Chapter 5 - The Options FileTable of Contents * Index * Previous Chapter * Next Chapter The options file allows the license administrator to control various operating parameters of FLEXlm. Specifically the license administrator can:
Options files allow you, as the license administrator, to be as secure or open with licenses as you like. Lines in the options file were limited to 200 characters prior to FLEXlm v3.0. In v3.0 and later, the line length is 2048 characters. FLEXlm v4.0 allows the `\' character as a continuation character in options file lines. 5.1 Creating an Options FileTo create an options file:
For example: f1:VERSION=2.0 You can specify a feature by any of the following fields: VERSION HOSTID EXPDATE KEY VENDOR_STRING ISSUER NOTICE dist_info user_info asset_info In FLEXlm v5.11 or later, you can use a PACKAGE name in place of a feature name, and the option will apply to the whole package. 5.2.1 EXCLUDEEXCLUDE featurename type name Excludes a user, host, display, or group from the list of who is allowed to use the feature. Excluded users will not be allowed to use the feature.
To exclude the user `hank' from the list of users able to use feature f1: EXCLUDE f1 USER hank 5.2.2 EXCLUDEALLEXCLUDEALL type name Excludes a user, host, display, or group from the list of who is allowed to use all features served by this vendor daemon.
To exclude any user on the machine `chaos' from using all features served by this vendor daemon: EXCLUDEALL HOST chaos 5.2.3 GROUPGROUP groupname usernamelist Defines a group of users for use in INCLUDE, INCLUDEALL, EXCLUDE, EXCLUDEALL, and RESERVE option lines.
To define the group Hackers consisting of bob, howard, and james: GROUP Hackers bob howard james In FLEXlm v3.0 multiple GROUP lines will add all the users specified into the group. Pre-v3.0 FLEXlm daemons do not allow multiple GROUP lines to concatenate. In fact, the second GROUP line would re-define the GROUP. In FLEXlm v4.0 or later, USER_GROUP is an alias for GROUP. 5.2.4 HOST_GROUPHOST_GROUP groupname hostnamelist Defines a group of hosts for use in INCLUDE, INCLUDEALL, EXCLUDE, EXCLUDEALL, and RESERVE option lines.
5.2.5 INCLUDEINCLUDE featurename type name Includes a user, host, display, or group in the list of who is allowed to use the feature. Anyone not in an INCLUDE statement will not be allowed to use that feature.
To include user `bob' in the list of users able to use feature f1: INCLUDE f1 USER bob INCLUDE is required for USER_BASED or HOST_BASED features. The system administrator specifies which users are allowed to use the product, via INCLUDE, and the license limits the number of users that can be INCLUDEd. 5.2.6 INCLUDEALLINCLUDEALL type name Includes a user, host, display, or group in the list of who is allowed to use all features served by this vendor daemon. Anyone not in an INCLUDEALL statement will not be allowed to use these features.
To allow the user `jane' to use all features served by this vendor daemon: INCLUDEALL USER jane 5.2.7 LINGERLINGER featurename interval Rarely used. This causes the daemon to `hold on' to the license for featurename for interval seconds after the application checks the license in or exits. This could be useful for short-duration programs which will be used many times in a row by the same user, to ensure that the user will be able to re-acquire the license repeatedly. On the other hand, other users have to wait until the first user is completely finished, plus a linger interval. This is only useful if the application uses duplicate grouping. Otherwise, LINGER will cause you to use extra licenses. Contact your software vendor for information about how they implemented duplicate grouping in their product. 5.2.8 MAX(v5.11+ vendor daemon only). MAX numlic featurename type name Limits usage for a group or user.
5.2.9 MAX_OVERDRAFTMAX_OVERDRAFT featurename numlic Limits usage below the OVERDRAFT allowed by the license file. 5.2.10 NOLOGNOLOG what Turns off logging of specific events by the FLEXlm daemons.
To turn off logging of checkins: NOLOG IN To turn off logging of checkouts and queued requests two separate NOLOG lines are required: NOLOG DENIED NOLOG QUEUED License administrators might use this option to reduce the size of the lmgrd or `debug' log file. 5.2.11 REPORTLOGREPORTLOG filename REPORTLOG specifies the file which will contain the report-writer log for this vendor daemon. If filename begins with a '+' character, the file will be opened for append, otherwise the file will be overwritten each time the daemon is started. FLEXadmin', a separate product available from Globetrotter, can be used to read and report on REPORTLOG files. This file is only useful with the FLEXadmin license administration utility. LM_PROJECTThe FLEXadmin report writer can report on `projects.' A project is set up by having all users working on a project set their LM_PROJECT environment variable (or registry on Windows) to a string that describes the project. FLEXadmin can then group usage by project, as defined by what LM_PROJECT was set to when the application was run. 5.2.12 RESERVERESERVE numlic featurename type name Reserves licenses for a specific user.
To reserve one license of feature f1 for user `mel': RESERVE 1 f1 USER mel Any licenses reserved for a user are dedicated to that user. Even when that user is not actively using the license it will be unavailable to other users. However, a RESERVED license will not cause an overdraft to be reported by FLEXadmin if the license is not actually in use. 5.2.13 TIMEOUTTIMEOUT featurename seconds Sets the time after which an inactive license is reclaimed by the vendor daemon.
