GoldSim License Server

User Guide

26 May 2023
Copyright GoldSim Technology Group LLC, 2023. All rights reserved. GoldSim is a registered trademark
of GoldSim Technology Group LLC.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS "AS IS"
AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR CONTRIBUTORS BE
LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR
CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF
SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS
INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN
CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE)
ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE
POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

Address:
255 S. King Street, Suite 800
Seattle, Washington 98104
USA

Website: goldsim.com

Technical Support: GoldSim Help Center

Sales: [email protected]

GoldSim License Server User Guide

Document History and Revisions Table

GLSActUtil GLSActUtil Toolkit

Updated On: FNPLS Version
Version Version
15 February 2016 1.0 11.13.1.3 11.13.1.3
4 October 2016 1.0 11.13.1.3 11.14.0.1
3 November 2016 1.1 11.14.0.2 11.14.0.1
19 April 2017 1.1 11.14.0.2 11.14.1.1
12 March 2019 1.2 11.16.2.1 11.16.2.1
01 December 2021 1.2 11.16.2.1 11.18.2.0
16 December 2021 1.2 11.16.2.1 11.18.3.1
26 May 2023 1.2 11.16.2.1 11.19.4.0

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Contents
1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 GoldSim License Portal.................................................................................................................. 1
1.2 Installation and Configuration Overview ...................................................................................... 2
1.3 System Requirements ................................................................................................................... 2
1.3.1 Network-related Recommendations .................................................................................... 3
1.3.2 Virtual Environments ............................................................................................................ 3
1.4 Limited GTG Technical Support..................................................................................................... 3
2 GoldSim License Server Activation Utility ............................................................................................. 5
2.1 Install the GoldSim License Server Activation Utility (GLSActUtil) ................................................ 6
2.2 Activate the Network License ....................................................................................................... 9
3 FlexNet Publisher License Server (FNPLS) ........................................................................................... 11
3.1 FNPLS and Multiple Software Publishers/Vendors ..................................................................... 12
3.2 New Installation .......................................................................................................................... 13
3.3 Upgrade an Existing FNPLS.......................................................................................................... 25
4 GTG.exe – GoldSim Vendor Daemon .................................................................................................. 43
4.1 Basic Vendor Daemon Installation and Configuration ................................................................ 43
4.2 Next Steps ................................................................................................................................... 50
5 Basic License Server Management and Operation ............................................................................. 50
5.1 Basic Operations ......................................................................................................................... 50
5.1.1 lmadmin web GUI/website ................................................................................................. 51
5.1.2 Configuring Clients for License Check Out .......................................................................... 53
5.1.3 Checking the Status of the License Server .......................................................................... 54
5.2 License Maintenance .................................................................................................................. 58
5.2.1 Annual Renewal .................................................................................................................. 59
5.2.2 Moving the License to a Different Machine........................................................................ 61
6 Borrowing............................................................................................................................................ 63
6.1 License Server Computer ............................................................................................................ 63
6.2 Client Computer .......................................................................................................................... 64
6.2.1 Returning a Borrowed License ............................................................................................ 69
7 Advanced Configuration Considerations ............................................................................................ 71

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 7.1 Installing and running lmadmin as a Windows Service............................................................... 71
7.1.1 Running FNPLS as a System Service with Non-Elevated Permissions ................................. 73
7.2 lmadmin Command Line Management ...................................................................................... 73
7.3 Adding Users and Administrators to the License Server ............................................................ 74
7.4 lmadmin Log Files........................................................................................................................ 76
7.4.1 Optional Report Log ............................................................................................................ 76
7.5 lmadmin Web Services................................................................................................................ 76
7.6 lmadmin Alerter Service.............................................................................................................. 77
7.7 FNPLS Firewall Considerations .................................................................................................... 77
7.8 lmutil Command Line Utilities ..................................................................................................... 78
7.9 Virtual Environments .................................................................................................................. 78
7.10 Options File ................................................................................................................................. 84
7.10.1 Creating an Options File ...................................................................................................... 85
7.11 Environment Variables ................................................................................................................ 87
8 Troubleshooting .................................................................................................................................. 88
9 References .......................................................................................................................................... 92

Tables
Table 1: Recommended OS and Architecture for Physical License Server Machines................................... 3
Table 2 - FNP Toolkit versions ..................................................................................................................... 11
Table 3: Flexera License Server Utilities which work with GoldSim License Server ................................... 81
Table 4: Description of Options Keywords used in example options file ................................................... 86
Table 5: Common Environment Variables .................................................................................................. 87

Figures
Figure 1 - GoldSim License Server Activation Utility ..................................................................................... 5
Figure 2: Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable Installer...................................................................... 6
Figure 3: GLSActUtil Installer - Welcome screen .......................................................................................... 7
Figure 4: GLSActUtil Installer - License agreement ....................................................................................... 7
Figure 5: GLSActUtil Installer - Ready to install............................................................................................. 8
Figure 6: GLSActUtil Installer - Install complete ........................................................................................... 8
Figure 7: GLSActUtil on the Start Menu ........................................................................................................ 9
Figure 8: GLSActUtil with no Fulfillments ..................................................................................................... 9
Figure 9: Network License Activation dialog................................................................................................. 9
Figure 10: License activation successful ..................................................................................................... 10
Figure 11: GLSActUtil - Details... options .................................................................................................... 10
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Figure 12: GLSActUtil installation directory ................................................................................................ 10
Figure 13 - IBM JRE Downloads................................................................................................................... 13
Figure 14 - Oracle JRE Downloads............................................................................................................... 14
Figure 15: FNPLS Installation Package - Introduction ................................................................................. 14
Figure 16: FNPLS Installation Package - Choose Install Folder.................................................................... 15
Figure 17: FNPLS Installation Package - Choose Data Folder...................................................................... 15
Figure 18: FNPLS Installation Package - DO NOT Import files from Previous ............................................. 16
Figure 19: FNPLS Installation Package - Pre-Installation Summary ............................................................ 16
Figure 20: FNPLS Installation Package - Installing....................................................................................... 17
Figure 21: FNPLS Installation Package - Important Information................................................................. 17
Figure 22: C++ 2008 Redistributable, select "Repair" ................................................................................. 18
Figure 23: FNPLS Installation Package - Launch Configuration, set FNPLS ports........................................ 18
Figure 24: FNPLS Installation Package - Launch Configuration, timeout intervals ..................................... 19
Figure 25: FNPLS Installation Package - Service Configuration................................................................... 19
Figure 26: FNPLS Installation Package - Install Complete ........................................................................... 20
Figure 27: After FNPLS installation is complete, start the lmadmin service ............................................... 20
Figure 28: License server management interface, or web GUI, Dashboard after clean install .................. 21
Figure 29: Web GUI Administration requires login ..................................................................................... 22
Figure 30: A password change is required on first login ............................................................................. 22
Figure 31. HTTP Port is found in Web Server Configuration section of Server Configuration.................... 23
Figure 32. lmadmin Port is found in License Server Configuration section of Server Configuration ......... 23
Figure 33. Click Stop to apply changes to the Vendor Daemon Settings.................................................... 24
Figure 34. Configure Vendor Daemon Port Number .................................................................................. 24
Figure 35. System Information for an existing FNPLS installation .............................................................. 26
Figure 36. Vendor daemon version and port number for an existing FNPLS installation .......................... 26
Figure 37. Stop the lmadmin Windows service .......................................................................................... 26
Figure 38. Run the FNPLS installer as administrator................................................................................... 27
Figure 39. Begin the Installation ................................................................................................................. 27
Figure 40. Select an installation folder different than the old FNPLS version ............................................ 28
Figure 41. Select a data folder without spaces and that does not conflict with the old installation ......... 28
Figure 42. Import log files, configuration data, and vendor daemons from old FNPLS installation........... 29
Figure 43. Pre-Installation Summary .......................................................................................................... 29
Figure 44. Installation Process .................................................................................................................... 30
Figure 45. Install Visual C++ Redistributable Package ................................................................................ 30
Figure 46. C++ Redistributable Installation ................................................................................................. 31
Figure 47. Specify a Service name different from that for the old installation .......................................... 31
Figure 48. Service Configuration Import Process........................................................................................ 32
Figure 49. Successful Installation Complete ............................................................................................... 32
Figure 50. Confirm the old Windows service is stopped and start the new service................................... 33
Figure 51. Confirm that the license server management interface shows at least 1 valid license ............ 33
Figure 52. Login to the FNPLS management interface with your existing username and password ......... 34
Figure 53. Stop the FNPLS Windows service before updating the GTG vendor daemon ........................... 35
Figure 54. Run the GLSActUtil installer with administrator privileges ....................................................... 35
Figure 55. Confirm that you want to perform an upgrade to GLSActUtil ................................................... 35
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Figure 56. Copy the new GTG vendor daemon files to the new installation folder ................................... 36
Figure 57. Restart the FNPLS service and confirm that the GTG vendor daemon is up ............................. 36
Figure 58. Set the old FNPLS Windows service to manually launch ........................................................... 37
Figure 59. Stop both the old and the new FNPLS Windows services ......................................................... 37
Figure 60. Run the uninstaller for the old FNPLS with administrator privileges ........................................ 38
Figure 61. Starting the Uninstall Process .................................................................................................... 38
Figure 62. Choose to Save Log Files ............................................................................................................ 38
Figure 63. Stop and remove the old FNPLS Windows service .................................................................... 39
Figure 64. Successfully Uninstalled ............................................................................................................. 39
Figure 65. Restart the FNPLS Windows service .......................................................................................... 40
Figure 66. The license server may not be able to restart the GTG vendor daemon................................... 40
Figure 67. In the ‘Vendor Daemon Configuration’ tab, select ‘Choose File’............................................... 40
Figure 68. Select the GTG.lic file in the GTG subfolder of the FNPLS installation folder ............................ 41
Figure 69. Import the GTG.lic file ................................................................................................................ 41
Figure 70. Start the GTG vendor daemon if it does not restart .................................................................. 42
Figure 71. Confirm that the GTG vendor daemon is now running ............................................................. 42
Figure 73: GTG directory contents .............................................................................................................. 43
Figure 74: Use the "Vendor Daemon Configuration" tab at the left to install a vendor daemon .............. 45
Figure 75: Use the "Overwrite License File on License Server" option....................................................... 45
Figure 76: Successful vendor daemon import ............................................................................................ 46
Figure 77: Newly imported vendor daemon running ................................................................................. 46
Figure 78: Vendor daemon administration................................................................................................. 47
Figure 79: GoldSim Licensing splash screen................................................................................................ 48
Figure 80: Network License Configuration dialog ....................................................................................... 48
Figure 81: "GoldSim Licensing" dialog showing the successful check-out of a network license ................ 49
Figure 82: lmadmin web GUI Administration | System Information .......................................................... 52
Figure 83: lmadmin web GUI Administration | Server Configuration ........................................................ 52
Figure 84: Example of built-in lmadmin web GUI Help Library................................................................... 53
Figure 85: "Network License Configuration" dialog.................................................................................... 54
Figure 86: Web GUI "Activatable" Licenses Dashboard view ..................................................................... 55
Figure 87: Hosts dialog from "Activatable" Licenses .................................................................................. 55
Figure 88: Host Details, accessed from Hosts Dialog, Figure 87 ................................................................. 55
Figure 89: Fulfillments Dialog from "Activatable" Licenses ........................................................................ 56
Figure 90: Web GUI "Concurrent" Licenses Dashboard view ..................................................................... 57
Figure 91: Hosts dialog accessed via link on "Concurrent" Licenses Dashboard view ............................... 57
Figure 92: lmstat output for looking at license server status ..................................................................... 58
Figure 93: GLSActUtil - Main Network License Management dialog .......................................................... 59
Figure 94: GLSActUtil - Network License Activation dialog ........................................................................ 60
Figure 95: Activation Successful.................................................................................................................. 60
Figure 96: GLSActUtil - Main Network License Management dialog with new Activation ID and Expiration
.................................................................................................................................................................... 60
Figure 97: GLSActUtil - Return confirmation/warning dialog ..................................................................... 62
Figure 98: GLSActUtil - Main Network License Management dialog, empty after successful return ........ 62
Figure 99: Initiate Borrowing from client computer using "GoldSim Licensing" dialog (Help | Licensing) 64
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Figure 100: "Borrow from License Server" dialog....................................................................................... 65
Figure 101: Successful borrow .................................................................................................................... 65
Figure 102: GoldSim Licensing showing successful borrow ........................................................................ 66
Figure 103: Trusted storage on the client which shows the successful borrow ......................................... 67
Figure 104: Trusted Storage excerpt from License Server showing a borrowed license (i.e. a deduction) 68
Figure 105: GoldSim Licensing dialog showing a borrowed license ........................................................... 69
Figure 106: Return of borrowed license confirmation dialog..................................................................... 70
Figure 107: Return Borrowed License dialog .............................................................................................. 70
Figure 108: Return of the borrowed license was successful ...................................................................... 70
Figure 109: Install lmadmin as a Windows Service ..................................................................................... 72
Figure 110: lmadmin added as a local Windows Service ............................................................................ 72
Figure 111: New lmadmin Windows Service properties............................................................................. 72
Figure 112: lmadmin command line options .............................................................................................. 73
Figure 113: Explanation of the new "conf" folder command line switch ................................................... 74
Figure 114: lmadmin web GUI Administration dashboard, User Configuration, Locally Managed Users.. 75
Figure 115: lmadmin web GUI Administration dashboard, User Configuration, Domain Users / Groups . 75
Figure 116: Standard FNPLS logs from FlexNet Publisher: License Administration Guide ......................... 76
Figure 117: Complete listing of Flexera license server utilities .................................................................. 80
Figure 118: Example of lmutil.exe lmdiag usage ........................................................................................ 82
Figure 119: Example of lmutil.exe lmdown usage ...................................................................................... 82
Figure 120: Example of lmutil.exe lmhostid usage ..................................................................................... 82
Figure 121: Example of lmutil.exe lmreread usage .................................................................................... 83
Figure 122: Example of lmutil.exe lmstat usage with port@FQDN syntax ................................................. 83
Figure 123: Example of lmutil.exe lmstat usage, referencing license file................................................... 83
Figure 124: Example of lmutil.exe lmver usage .......................................................................................... 84
Figure 125: Example of lmutil.exe lmvminfo usage .................................................................................... 84
Figure 126: An example options file ........................................................................................................... 85
Figure 127: License file with options file path in fourth entry on VENDOR line ......................................... 86
Figure 128: GLSActUtil - Example of "Details...", "Copy to Clipboard" output ........................................... 91

