Guide for Administrators — Palisade Network Server
Release 7.5.1, October 2016
(Guide Updated 4 October 2017)
Copyright © 2012–2017 Palisade Corporation

Welcome to Palisade network software! This Guide will show you how to install and activate the software on your server and clients.

This Guide begins with full instructions for server setup and client setup. You’ll also want to scan the FAQs to see if any of them apply to your situation. The Guide concludes with reference information.

Please get in touch with Palisade Technical Support if you have any questions. Here’s how to reach us:

About This Guide

This printed copy shows URLs for all external links, and most internal links are followed by the words “in this Guide”. If you view the original in your Web browser, either on our Web page below or on your server via Start » All Programs » Palisade Network Server » Guide for Administrators, all internal and external links become active.

On the Web, Guide for 7.x Network Administrators always has the latest version of this Guide.

Contents

Server Setup Procedure

Full administrative rights are required for the server setup. There’s no need to uninstall an older 6.x/7.x version of Palisade Server Manager before installing the latest version.

System Requirements

The server software can run on Microsoft Windows XP or any later version of Windows. There is no need for a dedicated machine, because the license service just needs to sit and listen for license requests from clients.

Installing on a virtual server? See Are virtual servers supported?

Server Manager 7.x must not be installed on a server with Palisade 1.x or 4.x licenses. See What if I already have a Palisade 1.x/4.x license on this server? for further information.

Client Versions Supported

Any Server Manager 7.x will support any licenses 5.x–7.x and any client software 5.x–7.x, even including 7.x versions later than the Server Manager version. It is not necessary to upgrade client software and server software at the same time, as long as the client software version is within 5.x–7.x.

Server Step 1: Install Server Software

If you already have a 7.x version of our server software on this server, you can skip this step. See What if I already have a Palisade 7.x license on this server? for more information.

If you’re installing your first Palisade 7.x license on this server, even if you have Palisade 5.x/6.x licenses, then you need the 7.x server software. Download the server installer from the link you received in email, and run it as administrator. The install will replace any previous version of the server software, but will not disturb any existing licenses, port-number selections, or other options.

Folders used: If you already have any Palisade software installed (6.x/7.x server software or 5.x–7.x end-user software), the installer will use the existing Palisade folder. Otherwise, the installer will suggest C:\Program Files (x86)\Palisade or C:\Program Files\Palisade for the install, but will let you select a different install folder. NetServer and System folders will be created under the install folder unless they already exist.

Caution! Don’t install to a folder with an at-sign (@) in its name. The FLEXnet licensing software will not work if installed in such a folder.

The main components of the installed server software are:

Palisade software release 7.x installs FLEXnet Publisher 11.10 as the licensing system. This is compatible with Palisade 5.x/6.x licenses and will not interfere with FLEXnet licenses from other vendors.

Caution: Do not alter any of the files in the NetServer folder, except as instructed in this Guide or by Palisade Technical Support. Our software uses the .lic and .opt files in customized ways that don’t always match the standard FLEXnet usage.

Server Step 2: Set Options

Click Start » All Programs » Palisade Network Server » Server Manager. Server Manager will update any 5.x/6.x license process; see What if I already have a Palisade 5.x/6.x license on this server?

The defaults are to select both communication ports dynamically, and to disallow borrowing. Your current options are shown in the Network Server Information box. Click Options if you want to change them. Otherwise, skip to Server Step 3.

Port Numbers

The FLEXnet licensing software uses two TCP/IP ports for communications between client and server. They are called the lmgrd port and the Palisade or vendor daemon port. You can allow both of them to be chosen dynamically (the typical setting), or you can specify either or both of them. “Dynamic” means that the software chooses the ports each time the license service starts.

By default, a first-time install of Server Manager allows both ports to be chosen dynamically. However, if you’re installing Server Manager on a server that already has Palisade 5.x/6.x licensing software, Server Manager will bring forward any port selections you have already made.

If you want to specify port numbers, it’s best to do that before you install multiple clients. If you change the lmgrd port number later, you will also need to change it on every Concurrent Network client that is already installed.

Caution: If you have other FLEXnet-licensed products on the same server, then either every product including Palisade must specify a unique lmgrd port number, or every product including Palisade must leave the lmgrd port number unspecified ("Dynamic").

To find which port numbers the license software is using:

If you have not specified port numbers, you can determine which ports the server is actually using. Click Status in Server Manager. There’s no guarantee that the same ports will be used the next time the service starts up.

To set or change the lmgrd port:
  1. In Server Manager, click Options.
  2. On the Options screen, under Communication Port Number (lmgrd), specify a port number (not otherwise used) or select Dynamic.
  3. Click OK, then Stop Service, then Start Service.
  4. Generate a new Palisade_NetworkClient.ini file to replace the old one, even if you're not installing any new clients at this time.
  5. In a Concurrent Network, change the lmgrd port number on any clients that have already been installed. See How do I change port numbers or server names on existing Concurrent Network clients?
To set or change the Palisade vendor daemon port:

Edit the vendor daemon port on the same Options screen, just below the lmgrd port.

There’s no software setting on the client for the vendor daemon port. However, if you previously found that you needed to open that port in the firewall of any installed clients, you will need to update the client firewall settings.

For recommended firewall settings, please see How should I set up my firewalls?

Borrowing (Concurrent Network Only)

You may wish to let end users borrow a license for use while not connected to your network. If you allow borrowing, you will also specify the maximum number of days allowed, up to 366.

At the time of borrowing, the user specifies a number of days to borrow the license, subject to the maximum that you set on this screen. For end-user instructions, see Borrowing a Concurrent Network License for Use Off Network. A borrowed license is deducted from the available pool on the server during the borrowing period.

When the underlying Concurrent Network license is the certificate type, a borrowed license can be used only by the user who borrowed it. When the underlying license is the activatable type, a borrowed license can be used by any user on that computer. (See Server Step 3 for the certificate and activatable license types.)

At the end of the borrowing period, the license is automatically returned to the server pool, even if the user is still off network. In Server Manager, click Status to view the count of available licenses.

A user who returns to the office earlier than expected can return the borrowed license early by following instructions in the article mentioned above.

Some things to think about before you enable borrowing, or when you set a maximum period:

You can change the borrowing options at any time. The change will apply to future borrowing but will not affect any currently borrowed licenses.

Borrowing doesn’t apply to the Enterprise Network, because every Enterprise client is activated once and then has no more need to communicate with your server.

Server Step 3: Activate License or Obtain Certificate

In this one-time process, you transfer the network license from Palisade’s server to your server. Your users will get their licenses from your server and will not need to communicate with Palisade’s server.

We offer two options for your Concurrent Network license, activatable license and certificate license. (At this time, Enterprise Network licenses are offered in activatable form only.)

If Server Manager shows any activated or certificate licenses already installed, it’s simplest to select the same type for your new license. If this is your first Concurrent Network license, use the chart below to help you choose. (You can probably ignore the last two entries, but they're listed for the sake of completeness.)

Concurrent Network
Activatable
License
Certificate
License
License must be refreshed at least once a year?NoYes
Change servers without contacting Palisade?YesNo
Must deactivate license before wiping server?YesNo
Your server needs an Internet connection?NoNo
Recommended for military and other ultra-secure environments?
(To activate a license, your server communicates directly with ours or you email us an XML file.)
NoYes
INCLUDE_BORROW, EXCLUDE_BORROW, and BORROW_LOWWATER supported?NoYes
Borrowed license can be used by any Windows login on the same computer, or only by the user who borrowed it?Any
login
That
user

Activating an Activatable License

Caution: Once the license is activated on your server, it is your responsibility to manage. You must not erase the server’s hard drive or decommission the server without first deactivating the license.

To activate a license, either a new license or additional users on an existing license:

  1. In Server Manager, click Activate. Server Manager will prompt you for the Activation ID; enter the one that you received via email.
  2. Server Manager will then prompt you for the number of users. Enter the number given in that same email, or enter a smaller number if you want to split the users among multiple servers.
  3. Server Manager will next give you the choice of Automatic Activation or Manual Activation. Automatic Activation is simplest and best, if your security policy allows it. (Automatic Activation can take up to 60 seconds to return a success or failure status, depending on network connections.)

    If your server has no Internet, or if Automatic Activation fails because of your security policies, select Manual Activation. Server Manager will guide you through the Manual Activation process of creating a request file, sending it to Palisade in email or uploading it to our Web site, receiving a response file from Palisade, and letting Server Manager process the response file. When you activate the first license on this server, and under certain other circumstances, Server Manager will have to configure Trusted Storage as a preliminary procedure. It will guide you through a request-response cycle for Conf files and a second request-response cycle for Act files, so just follow the prompts on your screen.

