4.4 Additional Information for Concurrent Licenses

Concurrent-Additional-Info

Additional License Management Information

In addition to the basic steps to setup your Concurrent Network package, you may want to review these additional topics:

For further information on FLEXnet license management, please review the FLEXnet documentation installed in the FLEXnet server's \Help\ folder.

Running Origin when detached from the network

Your FLEXnet Concurrent Network management supports borrowing. This means that Origin computers can be detached from the FLEXnet server and still run Origin for a limited time. By default, the maximum allowed borrow time is one week. This maximum time is encoded in the FLEXnet server license file you obtain from the OriginLab website. If you require a shorter or longer maximum borrow time (up to one month), please contact OriginLab.

To Borrow a License on the User Computer

1. Open Origin. Select Help; About Origin.
2. Click on License button.
3. Click Borrow button.
4. Select from the dropdown the Number of days that you would like to borrow the license.

   

   NOTE: The maximum number of days in the dropdown is one day less than the maximum in the license file. The numbers shown can be manually overwritten if the number of days you requested is a number in between the number of days shown.
   For example, to request a borrow time of 100 days, type 100 in the Number of day to borrow combo box.

5. Click Request Now.
6. You should see a message stating that your license has been checked out successfully.
7. Disconnect the user computer from the network BEFORE a restart of Origin if you left the Return borrowed license when reconnect to network checked.

NOTE:

If you restart Origin while still connected to the network your license will automatically be checked back in unless you UN-checked the Return borrowed license when reconnect to network checkbox to borrow the license.

A Note on Roaming User Profiles:

Roaming profiles are not supported by the FLEXnet license borrowing feature. However, borrowing can be made to work with roaming profiles if you use the following procedure:

To borrow a license:

1. Log in to the computer using your roaming profile (computer is connected to network.).
2. Start your Origin and borrow a license.
3. Close Origin.
4. Disconnect from the network, then shut down the computer. (By disconnecting before shutting down, you keep the profile local instead of storing it on the roaming-profile-server.)

To check in a borrowed license:

1. Start the computer and log in using your roaming profile (WITHOUT connecting to the network).
2. Reconnect the computer to the network.
3. Start your Origin. It will automatically return the borrowed license.

Changing the Borrow Time

1. Contact OriginLab Licensing support. Notify us that you need a new license file with a longer borrow time. Specify this new maximum borrow time, and include your Origin serial number.
2. OriginLab will then email you to let you know when you can obtain a new license file that includes the requested maximum borrow time.
3. Stop your FLEXnet service.
4. Back up your current FLEXnet license file.
5. Then save the new license file so that you over-write the old license file.
6. Restart the FLEXnet service.

Using an Existing FLEXnet Server to Manage Origin

If the computer that you plan to set up an Origin FLEXnet service on is already managing other software products with FLEXnet, then you can use this existing computer for your Origin license management. The simplest way to proceed is to set up your Origin FLEXnet service so that it uses the same lmgrd as your other software service. Also, you can use the lmtools that was installed for your other software service, to set up your service for Origin.

To set up your Origin server using an existing FLEX server

Watch the video tutorial - Using an Existing FLEXnet Server to Setup your Origin Service

1. Save the OriginLab vendor daemon to the folder where your lmgrd is currently saved. The OriginLab vendor daemon is available on the Origin DVD (for Windows OS, browse to the \Concurrent FLEXnet Servers\Windows\OriginLab Vendor Daemon Only\ folder), or can be downloaded from the OriginLab website.
2. Obtain your Origin FLEXnet server license from the OriginLab website and save the license to the existing FLEXnet server \Licenses\ folder.
3. Use the existing lmtools to set up and start your Origin service.

For more information on setting up multiple FLEXnet services on the same computer, please review the FLEXnet License Administration Guide available for download from the OriginLab website.