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 Introduction

1 Introduction
GoldSim uses Flexera’s FlexNet Publisher (FNP) trusted storage licensing system. One feature of this
licensing system is the ability to provide concurrent, counted licenses on a network using a license
server. This functionality is sometimes referred to as “floating licenses” because the individual licenses
(or seats) can move or float between different computers on the network. The network license we
provide is called the GoldSim Concurrent Network license. For comparisons of all of our license options,
please refer to our licensing web page.

Installation and configuration of a GoldSim Concurrent Network license is a three-part process which
involves the installation and configuration of three software components to set up a GoldSim License
Server:

1. FlexNet Publisher License Server (FNPLS) is the license server and is the main component.
GoldSim software uses the FNPLS to serve GoldSim Concurrent Network licenses. The
installation package is available from the GoldSim website Network License Downloads section.
This installation package was created and is provided by Flexera. This server is produced and
maintained by Flexera, independent of GoldSim Technology Group (GTG). FNPLS can serve
licenses for multiple software products produced by different companies.

2. GoldSim vendor daemon, GTG.exe, provides the interface between FNPLS and a GoldSim
software license fulfilled on the license server computer. It mediates between FNPLS and
GoldSim software licenses to serve licenses to GoldSim software products installed on client
machines. Client machines are computers attached via local TCP/IP network which obtain
GoldSim software licenses from the FNPLS. GTG.exe is transferred to the license server
computer as part of the GoldSim License Server Activation Utility (GLSActUtil) installation
package.

3. GoldSim License Server Activation Utility (GLSActUtil) provides a convenience tool for license
management and provides the means for installing or activating a license on the license server
computer. GLSActUtil also provides some basic license management functionality. The
installation package for GLSActUtil is available from the GoldSim website Network License
Downloads section.

1.1 GoldSim License Portal

When you purchase a GoldSim Concurrent Network license, you receive access to the GoldSim License
Portal. This portal is a website hosted in Flexera’s Cloud which provides you access to the details of all
GoldSim licenses owned by your organization. You can access the portal at:
http://goldsim.com/licenseportal. An article providing an overview of the GoldSim License Portal is
available in the GoldSim Help Desk.

When you purchased a GoldSim Concurrent Network license an Entitlement Certificate is also emailed to
the designated license contact for the license. Please contact GoldSim Support to change the designated
license contact. This Entitlement Certificate contains a unique Entitlement ID and an Activation ID. The

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 Introduction

Activation ID is required to install your license on your license server computer. The valid Activation ID
for your license will change each time the license is renewed, which is typically every year from the
month of purchase. The Entitlement ID is constant and uniquely identifies your license. You can look up
a license in the License Portal using either the Entitlement ID or the Activation ID.

1.2 Installation and Configuration Overview

The steps outlined below provide a high-level overview of the steps to install and configure a GoldSim
license server. Additional details are provided in hyperlinks to other sections.

Before starting the installation process, you need to purchase a GoldSim Concurrent Network license and
have the Activation ID provided in the Entitlement Certificate. This guide assumes that you are installing
a new FlexNet Publisher License Server and thus a new GoldSim License Server and that there are no
existing license servers already installed on this machine. If you are upgrading an existing installation of
FNPLS, please see Section 0.

1. Designate a License Administrator with administrative privileges on the server machine. This
person is responsible for:
a. Installation, configuration, and maintenance of the GoldSim License Server.
b. Communicating configuration details to client users
c. Ensuring that the License Administrator’s contact information is up to date.
2. Select a computer on which to install the GoldSim license server.
a. Review the system requirements for the FNPLS in FlexNet Publisher License
Administration Guide, which can be downloaded from our Network Downloads web
page under the Other Resources section.
b. Ensure that the License Server computer and the TCP/IP network topology meet the
minimum requirements and recommendations specified in Section 1.3.
3. Install the GoldSim License Server Activation Utility (GLSActUtil). This also places a copy of the
vendor daemon, GTG.exe, on the license server machine. Follow the instructions in Section 0.
4. Install (or upgrade) the FlexNet Publisher License Server (FNPLS): follow the instructions in
Section 3.
5. Install the GoldSim vendor daemon, GTG.exe. Follow the instructions in Section 4.1.
6. Examine the advanced configuration information in Section 7. Many of these configuration steps
are strongly recommended.

1.3 System Requirements

The GoldSim vendor daemon, GTG.exe, is a Windows 32-bit executable and can only be installed on
Windows systems. GLSActUtil is also a Windows 32-bit executable and can only be installed on Windows
systems. Consequently, it is only recommended to install a GoldSim License Server on current Windows
operating systems. Recommended operating systems and specifications are listed in Table 1.

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 Introduction

Table 1: Recommended OS and Architecture for Physical License Server Machines

Operating Systems Architecture

Windows 10 x86, x86-64
Windows Server 2012R2 Standard x86-64
Windows Server 2016 x86-64

In addition, Table 1 only applies to physical license server machines. It may be possible to install,
configure, and use a GoldSim License Server on other OSes, architectures, and in virtual environments
but GTG only provides support for systems that meet the recommendations in Table 1. Note that
Installing FNPLS requires C++ redistributable package. If you don't have this C++ redistributable package
installed, you will need to install it and a restart may be required thereafter. It is recommended to
restart after installing C++ redistributables. You should plan for this possible restart before starting the
installation process.

1.3.1 Network-related Recommendations

The GoldSim Concurrent Network license is a served license model. This means that these licenses are
designed to be centrally provided, held, and managed by a license server and used by FlexEnabled
applications connected to the license server across a TCP/IP network. GoldSim is a FlexEnabled
application; it uses FNP licensing libraries/API to verify and acquire its licenses.

Client machines running GoldSim need to be connected to the license server across a TCP/IP network.
This connection needs to be persistent and robust as the license server and the clients will check in with
each other on regular time intervals. Failure of this communication will lead to the client machine losing
the license. Additionally, the TCP/IP network is not the “internet”. The GoldSim License Server, at least
at this point, is not a Cloud License Server so that a regular ISP internet connection is not necessarily
sufficient for a TCP/IP network connection. Given the connection requirements, always test client
connectivity to the license server by doing the following:

1. Connect a client to the license server using a client running on the same machine as the license
server.
2. Connect a client running on the same subnet of the local area network (LAN) as the license
server machine after disabling all firewalls in between the client and server (i.e. disable the
Windows Firewall on both before testing).

1.3.2 Virtual Environments

Virtual machines (VMs) are generally problematic for software licensing. There is no failure safe way to
prevent license issues when virtual machines are used. Refer to Section 7.9 for more information about
installing and configuring a network license in a virtual environment.

1.4 Limited GTG Technical Support

No technical support is provided by GTG, paid or otherwise, for resolving connection issues other than
the two basic connection scenarios recommended in our System Requirements.

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 Introduction

The GoldSim License Server is NOT guaranteed to seamlessly serve licenses across the world (i.e. from
Canada to clients in Australia). This may work seamlessly in particular situations; however, GTG cannot
configure or manage your wide area network (WAN) so NO support, paid or otherwise, is provided for
this type of connection issue.

The GoldSim License Server is also NOT guaranteed to work across your Virtual Private Network (VPN).
In testing, the GoldSim License Server has worked flawlessly across several VPN configurations.
However, GTG cannot configure or manage your VPN and so NO support, paid or otherwise, is provided
for VPN-related, GoldSim License Server connection issues.

For network connectivity scenarios/concerns outside of the two supported scenarios listed in #1 and #2
above, GTG will provide a 1 month, trial deployment license for your use in testing your proposed
installation and configuration prior to license purchase. But NO license server support is available from
GTG for the trial deployment and NO license server support will be available for VPN or continent-
spanning connection issues after purchase.

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 GoldSim License Server Activation Utility

2 GoldSim License Server Activation Utility

The GoldSim License Server Activation Utility (GLSActUtil) is a utility program created by GoldSim
Technology Group LLC (GTG) to manage your GoldSim Concurrent Network license(s) on a license server
computer. The GLSActUtil is 1 of multiple components that make up the GoldSim License Server. Please
continue with subsequent installation instructions following this section to complete the full installation
process. See Figure 1 for a screen capture of the utility.

Figure 1 - GoldSim License Server Activation Utility

GoldSim Concurrent Network licenses use FlexNet Publisher Trusted Storage-based licensing. Trusted
Storage is a secure storage area where license rights are stored on a computer. Trusted Storage is
analogous to a license file, except trusted storage is more hidden on the hard disk and protected from
unauthorized access than an actual license file would be. For GoldSim Concurrent Network licenses, a
client computer can check out licenses from Trusted Storage on the server.

The GLSActUtil allows you to create and modify server Trusted Storage for GoldSim Concurrent Network
licenses. One of the primary functions of GLSActUtil is the installation of entitled license rights into
server Trusted Storage. This installation process is called activation and it results in the creation of a
fulfillment record in Trusted Storage which provides the entitled rights to use GoldSim software.

The activation process involves communication between the license server machine and GoldSim’s
FlexNet Operations Cloud (FNOC) portal. An Activation ID provides a unique key that enables and
facilitates this communication. For internet connected computers, the communication with FNOC will be
transparent and will result in the creation of a fulfillment record on the GoldSim License Server.

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 GoldSim License Server Activation Utility

2.1 Install the GoldSim License Server Activation Utility (GLSActUtil)

The first step of the license server installation process is to install GLSActUtil on the license server
machine. This step will add a fulfillment record for your Concurrent Network license in server Trusted
Storage. Note that the steps provided in this section are for first time installation on that machine.

If you are upgrading an existing GLSActUtil installation (i.e. you

already have GLSActUtil installed on your license server Installing GLSActUtil requires
C++ redistributable package.
computer), then please see the document GoldSim License Server
If you need to install it then a
Activation Utility: Installation and Basic Use which is available
restart may be required
from the GoldSim website Network License Downloads section thereafter. Please plan
and is distributed with the GLSActUtil installation package. accordingly.
Follow the steps below to perform a fresh install of GLSActUtil:

1. Obtain the Activation ID for your Network License Entitlement. You can find it in the Entitlement
Certificate that was sent to the license contact after purchasing the license or you can look it up
in the GoldSim License Portal.
2. Download the latest version of the GoldSim License Server Activation Utility (GLSActUtil)
installation package from the GoldSim website Network License Downloads section.
3. Save this installation package to the license server computer local hard drive on which you plan
to install the license server.
4. Run the installation package “As Administrator”.
5. You may be prompted to install the Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable as shown in
Figure 2. This is required so use the “Install” button to install it.

Figure 2: Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable Installer

6. After the redistributable is installed, the Installation Welcome screen will come up as shown in
Figure 3.

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GoldSim License Server Activation Utility

Figure 3: GLSActUtil Installer - Welcome screen

7. Accept the license agreement and click “Next” to continue as depicted in Figure 4.

Figure 4: GLSActUtil Installer - License agreement

8. After accepting the license agreement, click the “Install” button on the “Ready to Install” dialog
shown in Figure 5 to install.

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 GoldSim License Server Activation Utility

Figure 5: GLSActUtil Installer - Ready to install

9. Upon successful install completion, you will get the Successful Install notification dialog shown
in Figure 6.

Figure 6: GLSActUtil Installer - Install complete

10. Click Finish.

Now that GLSActUtil is installed, you are ready to activate a network license.

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 GoldSim License Server Activation Utility

2.2 Activate the Network License

Follow the steps below to perform the activation.

