I have attempted to setup our license server on a triple redundancy system, which is supported by AVEVA. I received the license file from AVEVA, and setup the three servers with FlexLM running. I brought up the services in the order that they appear in the license file.
All diagnositcs on all services appear to work properly.
For the license string on the Client Machines, I have set the licenses as follows:
744@server1; 744@server2; 744@server3
Of course, server 1, 2, and 3 are aliases here...
I keep getting FlexLM errors when trying to launch any AVEVA products.
Do any of you out there run a triple server setup, using services? And if so, can you offer any advice as to issues you had setting it?
I've tried this as well on double redunant servers without any good results. Technical support at Aveva finally informed me (after talking to the right person) that it will not work even though the manuals say it will?
Two servers would be less reliable than one (with three you could have one failure and continue with the other two, with two the system would stop after one). Some people have used three (there are some things that won't work with three, depending on precise versions of applications and dlls) but I do not recommend it even if you don't use the affected applications.
I think the triple solulion isn´t any more supported (yes, it´s still in the manuals, nevertheless). Please correct me if I´m wrong.
As far as I know now the systems stops if one of the servers isn´t online.
(there are also no more Terminal Servers as you can read on the UK support websites)
What can be done?
a) use different batch script where you enter the license file server in a variable
b) BUT since the registry is FIRST in command you might [not everyone like that] want to write one (or in your case three) batch script that change the flex entry in the registry. Not that difficult, but the user need write access of course.
I did that once and it worked fine.
744@server1 744@server2 744@server3
?
I tried. After starting PDMS the license finder started up, I made an entry for the first server.
then i got this
744@server1;744@server1 744@server2 744@server3
in the registry. Pretty weird. Seems like it doesn´t accept spaces Could you post somemore information/screenshot
In theory, we might need triple servers, in reality do we really need it? I am happy so far that one of our license server (at least 10 years old PC) is holding up nicely. The only time it gave us problem is when one of the IT guys unplugged it and was ready to send it to recylcle.
It would be nice, however to be able to read license server from two/three locations in WAN. For example, if the London office had a surge of users for MDS, they can pick up license say in Houston, or in Yokohama.
PASCE allows it 10 years ago and it was a great solution between my previous company's different branch offices, especially for Implant, Explant, PSI type of licenses.
There is no reason Aveva cannot do it, except it will reduce their license revenues.
This is more a technical than a merketting issue, I am afraid, and involves the way PDMS interacts with the Macrovision licvensing toolkit that we use. A change I made some years ago to make ExPLANT-I and some other licenses work with triple redundanant license servers had a side-effect that affected how multiple licenses for the same session were taken out. It also interacts with some complicated rules within the macrovision code which has four different places to look for license servers, and behaves differently than we thought when we wrote the manuals. sorry...
Work is being done at the moment to update some of these situations, but that is targetted at AVEVA Plant (12 Series). Until then you might like to try using a semi-colon separated list in the CADCENTRE_LICENSE_FILE environment variable (not the LM_LICENSE_FILE previously recommended). I think that this will allow you to have fall-back licenses servers, but will NOT allow you to take some licenses from one server and some from another as each program will select the first in the list that it can reach, and then stick with that one, whether or not it has the license you want.
You can, I suspect, write a batch file that will, for example, change the environment variable (or use the lmutil utility) and then start ImPLANT-I to use a particular server for your ImPLANT-I runs, but ExPLANT-I licenses must come from the same server as the the PDMS license.