See Also:

• FLEXnet Server Setup for Windows
• FLEXnet Server Setup for Linux

Allowing Access through a Firewall

To allow access to the FLEXnet server from outside a Firewall, two port numbers must opened on Firewall and added in license file. Below are step-by-step instructions of how to set it up. See Additional Tips below for information on FLEXnet at large sites, etc.

At the Firewall

1. The FLEXnet server's internal IP address must have a corresponding external address on the Firewall.
2. Check if the FLEXnet server has Windows Firewall on. If so, add Inbound Rules to allow the following programs through the firewall. They are both under the FLEXnet Server's Servers\ folder.
   • LMGRD.EXE - The FLEXnet License Manager.
   • ORGLAB.EXE - The Origin vendor daemon.

     

3. Select two dedicated TCP/IP port numbers outside 27000 -27009 range, for example, 61616 and 61617, and open them up in Firewall. They will be used in the steps below.
   • One port (61616) is for lmgrd.exe, License Server Manager, provided by FLEXnet.
   • The other (61617) is for orglab.exe, vendor daemon, created by OriginLab.

On the FLEXnet Server

License file generated by OriginLab doesn't have port numbers by default. So you need to add port numbers you opened up in Firewall to the license file.

1. Stop the FLEXnet server if it is already running.
2. Open FLEXnet license file with a text editor.
3. Put one port number directly at the end of SERVER line, separately with SPACE.
4. Put the other port number at the end of VENDOR line starting with port=.
5. For example, if your opened port numbers are 61616 and 61617, you would edit the license file like this:

   SERVER my_server 17007ea8 61616
   VENDOR orglab port=61617

   Note: you must add "port= "for the port on the VENDOR line, but not on the SERVER line.

6. Do not alter anything else in the license file and then re-save the license file.
7. Re-start your FLEXnet service.

On Machines with Origin Client

Now all Origin users must restart their Origin and update License Information again. Here are the steps:

1. Enter the external FLEXnet server IP Address in the FLEXlm Server text box
2. Enter the port number on SERVER line in the Port Number text box
   Example: for the FLEXnet server whose external IP address on the Firewall is 221.222.223.224 and whose SERVER port on the Firewall is 61616, the License Information dialog box would appear similar to:
   

Troubleshooting

If Origin fails to connect with the FLEXnet Server through firewall,

1. Go back to FLEXnet Server machine and run LMTools.exe. Go to Server Status tab to Perform Status Enquiry to make sure the server is running fine.
2. Go to Config Services tab to view Log.
3. Contact reginfo@originlab.com with the Log file attached.

Additional Tips

The above description will work for all situations where a Firewall sits between the FLEXnet server and the Origin client. However, in certain circumstances (for large sites, etc), some users may wish to take additional steps.

1. FLEXnet server address vs. server DNS name: In Origin's License Information dialog when you enter the server's IP address we are assuming that the address cannot be obtained from DNS. In situations where the FLEXnet server's name is in the DNS, then the server's fully qualified domain name can be entered in the FLEXlm Server text box.
2. For big site, updating Licensing Information dialog on each machine with Origin will be a lot of work. Editing USE_SERVER.lic file may be better. If Origin had previously successfully connected to a FLEXnet service, then there will be a text file called USE_SERVER.lic in the License folder. You can find where the License folder is by running Origin. Choose Preference: Options menu -> System Path tab. You can manually modify it.
   Before adding the port number, the file will contain the following text:

   SERVER <ServerName> ANY 
   USE_SERVER

   Where ServerName is the Host Name or IP Address of the FLEXnet server that Origin previously connected to.