1. Go to the Start Menu and find “GoldSim License Server Activation Utility” in the list of programs.
Select/start this program as shown in

2. Figure 7.

Figure 7: GLSActUtil on the Start Menu

3. You should see the GLSActUtil program interface appear with no fulfillments. Click the
“Activate…” button shown in Figure 8 to start the activation process.

Figure 8: GLSActUtil with no Fulfillments

4. Enter the Activation ID from your Entitlement Certificate in the “Activation Key” field shown in
Figure 9.

Figure 9: Network License Activation dialog

5. If the license activation is successful, you will see the “License activation successful!” dialog
shown in Figure 10. The GLSActUtil is now successfully installed and a software entitlement for a
Concurrent Network license has been successfully fulfilled to Trusted Storage.

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GoldSim License Server Activation Utility

Figure 10: License activation successful

6. The result of a successful activation is that fulfillment records for this license have been written
to Trusted Storage. To see license related details about your computer and all available
fulfillment records, use the “Details…” button and select “License System Details” as shown in
Figure 11.

Figure 11: GLSActUtil - Details... options

7. Close GLSActUtil

Note that the GLSActUtil installer also places some files in an installation directory (see Figure 12)
that will be used to install, configure, and maintain the vendor daemon, GTG.exe. These files are
mostly in the “GTG” directory, and the list of files to note includes the “lmutil.exe” file.

Figure 12: GLSActUtil installation directory

With the program successfully installed, you are ready to continue to the next section.

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 FlexNet Publisher License Server (FNPLS)

3 FlexNet Publisher License Server (FNPLS)

The FlexNet Publisher License Server (FNPLS) provides a framework for serving concurrent licenses for
one or more software products. The license server controls the use of these licenses, which are not
normally locked to a specific machine, and float on the network. This section summarizes the installation
process of FNPLS to provide the bare minimum in terms of installation and configuration to obtain a
functioning license server.

The complete documentation, installation, and configuration guide for FNPLS is found in the FlexNet
Publisher License Administration Guide, which can be obtained from the GoldSim website Network
License Downloads section. This guide provides the authoritative reference for all things pertaining to
the FNPLS.

Flexera maintains FNPLS and issues multiple updates each year. The FNPLS works by providing licenses
across a network (intranet or internet). Because it is designed to work within a network, security
vulnerabilities are occasionally discovered and subsequently fixed/patched. This is one reason for the
software update schedule with multiple updates per year; it is also a good reason to keep FNPLS up to
date.

GoldSim products implement software licensing technology from Flexera Software LLC (FlexNet
Publisher Toolkit). Table 2 lists available GoldSim products and their associated FlexNet Publisher (FNP)
Toolkit version. When configuring a Flexera FlexNet Publisher License Server, the license server version
must be the same version or greater than the vendor daemon's FNP version and the vendor daemon's
FNP version must be the same or greater than the GoldSim client's FNP version. It is recommended that
you keep the FNPLS as up to date as possible.
Table 2 - FNP Toolkit versions

GoldSim Product FNP Toolkit

GoldSim Pro 14.0 11.16.2.1
GoldSim Pro 12.1.3, 12.1.4, 12.1.5 11.16.2.1
GoldSim Pro 12.1, 12.1.1, 12.1.2 11.14.0.2
GoldSim Pro 12.0 11.14.0.2
GoldSim Pro 11.1 (Update 7) 11.14.0.2
GoldSim Pro 11.1 (Updates 4, 5 and 6) 11.13.1.3
GoldSim Pro 11.0.8, 11.0.8.1 11.13.1.3
GoldSim Pro 10.5 SP6, 10.5 SP7 11.13.1.3
GoldSim License Server Activation Utility (GLSActUtil) v1.2 11.16.2.1
GoldSim License Server Activation Utility (GLSActUtil) v1.1 11.14.0.2
GoldSim License Server Activation Utility (GLSActUtil) v1.0 11.13.1.3
GoldSim Vendor Daemon (GTG.exe) v1.2 11.16.2.1
GoldSim Vendor Daemon (GTG.exe) v1.1 11.14.0.2
GoldSim Vendor Daemon (GTG.exe) v1.0 11.13.1.3

This table is also published in our Software Release Notes.

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Note that in version 11.14.1.1 (released in March 2017), several outstanding security and operational
issues were resolved. These resolutions resulted in a significantly modified application and functionality.
Importantly, the installation procedures and protocols starting with version 11.14.1.1 completely
changed relative to previous versions.

Previous to version 11.14.1.1, the lmadmin installer for Windows installed the folders and subfolders by
default in the Program Files (x86) directory and created the lmadmin service of the type “Local Service”,
with start-up type “Automatic”. As a result, the lmadmin service could fail to start, because it had
insufficient privileges to create subfolders in the Program Files (x86) directory. Starting with FlexNet
Publisher 11.14.1.1, the folders that are updated at run time (conf, logs, cache, licenses) are installed by
default under the ProgramData directory. The files, folders, executables, and DLLs that are not modified
at run time are installed under Program Files. To perform any operation related to lmadmin, where the
conf directory is not a subdirectory of the lmadmin installation directory, the conf directory must be
indicated using the -configDir switch, for example:
lmadmin.exe ‐import counted.lic ‐configDir "C:\ProgramData\FLEXlm\lmadmin\conf"

Starting with FlexNet Publisher 11.14.1, the lmadmin InstallAnywhere installer no longer bundles the
Jave Runtime Environment (JRE), which therefore must be installed separately (if not already present on
the machine). The lmadmin installer requires that JRE 1.6 or later be installed.

Note: Do not run the 32-bit lmadmin and the 64-bit lmadmin on the same system. If you are upgrading
from the 32-bit lmadmin to the 64-bit lmadmin, you must stop and uninstall the 32-bit lmadmin first.

3.1 FNPLS and Multiple Software Publishers/Vendors

During installation, a vendor daemon is produced using Flexera’s licensing tools, which is a plugin to
FNPLS for managing GoldSim concurrent network licenses. Other software publishers/vendors also use
Flexera’s licensing tools and produce vendor daemons that allow FNPLS to provide and manage their
own network licenses. For example, one FNPLS could serve software licenses for Matlab, ESRI ArcGIS,
and GoldSim products, if each of these software vendors properly set up the license server.

There are three possible FNPLS and vendor daemon scenarios on a license server computer:

1. A single instance of FNPLS that serves only GoldSim licenses (i.e. one vendor daemon).
2. A single instance of FNPLS that serves licenses from multiple software vendors, including
GoldSim, by managing multiple vendor daemons.
3. Multiple instances of FNPLS installed on a single computer will each serve licenses from at least
one vendor daemon.

Additional discussion of dealing with the many license server and vendor daemon scenarios is provided
in Managing Licenses from Multiple Software Publishers of the FlexNet Publisher License
Administration Guide, which can be downloaded from our Network License Downloads web page.

GoldSim recommends that you employ approach #1 or #2 above so that there is only one instance of
FNPLS to maintain. Each vendor daemon uses a particular version of Flexera’s licensing tools which have
a corresponding FNPLS version with the same version number. The Flexera licensing tool’s version for a
particular vendor daemon needs to be less than or equal to the installed FNPLS version for that vendor

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daemon and client software to work with that version of FNPLS (see Table 2 - FNP Toolkit versions).
Typically, FNPLS can be updated without having to update the vendor daemons. If the vendor daemon is
upgraded (for GoldSim, GLSActUtil is upgraded) then it is likely that FNPLS will also need to be upgraded
so that the FNPLS version number >= the FNP toolkit version number.

There are two main options for FNPLS installation: New Installation and Upgrade. Typically, you will use
the upgrade method if you already have an existing instance of FNPLS (i.e. lmadmin.exe) installed on the
target system. Refer to the respective next sections to continue with either option.

3.2 New Installation

Before starting the following steps, a License Administrator and computer needs to be selected to host
the license server. Installation steps must be done using
appropriate administrative privileges. Once established,
continue with the following steps to install FNPLS:
Installing FNPLS requires C++
1. Download and install the Java Runtime Environment redistributable package. If
(JRE). There are 2 options available: you need to install it then a
a. Open Source Java Runtime Environment, restart may be required
hosted by IBM: Semeru Runtimes Downloads – thereafter. Please plan
accordingly.
IBM Developer

Figure 13 - IBM JRE Downloads

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b. Oracle Java Runtime Environment (license required for commercial use): Java Archive
Downloads - Java SE

Figure 14 - Oracle JRE Downloads

2. Download the latest Flexera’s FlexNet Publisher License Server (FNPLS) installation package from
the GoldSim website Network License Downloads section. Note that only the lmadmin version
of FNPLS is supported for a GoldSim License Server. There is a legacy, FlexNet server executable
called lmgrd. lmgrd is NOT supported for GoldSim licenses.
3. Run the installation package using “Run as Administrator”. This is the clean/new install route.
The first screen in the installation package will be the Introduction dialog shown in Figure 15.

Figure 15: FNPLS Installation Package - Introduction

4. If possible, use the default location for the installation as shown in Figure 16.

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Figure 16: FNPLS Installation Package - Choose Install Folder

5. FNPLS now installs some files in C:\ProgramData. Please use the default installation directory as
shown in Figure 17.

Figure 17: FNPLS Installation Package - Choose Data Folder

6. This is a new/clean installation so there is no previous installation to import as shown in Figure

18.

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Figure 18: FNPLS Installation Package - DO NOT Import files from Previous

7. The pre-installation summary (see Figure 19) is shown before starting the installation with the
“Install” button.

Figure 19: FNPLS Installation Package - Pre-Installation Summary

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8. The installation progress bar (see Figure 20) provides progress status on the actual server install.

Figure 20: FNPLS Installation Package - Installing

9. Check the box for “Install Visual C++ Redistributable Package” as shown in Figure 21 and then
use the “Repair” option if this package was installed previously, as shown in Figure 22.

Figure 21: FNPLS Installation Package - Important Information

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Figure 22: C++ 2008 Redistributable, select "Repair"

10. After the installation is complete, the launch configuration screens (see Figure 23 and Figure 24)
provide the first shot at customizing the various ports and settings used by FNPLS.
a. These settings can be modified later in a variety of ways (i.e. see Section 5.1.1 and
Section 7.2).
b. The license server port number is distinct from the vendor daemon port which will be
configured later. The license server port can be used to acquire licenses if there is only
one vendor daemon. If there is more than one vendor daemon, then the vendor
daemon port will be required to be assured that the correct vendor is queried for a
license.

Figure 23: FNPLS Installation Package - Launch Configuration, set FNPLS ports

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Figure 24: FNPLS Installation Package - Launch Configuration, timeout intervals

11. The final step in the installation package is to configure lmadmin to start as a Windows
operating system service 1as shown in Figure 25.

Figure 25: FNPLS Installation Package - Service Configuration

12. A successful install will end with the installation complete dialog shown in Figure 26.

1
In installation package versions prior to 11.14.0.1, there was a bug in the install package which kept the “Run as a
service” check box from working. For the installation of lmadmin as a service in these earlier versions, the service
had to be manually installed using a function in lmadmin.exe from the command line.

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Figure 26: FNPLS Installation Package - Install Complete

13. Start the newly installed/created lmadmin service. Go to Control Panel | Administrative Tools |
Services and look for an “lmadmin” service (as shown in Figure 27). If the service is currently
stopped, there will be a “Start” link in the upper left.

Figure 27: After FNPLS installation is complete, start the lmadmin service

14. After you have successfully started lmadmin (in this case, by starting the service), access the
license server management interface (aka “web GUI”). The web GUI is accessed using internet
browser (Not Internet Explorer). Depending on where you are accessing the site from, use 1 of
the two following URLs to access the web GUI:
a. Accessing the site from the same machine: http://localhost:8090
b. Accessing the site from a different machine: http://<server-name>:8090, where <server-
name> is the system name where the license server is running may only work if you
have enabled firewall access.

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c. Additionally, you can specify a custom port number (see Figure 23); 8090 is the default.
If you specified a custom port number, then use this port in place of 8090 in the
preceding bullets.
15. At this point, the web GUI Dashboard screen should not show any seats or licenses available
(see Figure 28) because the vendor daemon has not been installed into FNPLS at this time.

Figure 28: License server management interface, or web GUI, Dashboard after clean install

16. Use the “Administration” link in the top right of Figure 28 to access the Administration portion
of the license server management interface. You will be required to login to the Administration
portion of the web GUI (see Figure 29). On your initial access, you can use the default username
and password of “admin” (but without the quotes).

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Figure 29: Web GUI Administration requires login

17. You will be required to change this immediately (see Figure 30). You have now configured the
“admin” account by adding a new password2.

