Floating/Network License¶

This allows many users to leverage the same license pool. Floating licenses may execute on any resources controlled by an organization. A node-locked license on the license server controls how many concurrent instances of the software are active at a given time. This requires a network connection between a floating license server and the end user machine consuming the license with a simulation. For example, if you have five floating licenses available, you could have five M-Star CFD simulations active at the same time. The floating server enforces a maximum concurrency on the license.

M-Star CFD licenses are controlled by the Reprise License Manager (RLM). This software controls access to the software based on where it is running and how many licenses have been purchased. Please refer to RLM’s support and documentation website for additional details and troubleshooting tips.

End User License Setup¶

Connect to License Server¶

Set the environment variable with the format mstar_LICENSE=PORT@HOST, where:

mstar_LICENSE Environment variable name
PORT Port number 5053 by default, configured in license server file
HOST Host name or IP address of license server

Floating Server Windows Installation¶

Go to the Reprise Software Website.
Agree to the license agreement.. Click GET THE BUNDLE.
Download the Windows admin bundle for Windows 10, Server 2012 and later (64-bit). Note that 32-bit is not supported.
Install/Extract the bundle to your required install location.
Download the mstar.set file and copy it into the installation directory. (Compatible with v15 of RLM)
Request a license file by sending the MAC address of the license server to M-Star Support.
Receive the license file. Copy the license file to the install directory.
Configure the RLM and ISV ports (see instructions below).
Start the server by executing the rlm exe from the command line.
If you have the web portal enabled (the default), you must change the default password for the admin user. Login to the web portal and change the password.
Configure the firewall to allow traffic on configured ports.

The license server can be installed as a Windows service so that it will start up automatically at boot up time and run in the background. Follow these steps to set up:

Verify the user you want to run the service has the proper security settings. Refer to this Microsoft help page.

Make a directory at C:\logs to house log files for the license server.

Start a command window with administrator privileges (right click cmd.exe, run as Administrator).

Change the directory to the RLM install location.
Execute the following command: change the c:\licenses input to point to the directory containing your floating server license file:
rlm -install_service -service_name rlm-mstar -dlog c:\logs\rlmmstar.log -c c:\licenses

Important

RLM v15+ now require the default admin password for the web portal to be changed. Otherwise the RLM process will automatically shut down after 10 minutes.

Floating Server Linux Installation¶

Go to the Reprise Software Website.
Agree to the license agreement.. Click GET THE BUNDLE.
Download the Linux, 64-bit bundle
Extract the bundle to your required install location.
Download the mstar.set file and copy it into the installation directory. (Compatible with v15 of RLM)
Request a license file by sending the MAC address of the license server to M-Star Support.
Copy the license file to the install directory.
Configure the RLM and ISV ports (see instructions below).
Start the server by executing the rlm exe from the command line.
If you have the web portal enabled (the default), you must change the default password for the admin user. Login to the web portal and change the password.
To configure the license server as a startup process, refer to your operating system instructions.
Configure the firewall to allow traffic on configured ports.
Refer to your operating system documentation for the correct procedure for adding a program to the boot up sequence. For most systemd-based systems, this means creating a systemd unit file.

Important

RLM v15+ now require the default admin password for the web portal to be changed. Otherwise the RLM process will automatically shut down after 10 minutes.

License Server Setup¶

Port/Firewall Configuration¶

The license server uses two ports for license checkout. To avoid firewall issues, we recommend you specify both ports in the license file. See the RLM and ISV port configuration guides below.

Follow these instructions to edit the port settings for the license server:

Open your license file in a text editor. The first few lines will be something like the following:
```
HOST localhost bc5f54ac312a 5053
ISV mstar port=6000
LICENSE ......
```
Change the port number 5053 to the port you want to use.
Change the port number 6000 to the port you want to use. If your license does not have a port option set, a random high port will be selected at runtime.
Save the license file (.lic).
Configure your firewall to allow incoming TCP access to the ports you specified.
Restart RLM or have it reread licenses.

Tip

Some systems also require that the host name be set to the IP address or host name of the server.

License Server Troubleshooting¶

After starting the license server, review the RLM server output and/or logs. Look for any messages that might indicate that the license is invalid, or the server is unable to start, etc.
Verify incoming TCP traffic on the license server is allowed to the selected ports in the license file.
Verify outgoing TCP traffic on end user machines is allowed.
Check for any other firewalls between the license server and clients to allow RLM traffic through.
Refer to the RLM Administrator Documentation.
Note that most of the information in the license file cannot be modified. Only things like configuration on the ISV line, host name, and port numbers are generally edited.

For further information, please refer to the RLM License Administration Manual, which provides in-depth explanation of the license server.

For support, please refer to RLM’s support and documentation website for troubleshooting tips.

Hosted License Server¶

All M-Star customers can choose to host their license for free on our cloud-hosted floating license server. Your license will be available anywhere you have internet connectivity. Here’s how it works:

M-Star provides a special license file to you. This license file can be shared with your team and installed wherever you have M-Star.
Your firewall must allow egress TCP traffic on two ports specified by M-Star. Typically this will be 5053 and another nearby port. That’s it!

Specify using Environment Variable (optional)¶

The license can also be specified using an environment variable. Set the environment variable as follows:

Open the license file provided by M-Star to gather the required information. Your license file will look like this:
CUSTOMER customername isv=mstar server=xxxx port=xxxx password=xxxxxxxxx
Create a new environment variable and populate the values using the values in your license file.
mstar_LICENSE=port@server@customername@password

This method is supported on both Windows and Linux, however Linux only started supporting this alternative method as of version 3.4.46.