Specifying a Server Hostid
If the license server is run with back-office support, the producer must specify a hostid in the back office during license server creation. The workflow for specifying a server hostid depends on whether a local license server or a CLS instance is used. In implementations with a local license server, you as the license server administrator are required to identify the hostid and communicate it to the producer. When using a CLS instance, the server hostid is based on the server instance ID (generated when the instance is created). During synchronization from the back office (which occurs based on synchronization policies or on-demand), the back office sends the hostid along with other information to the license server.
Instead of waiting for the synchronization to occur, you can also specify the license server’s hostid manually. It is vital that the hostid that you set on the local license server matches the hostid that is specified in the back office. If you change the hostid on the license server to a value that is different to that specified in the back office, any licenses already mapped to the license server that is locked to the old hostid in the back office will be orphaned.
If you need to change the local license server’s hostid when it already has licenses mapped in the back office, it is best practice to return the license server in the back office. During the return operation, the producer can transfer the licenses to a different device; this can be the same machine with the desired hostid. After the transfer, wait for the license server to synchronize with the back office.
Selecting a Hostid
Specifying a server hostid is optional. If no hostid is set, the license server looks up the hostids in the native DLL component of the local license server, in the order in which they are listed in the table in section Understanding Hostids.
Specifying a server hostid is optional. However, it is important to know that the ethernet hostid might change, depending on the adapter that is in use. Consider the following scenario: A laptop plugged into a docking station uses the ethernet address of the docking station; however, when it is disconnected from the docking station, the ethernet address is no longer available. A wireless adapter also has an ethernet address and this address is not available when either the wireless adapter is removed from the machine or when the wireless adapter is disabled, but still physically attached to the machine.
In cases as described above, it is advisable to specify the hostid manually to ensure continuous operation.
Manually Specifying a Hostid
You can specify the server hostid (a value/type pair) in one of the following ways:
| • | Using the FlexNet License Server Administrator using the following option: |
-hostid -setactive hostIdValue hostIdType
See the table in section Using the FlexNet License Server Administrator Command-line Tool.
| • | Using the FlexNet License Server Manager—see Properties View in Using the FlexNet License Server Manager. |
| • | Using the configuration files (depending on your platform): |
| • |
| • | /etc/default/flexnetls-producer_name, setting ACTIVE_HOSTID (when using SysV to run the license server as a Linux service) |
| • | configuration-local.yaml, setting active-hostid (when using systemd on Linux)—see Edit “local-configuration.yaml” (Linux). |
Important:You can only set the hostid using a configuration file if no hostid has yet been specified for the license server. Once a hostid has been set, it can only be changed using the FlexNet License Server Administrator or the FlexNet License Server Manager.