Figure 30: A password change is required on first login

18. At this point, you can see the System Information page for the license server.

2
GoldSim will NOT know what the “Password” is for your license server. Only people who will administer the
license server need to be able to login to the “Administration” portion of the license server management interface.
GoldSim users who acquire seats from the license server do not need to access the license server management
interface in general and the “Administration” portion. If you need to reset or modify existing user credentials, open
a command prompt, change the current directory to EXISTING_INSTALL_DIR, and use lmadmin.exe -help to see the
listing of available user modification commands. Use one of the listed commands for your modifications

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19. When you click on the Server Configuration tab, you will see the configuration items that you set
during the install. Figure 31 and Figure 32 show where to find this information.

Figure 31. HTTP Port is found in Web Server Configuration section of Server Configuration

Figure 32. lmadmin Port is found in License Server Configuration section of Server Configuration

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20. Finally, when you are done with the “Administration” portion of the license server management
interface, use the “Stop Server” button, shown in Figure 31, to stop lmadmin. Close the web
browser and continue with installing the vendor daemon in Section 4.1.

Figure 33. Click Stop to apply changes to the Vendor Daemon Settings

21. Select the option to "Use this Port" then type in a 5-digit port number (typically a number
between 50000 and 60000). Do not use the default port. (NOTE: If you are upgrading an existing
network license server, you might have copied down the vendor daemon port number you were
using. It is recommended that you now enter this daemon port number so that users can still
use the same license server address.)

Figure 34. Configure Vendor Daemon Port Number

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3.3 Upgrade an Existing FNPLS

The instructions in this section assume that there is already a working license server 3on the machine. In
the example that will be used in the procedures that follow, it is an 11.18.3 license server with all default
installation settings. But these procedures are expected to work for other FNPLS versions and for other
configurations as well.

Please make sure to always check for the latest versions on our Downloads Page. The upgrade
procedures consist of the following steps:

1. Install a new version of FlexNet Publisher License Server (FNPLS) in parallel with the old version
2. Import settings from the old version:
 vendor daemon port number
 username and password for the FNPLS management interface
 log files
3. Uninstall the old version

The following key configurations are needed for successful upgrade but will be described in more detail
in the upgrade procedures:

 New Folders: New FNPLS installation and data folders must be created with unique names. Do
not install into the same folder(s) of the old FNPLS installation.
 New Service Name: A new and unique Windows service name must be used for the upgraded
lmadmin service.

3.3.1.1 FNPLS Configuration Requirements

The procedures in Section 3.3.1.2 will describe how to upgrade an existing FNP License Server to a new
version, importing settings from the old installation into the new, and subsequently uninstalling the old
license server once the new license server is running. In this example, the old FNPLS version is 11.16.2
and it is installed with the following configuration (these are all defaults):

 Installation folder: “C:\Program Files (x86)\FlexNet Publisher License Server Manager”

 Data folder: “C:\ProgramData\FLEXlm\lmadmin”
 Windows service name: “lmadmin”

The new FNPLS version is 11.18.3 and it will be installed with the following configuration:

 Installation folder: “C:\Program Files (x86)\FlexNet Publisher License Server Manager 11.18.3”
 Data folder: “C:\ProgramData\FLEXlm_11.18.3\lmadmin”
 Windows service name: “lmadmin 11.18.3”

3
If you are using this license server for other software vendors, then you need to figure out what is required to re-
install the vendor daemons and license files for these other vendors. The upgrade procedures are expected to
import vendor daemon files automatically from the old installation. However, additional configuration may be
required for other vendor daemons.

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3.3.1.2 FNPLS Upgrade Instructions

In the example used for the following FNPLS upgrade instructions, assume there is an existing, older
FNPLS license server with License Server Manager Port number 27000 (default), and vendor daemon
port number 51288 (this may differ in your case).

Figure 35. System Information for an existing FNPLS installation

Figure 36. Vendor daemon version and port number for an existing FNPLS installation

To upgrade an existing FNPLS installation such as this, carry out the following instructions.

1. Stop the Windows service, by going to Services, right-clicking the service name, and selecting
Stop.

Figure 37. Stop the lmadmin Windows service

2. Note that if you do not have the latest version of GLSActUtil installed, you should first install it
before proceeding with the following steps. The installer can be obtained from the GoldSim
website Network License Downloads section. If needed, instructions on upgrading GLSActUtil

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can be found in the document GoldSim License Server Activation Utility: Installation and Basic
Use which is also available from the same webpage.

3. Assuming you have obtained the new FNPLS installer (in this example, it is version 11.18.3) from
the GoldSim website Network License Downloads section, right-click the installer file and select
the option to ‘Run as administrator’.

Figure 38. Run the FNPLS installer as administrator

 On the Installation Window, verify you are installing the correct version.

Figure 39. Begin the Installation

 When asked where you would like to install the new FNPLS version, be sure to select a folder
that is NOT the same as or a subfolder of the old (i.e. current) FNPLS version. For this example,
the installation folder is: “C:\Program Files (x86)\FlexNet Publisher License Server Manager
11.18.3”. After you specify the new directory name, click ‘Next’.

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Figure 40. Select an installation folder different than the old FNPLS version

 When asked where you would like the new data folder to be installed, be sure to select a folder
that (a) does NOT have any spaces, and (b) is NOT inside “C:\ProgramData\FLEXlm” (for the
current example). Item (a) is necessary to avoid any issues importing data files from the old
installation into the new. Item (b) is necessary if you plan to uninstall the old FNPLS version after
the new FNP License Server is running. Note: The reason item (b) is necessary is that
uninstallation of the old FNPLS version may remove the “C:\ProgramData\FLEXlm” folder and
all its contents. For this example, use Data folder: “C:\ProgramData\FLEXlm_11.18.3\lmadmin”

Figure 41. Select a data folder without spaces and that does not conflict with the old installation

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4. When asked if you would like to import files from a previous installation, check the ‘Import’
checkbox and then specify (by clicking ‘Choose…’) the installation path and the data folder path
of the old FNPLS installation.

Figure 42. Import log files, configuration data, and vendor daemons from old FNPLS installation

 Ensure that the installation folder is correct before pressing the Install button.

Figure 43. Pre-Installation Summary

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 Wait for the installation process to complete.

Figure 44. Installation Process

5. When prompted to install the Visual C++ redistributable package, check the checkbox, click
‘Next’, and wait for the redistributable package to be installed.

Figure 45. Install Visual C++ Redistributable Package

 It may be required to perform a “Repair” to install/upgrade the MS Visual C++ 2013

Redistributable. If you are asked to restart the computer at this time, please wait until the FNPLS
installation is complete first.

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Figure 46. C++ Redistributable Installation

6. When prompted to provide information about running the FNPLS Manager as a service, check
the ‘Run as a service’ checkbox and enter a name for the Windows service that is different from
that of the old FNPLS Manager.

Figure 47. Specify a Service name different from that for the old installation

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 Click Next to start the import process.

Figure 48. Service Configuration Import Process

 After successful installation and service configuration import, you should see confirmation with
the correct installation folder shown.

Figure 49. Successful Installation Complete

7. After the installation process has finished, you can restart the computer if you were asked to do
so after installing the MS Visual C++ Redistributable.
8. Start the Services manager and refresh your list of services and see both the old service and the
new service in the list. Confirm that the old service is stopped (this should have stopped in step
1). Then, go ahead and start the new service. The new service should start without problems.

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Figure 50. Confirm the old Windows service is stopped and start the new service

9. In a browser window, enter localhost:8090, assuming you used the default FNPLS management
interface port number (otherwise, use the port number specified when the old license server
was configured). Because settings and vendor daemon files were imported from the old license
server, you should see the list of your licenses.

Figure 51. Confirm that the license server management interface shows at least 1 valid license

10. Click ‘Administration’ and confirm that you can log in with your existing username and password
(specified for the old license server). Your existing username and password should automatically
have been imported from the old license server configuration.

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Figure 52. Login to the FNPLS management interface with your existing username and password

 On the System Information sub-tab, make note of the release version, which should be the
latest version of lmadmin.

3.3.1.3 Updating the GTG Vendor Daemon

Note that, in some cases, you may also need to upgrade the GTG vendor daemon to be able to use the
latest version of GoldSim on a client machine. For example, GoldSim version 12.1.2 can be used with a
version 11.14.1.2 license server and vendor daemon, but GoldSim versions 12.1.3 and later require an
11.18.3 version license server and vendor daemon or later.

If you need to use a version of GoldSim that requires an updated GTG vendor daemon, follow these
instructions:

1. Be sure to first stop the FNPLS Windows service.

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Figure 53. Stop the FNPLS Windows service before updating the GTG vendor daemon

2. You already should have installed the latest version of GLSActUtil (GoldSim License Server
Activation Utility) before upgrading FNPLS (see Section 3.3.1.2). If not, you must do so now,
before proceeding with the following steps, since the latest GTG vendor daemon files are
distributed with GLSActUtil. Obtain the installer from the GoldSim website Network License
Downloads section and run it with administrator privileges.

Figure 54. Run the GLSActUtil installer with administrator privileges

3. Confirm that you want to perform an upgrade to GLSActUtil and click through any subsequent
dialogs to complete the installation process.

Figure 55. Confirm that you want to perform an upgrade to GLSActUtil

4. Assuming that the FNPLS Windows service is already stopped (as instructed in step 1), copy the
GTG folder from “C:\Program Files (x86)\GTG\GoldSim License Server Activation Utility” into the
installation folder of the new FNPLS version (“C:\Program Files (x86)\FlexNet Publisher License
Server Manager 11.18.3” in the current example), confirming that you would like to overwrite
the existing files.

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Figure 56. Copy the new GTG vendor daemon files to the new installation folder

5. Restart the Windows service (it should start up without issue), open the FNPLS management
interface (localhost:8090, in the current example), click ‘Administration’, and log in. Confirm that
the vendor daemon is up and that it shows the updated FlexNet Publisher Version.

Figure 57. Restart the FNPLS service and confirm that the GTG vendor daemon is up

You should now be able to open the latest version (as well as earlier versions) of GoldSim.

Having successfully upgraded to a new FNPLS version, you may now decide to uninstall the old
FNPLS version. If you decide not to uninstall the old FNPLS version, it is recommended that you set
the Windows service for the old version to manually (rather than automatically) launch. This
ensures that there are no conflicts between the old and new FNP license servers.

To set the old Windows service to manually launch, go to your list of services, double-click the old
Windows service in the list, and then select ‘Manual’ from the ‘Startup type’ drop-list. Click ‘Apply’
and then ‘OK’.

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Figure 58. Set the old FNPLS Windows service to manually launch

3.3.1.4 Uninstalling the Old FNPLS

To uninstall the old FNPLS version, follow these procedures:

1. Go to your list of Services and make sure that both the old and the new Windows services are
stopped.

Figure 59. Stop both the old and the new FNPLS Windows services

2. Navigate to the installation folder of the old FNPLS installation (in this case, this is “C:\Program
Files (x86)\FlexNet Publisher License Server Manager”), enter the ‘uninstall’ folder, right-click the
file “Uninstall FlexNet Publisher License Server Manager.exe”, and select the option to ‘Run as
administrator’.

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Figure 60. Run the uninstaller for the old FNPLS with administrator privileges

 Start the process by clicking Next

Figure 61. Starting the Uninstall Process

 Specify whether you want to save the log files (it is not necessary)

Figure 62. Choose to Save Log Files

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3. When asked if you would like to stop and remove the old Windows service (in this case,
“lmadmin 11.16.2.1”), select ‘Yes’, and click ‘Uninstall’.

Figure 63. Stop and remove the old FNPLS Windows service

 You should see a screen indicating successful uninstallation.

Figure 64. Successfully Uninstalled

4. You will now see that the old Windows service (“lmadmin 11.16.2.1” in this example) no longer
appears in the list of Windows services and that the old data folder (in this case,
“C:\ProgramData\FLEXlm”) has been completely removed. The old installation folder (in this
case, “C:\Program Files (x86)\FlexNet Publisher License Server Manager”) still exists, because it
contains the old GTG folder (with the old vendor daemon files). You can go ahead and manually
delete the old installation folder.

5. Once again, go to your list of Windows services and restart the new Windows service (in this
case, “lmadmin 11.18.3”). You might observe that the service restarts, but that the progress bar
proceeds relatively quickly to about half way and subsequently proceeds slowly. This is because
it is not able to start the GTG vendor daemon. To restart the vendor daemon, follow steps 6
through 10, below.

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Figure 65. Restart the FNPLS Windows service

Figure 66. The license server may not be able to restart the GTG vendor daemon

6. Open the license server management interface (localhost:8090, in the current example), click
‘Administration’, log in, and click the ‘Vendor Daemon Configuration’ tab. The ‘Status’ will
indicate ‘Stopped’. Click the ‘Import License’ button, check the option to ‘Overwrite License File
on License Server’, and click ‘Choose File’.

Figure 67. In the ‘Vendor Daemon Configuration’ tab, select ‘Choose File’

7. Navigate to the GTG subfolder in the FNPLS installation folder (“C:\Program Files (x86)\FlexNet
Publisher License Server Manager 11.18.3\GTG”), select the GTG.lic file, and click ‘Open’.