  4. After a successful activation, Server Manager will update the display. This may take a few seconds.

Caution: If you have multiple Activation IDs to activate on this server, and you are using Manual Activation, finish activating each ID before you begin activating the next one. The FLEXnet software may not work correctly if you go out of sequence.

Getting a Certificate License

  1. In Server Manager, click Open .LIC Folder, and locate the Server.lic file in that folder.
  2. Send your Server.lic file, your serial number or Activation ID, and your desired number of users (up to the number in the email you received) to Palisade Technical Support. If security policies won’t let you send the actual Server.lic file as an attachment, we can work with a PDF or a clear screenshot or fax.
  3. When you receive the new Server.lic file from Palisade, replace the old one and click Refresh in Server Manager. (If Start Service appears, click it instead of Refresh.)
  4. Your first certificate on a given server will always be for 30 days. When you have tested it and you know that clients can use the license successfully, contact Palisade Technical Support and we’ll send you a production license. Certificate licenses are issued for a maximum of one year at a time, less if you have plans to change servers. Before each one expires, we contact you about a renewal so that you have no interruption in service.

Server Step 4: Create Palisade_NetworkClient.ini File

After completing Server Step 3 for the first time, or after changing server name or port number, click Create Client.ini to create the Palisade_NetworkClient.ini file that is needed for client install. (For 5.x licenses, the file is named Client.ini.) Server Step 5 tells you how to use this file.

You may or may not need to create a new .ini file after subsequent license installs with Server Step 3. Here are the rules:

After you install your first Concurrent Network license or any new Enterprise Network license on this server, Server Manager will remind you to create the .ini file for the new license. But you can create the .ini file at any time: click the appropriate license in the list, and then click Create Client.ini.

In some unusual setups, clients will need a fully qualified domain name, or an IP address, to find the server. If your network is set up in this way, simply edit the Palisade_NetworkClient.ini file after creating it and before doing the client installs. See Can clients reach our server by FQDN or IP address?

Server Step 5: Post the Client Installer

The client install needs two files:

The two files must be in the same folder during the client install. That folder can be anywhere you like—in a network share, on a USB stick, burned to a CD, etc. If you have multiple Concurrent Network products, you can set up the client installs in the same folder or in different folders, as you prefer. Each Enterprise Network client installer must be in its own folder.

Client Setup Procedure

Full administrative rights are required for the client install. For system requirements on client computers, see Which Platforms Are Supported by Palisade?

For a silent install, scripted install, SCCM, or other uses of an MSI installer, see How can I script the client install?

Concurrent Network Client Setup

To perform a full install or upgrade install, browse to the network share or other location that you chose in Server Step 5. Then, either run the EXE installer there, or copy the installer and the INI file to the client computer and run the EXE installer there. Either way, in Vista or Windows 7 or later, you should right-click the EXE installer and select Run as administrator; in Windows XP, you can just double-click the installer.

If the application software is already installed on this client and you just need to hook it into the network, you can use a shorter procedure if you wish. See Can I convert a trial or an activated standalone copy to a Concurrent Network client?

There is no limit to the number of client installs. The client installer doesn’t need a connection to your server at install time. Instead, the installer copies the server information from the .ini file to the System Registry. After install, that file is not used.

After the first client install, run the client to make sure that the server and client setups are correct. To do this, on the client click Start » All Programs » Palisade DecisionTools and select the shortcut for the software.

  • If the client software launches without error, click Help » License Manager and look at the license being used. If the network license is not being used, click Select License and select it.
  • During launch, if the client software displays a trial prompt or a “no available license” error, click License Manager. In License Manager, click Select License and select the network license.

If you have to click Select License, the end user will need to do that also, because the license selection applies only to the user who is currently running.

At run time, the client software reads the System Registry to find the server information. If the information copied from the Palisade_NetworkClient.ini file is incorrect, the client software will say that it cannot reach the server. To correct this information on the client, see How do I change port numbers or server names on existing Concurrent Network clients?

Enterprise Network Client Setup

To perform a full install or upgrade install, browse to the network share or other location that you chose in Server Step 5. Then, either run the EXE installer there, or copy the installer and the INI file to the client computer and run the EXE installer there. Either way, in Vista or Windows 7 or later, you should right-click the EXE installer and select Run as administrator; in Windows XP, you can just double-click the installer.

If the application software is already installed on this client and you just need to hook it into the network, you can use a shorter procedure if you wish. See Can I convert a trial or an activated standalone copy to an Enterprise Network client?

For Enterprise Networks, your license specifies the number of clients you may activate. The installer will try a client activation using your server and Activation ID as shown in the Palisade_NetworkClient.ini file. If the activation succeeds, then when the user runs the software it will start up without any licensing messages.

The activation could fail during install if your server or Activation ID is incorrect, or if the licensed number of users have already been activated, or if your server is unreachable. The software will still be installed, but a message will tell you that the client could not be activated. To fix this, on the client click Start » All Programs » Palisade DecisionTools and then select the application. In the application, click Help » License Manager and then Activate.

  • If the server information or Activation ID was incorrect, enter the Activation ID and server information when prompted. Correct the Palisade_NetworkClient.ini file for future use.
  • If you’ve already activated the licensed number of users, either contact your Palisade sales office to add users to this Activation ID or deactivate another client to free up a license. Then on this client enter the Activation ID and server information.
  • If you have already installed a trial version, or if all the licenses were in use when you installed the software and now a license is free, please follow the procedure in Can I convert a trial or an activated standalone copy to an Enterprise Network client?

Reminder: If you later give this user a new computer, or reassign the software to a different user, you must first deactivate the license on this workstation through License Manager. That returns the license to the pool of available licenses on your server.

FAQs – Initial Setup

Can we use Citrix or Remote Desktop Services (formerly called Terminal Services)?

Yes, and you can configure your network for all thin clients, all thick clients, or a mix. If your setup includes thin clients, you can configure multiple Citrix servers.

On one or more servers, perform the Server Setup Procedure. This will be your license server. The simplest setup is to have only one license server and place all licenses on it, but if you wish you can have multiple license servers. FAQs – Multiple Product Licenses explains how to split the licenses and how to connect the clients to multiple servers.

If you have all thick clients or a mix, perform the Client Setup Procedure on the appropriate end users’ machines.

If you have all thin clients or a mix, perform the Client Setup Procedure on your server(s). It’s perfectly okay to have the client software on the same server(s) that you’re using for license server. The end-user applications are all in a program group called Palisade DecisionTools in the Start menu. After you publish the applications in that group, end users log in to your server and can run the Palisade software. End users should not have access to the Palisade Network Server group.

Enterprise Network licenses will not work on Citrix servers or through any type of remote login.

Are virtual servers supported?

Yes. Most administrators with virtual servers find that an activatable or certificate license works just fine. But a small minority have found that an activatable license does not work: it seems to activate successfully, but then it cannot be used, possibly after the service is stopped and restarted or after the virtual server is rebooted.

This problem does not occur on most virtual servers, and we have not been able to reproduce it or isolate the cause. The activatable type of license does write to the machine’s boot record, so possibly the disk emulation is less than perfect with some VM software.

If you have a virtual server and you have any reason to think the activatable license type might be a problem, please don’t activate your production license. Palisade Technical Support will be happy to create a test license for you on request. Or you could just use a certificate license and avoid the whole issue, even though the odds that it would affect your server are low. See Getting a Certificate License to obtain a certificate license.

Certificate licenses are not available for Enterprise Networks. Therefore, if you have any reason to suspect a virtual server might not work, please consider a physical server with your Enterprise Network. If that is not convenient, please work with Palisade Technical Support to make certain that a test license works on your virtual server.

Does the software need Internet access?

The clients do not need an Internet connection.

Whether the server needs an Internet connection depends on the license type and how it is activated:

The server software does not need the Internet at any other time.

Can clients reach our server by FQDN or IP address?

Yes, these are both compatible with the FLEXnet licensing software. Don’t put an FQDN (fully qualified domain name) on the SERVER line of the Server.lic file; that line must always carry either the bare server name or the placeholder this_host.

Instead, edit the the Palisade_NetworkClient.ini file (Server Step 4), after you create it but before you run the client installer. On the SERVERNAME line, change the host name to the desired FQDN or IP address. Be careful to keep the @ sign.

If you wish, you can have one Palisade_NetworkClient.ini file for clients that are on your LAN and another for client computers that need to get a license from your server but are not on your LAN.