   To manually edit the Origin license file:

   1. Change ServerName to the Host Name or IP Address of the FLEXnet server
   2. After ANY, add the SERVER port number opened on the firewall
      Example: for the FLEXnet server whose external IP address is 221.222.223.224 and whose FLEXnet server port on the Firewall is 61616, the USE_SERVER.lic file should appear as:

      SERVER 221.222.223.224 ANY 61616
      USE_SERVER

Adding Concurrent Users

To add more users to your concurrent network, you must first purchase the additional users from OriginLab or your Origin representative. Once this is done, you will receive notification that the order was processed. At that time, you should do the following:

1. Go to the OriginLab website.
2. Log into the OriginLab website with the same web membership account that you used to obtain the previous FLEX license file.
3. After logging in, you will see your "Origin Product Registration" page. Select the check box next to your serial number/version, and then click the Get FLEXnet License button located below the table.
4. A web page will now open with the Host Name and Host ID pre-filled. Click the Submit button.
5. You will now see the new license file text on the web page. Copy the license file text and paste it into a text editor.
6. Stop your FLEXnet service.
7. Back up your old license file, and then save the new license file so that it over-writes the old one.
8. Restart your FLEXnet service and verify that it is correctly reading the new license file.

Setting up Three Redundant FLEXnet Servers

Origin supports the three-server redundancy as described in Macrovision's FLEXnet Licensing End User Guide, Chapter 3, section "Three-Server Redundancy".

Origin-specific information for setting up the FLEXlm services:

Obtaining the License File

After selecting the three FLEXnet servers, you must contact OriginLab to obtain the license file.

Email: RegInfo@OriginLab.com

In your email message, please state that you need a three redundant server license file, and include your Origin serial number, version, and the Host Name and Physical Address (Host ID) for all three computers.

OriginLab will email you back the license file.

Editing the License File

After receiving the license file, you must edit it as follows:

1. Your license file contains three SERVER lines. The server in the first SERVER line is the MASTER. To set a different server as the master, change the SERVER line order in the license file.
2. Next, you must add a TCP/IP port number to each SERVER line in the license file. For each SERVER line (FLEX server), the TCP/IP port can be any unused port on that machine, as long as it is between 1024 to 32000. So for each FLEX server, you need to find an unused port within this range, and then specify that port number on the respective SERVER line of the license file. You can use the same port number on each SERVER line (assuming this port number is unused on each), or you can specify different port numbers. Here is an example in which the same port number (2837) is unused on all three machines, and specified on the SERVER lines:

   SERVER hostname1 hostid1 2837
   SERVER hostname2 hostid2 2837
   SERVER hostname3 hostid3 2837

Setting up the FLEXnet Services

Once you've set up the service on each machine, then start each service.

Then perform a status enquiry on each of the machines (you want to make sure all three machines "detect" the other two machines).

The status should report detection of the three LMGRD processes. Also, your MASTER server should be tagged "MASTER".

Setting up Origin

Once you have the three services running OK, then you should start Origin. You will see the License Information dialog box at start up. You should edit it as follows:

FLEXlm server text box:

Enter the three FLEXlm server host names or IP addresses, separated by semi-colons, following the order in the license file. Such as like this:

hostname1;hostname2;hostname3

TCP/IP Port text box:

But also, because there are port numbers on each SERVER line in the license file, then you must also enter the port numbers in the TCP/IP Port text box. Again, they should be entered in the same order as in the license file, and separated by semi-colons. Such as like this:

2837; 2837; 2837

(In this case the port numbers are all the same. But if they were different, then you would need to follow the order in the license file.)

Restricting Origin Use with an Options File

General Information

Decide if you want to restrict Origin usage with an options file. For example, you may want to allow only specified users to run Origin, or to borrow Origin. Or you may want Origin's licenses to check back in due to inactivity. Or you may want to restrict specified users from running Origin. Or perhaps your organization has multiple groups of Origin users, and you want to restrict the number of users in each group who can run Origin concurrently. For each of these needs, you can use an options file.

Origin supports the use of an options file as described in the LicenseAdministrationGuide.pdf installed into the Origin FLEXnet server Help folder.

We recommend that you name the options file orglab.opt and that you save the options file into the same folder as your Origin license file. If you do this, then you do not need to make any change to your license file.