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Figure 68. Select the GTG.lic file in the GTG subfolder of the FNPLS installation folder

8. Now, click the ‘Import License’ button.

Figure 69. Import the GTG.lic file

9. If the vendor daemon does not automatically start, click on the ‘Vendor Daemon Configuration’
tab, click ‘Administer’, and then click ‘Start’.

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Figure 70. Start the GTG vendor daemon if it does not restart

10. Finally, return to the Dashboard and you should see your licenses.

Figure 71. Confirm that the GTG vendor daemon is now running

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4 GTG.exe – GoldSim Vendor Daemon

The GoldSim vendor daemon, GTG.exe, needs to be installed into the FNPLS instance and properly
configured to create a GoldSim License Server. Once this is done, it will read GoldSim software license
information from Trusted Storage whenever it is started by FNPLS or instructed to re-read Trusted
Storage by FNPLS. As a result, Trusted Storage and the fulfillments in Trusted Storage are separate
entities from FNPLS and GTG.exe. This section assumes that you are setting up a license server for the
first time. The GoldSim vendor daemon is essentially a plugin for FNPLS that mediates between the
Flexera license server and any GoldSim software licenses installed/fulfilled on the license server
machine. At this point in the process:

 FNPLS should be installed and functional

 The lmadmin service should be stopped
 GLSActUtil should be installed and functional but closed
 A GoldSim Concurrent Network license should be activated/fulfilled on the license server
machine with a status of active and fully trusted.

Everything that is needed to implement the vendor daemon has then been installed on the license
server computer. Follow the instructions in Section 4.1 to move the vendor daemon-related files to the
correct locations for FNPLS and to complete the initial, basic configuration of the license server.

4.1 Basic Vendor Daemon Installation and Configuration

1. In File Explorer, copy the folder C:\Program Files (x86)\GTG\GoldSim License Server
Activation Utility\GTG to the clipboard

2. Paste the folder to this location: C:\Program Files (x86)\FlexNet Publisher License Server
Manager

3. This GTG directory should contain four (4) files as shown in Figure 72.

Figure 72: GTG directory contents

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GTG.exe – GoldSim Vendor Daemon

4. Start the lmadmin service; this starts the license server. Go to Control Panel | Administrative
Tools | Services and look for an “lmadmin” service (as shown in Figure 27). If the service is
currently stopped, there will be a “Start” link in the upper left.

5. Access the license server management interface. This is also referred to in the GoldSim
documentation as the web GUI. The license server management interface, or web GUI, is
accessed using a web browser and using the address http://<server>:8090 where <server> is the
system name where the license server is running.
1. localhost:8090 may also work when you are working on the server computer and are
not using Internet Explorer as your web browser.

2. http://<server>:8090 may only work if you have enabled firewall access.

3. Additionally, you can specify a custom port number (see Figure 23); 8090 is the default.
If you specified a custom port number, then use this port in place of 8090 in the
preceding discussion.

4. At this point, the web GUI Dashboard screen should not show any seats or licenses
available (see Figure 28) because the vendor daemon has not been installed into FNPLS
at this time.

5. Use the “Administration” link in the top right of the screen (see Figure 28) to access the
Administration portion of the license server management interface. You will be required
to login to the Administration portion of the web GUI (see Figure 29).

6. If you need to reset or modify existing user credentials, open a command prompt,
change the current directory to EXISTING_INSTALL_DIR, and use lmadmin.exe -
help to see the listing of available user modification commands. Use one of the listed
commands for your modifications.

6. Import a license to install the Vendor Daemon.

1. Use the “Vendor Daemon Configuration” tab along the left and the “Import License”
button at the top (see Figure 73).

2. Select the file “GTG.lic” in the GTG folder which was just copied to FNPLS install
directory (see Figure 72). Make sure that the option “Overwrite License File on License
Server” is selected as shown in Figure 74.

3. The successful import messages should be shown (see Figure 75).

4. The newly imported vendor daemon status should be “Up” as shown in Figure 76.

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 GTG.exe – GoldSim Vendor Daemon

Figure 73: Use the "Vendor Daemon Configuration" tab at the left to install a vendor daemon

Figure 74: Use the "Overwrite License File on License Server" option

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Figure 75: Successful vendor daemon import

Figure 76: Newly imported vendor daemon running

7. At this point, you will want to fix the “Port” value shown in Figure 76, if you will be using port-
based firewall rules.
1. Use the “Administer” link shown in Figure 76 and then specify a port value using the
“Use this port” option under “Vendor Daemon Port” as shown in Figure 77. You must
specify a specific port number if you are communicating across an Internet firewall.

2. Remember to use the “Save” button at the bottom to update and save the configuration
for the vendor daemon.

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GTG.exe – GoldSim Vendor Daemon

Figure 77: Vendor daemon administration

8. Use the “Stop” button shown at the top of Figure 77 to stop the vendor daemon. Then navigate
to the “System Information” tab, shown on the left side. Next, navigate back to the “Vendor
Daemon Configuration” tab and the vendor daemon will be shown as “Down”.

9. Select the "Server Configuration" tab. Scroll down to the "License Server Configuration" section.
Under License Server Manager Port select the option to "Use this Port". Enter a 5-digit port
number. For security purposes, best practice is not to use a default port number. Instead, define
a fixed port number that is outside of the 27000 and 27009 range.

10. Use the “Administer” link (see Figure 76) and then the “Start” button to start the vendor
daemon again. Navigate to the “System Information” tab, shown on the left side and then
navigate back to the “Vendor Daemon Configuration” tab and the vendor daemon should be
shown as “Up” and should be using the specified port value.

11. Use the “Dashboard” link at the top right to see the available licenses.

12. Test the license server using a GoldSim client installed on the license server machine.
1. Stop lmadmin and all running license servers on the server machine.

2. Install a GoldSim version on the server machine. This installation can impact lmadmin
which is why it was stopped in the previous step.

3. Make sure to install a version that you are entitled to under your GoldSim Concurrent
Network entitlement which was fulfilled/activated in Section 0.

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4. Make sure that there are no “standalone” GoldSim licenses fulfilled on this machine.

5. Start lmadmin.

6. Start GoldSim. You should get the “GoldSim Licensing” splash screen shown in Figure 78.

Figure 78: GoldSim Licensing splash screen

7. Use the “Connect to Network License” to get the “Network License Configuration”
dialog shown in Figure 79. For the Licenser Server: field, enter the license server using
the port@computer_name.domain format as shown in Figure 79.

8. The machine that was used to develop this example procedure was named isq-v-
win10n.goldsim.local. The vendor daemon port to use was set to 56614 (in the example
shown in Figure 77 the port was set to 51288).

Figure 79: Network License Configuration dialog

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9. The GoldSim software program should now open to a blank model. Go to Help |
Licensing to open the “GoldSim Licensing” dialog and confirm the license check-out as
shown in Figure 80.

Figure 80: "GoldSim Licensing" dialog showing the successful check-out of a network license

13. Test the license server using GoldSim installed on a client computer (i.e. different machine) on
the same local area network (LAN) and in the same subnet as the license server computer.
1. Install a GoldSim version on the client computer.

2. Make sure to install a version that you are entitled to under your GoldSim Concurrent
Network entitlement which was fulfilled/activated in Section 0.

3. Make sure that there are no “standalone” GoldSim licenses fulfilled on this machine.
Standalone (i.e. “Desktop” or “Enterprise” licenses) will always take precedence over
network licenses.

4. Repeat Steps 12.6 through 12.9 from above.

5. If you are unable to check-out a license from the client machine on the same network
turn off the firewalls on both the client machine and the server machine and try again.

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4.2 Next Steps

A functioning GoldSim license server has been created by successful completion of the steps in Sections
2, 3, and 4.

 Review Section 5 so that you know what to expect in terms of operations and ongoing
maintenance.

 See Section 6 for information on borrowing a license from this license server.

 It is likely that quite a bit of advanced configuration and customization of the license server will
be desired. For example, the following items are typical advanced configuration considerations.

o There will likely be some firewall configuration necessary on both the client machines and
the license server machine so that the firewalls do not need to be inactivated to serve
licenses. See Section 7.7 for some discussion of this configuration.

o There is only one “user” account configured for the FNPLS web GUI interface which is the
“admin” account. It is likely that you will want to add additional users maybe even
additional users of different types. See Section 7.3 for information on adding users.

o The license server currently has the default configuration for license server capabilities as
well as for access and control. There may be some desire to customize this. See Section 7 for
more information.

o It may be desirable to institute detailed license usage tracking. See Section 7.4.1 for
information on this feature.

5 Basic License Server Management and Operation

After the GoldSim license server is functioning (i.e. after completion of Section 4.1), there is typically
little that needs to be done in terms of daily or weekly management. There are some license
maintenance tasks that will be required on an annual basis. Additionally, basic operation considerations
typically involve checking license server status and setting up client machines to check-out licenses or
borrow licenses once license server advanced configuration and customization are complete.

5.1 Basic Operations

Basic operations for the GoldSim license server primarily involve configuring client machines to check-
out or to borrow licenses from the license server and checking the status of the license server to ensure
that there are licenses available to the clients. Borrowing of licenses is covered in Section 6. For license
check-out, the GoldSim client needs to be configured to access the license server. After configuration,
the client will check out the appropriate licenses whenever they are both available and requested by the

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client. When the client closes, it will release the checked out license back to the pool on the license
server.

5.1.1 lmadmin web GUI/website

If preferred, the lmadmin web GUI/website can be used for some license server tasks/operations. This
website can be accessed using an Internet browser pointed to http://{domain name}:{port} (see Item #5
in Section 4.1 and Figure 28) where the domain name must be a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN).
The default web address on the same machine where FNPLS is installed is http://localhost:8090. Access
from other computers on the network may be limited by firewall settings (see Section 7.7 for additional
details).

Some of the functionality of the FlexNet Publisher lmadmin license server website (or the lmadmin web
GUI) needs to be enabled via command-line lmadmin commands. These options, and their current
status, are shown at the bottom of the Administration | System Information page as shown in Figure 81.
These options are:

 Local Stop Server Allowed,

 Remote Stop Server Allowed, and

Section 7.2 discusses the lmadmin commands available for enabling these options.

Note: License Reclaim is not available for the GoldSim License Server. As a result, this option and the
associated lmadmin command-line commands will not work for a GoldSim License Server.

Assuming you have enabled, “Local Stop Server” then you can stop the vendor daemons and the FNPLS
using the lmadmin web GUI. The vendor daemon stop functionality is available by going into the
Administration dashboard, selecting the “Vendor Daemon Configuration” tab, selecting the “GTG”
vendor daemon and then using the “Stop” button under “Vendor Daemon Actions” as shown in Figure
77. The license server can be stopped by going into the Administration dashboard, selecting the “Server
Configuration” tab and using the “Stop Server” button under “Server Configuration” as shown in Figure
82. If lmadmin has been configured as a Windows Service (see Section 7.1), then the license server can
be stopped through the Windows Services management console (see Figure 109). Finally, the command
line tools discussed in Sections 7.2 and 7.8 can also be used to stop the server.

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Figure 81: lmadmin web GUI Administration | System Information

Figure 82: lmadmin web GUI Administration | Server Configuration

The lmadmin web GUI also comes with a built-in Help Library which is accessible via the “?” Help button
in the top right of Figure 82. This built-in Help Library (see Figure 83) should be considered the primary
documentation and help reference for the lmadmin web GUI. Always consult this help information in
detail before contacting GTG with questions related to the lmadmin web GUI.

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Figure 83: Example of built-in lmadmin web GUI Help Library

5.1.2 Configuring Clients for License Check Out

When GoldSim is open on a client machine, the GoldSim Licensing dialog can be accessed via Help |
Licensing. An example of this dialog is shown in Figure 80. The “Network License Configuration” dialog
can be obtained using the “Configure…” button (see Figure 80). Figure 84 shows the client “Network
License Configuration”. The license server address should always be entered/provided as port@FQDN,
where FQDN is the Fully Qualified Domain Name for the license server computer. If no module check
boxes are selected, then the client will only attempt to check-out a license for the core GoldSim product.
The requested license server and modules will be saved to the Windows registry so that these selections
are the default the next time the client is started. If the License Server field is cleared, then “no” license
server will be saved as the default.

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Figure 84: "Network License Configuration" dialog

5.1.3 Checking the Status of the License Server

There are two primary ways to check the status of a license server. One way is through the web GUI.

1. The lmadmin web GUI is accessed with a web browser (i.e. Internet Explorer, Chrome, or
Firefox). The access address is http://FQDN:port (default is http://localhost:8090) where again
FQDN is the fully qualified domain name for the computer and the port is the designated access
port number (see Figure 23).
 localhost:port may also work when you are working on the server computer and are not
using Internet Explorer as your web browser.
 Web GUI access from other computers in your LAN may not work without some firewall
configuration (see Section 7.7) and definitely will not work unless lmadmin is running.
 There are a number of different ways to change the access port number. The License
Administrator should know the current port number setting.