If a given client is usually on your LAN but occasionally goes off network and needs to run the software, borrowing may be a simpler approach. See Can a user borrow a Concurrent Network license for use off network?

Can a client get its license from multiple servers?

For an Enterprise Network, the issue does not arise because the license is obtained in a one-time activation rather than dynamically when the application is run.

For a Concurrent Network, you can specify multiple servers. You allocate your licenses among the servers, but if one server is unavailable the client will try to get a license from the next. FLEXnet documentation says that the license software looks at multiple servers in the order listed.

Servers are separated by semicolons, as in this example:

27000@Alpher;@Bethe;27010@Gamow

In this example, the end-user (client) software will try to get a license from server Alpher, using port 27000 only. If no license is available, it will try server Bethe, all ports 27000 through 27009. Lastly it will try server Gamow, port 27010 only. (The port numbers must match those chosen on the respective servers; different servers can use the same port number or different port numbers.)

For new clients, the easiest thing is to edit the SERVERNAME line in the Palisade_NetworkClient.ini file on the server and use the modified file with the client installer. For existing clients, use one of the methods in How do I change port numbers or server names on existing Concurrent Network clients?

From the end user’s point of view, there’s no difference between one license server and multiple license servers. A user trying to run @RISK Industrial doesn’t know which server is providing the license. If the user runs License Manager and clicks Select License, the display will show all available network licenses on all the listed servers, with no indication of the location of any particular license. (Which License Gets Used? tells much more about Select License.)

Future Needs

If you have only one server now, but you want to plan ahead for future configurations, you can list all servers now, even servers that don’t exist yet. The client software will not report an error as long as at least one of the listed servers is reachable and has a license available.

For example, even before purchasing a disaster-recovery server, you can preconfigure clients to reach a disaster-recovery server if the regular server is off line. All you’ll need to do if the regular server fails is bring the disaster-recovery server on line, and clients will connect to it automatically when they launch the software. (If the disaster-recovery server won’t be connected until the production server fails, a simpler alternative is just to give them the same name. The client software reaches a server by name and port number only.)

Is a redundant server system supported?

This Network Server release does not support a redundant server configuration for either type of network.

Can we use our standard FLEXnet options file?

You can use lines from it, but you can’t use the actual file.

Server Manager writes an options file called Palisade.opt in the NetServer folder, and uses it to manage borrowing. This file is also read by FLEXnet, so you can add most of the standard FLEXnet options at the end. Please don’t change the file name or alter any of the lines written by Server Manager, or the license may not function correctly.

Because Palisade.opt is always the file name, the Server.lic file doesn’t need an OPTIONS field on the VENDOR line. In fact, when Server Manager rewrites the file after you change options, it will remove an OPTIONS field if it finds one.

For supported keywords in the options file, see Reference – Options File.

How should I set up my firewalls?

Most of our customers don’t need to make any changes in their firewall settings at all. But if you have a restrictive firewall, you may need to change some settings to let your Palisade network software run.

TL;DR version: On server, give Palisade.exe and lmgrd.exe send/receive privilege; if Automatic Activation fails use Manual Activation instead. On client, give PalFlexServer7.exe send/receive privilege.

Firewall on License Server

Your license server does two jobs: it activates your network license with Palisade's license server, and it provides licenses to the client computers.

Server’s Internet communications with Palisade (when activating or deactivating a license)

If your firewall settings prevent Automatic Activation of your license, we recommend that you use the Manual Activation procedure rather than make firewall changes. For Manual Activation and Manual Deactivation instructions, see Activating an Activatable License and Manual Deactivation.

If you prefer to change server firewall settings and perform Automatic Activation, here is the relevant information:

Server’s communications with end-user computers (clients)

On the server, it’s simplest to list Palisade.exe and lmgrd.exe as exceptions for send and receive.

If you prefer to open specific ports on the server, specify them as described in Port Numbers, and then open those in the server firewall for send and receive.

Firewall on Client Computers

Client computers never need to communicate with Palisade’s server. They do need to communicate with your license server. Concurrent Network clients do this while they run @RISK or other Palisade applications; Enterprise Network clients do this only during install or when updating the annual license.

If your client firewall is blocking communication with the server’s license process, it’s simplest is to list PalFlexServer7.exe as an exception for send and receive. If you prefer to open specific port numbers, see Port Numbersto set specific lmgrd and vendor daemon ports on our server, and then open those ports for send and receive on the client.

FAQs – Multiple Product Licenses

What if I already have FLEXnet-licensed applications from other vendors?

Palisade network licenses are built on FLEXnet Publisher 11.10. Even if you have FLEXnet licenses from other vendors, please perform our server install. By default, it installs to Palisade folders, preventing versioning problems or any other interference with other FLEXnet on your server. All you need to do is choose a port number for Palisade licenses that is not otherwise in use. (Or just accept the default of Dynamic and let the software choose a port. Caution: If one vendor’s lmgrd port is unspecified or dynamic, all must be. In a mix of specified and unspecified ports, the specified ports can create a conflict with the dynamically chosen ones.)

We strongly recommend that you use only our Server Manager to administer Palisade licenses. Server Manager is a more convenient alternative to LMTools and LMAdmin. But more important, Server Manager and the associated Network Server software perform some additional setup behind the scenes, beyond the standard FLEXnet functions. If you bypass Server Manager and make changes using LMTools or LMAdmin, your client software may not be able to obtain a license.

What if I already have a Palisade 7.x license on this server?

If you’re just adding a license, there’s no need to run the server software install again. Follow this shorter procedure:

  1. Download the client installer to the folder where you’re keeping client installers.
  2. Install your Activation ID or get a new license certificate, as explained in Server Step 3: Activate License or Obtain Certificate.
  3. Install the new client installer on the clients; see Client Setup Procedure.

See also: How can I let each user use only the “right” license when our server holds multiple Palisade licenses?

If you’re upgrading the server software itself, or reinstalling the server software for some reason, you can run the server install without first uninstalling the existing 6.x/7.x server software. Here’s how:

  1. Run Server Manager and click Stop Service, then close Server Manager.
  2. Run the server installer.
  3. Run Server Manager and click Start Service.

What if I already have a Palisade 5.x/6.x license on this server?

Whether you are replacing a 5.x/6.x network with an upgrade to 7.x, or keeping your 5.x/6.x network license and adding a 7.x network license, you’ll use Palisade Server Manager 7.x to manage all 5.x–7.x licenses. Follow the normal 7.x Server Setup Procedure.

If you previously had an earlier version of Server Manager, the new version will take over the functions of the old one, including managing any 5.x/6.x licenses.

If this is your first install of Server Manager, and you have any 5.x licenses, then the first time you run Server Manager it will ask your permission to take over management of them. This is necessary before you can activate any 6.x/7.x licenses. With your permission, the 5.x service will be stopped. For a brief period, while you set a couple of options in Server Manager, clients already running can continue to run but no new clients can get licenses; typically this should be on the order of a minute or two. As soon as you select your options and click OK, the new background license process will be started and client licenses will again be available. The 5.x license service will be deleted, but all files will remain. You can delete them if you wish, either through Control Panel » Programs and Features (look for a product name followed by “Network Edition”) or by deleting the containing folder. The default location is C:\Program Files (x86)\FLEXnet\Palisade or C:\Program Files\FLEXnet\Palisade. Please don’t create a new 5.x license process; that may render all your licenses unusable.

If your 7.x network license is an upgrade to replace a 5.x/6.x network license, your initial Activation ID or certificate license for 7.x will be a temporary one. This allows for a transition period while you upgrade server and clients to 7.x. At the end of the transition period, you will receive your production Activation ID or certificate. For step-by-step procedures, see Upgrading Palisade Software.

What if I already have a Palisade 1.x/4.x license on this server?

There were two types of 1.x/4.x Concurrent Network licenses, FLEXnet certificate licenses that were pre-activated, and “Palisade concurrent” licenses that required authorization and operated through a network share. If you’re not sure which type you have, please contact Palisade Technical Support.

Palisade 5.x–7.x network licenses can’t coexist on the same server with 1.x or 4.x certificate licenses. Either remove the older license and uninstall the server software, or choose a different server for your 7.x license.

The “Palisade concurrent” licenses did not use FLEXlm or FLEXnet and will not conflict with Palisade 5.x–7.x network licenses.

How can I let each user use only the “right” license when our server holds multiple Palisade licenses?

Enterprise Network

An Enterprise Network client gets its license at install time, or in a specific activation step. That license stays with that computer, whether or not the Palisade software is running, unless the license is deactivated through License Manager in the software. (This would be done before the computer is wiped or decommissioned, for example.)

