navigate to Control Panel \ System and Security \ System
2. Click Advanced System Settings on the left hand side of the window.
3. Click the Environment Variables button on the Advanced tab.
4. In the System Variables section, click New.
5. In the New System Variable dialog, enter the values below:
   Variable name = LSTCPIPVER
   Variable value = 6
6. Click OK in each of the open dialogs.

System Properties dialog and the Environment Variables dialog overview. 

4. Open Surfer or Grapher.
5. Click Select License Server in the <Product> Licensing dialog.
6. In the Golden Software License Server Selection dialog:
     If your IPv6 network supports UDP broadcast:
          Toggle Search for license servers on the local network and then click Search.
     If your IPv6 network does not support UDP broadcast:
          Toggle Enter license server name and then enter the license server's name or IPv6 IP address.

Further assistance

If you need further assistance with setting up the license server on a virtual machine or over an IPV6 network, please reach out to our Customer Success Team and our legendary support agents will help get your software setup properly, so you can use your software as soon as possible.

Updated August 2023