Examples

Example 1: 10 OriginPro licenses are reserved for computers located on two subnets defined by IP, 4 OriginPro licenses are reserved for computers on a third subnet defined by IP and all OriginPro licenses are set with a 15 minute check-in for inactivity:

HOST_GROUP CHEM_BIO_subnets 149.171.194.* 149.171.195.*
HOST_GROUP PHYSICS_subnet 129.94.216.*
RESERVE 10 OriginPro HOST_GROUP CHEM_BIO_subnets
RESERVE 4 OriginPro HOST_GROUP PHYSICS_subnet
TIMEOUT OriginPro 900

Note: The TIMEOUT minimum is 15 minutes, or 900 seconds. The seconds must be entered in the options file in order for Origin or OriginPro to check the license in when inactive for that length of time. You must include the FEATURE name with TIMEOUT, either Origin or OriginPro needs to be included in the syntax in the Options File. Such as, TIMEOUT Origin 900 or TIMEOUT OriginPro 900. If your license includes both Origin and OriginPro, you must add one line for each FEATURE specifying the TIMEOUT time in your Options File.

Example 2: restricts users from running Origin based on IP address:

HOST_GROUP exclude_these_computers 10.10.10.37 10.10.10.57
EXCLUDEALL HOST_GROUP exclude_these_computers

Example 3: restricts users from running Origin based on computer name:

HOST_GROUP exclude_these_computers computer1 computer2
EXCLUDEALL HOST_GROUP exclude_these_computers

Example 4: defines a group of users that can run OriginPro, and then a second group of users that can also run OriginPro in borrow mode.

GROUP origin_users user1 user2 user3 user4 user5 user6
INCLUDEALL GROUP origin_users
GROUP origin_borrowers user1 user4
INCLUDE_BORROW OriginPro GROUP origin_borrowers

Example 5: disable the borrowing of licenses for all users.

BORROW_LOWWATER OriginPro n

where n is the total number of users in the organization.

Disable the borrowing of licenses for a group of defined users

GROUP exclude_borrowers user1 user2
EXCLUDE_BORROW OriginPro GROUP exclude_borrowers

Example 6: reserves one concurrent license for the specified user (Bill). This is case sensitive.

RESERVE 1 OriginPro USER Bill

Example 7: licenses are reserved for a group of users. In this example, there is only one member of the group. The user name is not case sensitive.

GROUPCASEINSENSITIVE ON
GROUP ReservedUsers bill
RESERVE 1 OriginPro GROUP ReservedUsers

Example 8: reserves licenses for users, machines and ip addresses, all case insensitive.

GROUPCASEINSENSITIVE ON
HOST_GROUP ReservedHostMachines einstein currie galileo 123.123.123.123 456.456.456.456
GROUP ReservedUsers Jack Jill Hansel Gretel
RESERVE 1 OriginPro USER bill
RESERVE 4 Origin GROUP ReservedUsers
RESERVE 1 OriginPro HOST kepler
RESERVE 5 Origin HOST_GROUP ReservedHostMachines

Example 9: Suppose you are running a combined license of two OriginPro serial numbers, GF3S4-3089-7911111 and GF3S4-3089-7922222. The following example reserves 2 license of serial number GF3S4-3089-7911111 for host group CHEM_BIO_subnets, and reserves 1 license of serial number GF3S4-3089-7922222 for host group PHYSICS_subnet.

HOST_GROUP CHEM_BIO_subnets 149.171.194.* 149.171.195.*
HOST_GROUP PHYSICS_subnet 129.94.216.*
RESERVE 2 OriginPro:user_info=GF3S4-3089-7911111 HOST_GROUP CHEM_BIO_subnets
RESERVE 1 OriginPro:user_info=GF3S4-3089-7922222 HOST_GROUP PHYSICS_subnet

Host groups are defined in IP addresses. The feature:keyword=value syntax is used to distinguish a particular group of licenses when there are multiple Serial Numbers for a single feature. Here OriginPro:user_info=GF3S4-3089-7911111 specifies the serial number "GF3S4-3089-7911111" pool of licenses for feature OriginPro.
Note: feature:keyword=value does not work for TIMEOUT at the moment.