When you download an Enterprise Network license from Palisade’s server to your server, Server Manager prompts you to create a separate Palisade_NetworkClient.ini file for each Enterprise Network Activation ID. Then, when you install an Enterprise Network client, you simply use the Palisade_NetworkClient.ini file for the product and edition that you want that user to have.

Concurrent Network

A Concurrent Network client gets a license dynamically from your server at run time. When the end user closes Excel, or unloads the Palisade software, the license is released.

The software has default rules about which license is used, but the end user can always click Select License in License Manager to get a list of available licenses. The list includes every relevant license that exists on one or more of the listed servers and has a seat available; it excludes licenses that this user or computer is not authorized to use. After the user chooses one, the software remembers the selection and tries to use the same license the next time that user runs. (Which License Gets Used? tells much more about this.)

For example, if all @RISK Industrial licenses are in use, but the user doesn’t need to run any optimizations or fit time series, an @RISK Professional license (if available) would be perfectly usable. A user who usually uses @RISK Professional, but needs to run a one-time optimization, could click Select License and select an Industrial license, if one is available.

If you want to restrict certain users to certain licenses, there are two methods to enforce this:

If you have multiple Activation IDs for the same product and edition, the network software treats the total of those concurrencies as a single pool. Usually this is a good thing, but if you need to make sure that certain people or groups always have a license available, you can use the RESERVE keyword in the options file. See More Options for On-Network Use.

FAQs – Configuration Changes and Upgrades

How do I move a Concurrent Network to a new server?

The answer varies slightly, depending on whether you have an activatable license (also called “trusted storage”) or a certificate license. (Server Manager displays the license type in the lower window of the main screen. If the window is too narrow, hover your mouse over an entry or expand the window.) If your license is the activatable type, you can choose between a 30-day transitional period when both old and new servers are on line, or just finishing the transfer as quickly as possible.

Activatable Licenses, Method 1 – Transfer with Transitional Period

This method affords zero downtime, but there are extra steps to obtain and activate a 30-day temporary license.

  1. Contact Palisade Technical Support with your serial number and request the Server Manager installer, the client installer, and a temporary license. Please do this when you’re actually ready to start transitioning the clients, so that the license doesn’t run out before you’ve finished the transition.
  2. On the new server, install Server Manager, activate the temporary license, and post the client installer and the Palisade_NetworkClient.ini file. See Server Setup Procedure.
  3. Redirect the existing clients (end user computers) to the new server for licensing. See How do I change port numbers or server names on existing Concurrent Network clients?

    Exception: If you’re upgrading the Palisade software version at this time, skip the redirection step and install the new software right over the old, using the Palisade_NetworkClient.ini file from the new server; see Client Setup Procedure. You can use the same installer on new clients as well.

  4. On the old server, run Server Manager, write down the Activation ID and number of concurrencies, and deactivate the license; see Deactivating Licenses. Uninstall Server Manager or not, as you choose.
  5. You don’t need a new permanent license. On the new server, run Server Manager and activate the license you just deactivated on the old server. You can then deactivate the temporary license to tidy up your Server Manager display, if you wish.

Activatable Licenses, Method 2 – Faster Transfer

The fewer end users you have, the faster you’ll be able to redirect them to the new server, and the more attractive this alternative becomes.

  1. Contact Palisade Technical Support with your serial number and request the Server Manager and client installers. You don’t need a new license.
  2. On the old server, run Server Manager, write down the Activation ID and number of concurrencies, and deactivate the license; see Deactivating Licenses. Uninstall Server Manager or not, as you choose.
  3. On the new server, install Server Manager, activate the permanent license that you just deactivated, and post the client installer and the Palisade_NetworkClient.ini file. See Server Setup Procedure.
  4. Redirect the existing clients (end user computers) to the new server for licensing. See How do I change port numbers or server names on existing Concurrent Network clients?

    Exception: If you’re upgrading the Palisade software version at this time, skip the redirection step and install the new software right over the old, using the Palisade_NetworkClient.ini file from the new server; see Client Setup Procedure. You can use the same installer on new clients as well.

Certificate Licenses – Transfer Procedure

With certificate licenses, the first certificate on a new server is always for a maximum of 30 days, ensuring zero downtime during the transition.

  1. Contact Palisade Technical Support with your serial number and request the Server Manager and client installers.
  2. On the new server, install Server Manager.
  3. Send Palisade Technical Support the needed host information about the new server; see Server Steps 1–3. Tech Support will respond with a 30-day temporary certificate license file. (Your old certificate license will not work on a different server.)
  4. Install the certificate and post the client installer and the Palisade_NetworkClient.ini file. See Server Steps 3–5.
  5. Redirect one existing client (end user computer) to the new server for licensing; see How do I change port numbers or server names on existing Concurrent Network clients? Or, just install on a new client machine.

    Exception: If you’re upgrading the Palisade software version at this time, skip the redirection step and install the new software right over the old, using the Palisade_NetworkClient.ini file from the new server; see Client Setup Procedure. You can use the same installer on new clients as well.

  6. When you have verified that a client is able to get a license from the new server, send the Server.lic file from the new server to Palisade Technical Support and request a production license file. You can easily find the file by clicking Open .LIC Folder in Server Manager on the new server.
  7. Install the production license, following the instructions you’ll receive from Tech Support.
  8. Redirect the other existing clients (end user computers) to the new server for licensing, or install the software upgrade.
  9. On the old server, run Server Manager and click Stop Service. You can then uninstall Server Manager or not, as you choose.

How do I change port numbers or server names on existing Concurrent Network clients?

(This section applies only to Concurrent Network clients. Enterprise Network clients don’t connect to your server after activation, so there’s no need to update them when you change port number or server name.)

Please see Port Numbers for changes on the server.

If you change or specify the Palisade port (vendor daemon port) on the server, you probably don’t need to do anything on the existing clients. However, if you had to open the old port as a remote port on the clients’ firewalls, you will need to update their firewall settings to open the new port.

If you change the lmgrd port on the server, you will need to make corresponding changes on any clients that are already installed. You will also need to update the clients if you change servers or rename the server.

The port number (if specified) and server name are stored on the client in a System Registry key:

The information in that key came from the Palisade_NetworkClient.ini file at install time. You can change it later through License Manager in the end-user software, or directly in the System Registry.

Redirecting a Client, Method 1 – End-User Software

If you have only a few installed clients, it’s probably easiest to change the information through the software:

  1. Run @RISK (or other licensed Palisade software), with full administrative rights. (It doesn’t matter which Palisade software you run, because all applications use the same license path.)
  2. Within the Help menu, click License Manager.
  3. Click Select License and then Concurrent Network.
  4. Select the old portnumber@servername or @servername, and click Delete.
  5. Click Import Client.ini and browse to the Palisade_NetworkClient.ini file that you created on the new server.

As an alternative to steps 4 and 5, you can select the old server information in the list and click Edit.

If you opened the old lmgrd port as a remote port in the client’s firewall, change the firewall setting to match the new port.

Redirecting a Client, Method 2 – Registry Edit

You may prefer to change the lmgrd port number by editing the System Registry key mentioned above. If the lmgrd port number is specified on the server, the data in the client’s System Registry key should be in the form

portnumber@servername;PalisadeSystemFolder

If the lmgrd port is Dynamic on the server, the System Registry data on the client should have the form

@servername;PalisadeSystemFolder

There could be multiple servers, separated by semicolons. PalisadeSystemFolder is the System folder under the main folder where the Palisade client software is installed. By default, that is C:\Program Files (x86)\Palisade\System in 64-bit Windows, or C:\Program Files\Palisade\System in 32-bit Windows.

Examples:

27003@ourserver;C:\Program Files\Palisade\System
@ourserver;C:\Program Files\Palisade\System
27003@ourserver;C:\Program Files\Palisade (x86)\System
@ourserver;C:\Program Files\Palisade (x86)\System

If you opened the old lmgrd port as a remote port in the client’s firewall, change the firewall setting to match the new port.

You can set up a .REG file if you wish. Follow this pattern for 64-bit Windows:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\FLEXlm License Manager]
"PALISADE_LICENSE_FILE"="27003@ourserver;C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Palisade\\System"

or this pattern for 32-bit Windows:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\FLEXlm License Manager]
"PALISADE_LICENSE_FILE"="27003@ourserver;C:\\Program Files\\Palisade\\System"

If the lmgrd port on the server is not specified (port is Dynamic in Server Manager), omit the port number but keep the @ sign in the .REG file.