2. The default “Dashboard” view for the web GUI is the “Activatable” Licenses view shown in
Figure 85. This dialog will show the number of “Detached” or “Borrowed” licenses. The GoldSim
Concurrent Network licenses are “Hybrid” licenses which means that they can be activated from
the License Server. This activation process is what allows the “Borrowing” functionality.
 This dashboard view provides links to the Hosts Dialog, Figure 86, and the Fulfillments
Dialog, Figure 88.
 The Hosts Dialog provides access to the Hosts Details, Figure 87.

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Figure 85: Web GUI "Activatable" Licenses Dashboard view

Figure 86: Hosts dialog from "Activatable" Licenses

Figure 87: Host Details, accessed from Hosts Dialog, Figure 86

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Figure 88: Fulfillments Dialog from "Activatable" Licenses

3. The Licenses Dashboard also has a “Concurrent” Licenses view as shown in Figure 89. The
“Concurrent” view shows the licenses which are currently checked out from the License Server.
 There is also a “Hosts” dialog which can be accessed via the “Hosts” link on the
“Concurrent” Licenses dashboard view. An example is shown in Figure 90, and this
dialog shows the host/computer which has checked out a license and the computer
which has activated a license copy to “Borrow” this license.
 The “Borrowed” license is denoted with “ACTIVATED LICENSES” in Figure 90.

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Figure 89: Web GUI "Concurrent" Licenses Dashboard view

Figure 90: Hosts dialog accessed via link on "Concurrent" Licenses Dashboard view

The other way to check the status of a license server is to use the command line utilities which are
discussed in detail in Section 7.8.

1. For checking the status, the pertinent command line command is:
lmutil.exe lmstat –c port@FQDN –a

 The port number here is the port that the license server is listening to (not the port for
the web site or the port for the vendor daemon). This means that it will usually be a
number in the range 27000 – 27009 per Figure 23.
 FQDN is the fully qualified domain name for the license server.

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 Section 7.8 provides additional details of lmutil.exe and of the lmstat tool.

2. Figure 91 shows example output from the lmstat command. It shows the status of each
feature. In the lmstat output, “ACTIVATED LICENSES(S)” denote borrowed licenses which are
discussed in more detail in Section 6. In the output provided in Figure 91 there are no currently
borrowed or checked out licenses.

Figure 91: lmstat output for looking at license server status

5.2 License Maintenance

GoldSim license maintenance involves the maintenance and updating of server Trusted Storage for
Concurrent Network licenses. Everything to do with server Trusted Storage is handled by GLSActUtil.
Consequently, GLSActUtil will be used for all license maintenance tasks.

 Always stop all running license server instances (i.e. all lmadmin instances) before starting
GLSActUtil.
 Always close GLSActUtil before restarting any license server instances.

GoldSim Concurrent Network licenses are perpetual licenses. However, the fulfillments in Trusted
Storage will typically expire after 1 year. This expiration means that the fulfillments need to be renewed
each year. A one-year duration is used for fulfillment expiration because GoldSim does not push out
updates. As a result, it is a good idea to check-in once a year to make sure that your software is up to
date. The fulfillment expiration provides a built-in prompt to check and review your GoldSim software
installation.

License maintenance, then, primarily consists of the annual renewal of the fulfillments in trusted
storage. But, license maintenance does include the rarer scenarios of moving the license server to a

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different machine or upgrading the license server hardware. Both of these scenarios are addressed
under Section 5.2.2: Moving the License to a Different Machine.

5.2.1 Annual Renewal

GTG will send you a renewal Entitlement Certificate each year before your current fulfillments expire.
This renewal Entitlement Certificate will have the renewal Activation ID that is required to update or
renew the Trusted Storage fulfillments. You can also look up the Activation ID in the GoldSim License
Portal.

Use the following steps to renew the Trusted Storage fulfillments each year.

1. Make sure that all license server instances are stopped (i.e. all lmadmin instances are stopped).

2. Start GoldSim License Server Activation Utility (GLSActUtil), see

3. Figure 7.

4. The main Network License Management dialog for GLSActUtil, like the one in Figure 92, will be
shown.
 Note the Expiration and the existing Activation ID.

Figure 92: GLSActUtil - Main Network License Management dialog

5. Use the “Activate…” button to get the “Network License Activation” dialog as shown in Figure
93.
 Enter the Activation ID from the renewal Entitlement Certificate and use the “Activate”
button.

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Figure 93: GLSActUtil - Network License Activation dialog

6. If the computer is connected to the internet you should get a “License activation successful”
notification like Figure 94. Hit OK.

Figure 94: Activation Successful

7. You will be returned to the main Network License Management dialog for GLSActUtil as shown
in Figure 95.
 Note that the Activation ID from Figure 93 has replaced the original Activation ID and
that the Expiration has been extended.

Figure 95: GLSActUtil - Main Network License Management dialog with new Activation ID and Expiration

8. Close GLSActUtil.

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9. The renewal has changed the “Activation ID”, removed the old fulfillment, and created a new
fulfillment based on the renewal “Activation ID”. If you use an Options File (see Section 7.10),
some of the KEYWORDs in the Options File reference the “Activation ID” which is considered the
“Entitlement ID” in server Trusted Storage. This has now changed.
 If you use an Options File and you use a KEYWORD which requires an Entitlement ID
(e.g. EXCLUDE_ENTITLEMENT entitlementId), then edit your Options File so that the
new/correct “Activation ID” is used for the Entitlement ID (i.e. entitlementID term) for
all KEYWORDs that specify an Entitlement ID.

10. Restart the license server(s).

5.2.2 Moving the License to a Different Machine

Once every two to three years, it is expected that the license server hardware will need to be updated or
that the license server will need to be moved to a new or different computer. Moving the license to a
different computer is a two-step process:

1. Return of the existing fulfillment and, subsequently,

2. Activation of the returned license, using the “returned” Activation ID, on the new computer.

Because moving the license to a different machine is expected to be an infrequent process, only two (2)
returns per license are allowed per year. Moving the license is a two-step process. Only the “return”
step is a “new” procedure (i.e. not previously described in this document). For the second-step (i.e. the
activation on the new/different computer), follow the steps for Annual Renewal Activation in Section
5.2.1 or the steps for the initial Entitlement Activation in Section 0.

To return a fulfillment/license so that it is available for activation on a different computer, complete the
following steps.

1. Make sure that all license server instances are stopped (i.e. all lmadmin instances are stopped).

2. Start GoldSim License Server Activation Utility (GLSActUtil), see

3. Figure 7.

4. The main Network License Management dialog for GLSActUtil, like the one in Figure 92, will be
shown.

5. Select the Activation ID to be returned using the pull-down just to the right of the Activation ID.
If there is only one Activation ID, which is the typical case, then the Activation ID that you want
to return will be shown by default. Use the “Return…” button to start the return process.

6. You will get a return confirmation/warning dialog like the one shown in Figure 96.

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Figure 96: GLSActUtil - Return confirmation/warning dialog

7. Hit “Yes” to complete the return. You will receive a success confirmation dialog (or an error
message if it was not successful).

8. You will be returned to the main Network License Management dialog for GLSActUtil, but now
the Activation ID that you returned will be removed. It has also been removed from server
Trusted Storage.
 If you only had one Activation ID, the typical case, then the main Network License
Management dialog will be empty as shown in Figure 97.

Figure 97: GLSActUtil - Main Network License Management dialog, empty after successful return

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6 Borrowing
A GoldSim Concurrent Network license is a counted license which is hosted on a license server and
which client machines can check out from the license server. This allows this type of license to float from
computer to computer on the local area network as available and as requested by client machines. This
license is also borrowable.

A floating borrowable license is first activated on a license server machine (see Section 2). This license,
or each of the seats or counts included in this license, can then be served as a floating license or
activated on an end-user computer for use when it is no longer connected to a license server. This
process of activating on an end-user machine for use when the computer is no longer connected to the
license server is called borrowing.

The key point with borrowing is that it allows a machine to temporarily, locally install or fulfill a license
from a license server. This machine can then leave the network and the license will stay with the client
computer until the borrowing period is over. At that time, it will be automatically returned to the license
server.

Important: If you are going to use borrowing, the following should be kept in mind.

 Borrowing involves an activation of one of the seats or counts of a Concurrent Network

license from a license server on a client machine.

 Activation means that the right/entitlement to that count of the Concurrent Network license
is removed from the license server and placed on the client computer. This is called fulfillment
and activation occurs against the license server and fulfillment occurs on the client computer.

 Once there has been a successful activation/fulfillment, the license server cannot get the
borrowed license back until the borrowing period has expired or until returned by/from the
client computer.

 This means that if you lose a client computer which has borrowed a license, you cannot get
this license back until the borrowing period is over.

There are two machines involved in borrowing a license: 1) the license server computer and 2) the client
computer. Each machine provides for configuration and control over certain parts of the borrowing
process.

6.1 License Server Computer

 The license server machine needs to be configured to allow borrowing.
o All GoldSim Concurrent Network licenses are configured to permit borrowing.
o The License Administrator can restrict or control borrowing and override the default
settings through the Options file as discussed in Section 7.10.
 There needs to be an available seat or un-checked out license on the license server.
o Section 5.1 discusses ways to see the number of available seats on a license server.

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 The client computer needs to make the request to borrow using the information from the
license server.
o Only the License Administrator will likely have this information.
o The Activation ID used to fulfill the Concurrent Network license on the license server
needs to be used by the client to complete the borrowing process.
o The client needs to make the borrowing request to the appropriate vendor daemon
using the port@FQDN syntax. In this case, the port value is the vendor daemon port (see
the port value in Figure 76).

6.2 Client Computer

The client computer is where the “borrowing” request is actually executed. This request will only be
successful provided that the correct information, as outlined in Section 6.1, is available from the license
server. In other words, you will not be able to borrow a license from your license server without
assistance from, and the express permission of, your License Administrator.

Note: GTG will not have nor will GTG be able to determine all of the information that is required to
successfully borrow a license from a license server. Only your License Administrator can do this.

The following steps provide a generic example of the information and process required to successfully
borrow a license from a license server.

1. Open GoldSim, go to Help | Licensing to get the “GoldSim Licensing” dialog shown in Figure 98.
Use the “Borrow…” button to start the process.

Figure 98: Initiate Borrowing from client computer using "GoldSim Licensing" dialog (Help | Licensing)

2. This will bring up the “Borrow from License Server” dialog as shown in Figure 99.

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3. Enter the license server address using port@FQDN (see Figure 76 for where to find this port
number).

a. Enter the Activation ID which was used to fulfill the concurrent, network license on the
license server, for example see Figure 9.
b. Enter the “Duration” or borrowing period in days. A counter box is provided for your
convenience. However, the acceptable durations for borrowing are only known by your
License Administrator.
 You cannot borrow for a duration which exceeds the time to fulfillment expiration on
the license server.
 You cannot borrow for a duration which exceeds or contradicts the configuration
specified for the vendor daemon (see Section 7.10).

Figure 99: "Borrow from License Server" dialog

c. Use the “Borrow” button in Figure 99 to submit the borrow request to the license
server. If the request is successful, you will get a “success” dialog similar to the one
shown in Figure 100.
 If the request is unsuccessful, there is a bug in the Flexera Activation Borrowing API
which causes all errors to be returned empty with 0,0,0 for the error designator. Check
your settings carefully with your License Administrator.

Figure 100: Successful borrow

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4. After a successful borrow request, the fulfillment will be written to Trusted Storage on the client
computer. The license or fulfillment now resides on the client computer and will only be
returned to the license server when the specified borrowing period (see Duration in Figure 99) is
over or when the borrowed fulfillment is returned from the client using the “Return” button
shown in Figure 101.
 Note that Figure 101 shows the status of the fulfillment which was borrowed as being
“borrowed from” the license server machine. The expiration date is also shown which
comes from the specified borrowing period (see Duration in Figure 99).

Figure 101: GoldSim Licensing showing successful borrow

5. As a final note, it is instructive to examine Trusted Storage on both the client computer (which
now has the borrowed license) and on the license server computer (which has had the
borrowed license deducted from the pool of available licenses).
a. Figure 102 shows an example of Trusted Storage on a client computer after successfully
borrowing a license. A Trusted Storage printout like shown in Figure 102 can be
obtained using the “Details…” button in Figure 101.
 Note that the “Fulfillment Type” is “Served Activation”
 Also, note that the “Expiration Date” provides the borrowing duration or period
expiration.
b. Figure 103 displays an example of Trusted Storage on the license server machine after
successfully providing a borrowed license to a client. A Trusted storage printout like
shown in Figure 103 can be obtained from the “Details…” button in Figure 11.
 Note that you should stop all running instances of lmadmin before running GLSActUtil.
 Note that the “Deductions” section at the bottom, which starts with “Deduction count:
1” provides the information on the license which has been given to the client machine
for the borrowing period/duration.

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Figure 102: Trusted storage on the client which shows the successful borrow

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Borrowing

Figure 103: Trusted Storage excerpt from License Server showing a borrowed license (i.e. a deduction)

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6.2.1 Returning a Borrowed License

A borrowed license can be returned to the license server pool early if a “Return” action is initiated from
the client computer which has the borrowed license.