Mixed Origin and OriginPro Concurrent Network Package

OriginLab offers a Mixed Origin and OriginPro Concurrent Network Package where one server license can have both an Origin product line and an OriginPro product line. In such packages, OriginPro installed with an OriginPro serial number can check out an Origin Standard license to use Origin Standard features and can manually be switched back to OriginPro to use OriginPro features if an OriginPro license is available. Origin Standard installed with an Origin Standard serial number cannot check out OriginPro licenses even if it is available. Your Software Administrator may want to assign some users who only need the Origin Standard features with an Origin Standard serial number to lower the risk of fighting for OriginPro licenses or contact OriginLab to increase the number of OriginPro licenses.

Obtaining a License for a Mixed Concurrent Network Package

This package comes with two serial numbers: One for Origin Standard, the other for OriginPro. The last seven digits of the serial numbers are the same.

1. Log into https://www.originlab.com/reginfo.
2. Click on "Register new serial number".
3. Select “I want to register my Origin software and obtain a license file for a computer", click on Next.
4. Select your Origin version and enter your Origin serial number. (Note: You can use either the Origin Standard serial number or the OriginPro serial number. The website will detect if it is Mixed Origin and OriginPro and generate a proper license.) Click on Next.
5. Enter Host Name and HostID of your server, click on Submit.A license will be generated for you. It has two FEATURE lines, one for Origin Standard and the other for OriginPro.
6. Please follow the FLEXnet Server Setup procedures to install and start the FLEXnet Server.

Connecting to the FLEXnet Server

1. Install Origin with the OriginPro or Origin Standard serial number.
2. Start Origin by double-clicking the Origin program icon.
3. A License Information dialog will open. Enter FLEXlm Server name (and TCP/IP Port if needed). Click on the Update button to check out licenses from the FLEXnet Server.
   1. Both Origin Standard and OriginPro will start as Origin Standard giving a Standard license available. This is because usually there are less Pro licenses than Origin standard licenses. Your Software Administrator may not want OriginPro licenses be taken unless a user really needs to use OriginPro features.
   2. If all Origin Standard licenses are taken, OriginPro will check out OriginPro licenses.
4. The title bar of the application will say “Origin” or “OriginPro” depending on what license is currently in use. If a Standard license is checked out, OriginPro features will not be available.

Switching between Origin and OriginPro

1. Click on the Help menu and select About Origin.
2. Click on License…
3. The License Information dialog will open.
4. Select the OriginPro radio button and click the Update button.
5. If an OriginPro license is not available, you will see a message “OriginPro license is not currently available. Please try again at a later time.”
6. If an OriginPro license is available, you will see a message “Your license has been updated successfully”. You must restart OriginPro before the OriginPro features become active. If after restarting the title bar says “Origin” and not “OriginPro” then the OriginPro license has been checked out by another user in the mean time. You will only have the Origin Standard features available.
7. Once Origin Standard is switched to OriginPro, it will stay as OriginPro afterwards, unless:
   • You switch it manually to Origin Standard again in the License Information dialog.
   • There are no OriginPro licenses available then Origin will try to check out an Origin Standard license if available. Only Origin Standard features will be available.

Update License After Maintenance Renewal

After you renew your maintenance, you should obtain a new FLEXnet server license. This license will contain your new maintenance expiration date. Your Origin users will thus no longer see a maintenance renewal message, and their About Origin dialog will show the correct new maintenance expiration date.

After your maintenance renewal has been processed, please perform the following steps to obtain your new FLEXnet server license:

1. Go to https://www.originlab.com/reginfo.
2. Log in with the same web membership account that you used to obtain the previous FLEX license file.
3. After logging in, you will see your "Manage my License(s)" page. Select the check box next to your serial number/version, and then click the Get FLEXnet License button located below the table.
4. A web page will now open with the Host Name and Host ID pre-filled. Click the Submit button.
5. You will now see the new license file text on the web page. Copy the license file text and paste it into a text editor.
6. Stop your FLEXnet service.
7. Back up your old license file, and then save the new license file so that it over-writes the old one.