How do I refresh my Enterprise Network license on the same server?

To allow for the possibility of server moves, Enterprise Network licenses are reissued every year. You should receive a new Activation ID from Palisade about a week before the old one expires. If you have not received it, or if you have a large number of clients and need extra time, please contact Palisade Technical Support with your current Activation ID. When you have the new Activation ID, follow this procedure to renew the network license.

On the server:

There is no need to deactivate the expired or expiring license, and there is no need to reinstall the software on existing clients.

  1. Run Server Manager and click Activate. Enter the new Activation ID and number of licenses.
  2. Click Automatic, or if your firewall prevents Automatic Activation from running click Manual and follow the on-screen instructions.
  3. Server Manager will offer to create a new .INI file. (You may recall that, during an Enterprise Network client install, the Palisade_NetworkClient.ini file must be present in the same folder as the installer. This file contains server information and the Activation ID.) Save the new file, and overwrite the existing Palisade_NetworkClient.ini file that goes with this Enterprise Network license.

    For more, see Server Step 4: Create Palisade_NetworkClient.ini File.

On each existing client where the software is still being used:

There is no need to deactivate the expired or expiring license, and there is no need to uninstall or reinstall the software on existing clients.

  1. Log on to the client computer as an administrator.
  2. Run the software and click Help » License Manager. (If the existing license has already expired, License Manager will come up spontaneously.)
  3. Click Activate, enter the new Activation ID, and click Next.
  4. License Manager should already know the port number and server name, and will present them to you for confirmation. The port number (if any) and server name must exactly match those in the generated Palisade_NetworkClient.ini file. If this information is missing or incorrect, edit the screen, then click Next and Activate.
  5. The end user may need to click Select License in License Manager to begin using the new license.

Reminder: If you later give this user a new computer, or reassign the software to a different user, you must first deactivate the license on this workstation through License Manager. That returns the license to the pool of available licenses on your server.

On each new client:

Follow the Client Setup Procedure.

Reminder: If you later give this user a new computer, or reassign the software to a different user, you must first deactivate the license on this workstation through License Manager. That returns the license to the pool of available licenses on your server.

Old license already expired?

The procedure is the same whether the previous license is still current or has expired.

How do I move an Enterprise Network to a new server?

You must deactivate every Enterprise Network client before you can move an Enterprise Network to a new server. There is no need to uninstall or reinstall the client software, and you don’t need a new Activation ID.

  1. Get the necessary server and client installers from Palisade Technical Support.
  2. On the new server, perform Server Setup Steps 1 and 2.
  3. On every Enterprise client (workstation), run the software and click Help » License Manager » Deactivate. For more about deactivating, see Deactivating an Enterprise Network Client License.
  4. On the old server, use Server Manager to deactivate the Enterprise license. Make a note of the Activation ID, because you will need it on the new server. See Deactivating Licenses.
  5. On the new server, use that same Activation ID to perform Activating an Activatable License, then do Server Setup Steps 4 and 5.
  6. On every Enterprise client, run the software. If License Manager doesn’t open automatically, click Help » License Manager. In License Manager, click Activate, enter the Activation ID, and enter the new server name and port number.
  7. (optional) On the old server, if there are no other licenses, uninstall Palisade Network Server.

Can I convert a trial or an activated standalone copy to a Concurrent Network client?

Yes, you can, and without uninstalling or reinstalling the software. Here are some things you should be aware of:

The conversion procedure requires full administrative rights. You can perform it via remote login to the end user’s computer if you wish.

  1. Open a Notepad window, and paste the appropriate text.

    For a client with 32-bit Windows, use this text:

    Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Palisade\@RISK for Excel\7.0\License to use]
    @="Network:"
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Palisade\BigPicture\1.0\License to use]
    @="Network:"
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Palisade\Evolver\7.0\License to use]
    @="Network:"
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Palisade\NeuralTools\7.0\License to use]
    @="Network:"
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Palisade\PrecisionTree\7.0\License to use]
    @="Network:"
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Palisade\StatTools\7.0\License to use]
    @="Network:"
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Palisade\TopRank\7.0\License to use]
    @="Network:"
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\FLEXlm License Manager]
    "PALISADE_LICENSE_FILE"="port_number_here_if_specified_on_server@server_name;C:\\Program Files\\Palisade\\System"

    For a client with 64-bit Windows, use this text:

    Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Palisade\@RISK for Excel\7.0\License to use]
    @="Network:"
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Palisade\BigPicture\1.0\License to use]
    @="Network:"
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Palisade\Evolver\7.0\License to use]
    @="Network:"
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Palisade\NeuralTools\7.0\License to use]
    @="Network:"
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Palisade\PrecisionTree\7.0\License to use]
    @="Network:"
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Palisade\StatTools\7.0\License to use]
    @="Network:"
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Palisade\TopRank\7.0\License to use]
    @="Network:"
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\WOW6432Node\FLEXlm License Manager]
    "PALISADE_LICENSE_FILE"="port_number_here_if_specified_on_server@server_name;C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Palisade\\System"
    
  2. Change the last line to reference your lmgrd port number and server name. (You can get them from the main window of Palisade Server Manager. If the lmgrd port number shows as "Dynamic" in Server Manager, don’t specify a port number in the file but do keep the @ sign.)
  3. Save the file with a .REG extension, and copy it to the client computer.
  4. If there’s an activated license on the client computer, deactivate it as follows. (If there’s only a trial license on this computer, skip these lettered steps and just double-click the .REG file.)
    1. On the client computer, run the Palisade software. You may get a message that running the application remotely is not allowed. But the message will also ask if you’re an administrator managing licenses, and you should answer Yes, because this can be done remotely.
    2. If License Manager does not come up spontaneously, click Help » License Manager.
    3. License Manager’s main screen should show the activated license. If it doesn’t, click Select License and select the activated license.
    4. Click Deactivate and follow the prompts on screen. If Automatic Deactivation fails, select Manual Deactivation » Save Request File and send the request file to Palisade Technical Support, or upload it to our activations Web page. You must complete the deactivation before proceeding.
    5. When the deactivation is complete, the Palisade software will unload itself. You should then close Excel.
  5. Double-click the REG file. This will complete the conversion of this workstation to a Concurrent Network client.

Can I change one Concurrent Network client to permanent standalone, while keeping the other users as network clients?

Yes, you can convert a network client to a standalone license without reinstalling the software, so that the user’s workstation no longer needs access to your server while running Palisade software.

Please be aware that remote login is not allowed for standalone licenses, so the user will need to be physically present at the workstation to run the installed Palisade software. If this is acceptable, please follow this procedure to change a concurrent network client to standalone:

  1. Contact your Palisade sales representative to purchase the standalone license. You will receive an Activation ID in email.
  2. Launch the existing software. If License Manager does not come up spontaneously, click Help » License Manager.
  3. Click Activate and enter the new Activation ID. Follow the prompts to complete either Automatic Activation or Manual Activation.

Can I convert a trial or an activated standalone copy to an Enterprise Network client?

You will need to know the port number and server name of your license server, as well as the Activation ID of your Enterprise Network license. Follow this procedure:

  1. On the user’s workstation, log on to Windows as a full administrator.
  2. Launch the Palisade software. If License Manager does not come up spontaneously, click Help » License Manager.
  3. If this workstation has an activated standalone license, click Deactivate and follow the prompts on screen.
  4. Click Activate, and enter your Enterprise Network Activation ID.
  5. You will then be prompted to enter the server information.
  6. Click OK, and if a network license is available on that server the software will immediately be activated on this workstation. License Manager will describe this as an enterprise license.

Reminder: If you later give this user a new computer, or reassign the software to a different user, you must first deactivate the license on this workstation through License Manager. That returns the license to the pool of available licenses on your server.

How can I add users to my existing network license?

Look at the existing license in Server Manager to see whether it is activated or a certificate.

To add to a certificate license, click Open .LIC Folder and locate the Server.lic file. Send that file to Palisade Technical Support with a request for us to update it with the additional users.

To add to an activated license, click Activate, enter your Activation ID, and specify the number of additional users, not the total number of users. See Activating an Activatable License for the activation process.

Network Licenses Installed on This Server will show two instances of the Activation ID, one with the original number of users and one with the newly added number. If you click Status, “Licenses issued” will show the total number of users.

Other FAQs

How can I script the client install?

For SCCM installs or other forms of scripting, you probably want an MSI installer. Please contact Palisade Technical Support to request one, and please include your serial number with your request. When you get the link, make certain that the file includes “-cust-” in its name.