 If the client computer does not return the license early, then there is no way to get the
borrowed license back to the license server until the borrowing period is over and the
borrowed license expires on the client computer.

Use the following steps to return a borrowed license from the client machine which currently has the
borrowed license in Trusted Storage.

1. Open “GoldSim Licensing” dialog from Help | Licensing. Select the “Activation ID:” for the
borrowed license.
 Note that it will say “borrowed from” as in Figure 104.
 Use the “Return” button to initiate the return process.

Figure 104: GoldSim Licensing dialog showing a borrowed license

2. Assuming you want to complete the return, say “Yes” to the ‘return the borrowed license’
confirmation dialog shown in Figure 105.

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Figure 105: Return of borrowed license confirmation dialog

3. In the “Return Borrowed License” dialog enter the “License Server:” address in port@FQDN
format as depicted in Figure 106.
 Note that this address needs to be identical to the borrowing address specified when
the license was borrowed (i.e. see Figure 99).

Figure 106: Return Borrowed License dialog

4. If everything was entered correctly, then you will see the return success dialog shown in Figure
107.

Figure 107: Return of the borrowed license was successful

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7 Advanced Configuration Considerations

Numerous advanced configuration options are available for a GoldSim License server. Most of these
options are provided by Flexera for the FNPLS product. Some of these FNPLS advanced features will be
discussed briefly in the following sub-sections. FlexNet Publisher: License Administration Guide
provides the authoritative reference for all things pertaining to the FNPLS. It can be obtained from the
GoldSim website Network License Downloads section and should be examined for additional details and
instruction.

7.1 Installing and running lmadmin as a Windows Service

While it is possible to manually start and stop the lmadmin license server manager, it is recommended
that you install it as a service on the operating system so that it will automatically start whenever the
operating system restarts. Complete details of this configuration are provided in the section License
Server Manager “lmadmin” of FlexNet Publisher: License Administration Guide. A brief overview is
provided in the following to get you started.

To install lmadmin as a Windows Service with the service having the name lmadmin, use the following
lmadmin command from an Administrator command prompt.
lmadmin -configDir "C:\ProgramData\FLEXlm\lmadmin\conf" –installService
lmadmin

Important: it is good idea to stop all running lmadmin processes or services before running the
command above.

All of the command-line arguments used to configure lmadmin as a Windows service require that the
user has administrator privilege. (Vista and later Windows versions enforce administrator privileges for
installation or removal of a service.) Therefore, to use these lmadmin arguments you must do the
following:

 Sign in as an administrator before running lmadmin with these arguments.

 Start the command prompt using the option Run as Administrator.

Figure 108 shows an example of running this command from the Administrator command prompt. Note
that the command responds with a success message which has some additional hints for usage of the
service. The result of this command is that a Local Windows Service is added called lmadmin as shown in
Figure 109. This service is not yet started but is configured to start automatically when the computer
starts. If you examine the properties of this service, then you will see something similar to Figure 110.

The “Start” button in either Figure 109 or Figure 110 can be used to start lmadmin, manually, as a
Windows Service.

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Figure 108: Install lmadmin as a Windows Service

Figure 109: lmadmin added as a local Windows Service

Figure 110: New lmadmin Windows Service properties

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7.1.1 Running FNPLS as a System Service with Non-Elevated Permissions

Note: “For security reasons, Flexera Software recommends that the license server be run with non-
elevated user privileges (which, in turn, the vendor daemon inherits). See the later section [License Server
Manager “lmadmin” of FlexNet Publisher: License Administration Guide], Running FlexNet Publisher
License Server as a System Service With Non-Elevated Privileges, for details on enabling the lmadmin
operating-system service to run under a non-Root or non-administrator user account.” (Flexera Software,
February 2019)

Running lmadmin with non-elevated permissions ensures that any security vulnerabilities exploited by
malicious users with access to the corporate network will have minimal impact beyond the licensing
services. The following is an overview of the process required to run lmadmin with Non-Elevated
Permissions. For complete details see License Server Manager “lmadmin” of FlexNet Publisher: License
Administration Guide.

1. Install the license server as a system service. This step typically requires elevated privileges.

2. Identify or create a user account with non-elevated privileges. You should create a user account
(either a domain account or a local account) that is dedicated to running the license server
system service. In the instructions that follow, this user account is referred to as the Service
User account. Make sure that this Service User account has sufficient permissions to read the
license files and write the log files in the designated folders.

3. Configure the installed license server system service to use the Service User account. This step
requires elevated privileges as well.

7.2 lmadmin Command Line Management

As discussed in Sections 4.1, and 7.1 lmadmin can be run from the command prompt using various
options or commands to complete certain configuration tasks. Generally, these tasks require elevated
privileges but not always. Figure 111 shows the complete list of command line options. License Server
Manager “lmadmin”, lmadmin Command-line Arguments of FlexNet Publisher: License Administration
Guide provides additional details of the lmadmin command line arguments.

Figure 111: lmadmin command line options

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Three options that may be of interest which deal with control permissions for the license server are
listed below.

 -adminOnly <yes|no>: restricts command-line access to lmadmin commands to lmutil command

line utilities. If –adminOnly yes is used when starting lmadmin, no user on Windows can shut
down the license server with lmdown, nor can they use the lmswitch, lmswitchr, and lmnewlog
command-line utilities.
 -allowStopServer <yes|no>: Configures how the license server can be stopped. If set to yes, local
clients can stop the license server using either lmdown or the Stop Server button (see Figure 31)
in the UI.
 -allowRemoteStopServer <yes|no>: Configures whether the license server can be stopped from
a remote location. If set to yes, then you can stop the license server from a remote location and
local clients can stop the license server using either lmdown or the Stop Server button (see
Figure 31) in the UI.

Additionally, the “configDir” command line option is a new option as of FNPLS 11.14.1.1 which is
required to successfully implement many commands. Explanation of this command line option is
provided in License Server Manager “lmadmin” of FlexNet Publisher: License Administration Guide and
is reproduced below in Figure 112.

Figure 112: Explanation of the new "conf" folder command line switch

7.3 Adding Users and Administrators to the License Server

Users and Administrators can be added to a license server using either the command line lmadmin
commands discussed in Section 7.2 or the lmadmin web GUI discussed in Section 5.1.1.

 Users and Administrators only need to be added to the lmadmin web GUI in order to give
these individuals access to the lmadmin web GUI license server configuration settings. In
other words, only those who need to login to the lmadmin web GUI Administration dashboard
need a user or Administrator account.

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 License Server status can be viewed as shown in Figure 89 without logging into the lmadmin
web GUI Administration dashboard. Consequently, you do not need to be a designated
user/administrator to check License Server status.

 Licenses can be checked out from the license server without logging into the lmadmin web
GUI Administration dashboard. Consequently, you do not need to be a designated
user/administrator to check out a license from a license server.

To add users/administrators through the lmadmin web GUI, login to the Administration dashboard as an
existing administrator (license server administrator). Navigate to the “User Configuration” tab and use
either the “Locally Managed Users” view (see Figure 113) or the “Domain Users / Groups” view (see
Figure 114) and the “New” button. Please use the built-in Help Library (via the “? – Help” button) for
additional information on adding users (see Figure 83).

Figure 113: lmadmin web GUI Administration dashboard, User Configuration, Locally Managed Users

Figure 114: lmadmin web GUI Administration dashboard, User Configuration, Domain Users / Groups

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7.4 lmadmin Log Files

A “logs” sub-directory is created in the FNPLS data directory. Typically, the path to this “logs” sub-
directory is something like:

 “C:\ProgramData\FLEXlm\lmadmin\logs”.

There are three “standard” or default logs which are related to FNPLS function and operation. These log
files and their descriptions are provided in Figure 115. Additionally, there will be a log for each vendor
daemon served by the license server. For GoldSim, the vendor daemon log is called GTG.log. The vendor
daemon log file(s) contains information recorded by the corresponding vendor and this file is sometimes
referred to as the debug log file.

Figure 115: Standard FNPLS logs from FlexNet Publisher: License Administration Guide

7.4.1 Optional Report Log

There is a fifth, optional log file which is available through FNPLS. This optional log file is called the
“Report Log” and is written in a binary format. This log is a separate log file that needs to be enabled for
each vendor daemon to record information about features that have been checked out by users. The
“Report Log” is enabled using the options file discussed in Section 7.10.

An add-on product, “FlexNet Manager for Engineering Applications”, needs to be purchased from
Flexera in order to process or use this “Report Log”. FlexNet Manager for Engineering Applications is a
reporting tool which is designed to enable organizations to efficiently manage high spend technical
applications to reduce licensing costs, improve productivity and more accurately forecast future
software needs. This tool provides the packaged solution for generating and analyzing statistics of
license server usage.

7.5 lmadmin Web Services

lmadmin provides a Web services interface that exposes certain APIs that can be called from a custom-
built utility. These services enable you to extend the core license server capabilities. Please see License

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Server Manager “lmadmin”, Extending lmadmin License Server Capability of FlexNet Publisher:
License Administration Guide for additional information.

7.6 lmadmin Alerter Service

The lmadmin license server installation provides a way to implement an email alerter service. This
service will poll for alerts and then send a user an email when an alert has been triggered. Details of
implementing and using this alerter service are provided in License Server Manager “lmadmin”,
Extending lmadmin License Server Capability of FlexNet Publisher: License Administration Guide.

7.7 FNPLS Firewall Considerations

In the installation of FNPLS in Section 3.2, choices were made for two network port settings. These port
settings are:

1. The HTTP Port Number for the lmadmin web GUI. By default, this port number is 8090 but can
be set to custom values.
2. The License Server Port Number, which is the port for the lmadmin service. The default is a Port
Number automatically selected in the range 27000 – 27009. But a custom value can be set for
this as well.

There was a third port setting specified as part of the vendor daemon configuration in Section 4.

3. The Vendor Daemon Port which was set to 51288 in the example installation guide in Figure 77.
A custom value can be set for this port.

It is likely that Inbound firewall rules will need to be created to allow access to all three of these ports.
However, depending on your network configuration and security policies this may or may not be the
case. Furthermore, it may or may not be desired to provide access to the lmadmin web GUI from client
machines or from elsewhere on the LAN. Only if it is desired to permit access to this web site should a
firewall rule be created for the HTTP Port Number. Finally, it is also possible to use the lmadmin web
GUI/web site as an https-only site. This configuration will introduce another port number, and an
Inbound firewall rule will also be required to provide access to the https site.

In terms of Inbound firewall rules, the following can be specified.

 An Inbound rule (i.e. allow) can be created for TCP and UDP protocol access to lmadmin.exe
executable or Inbound rules (i.e. allow) can be created for TCP and UDP protocol access to the
License Server Port(s) and the Vendor Daemon Port.
 An Inbound rule (i.e. allow) can be created for TCP protocol access to the HTTP Port Number and
or the HTTPS Port Number depending on if this option is configured or not.

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7.8 lmutil Command Line Utilities

Flexera provides a generic set of license server command line utilities which are packaged into a single
executable called lmutil.exe. This executable is installed as part of the GoldSim License Server Activation
Utility installation, see Section 0 and Figure 12. A listing of this generic set of utilities is provided in
Figure 116 as taken from FlexNet Publisher: License Administration Guide.

These utilities are by design generic so that they apply in some cases to only certain flavors of FlexNet
Publisher implementations. Table 3 provides a summary of the utilities that will work with the GoldSim
License Server. Note that all of the utilities are executed as options to the lmutil.exe package using the
following syntax.
lmutil.exe {utility name} {options}

7.9 Virtual Environments

Virtual machines (VMs) are generally problematic for software licensing. There is no failure safe way to
prevent license issues when virtual machines are used.

Given the widespread use of VMs and the many advantages that they provide, GTG does not deny or
block their use. In fact, GTG has tested both GoldSim and GoldSim License Servers on several VMs and
uses a few VMs in house for GoldSim License Servers. But GTG does NOT provide support, paid or
otherwise, for GoldSim License Servers on VMs.

There are several use cases of a VM that can invalidate a GoldSim license. These are triggered by built-in
protection measures in the FNP licensing API, which are likely accidental in many cases. However, GTG
may, at our discretion, charge hourly support fees (see Section 8) to repair invalidated licenses, and GTG
reserves the right to charge for new licenses to replace invalidated licenses.

The preceding discussion applies to VMs which are executed and managed within a hypervisor installed
on a single physical computer. A hypervisor, also sometimes called a virtual machine monitor, is a
system that creates and runs virtual machines using an underlying collection of physical hardware. VMs
may also be provided as a service through an Infrastructure as a service (IaaS) or cloud “compute”
environment, like Azure Compute Service or Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud.