To set the timeout for feature f1 to one hour (3600 seconds): TIMEOUT f1 3600 TIMEOUT checks in the licenses if the process has been `idle' for a period longer than the specified time period, and someone else wants the license. The daemon declares a process idle when it has not heard from the process (the client sends heartbeats). The application must explicitly declare itself idle for this to work, or (on Unix) the application must be stopped (^Z). That is, unless the application explicitly supports this feature, it will not work. Contact your software vendor for information about how they implemented this feature in their product. The application vendor can also disable the timeout feature, in which case the TIMEOUT option has no effect. The vendor can set a minimum value for the timeout. If you specify a timeout value smaller than the minimum, the minimum is used. The default minimum value is 900 seconds (15 minutes). If you do not specify a timeout value in your options file, then there will be no timeout for that feature. Before v5, licenses are only freed by TIMEOUT when a new request for a license would require a license that can be freed with TIMEOUT. With v5, licenses are freed when they are timed out. 5.3 TIMEOUTALL(v5.11+ vendor daemon only) TIMEOUTALL seconds Same as TIMEOUT, but applies to all features. 5.4 Understanding Options FilesThe following information gives an overview of the syntax of a complete options file and some samples intended to illustrate ways to effectively control access to your licenses. 5.4.1 How the Vendor Daemon Uses the Options FileWhen the vendor daemon is started by lmgrd, it is passed the location of the options file. If you modify the options file while the server is running, you must stop lmgrd, and restart it for the changes to take effect. There can only be one options file per vendor daemon and each vendor needs a separate options file. 5.4.2 Rules of Precedence in Options FilesBefore you can use options to utilize licenses effectively you must understand the options file precedence. INCLUDE and EXCLUDE statements can be combined in the same options file and control access to the same features. When doing so, keep in mind the following:
Once you create an INCLUDE or EXCLUDE list everyone else is implicitly `outside' the group. This feature allows you, as an administrator, the ability to control licenses without having to explicitly list each user that you wish to allow or deny access to. In other words there are two approaches; you can either:
5.4.3 Simple Options File ExampleRESERVE 1 compile USER robert RESERVE 3 compile HOST mainline EXCLUDE compile USER lori NOLOG QUEUED This options file would:
The sum total of the licenses reserved must be less than or equal to the number of licenses specified in the FEATURE line. In the example above, there must be a minimum of four licenses on the `compile' FEATURE line. If fewer licenses are available, only the first set of reservations (up to the license limit) is used. If this data were in file /usr/local/flexlm/options/local.options, then you would modify the license file DAEMON line as follows: DAEMON xyzd /usr/local/xyzd /usr/local/flexlm/options/local.options 5.4.4 Limiting Access for Multiple UsersEach INCLUDE, INCLUDEALL, EXCLUDE, EXCLUDEALL, and RESERVE line must have a single user name (or group) listed. To affect more than one user name create a GROUP. For example to exclude `bob,' `howard,' and `james' from using the feature called `toothbrush' we could create the following options file: EXCLUDE toothbrush USER bob EXCLUDE toothbrush USER howard EXCLUDE toothbrush USER james There is an easier way though. Create a GROUP and exclude the list of users from using the feature. Like the previous example, the following options file would exclude `bob', `howard' and `james' from using the feature called `toothbrush': # First define the group"Hackers" GROUP Hackers bob howard james # Then exclude the group EXCLUDE toothbrush GROUP Hackers Now when you want to allow or deny access to any feature to that group, you have an `alias' list to make it simple. The GROUP function works for a list of user names prior to FLEXlm v4.0. To control access to multiple displays (and hosts in pre-v4.0 FLEXlm) you must use multiple option lines in your options file. For example, in pre-v4.0 FLEXlm to exclude all users logged in on the hosts `fred' and `barney' from using a feature called `f1' add these lines to your options file: EXCLUDE f1 USER fred EXCLUDE f1 USER barney In FLEXlm v4.0, you can use HOST_GROUP to allow, deny or reserve licenses for multiple hosts. For example, to exclude all users logged in on the hosts `fred' and `barney' from using a feature called `f1' add these lines to your options file: HOST_GROUP writers fred barney EXCLUDE f1 HOST_GROUP writers See Section 5.2.3, `GROUP' and Section 5.2.4, `HOST_GROUP,' on page 34 for more information about defining groups. 5.4.5 EXCLUDE Example#First Define the group"painters" GROUP painters picasso mondrian klee EXCLUDE spell GROUP painters EXCLUDE spell USER bob EXCLUDE spell INTERNET 123.123.123.* This options file would:
Note that `bob' could have been added to the group painters. However, `painters' might be used for some other purpose in the future so the license administrator chose to handle `bob' as a special case here. In this case, the two EXCLUDE statements concatenate to create a list of four users. 5.4.6 INCLUDE ExampleINCLUDE paint USER picasso INCLUDE paint USER mondrain INCLUDE paint HOST bigbrush This options file would:
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