Your script must install the prerequisite software before installing our software from an MSI installer. See Microsoft Components Required for Palisade 7.x Software Install.

For the client install, you will need the Palisade_NetworkClient.ini file as described in Server Step 4: Create Palisade_NetworkClient.ini File. That file should be in a local folder, not necessarily the same folder with the installer. The following commands use C:\TEMP; please substitute the actual folder that contains the Palisade_NetworkClient.ini file.

Either way, replace C:\TEMP following SETUPEXEDIR with the actual folder that contains Palisade_NetworkClient.ini. Guidelines for the SETUPEXEDIR folder:

The attended install has a checkbox for putting shortcuts on the desktop. To suppress those desktop shortcuts (equivalent to removing the check mark from the box), add the DTOPSHORTCUTS=0 parameter:

msiexec /i installername.msi SETUPEXEDIR=C:\TEMP /qn USERNAME="firstname`lastname" COMPANYNAME="company" DTOPSHORTCUTS=0

See also: Silent install of Non-English Software.

Can a user borrow a Concurrent Network license for use off network?

Borrowing is disabled by default, but you can enable it if you wish; see Server Step 2: Set Options. For end-user instructions, see Borrowing a Concurrent Network License for Use Off Network.

A user borrowed a license for a long period. How can we get that license back sooner?

The license will come back automatically at the end of the borrowing period, but there’s no way for the server to “un-lend” it or force an early return.

Only the end user can return the license early, and only while connected to the network. The procedure is in Borrowing a Concurrent Network License for Use Off Network.

To avoid this situation in the future, you may want to shorten the maximum borrowing period. Please see the Options screen of Palisade Server Manager. Users may also need a reminder that they should borrow a license for just as long as they will need it, not for the maximum time they can get.

How do I recover the license if a Concurrent Network client crashes?

No specific action is necessary.

If a 6.x/7.x client crashes and the same client re-runs the software within ten minutes after the crash, that client will automatically reuse the same license that it was using when it crashed. As usual, when the client closes Excel or unloads the add-in, the license returns to the available pool.

If a 6.x/7.x client crashes and the same client does not re-run the software, then after ten minutes the license is automatically recovered by the server software and returns to the pool of available licenses.

A 5.x client crash is handled in a different way. After a 5.x client crashes, the Concurrent Network license that was used by that client is not usable, not even by that client, for two hours. But the license is automatically returned to the pool of available licenses at the end of that time.

How do I monitor client use of my network license?

Most information is displayed when you click the Status button in Server Manager. Further details are available if you click View in Advanced Options.

For details of interpreting the display, see the descriptions of those two buttons in the Reference section.

If an end user tried to get a license but was denied, please see Troubleshooting License Denials.

How can an end user find out who is using the network licenses?

End users can’t get this information through the software. Server administrators can find it as described in How do I monitor client use of my network license?

Reference – Server Manager

When you launch the Palisade Server Manager, it presents two categories of information on the main screen: information about the server, and information about the licenses on the server.

However, if the Server Manager detects a Palisade 5.x license process running, before it can present that screen it will need your permission to shut down that process and start up the 7.x license service. See What if I already have a Palisade 5.x/6.x license on this server?

Network Server Information

This box shows current information known to Server Manager: your server name, the ports used for communication with the clients, and so on. The status of the license service is also shown.

Refresh

Click this button after you replace Server.lic with a new license file (certificate) from Palisade. That will cause the license service to read the new license file, and Server Manager will then update both sections of the display.

Please be patient. FLEXnet can take up to 60 seconds to reread licenses, and during that time the title bar of Server Manager may display “Not Responding”.

Status

This button adds further information in the Network Server Information box.

To update this status information, click Status, not Refresh.

Enterprise License Status

If you have any Enterprise licenses on this server, a brief Enterprise License Status section appears. It shows each Enterprise Network Activation ID, with the number of activated users and the total number of users allowed on the license. To see which clients have activated Enterprise Network licenses, follow the directions in View.

Concurrent License Status

The long Concurrent License Status section is a pass-through from the FLEXnet software’s lmstat program. It shows the license files, the status of the license service, and the status of the Palisade vendor daemon. Then it lists the Concurrent Network licenses, showing the license count for each one in this form:

licenses issued: 7   licenses in use: 3

The “licenses issued” is the number of concurrent users allowed on this license; “licenses in use” includes on-network users and borrowed licenses. These numbers may be off if you stop and restart the license service while a license is borrowed; see below.

If “licenses in use” is nonzero, there’s one line for each current on-network or off-network user. (For the history of license use by your end users, see View.)

Concurrent License in Use On Network

If a status line doesn’t begin with ACTIVATED and doesn’t contain the word “linger”, it represents one user using the license on the network. This status line shows the user name, the computer name, and the date and time this user began using the license.

Concurrent License Borrowed (When Server License Is Certificate Type)

If a line ends with “linger” and a number, this is a license borrowed for use off network, when the underlying server license is the certificate type. The user name and computer name are shown, along with the date and time when the user borrowed the license. The date of scheduled return is not shown directly, but the number after “linger” is the number of seconds for which the license was borrowed; divide by 86400 to get the number of days.

Concurrent License Borrowed (When Server License Is Activatable Type)

If a line begins with “ACTIVATED LICENSE(S)”, it represents a license borrowed for use off network, when the underlying server license is the activatable type. The status line shows the computer name and the date and time the person borrowed the license. There’s no indication of the date the license is scheduled for return.

If you stopped and restarted the license service after a license of this type was borrowed, the borrowed licenses may not be shown in the status display. In this case, instead of including the borrowed licenses in licenses in use, the display shows a lower number of licenses issued. For example, if your activatable Concurrent Network license has five users, two have borrowed it, and none are using it on network, then you may see

licenses issued: 3   licenses in use: 0

The difference between the numbers still gives the number of licenses available, and the “Network Licenses Installed” box below always shows the total number of concurrent users licensed.

Starting and Stopping the Service

If the license service is currently running, the next button says Stop Service. If the license service is not currently running, the button says Start Service.

Under normal circumstances, Server Manager will start or stop the service as required, and you won’t need to click this button. In some unusual configurations—for instance, if your policy doesn’t allow services to be set up for automatic start—you can click Start Service to start the license service.

Stop Service can be useful if for some reason you want to prevent users from running the software for a period of time, for instance while rolling out a new version to all clients.

Options

This button opens a dialog where you can set the ports used for communicating with clients and determine whether to allow borrowing. See Server Step 2: Set Options for the meanings of these options.

If you change server options, Server Manager will stop and restart the license service automatically. This should not have any effect on clients that are currently using the software.

Network Licenses Installed on This Server

This box lists all Palisade 5.x–7.x activated and certificate licenses, both Concurrent and Enterprise type, with the details of each.

For some license types, the license information may extend past the right edge of the screen. In that case, just click once on the license of interest and hover your mouse over the text box to display the full description of the selected license. If you prefer, you can resize the Server Manager window.

You may see the same Activation ID listed more than once. Here’s an example. Suppose you have a Concurrent Network license with ten concurrent users allowed. Over time your organization grows and you buy an additional five concurrencies. These will be added to the same Activation ID, and after you activate them you will have two entries in the list for that Activation ID, one showing 10 users and one showing 5.

An expired or broken license is not shown here; see Unusable Licenses….

Deactivating Licenses

This section is about deactivating licenses. If you’re looking for how to activate a license, you’ll find full details of the activation process in Activating an Activatable License under Server Step 3: Activate License or Obtain Certificate.

When would you want to deactivate a license?

If an Activation ID is listed more than once, that means you originally split its activations; see Network Licenses Installed on This Server. In that case, to deactivate the Activation ID you will need to deactivate each line item, known as a “fulfillment”. When you reactivate the Activation ID later, on this server or a different server, you can activate all users in one operation or split them in a different way if you wish.

To deactivate a license, select the license from the list and then click Deactivate. If Deactivate is grayed out, this license is a certificate type and cannot be deactivated (returned). Please contact Palisade Technical Support for assistance.

After clicking Deactivate, you can choose Automatic or Manual Deactivation. Automatic is faster, but it won’t work if your server can’t establish a connection with Palisade’s server.

Automatic Deactivation

In Palisade Server Manager, click the license that you want to deactivate. Click Deactivate » Use Automatic Deactivation. You should get a response within 60 seconds. If it is “Your license has been successfully deactivated”, then the deactivation is complete. Otherwise, the deactivation is not complete, so please contact Palisade Technical Support for assistance before you decommission your server.

After the deactivation, Server Manager will update the display.

