[Open Inventor]
Context & Prerequisites
Open Inventor is protected by a license key mechanism limiting its usage to specified computers or network environments based on commercial agreements. This article explains how to set up licensing for the various licensing cases.
Your Open Inventor license(s) and any associated extensions are designed to run on a specific hardware configuration and be used by a specified number of users. You may have purchased one of the following license types:
- Local license (or node-locked license): Bound to a single, identified computer.
- Floating license: Installed on a specified number of single computers driven by a license server.
Each license type must be activated to obtain a Certificate License File (also called password) which you will install on your machine.
The Open Inventor licensing mechanism uses the FlexNet technology developed by Flexera.
Note: the Host ID was referred to as the Computer ID in versions of Open Inventor prior to 8.6.
Process
1. Set Up a Local license
Local licenses allow you to use Open Inventor on a specific computer. The designated computer is identified by its Host ID.
1.1 Get your Machine Host ID
To activate your local license, you first need to obtain your computer's Host ID.
- Install and run Thermo Scientific License Manager (LM)
- Click Information to display the FlexNet Host ID. If multiple Host IDs are displayed, copy the one corresponding to your permanent LAN card.
1.2 Request Your License Key
Once you have the Host ID, you can activate your license to obtain a Certificate License file (also called password) which you will install on your machine.
If you have not yet activated your license, refer to article KA-01239 "Manage Local Licenses: Activate a License File".
1.3 Install Your Certificate License
To unlock the product, copy the provided license file into one of the following directories:
- <OIVHOME>/License/password.dat
- <OIVHOME>/arch*release/license/password.dat
where OIVHOME is the installation path of the Open Inventor package.
2. Set Up a Floating License Environment
Follow this section only if you have purchased a floating license, where a single license server provides the license key for several users located on other machines of the same network environment.
Note: Standalone, local, application password, and temporary licenses are not managed using this mechanism.
2.1 Install the License Server
Refer to article KA-01254 "Manage Floating License: Install a FlexNet License Server" for step-by-step instructions on how to install and configure your license server.
2.2 Configure Your Open Inventor Client Applications to Use a FlexNet License Server
After installing and configuring your license server, set up Open Inventor on each client system to communicate with your FlexNet License Server. This can be done either through the Thermo Scientific License Manager (LM) application or manually.
2.3 Configure the License Server Connection Using the Thermo Scientific License Manager (LM)
On each client system:
1. Install and run the Thermo Scientific License Manager application.
2. Click Activate.
3. Click License Server.
4. Enter the server name (here "my-lic-server1"). The name can be specified using the hostname or the IP address followed by a port if there is a specific one.
For detailed instructions, refer to article KA-01238 "Manage Floating Licenses: Connect Application to Server".
2.4 Manual Configuration of the License Server Connection
If you prefer to set up the connection manually:
1. Create a text file containing your client license information for connecting to the license server:
SERVER <Your server host name> ANY
USE_SERVER
2. Here's an example of a client license file:
SERVER my-lic-server1 ANY
USE_SERVER
3. Copy this client license data into the Open Inventor license file on every client machine; typically located at:
<oiv_install_dir>/License/password.dat
You can change this location by defining and setting up the OIV_LICENSE_FILE environment variable to a new path including the file name.
Once this variable is set, Open Inventor automatically looks for the license file in the specified location. If Open Inventor cannot find the license file, a dialog will appear prompting the user to provide the license server details.
Notes & Related Links
- If you encounter technical problems while installing or managing your FlexNet licensing server, refer to article KA-01273 "Manage Floating Licenses: Troubleshoot Server Problems".
- For additional information, consult the FlexNet Publisher - License Administration Guide, which includes a troubleshooting appendix.
- For additional support with FlexNet license installation or activation, contact Customer Support (refer to article KA-01188 "How to Send Technical or Licensing Questions to VDS Customer Support").