An advantage of IaaS is that it provides a service that abstracts the user from the details of
infrastructure like physical computing resources, location, data partitioning, scaling, security, and
backup. For this type of environment, a pool of hypervisors run the virtual machines as guests on the
underlying hardware and provides the ability to scale services up and down according to customers'
varying requirements. As a result, these virtual machines are instantiated and brought down frequently.
Re-instantiation likely includes moving the virtual machine to a different collection of underlying
physical hardware; additionally, the hypervisors may move virtual machines to new physical hardware
on the fly. Consequently, the traditional hardware-based binding elements for software licenses are not
reliable in a cloud “compute” or IaaS environment.

GoldSim Concurrent Network licenses should NOT be activated in cloud “compute” or IaaS
environments because Trusted Storage-based licensing relies on binding the license to the underlying
physical hardware. As a result, Trusted Storage-based licenses will not work reliably in a cloud

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“compute” environment. Eventually, the VM on which the license is installed will be moved to different
underlying physical hardware by the hypervisor which will break the hardware bindings and cause the
license to fail. Activation of a Concurrent Network license in a cloud “compute” or IaaS environment is
considered a breach of the license agreement. Please contact GTG if you would like to obtain a special,
certificate-based license for use in cloud “compute” environments.

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Figure 116: Complete listing of Flexera license server utilities

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The details of the options available for each utility as well as complete details of all of the utilities are
available in FlexNet Publisher: License Administration Guide. All of these utilities are distributed and
maintained by Flexera and FlexNet Publisher: License Administration Guide should be considered the
authoritative reference on these utilities.

 Note that the lmadmin –adminOnly command-line argument restricts usage of the
lmdown, lmreread, lmremove, lmswitch, lmswitchr, and lmnewlog utilities. If you set -
adminOnly no, command-line access to these utilities is unrestricted. On Windows,
command-line access to these utilities is completely restricted with –adminOnly yes; in
this case, no user on Windows can shut down the license server with lmdown nor can they use
the lmswitch, lmswitchr, and lmnewlog command-line utilities.

Table 3: Flexera License Server Utilities which work with GoldSim License Server

Example
Utility Discussion
Usage
Helpful for diagnosing license check-out issues. In Figure 117, the
lmdiag Figure 117
diagnosis shows no issues.
lmdown Figure 118 Can do equivalent from the lmadmin web GUI interface.
Shows hostids. Numerous options here; the default for a GoldSim
lmhostid Figure 119
License Server is a MAC address.
Moves report log (old report log) to a new file name and start new
lmnewlog (not shown) report log. Only applicable for FlexNet Manager for Engineering
Applications, see Section 7.4.1.
lmreread Figure 120 Can do equivalent from the lmadmin web GUI interface.
Figure 121 Similar information is available from lmadmin web GUI interface
lmstat
Figure 122
lmswitch (not shown) Controls debug log options
lmswitchr (not shown) Can do equivalent from the lmadmin web GUI interface.
The version is important for compatibility between vendor daemons
lmver Figure 123
and FNPLS versions
lmvminfo Figure 124 The example case is running on a virtual platform

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Figure 117: Example of lmutil.exe lmdiag usage

Figure 118: Example of lmutil.exe lmdown usage

Figure 119: Example of lmutil.exe lmhostid usage

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Figure 120: Example of lmutil.exe lmreread usage

Figure 121: Example of lmutil.exe lmstat usage with port@FQDN syntax

Figure 122: Example of lmutil.exe lmstat usage, referencing license file

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Figure 123: Example of lmutil.exe lmver usage

Figure 124: Example of lmutil.exe lmvminfo usage

7.10 Options File

The options file allows the License Administrator to control various operating parameters within the
constraints of the license model. The items/configurations set in the options file are completely under
the control of the License Administrator. These configurations/options only apply to Concurrent
Network licenses (i.e. floating licenses) and borrowed fulfillments of this type of license.

In the options file, the License Administrator can:

 Allow the use of features,

 Deny the use of features,
 Reserve licenses,
 Allow activation of licenses in a specific fulfillment record,
 Deny activation of licenses in a specific fulfillment record,
 Restrict the number of licenses available,
 Control the amount of information logged about license usage,
 Enable a report log file, and
 Control the automatic rereading of licenses.

Options file syntax is created and maintained by Flexera. As a result, FlexNet Publisher: License
Administration Guide provides the definitive reference on the options file. In the following sub-sections,
some simple options file example implementations are illustrated.

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7.10.1 Creating an Options File

An options file is just a text file with keyword value pairs. The file can be created in any text editor using
the accepted keywords and values which are documented in FlexNet Publisher: License Administration
Guide. An example options file is shown in Figure 125. The keywords and values, used in this example
options file, are described in Table 4. To enable an options file, the following items need to be
completed.

1. The full path to the options file needs to be added to the second line of the license file (i.e. the
VENDOR line in GTG.lic), in the fourth field of the line as shown in Figure 126.
2. The vendor daemon needs to be stopped and restarted so that the options file is read.

The complete list of supported Options File keywords is available in Managing the Options File of
FlexNet Publisher: License Administration Guide. Figure 126 and Table 4 only provide an arbitrarily
selected subset of keywords.

 Note: FNP has both certificate-based and trusted storage-based licensing libraries. GoldSim only
uses the trusted storage-based licensing libraries. Consequently, only a subset of the Options
File keywords available in Managing the Options File of FlexNet Publisher: License
Administration Guide will work with the GoldSim License Server.
o Typically, any Options file keyword with “BORROW” in it will NOT work and those with
“ENTITLEMENT” or “ACTIVATION” will work.
 A License Administrator should test all of the Options file syntax thoroughly before deployment
in the “wild”.

Figure 125: An example options file

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Table 4: Description of Options Keywords used in example options file

Options Keyword Description Example Notes

In Figure 125, this means that only
Controls the number of licenses
1 license/seat can be borrowed at
ACTIVATION_LOWWATER that cannot be borrowed or
a time because there are 3 seats
transferred.
total in this license.
In Figure 125, this means that a
Controls the activation request
license cannot be borrowed for
based on the expiration dates
ACTIVATION_ EXPIRY_DAYS more than 14 days. A longer
mentioned in options file
borrowing request will result in an
during activation.
error.
In Figure 125, this means that all
Deny a user access to all
users from computer ISQ-VM-
EXCLUDEALL features served by this vendor
TESTW7 cannot borrow or check-
daemon.
out a license.
The FlexNet Manager license
Specify that a report log file
usage reporting tool is an add-on
suitable for use by the FlexNet
REPORTLOG product sold by Flexera, called
Manager license usage
FlexNet Manager for Engineering
reporting tool be written.
Applications (see Section 7.4.1).
In Figure 125, this means that user
“nmartin” always has one copy of
each of the three features in the
Reserve licenses for a user or
RESERVE license reserved. Note that the
group of users/hosts.
feature names are the first word
after “INCREMENT” in trusted
storage (see Figure 102).
In Figure 125, this means that all
Set idle timeout (in seconds) on features timeout after 4 minutes
TIMEOUTALL
all features. of no connection between the
client and the license server.

Figure 126: License file with options file path in fourth entry on VENDOR line

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7.11 Environment Variables

“Every process has an environment block that contains a set of environment variables and their values.
There are two types of environment variables: user environment variables (set for each user) and system
environment variables (set for everyone)” (Microsoft, 2016). Environment variable settings are not
required to use GoldSim or to use FNPLS. However, environment variables can be used for debugging or
for changing license default location.

The most commonly employed environment variables related to the GoldSim License Server are listed in
Table 5. The complete reference on FNPLS-related environment variables and suggested settings is
provided in Environment Variables of FlexNet Publisher: License Administration Guide.

Table 5: Common Environment Variables

Environment Variable Definition

(Windows only) Sets the timeout value a FlexEnabled application uses
when attempting to connect to a license server. Values are in
FLEXLM_TIMEOUT
microseconds, within the range of 200,000 through 20,000,000. The
default value is 3,000,000 microseconds (that is 3 seconds).
Reset path to license file. Can be a license search path, separated by “:”
on UNIX and “;” on Windows. If VENDOR_LICENSE_FILE used, VENDOR
is the vendor daemon name used by this application. For example,
LM_LICENSE_FILE Flexera Software products use MVSN_LICENSE_FILE. Can be a file name,
or port@host. See also “Setting the License Search Path Using an
Environment Variable” (VENDOR_LICENSE_FILE requires version 6.0 and
later clients) in FlexNet Publisher: License Administration Guide.

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8 Troubleshooting
Extensive resources are made available for troubleshooting the GoldSim licensing system you are trying
to install/configure. These resources include the following.

1. Follow the troubleshooting steps below. These steps will lead to problem resolution in many
cases.
2. Review GoldSim’s extensive online support documentation, Knowledge Base, and tips and tricks,
available online.
3. Contact GTG via our Help Center: https://support.goldsim.com. Before contacting GTG via the
Help Center, follow the troubleshooting steps in Section 8 and provide all of the suggested
information and documentation from Section 8 in your initial support request.

The standard troubleshooting approach follows the installation and configuration sequence of Sections
0, 3, and 4.1.

1. Check that lmadmin is running (see Sections 4.1, 5.1.3, and 7.1).
 If not, check the lmadmin.log file (see Section 7.4).

2. Check that there is a “fully trusted” and valid fulfillment (i.e. license) in server Trusted Storage
(see Sections 0 and 5.2).
 Note that you need to stop lmadmin before running GLSActUtil.

3. Check that the vendor daemon, GTG.exe, is up and running (see Sections 4.1, 5.1.3, and 7.8).
 If not, check the GTG.log file (see Sections 4.1 and 7.4).
 If nothing else makes sense or seems to be working, you can always:
i. Delete the vendor daemon GTG from the lmadmin web GUI using the “Delete”
button/option shown in Figure 76.
ii. If an Options File exists, check the Options file for syntax issues like an
incorrect/old entitlementID term. Fix any syntax issues.
iii. Redo the GTG vendor daemon install (into lmadmin) as shown in Figure 73,
Figure 74, and Figure 75.
iv. Re-start the vendor daemon as discussed in Section 4.1, Item #10.
 If the vendor daemon deletion does not work, it is possible that the lmadmin service
start-up has become corrupt, if and only if, you are starting lmadmin as a Windows
service as discussed in Section 7.1.
i. Delete the vendor daemon GTG from the lmadmin web GUI using the “Delete”
button/option shown in Figure 76.
ii. Then, stop lmadmin.
iii. Remove the lmadmin Windows Service using the lmadmin command line
options discussed in Section 7.2.
iv. Start lmadmin from the command line using the “-foreground” switch.

lmadmin.exe -configDir "C:\ProgramData\FLEXlm\lmadmin\conf"

–foreground

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v. Open the lmadmin web GUI (see Section 5.1.1) to confirm that lmadmin has
started.
vi. Stop lmadmin (use Ctrl+C on the command window or use Task Manager).
vii. Redo the GTG vendor daemon install (into lmadmin) as shown in Figure 73,
Figure 74, and Figure 75.
viii. Start lmadmin using the “-foreground” switch again.

lmadmin.exe -configDir "C:\ProgramData\FLEXlm\lmadmin\conf"

-foreground

ix. Open the lmadmin web GUI (see Section 5.1.1) to confirm that lmadmin and
the GTG vendor daemon have started.
x. Stop lmadmin (use Ctrl+C on the command window or use Task Manager).
xi. Reinstall the lmadmin Windows Service using the lmadmin command line
options discussed in Section 7.2.
xii. Start the lmadmin Windows Service (see Figure 27).
xiii. Open the lmadmin web GUI (see Section 5.1.1) to confirm that lmadmin and
the GTG vendor daemon have started and that licenses are available.

4. Check out a license from a client running on the same machine as the license server.

5. Check out a license from a client running on the same local area network and a machine that is
part of the same domain as the license server.
 If your failure is at this point, then check the firewall settings (see Section 7.7).

If you require assistance from GTG, please submit a support ticket through our Help Center.

 Provide a clear description of your issue with copies of all log files (see Section 7.4) and screen
shots of all error messages.

 Additionally, please use the “Details…” button in GLSActUtil and the “Copy to Clipboard” option
(see Figure 11) to include a detailed fulfillment/license listing. An example listing is shown below
in Figure 127.

 GTG will analyze your submission and assist you to get your GoldSim License Server up and
running again.
o The support restrictions noted in Section 1.3 will apply.
o GTG reserves the right to require the purchase of “Advanced Support” time as a
requirement for advanced assistance.

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Figure 127: GLSActUtil - Example of "Details...", "Copy to Clipboard" output (continued)

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Troubleshooting

Figure 127: GLSActUtil - Example of "Details...", "Copy to Clipboard" output

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 References

9 References

Flexera Software. (February 2019). FlexNet Publisher 2018 R4 SP1 (11.18.3): License Administration
Guide. Flexera Software LLC.

Flexera Software LLC. (2014). UNDERSTANDING VIRTUALIZATION FEATURES IN FLEXNET PUBLISHER.

Flexera Software LLC.

Microsoft. (2016). Environment Variables. Retrieved Sep 27, 2016, from Windows Dev Center: Developer
Resources: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-
us/library/windows/desktop/ms682653(v=vs.85).aspx

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