If you’re returning a license to obtain a newer software release, and you’ve successfully completed the Automatic Deactivation, please contact Palisade Technical Support. Mention the serial number that you deactivated, and ask for the production license for your upgrade.

Manual Deactivation

If Automatic Deactivation fails because your server can’t connect to Palisade’s server, or if your server is not on the Internet, use Manual Deactivation.

Caution! Don’t start any other activation or deactivation while you have this one in progress. That could confuse the FLEXnet licensing software, and recovering from such a state is not simple.

  1. On the main screen of Palisade Server Manager, click the license that you want to deactivate. Then, click Deactivate » Use Manual Deactivation » Save Deactivation Request File and send the saved request file to Palisade Technical Support. It’s impossible for Technical Support to deactivate your license without this file.

    You may close Server Manager while you’re waiting, if you want to. Use Close, not Reset.

  2. Technical Support will send you a response file.

    If you’re planning to decommission your server, you can ignore the response file. Technical Support has deactivated the license in Palisade’s database, using your request file, and the license is available for transfer to another server. But if you’re keeping this server, please proceed to the next step.

  3. On the Manual Deactivation screen, click Load Deactivation Response File and load the file you received from Technical Support. When you get the response "Deactivation was successful", the deactivation procedure is complete.

    If you don’t get that response, first verify that you are loading the response file (ResponseDAct.xml), not the request file. If that’s not the answer, contact Palisade Technical Support for assistance; include your software serial number and a screen shot of the message.

    If you closed Palisade Server Manager earlier, reopen it and click Resume to get back to the Manual Deactivation screen. If you don’t have a Resume button when you open Server Manager, see After Reset, Can’t Load Response File.

After the deactivation, Server Manager will update the display.

Why might deactivation fail?

Create Client.ini…

The client installers require a Palisade_NetworkClient.ini or Client.ini file during client install, so that the client software knows where to obtain a license. Click this button to create the needed .ini file for the license that is selected in the panel at left.

Please see Server Step 4: Create Palisade_NetworkClient.ini File for further details of when and how to use this button.

Unusable Licenses…

The Network Licenses box lists licenses that are currently activated on this server and are usable. If you also have any unusable licenses, Unusable Licenses… will appear. Click it to display a list.

The most common reason for a license to be unusable is that it was a time-limited license and has expired. Other possibilities for an activatable license include changes in server hardware after the license was activated. For a certificate license, editing the certificate (except as directed in this Guide) or moving it to a different server will make it unusable.

If you have an unusable license and you can’t determine why it is unusable, Palisade Technical Support will be happy to help you.

Open .LIC Folder

This button opens an Explorer window on the folder that contains your Server.lic file and the Palisade Network Server software. There are three occasions when you might need to open this folder:

Caution: Do not alter any of the files in this folder, except as instructed in this Guide or by Palisade Technical Support. Our software uses the .lic and .opt files in customized ways that don’t always match the standard FLEXnet usage.

Advanced Options

The Advanced Options button is the magnifying-glass icon near the lower left corner of the Server Manager window. It opens a panel with the following three buttons.

View

Clicking this button will open a Notepad window containing mostly debugging information. However, the displayed file also contains some license information that supplements the display from Status:

Exception: If you redirected the license log, Server Manager will be unable to display it. In that case, get the information from the file where you redirected the log.

Host ID

The Host ID button displays the server name and Ethernet address(es) as they are known to the FLEXnet licensing software. Palisade Technical Support may ask you to send this information in some circumstances.

Execute

The Execute button is for use by Palisade Technical Support during a remote support session.

Reference – Options File

To view or edit the options file, open Server Manager and click Open .LIC FOLDER. The options file is in that folder and is called Palisade.opt.

You can edit it with Notepad or any plain-text editor, but first make a backup in another location. Special rules for editing:

After you save the options file, click Refresh in Server Manager to make the license service read the new options. (Stopping and restarting the service will also reread the options file, but a refresh is sufficient.)

Maximum Allowed Borrowing Period

Server Manager writes one or more lines beginning MAX_BORROW_HOURS to the options file. A feature where borrowing is not allowed will have MAX_BORROW_HOURS set to zero; a feature where borrowing is allowed will have MAX_BORROW_HOURS set to 24×(1+maximum days to borrow).

You should not edit the MAX_BORROW_HOURS lines yourself. Instead, click Options in Server Manager and set the maximum borrowing period there. See Borrowing (Concurrent Network Only).

Access Control in Concurrent Network

You can limit access to your Concurrent Network licenses by adding lines to the options file. Before you do that, you need to decide which way you want to structure your permissions for a given product:

Features

You control access to some or all of your products by specifying the “feature name” on INCLUDE and EXCLUDE lines. In FLEXnet terms, each product is a feature, and every access control command in the options file relates to a particular feature. Different editions of the same product, like @RISK Professional and @RISK Industrial, are different features.

To find the feature name for a license, in Palisade Server Manager click Status and then look at the display for lines beginning “Users of”. Those list the feature names of licenses on this server. (For information about how licenses are actually being used, see How do I monitor client use of my network license?)

The feature names for 7.x software all contain 70, regardless of the actual 7.x version number. This is why you don’t need a new license when you upgrade from an older 7.x version to the current 7.x version, and why you do need a new license when you upgrade between major versions, such as 6.x to 7.x.

Here is the full list of feature names:

If you misspell a feature name, or if you have no license on this server for that feature, then when the options file is reread there will be a line in the log file diagnosing it as an invalid feature. See Troubleshooting License Denials to access the log file.

Method 1: Only Named Users Can Use a Feature

You can designate users by Windows user name or Windows computer name. If you have any INCLUDE lines for a feature, then everyone else is locked out from that feature.

Example:

# Stan can use @RISK Industrial from any computer,
# and anyone on computer Atlantis can use @RISK Industrial,
# but no one else can use @RISK Industrial.
INCLUDE @RISK70_Industrial USER Stan
INCLUDE @RISK70_Industrial HOST Atlantis

Only one user name or host name can appear on a line. If you are granting access to just a few users or computers, use multiple INCLUDE lines, like this:

INCLUDE @RISK70_Industrial USER Stan
INCLUDE @RISK70_Industrial USER Michelle
INCLUDE @RISK70_Industrial USER Fernando
INCLUDE @RISK70_Industrial HOST EC-Server
INCLUDE @RISK70_Industrial HOST Atlantis

If you need to grant access to a large number of users or hosts, you’ll want to define a group rather than have many INCLUDE lines. See User and Host Groups.

In any conflict between INCLUDE and EXCLUDE lists, EXCLUDE wins. Consider this example:

INCLUDE Evolver70_Industrial HOST Atlantis
EXCLUDE Evolver70_Industrial USER Lucy

Lucy can’t use Evolver from any computer, not even Atlantis. All other users can use Evolver from computer Atlantis, but not from any other computer.

According to FLEXnet documentation, “Anywhere a host name can be used in an options file, an IP address can be used instead.”

Caution! If you have any INCLUDE…USER lines in your options file for a feature, and your network license is the activatable type, user access to run the software on network will follow the INCLUDE…USER lines, but no one will be able to borrow a license of that feature for off-network use. This does not apply to certificate-type licenses, and it does not apply to INCLUDE…HOST lines with either type of license.

Method 2: All Except Named Users Can Use a Feature

You can designate users by Windows user name or Windows computer name. If you have any EXCLUDE lines for a feature, then the named people or computers are locked out from that feature, but everyone else can use it.

Example:

# Stan cannot use @RISK Industrial from any computer,
# and no one on computer Atlantis can use @RISK Industrial,
# but everyone else can use @RISK Industrial.
EXCLUDE @RISK70_Industrial USER Stan
EXCLUDE @RISK70_Industrial HOST Atlantis

Only one user name or host name can appear on a line. If you are blocking access to just a few users or computers, use multiple EXCLUDE lines, like this:

EXCLUDE @RISK70_Industrial USER Stan
EXCLUDE @RISK70_Industrial USER Michelle
EXCLUDE @RISK70_Industrial USER Fernando
EXCLUDE @RISK70_Industrial HOST EC-Server
EXCLUDE @RISK70_Industrial HOST Atlantis

If you need to block access by a large number of users or hosts, you’ll want to define a group rather than have many EXCLUDE lines. See User and Host Groups.

According to FLEXnet documentation, “Anywhere a host name can be used in an options file, an IP address can be used instead.”