   You can check the backup of the old license file to see if you had ports numbers. Ensure that you re-add the port numbers to the new license file if they were previously set. For more information about port numbers in the license file, see here.

8. Restart your FLEXnet service and verify that it is correctly reading the new license file.

If you are upgrading a Concurrent Network package

If you already have a FLEXnet service for managing your previous version of Origin, then you just need to obtain a new license for the current version, and update your service to run with that new license. Once done, the updated FLEXnet service will allow your users to start running your new Origin version, and they can continue running their previous Origin version*. The service will count the total number of users running Origin and will restrict it to the purchased number.

Steps to obtain the new license and update your service with this license:

Watch the video tutorial - Updating your FLEXnet Service to Use the Latest Origin Version

1. Go to the https://www.originlab.com/reginfo.
2. Log into your web membership account that registered the serial number. Click "Manage my License(s)" link. Then click the Register New Serial Number button.
3. Select the "I want to register my Origin software and obtain a license file for a computer" radio button and click Next.
4. Select Your Origin version and select/enter Your Origin Serial Number (same as your previous version).
5. Enter your FLEXnet server host name and Ethernet (Mac, Physical) Address and generate your license.
6. Copy the license text from the OriginLab website.
7. Stop your FLEXnet service if it is running.
8. Browse to your FLEXnet server license file and save a back-up to a different location.
9. Then open your FLEXnet server license file in a text editor. Replace the current license text with that obtained from the OriginLab website.
10. Re-save the license, making sure you have saved to the same location and with the same file name. Warning: On Windows Server 2008, 2012, Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10, make sure your updated license file was saved to the correct folder, rather than in the Windows VirtualStore.
11. Restart your FLEXnet service and perform a status enquiry to make sure it is running correctly.

If the server cannot start after replacing the license file, it is probable that the server doesn't stop successfully in step 7. Please open the Task Manager dialog--> Services and check if any Origin license server running in the background. If yes, stop and restart it.

See Also

• Can I allow previous versions to run on my upgrade license to allow extra time to upgrade the client installations?

Deactivate License on Server

A system transfer is only required if you need to replace the FLEXnet license server. It is not needed when replacing an Origin computer.

To deactivate a license, you must fill out a System Transfer Request form on the OriginLab website.

1. Go to https://www.originlab.com and log in.
2. Click "Manage my License(s)" on the Welcome page.
3. Select the check-box next to your serial number and then click on Report a licensed server no longer in use button at the bottom.

Moving the FLEXnet Server and Updating Members of the New Location

If you need to install and set up a FLEXnet license server on a different machine, do the following:

1. Deactivate license on the original server machine.
2. Set up FLEXnet server on the new machine.
3. After the replacement FLEXnet server is running successfully, you can edit the USE_SERVER.lic file on the client machines. The USE_SERVER.lic file is located in the License folder:
   • Origin 2017 and Later Versions - Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 - C:\ProgramData\OriginLab\License
   • Origin 2016 - Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 - C:\Users\Public\Documents\OriginLab##\License
   • Origin 2015 and Earlier Versions - Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 - C:\ProgramData\OriginLab##\License
   This file will typically have the following text, assuming the FLEXnet server is <FLEXnet server>

   SERVER <FLEXnet server> ANY
   USE_SERVER

   A 3-Server Redundant FLEXnet server is also supported, for example if we have three servers <one>, <two>, <three>, and ports 12345, 23456, 34567, the USE_SERVER.lic file looks like:

   SERVER <one> ANY 12345
   SERVER <two> ANY 23456
   SERVER <three> ANY 34567
   USE_SERVER

Note: if you have a multiple seats package, the Group Folder feature provides an easy mechanism to update all the group members with the new FLEXnet server. Please refer to this page.