User and Host Groups

It’s tedious to put a lot of INCLUDE or EXCLUDE lines in the options file. Rather than do that, define one or more user groups or host groups. Here’s an example:

GROUP Lawyers Michelle Mark Doug Cristina Robson
GROUP Doctors Stan Sally
HOST_GROUP ThirdFloor Asus14132 Asus14133 Asus14134 \
    Asus14135 Asus14136
INCLUDE DecisionTools70_Industrial HOST_GROUP ThirdFloor
INCLUDE DecisionTools70_Industrial GROUP Doctors
INCLUDE DecisionTools70_Industrial USER Vince
INCLUDE StatTools70_Professional GROUP Lawyers
INCLUDE StatTools70_Professional USER Vince

This lets the ThirdFloor group of computers, the Doctors group of users, and user Vince use a DecisionTools70_Industrial license, but no one else can. The Lawyers group, Vince, and no one else can use a StatTools70_Professional license. The ThirdFloor and Doctors groups, and Vince, can still use StatTools Industrial, as part of the DecisionTools Suite. If all the DecisionTools70_Industrial licenses are in use, the Third Floor and Doctors groups will not be able to run StatTools under the StatTools70_Professional license, but Vince and the Lawyers group will. (Vince, who was previously using the DecisionTools Suite license, can use Select License in License Manager to switch to the StatTools license.)

If your group contains too many members for one line, you can split it into multiple lines, like this:

GROUP giants many names
GROUP giants many more names
GROUP giants still more names

The license system will merge all the lists of users into the “giants” group.

Your HOST_GROUP can identify computers by name or by IP address. According to FLEXnet documentation, “Anywhere a host name can be used in an options file, an IP address can be used instead.”

User names and computer names on INCLUDE and EXCLUDE lines are always case sensitive. But you can make them case insensitive on GROUP and HOST_GROUP lines by including this line in the options file:

GROUPCASEINSENSITIVE ON

Even with that line in the options file, the name of the group is still case sensitive.

If you EXCLUDE a group, you cannot then INCLUDE one user or computer from that group, because EXCLUDE always wins.

Caution! If you have any INCLUDE…GROUP lines in your options file for a feature, and your network license is the activatable type, user access to run the software on network will follow the INCLUDE…GROUP lines, but no one will be able to borrow a license of that feature for off-network use. This does not apply to certificate-type licenses, and it does not apply to INCLUDE…HOST_GROUP lines with either type of license.

More Options for On-Network Use

With MAX and RESERVE lines, you can allocate licenses among user groups.

MAX 2 DecisionTools70_Professional GROUP Muggles

Members of the Muggles group may not use more than 2 DecisionTools Professional licenses at a time. If two Muggles are already using licenses and a third member of that group tries to run the software, the request will be denied, even if some licenses are not in use.

RESERVE 2 DecisionTools70_Professional HOST_GROUP Wizards

Two DecisionTools Professional licenses are reserved for the use of the computers in the Wizards group. Another authorized user who tries to use the license from another computer will succeed only if the number of free licenses, plus the number currently in use by computers in the Wizards group, is greater than 2.

RESERVE 1 DecisionTools70_Professional USER Frances

A DecisionTools Professional license is reserved for use by Frances. When any other authorized user tries to use the license, they will succeed if the number of free licenses is greater than 1 or if Frances is currently using a license.

This setting is usually not a good idea: rather than reserve a Concurrent Network license for Frances permanently, it would make more sense for her to have a standalone license on her workstation. But you might want this setting temporarily, for instance if she is teaching a class and must have guaranteed use of a license while the class runs.

Options for Borrowing

Borrowing is available for both certificate and activatable Concurrent Network Licenses. All of the access-control options mentioned above work with either type; but the three options in this section are different. End users can borrow either type of Concurrent Network license, but you can control borrowing with these options only if your Concurrent Network license is the certificate type. If you try to use these options with an activatable license, the software will simply ignore them without any kind of error message in the log file.

If you need to use these options and you have an activatable license, please contact Palisade Technical Support to surrender your activatable license and receive a certificate license. You won’t need to reinstall any software.

BORROW_LOWWATER DecisionTools70_Professional 4

Authorized users may borrow licenses, but there will always be at least 4 unborrowed licenses. This ensures that at least some users will still be able to run on network.

INCLUDE_BORROW DecisionTools70_Professional USER Heather
INCLUDE_BORROW DecisionTools70_Professional GROUP Managers

Heather, and members of the Managers group, can borrow a DecisionTools70_Professional license for off-network use. Other authorized users can use a license while on network but cannot borrow it. (For defining groups, see User and Host Groups.)

If you have any INCLUDE_BORROW lines, then all users not mentioned on those lines are prohibited from borrowing.

Our software lets you borrow only the license you are currently using. Therefore, there’s no way to configure options so that someone can borrow a license for use off network but cannot use it on network.

EXCLUDE_BORROW DecisionTools70_Professional USER Denise
EXCLUDE_BORROW DecisionTools70_Professional HOST_GROUP Contractors

Denise, on any computer, and anyone on computers in the Contractors group, cannot borrow a DecisionTools70_Professional license for off-network use, but they can still run on network unless you have separate INCLUDE or EXCLUDE lines forbidding that. Other authorized users can use a license while on network and can borrow it for off-network use. (For defining groups, see User and Host Groups.)

If the same user is covered by an INCLUDE_BORROW line and an EXCLUDE_BORROW line, explicitly or as part of a group, then EXCLUDE_BORROW wins.

If an unauthorized user tries to borrow, or if any user tries to borrow when no more borrowable licenses are left, the borrow operation will fail “for an unknown reason”. The administrator can find the reason by looking at the log file. See the next section to access the log file.

Troubleshooting License Denials

If a user is locked out of a license, the client software will tell them only that there is no license. FLEXnet doesn’t make a specific failure reason available to the client software, so Palisade software can’t display it for the end user. The same is true if the user tries to borrow a license but is locked out from borrowing.

You can find specific reasons in the log file on the server. The log file is PalisadeService.log, in the same folder where Palisade Server Manager is installed. You can access it directly in Windows Explorer, or run Server Manager and click Open .LIC Folder. Either way, scroll to the bottom of the file and you’ll see the reason why the license was denied.

Specifying a File for License Log

By default, all logging information is written to a single file:

It’s easiest to look at this file by clicking View in Server Manager.

This log file actually merges two streams, the lmgrd log and the vendor daemon log. You can tell which is which by the (lmgrd) or (palisade) prefix on each line. You can redirect the vendor daemon log, which contains license checkouts and checkins, to a different location by specifying it in the options file:

DEBUGLOG "c:\full path\file name"

This change is effective after you stop and restart the license service in Server Manager. You don’t have to create the file yourself; the license service creates it if it doesn’t exist and appends to it if it does.

If you redirect the vendor daemon log to a separate file in this way, please note:

See also: How do I monitor client use of my network license?

Server Manager Revision History

Release 7.5.1, October 2016

Significant maintenance fixes:

Release 7.5.0, July 2016

Significant maintenance fixes:

Release 7.0.1, September 2014

Server Manager 7.0.1 has no significant functional changes from release 7.0.0.

Release 7.0.0, July 2015

Server Manager 7.0.0 replaces Server Manager 6.x. The new version can handle any 7.x licenses and clients, as well as 5.x/6.x licenses and clients.

Release 6.3.1, September 2014

Server Manager 6.3.1 has no significant functional changes from release 6.3.0.

Release 6.3.0, June 2014

Significant maintenance fixes:

Release 6.2.1, March 2014

Server Manager 6.2.1 has no significant functional changes from release 6.2.0.

Release 6.2.0, September 2013

Server Manager now displays the Palisade vendor daemon port in addition to the lmgrd port. Both can now be set on Server Manager’s Options screen.

Server Manager and this Guide are now available in all the same languages as the end-user software.

Server Manager and the client installers are now available in MSI versions as well as EXE.

Significant maintenance fixes:

Release 6.1.2, April 2013

Server Manager 6.1.2 has no significant functional changes from previous releases.

Release 6.1.1, February 2013

Server Manager 6.1.1 has no significant functional changes from Server Manager 6.0.1.

Release 6.0.1, October 2012

This is the initial release of Server Manager. Although the underlying license scheme is similar to 5.x, the interface for server administrators and end users has been made much more convenient. The interactive Server Manager replaces LMTools and all command-line operations.

For Concurrent Networks, server administrators can easily allow or disallow borrowing and set a maximum borrowing term. If borrowing is allowed, end users can borrow a license through @RISK and the other applications, with no need for a separate borrowing utility.

For Enterprise Networks, end-user license activation is normally done silently by the client installer. But if that fails for any reason, end users can activate through @RISK and the other applications, with no need for a separate activation utility.

Document updated 2017-10-04.