Using a Network License Server

You can check out licenses from a network server if your company has a Volume License Agreement with National Instruments.

Using a Network License Server

Complete the following steps to use a network server:

1. Select the Options»Preferences menu item.
2. Click the Use Network License Servers checkbox.
3. Enter the names of the network servers, separated by commas, on which your NI products should check for licenses. You can enter either a server name, the server's network name, or the server's IP address. You can also configure your products to look at a specific port on a network server. Enter the network server name followed by colon and the port number: server[:port]. For example:
   
   server
   server:27000
   server.domain.com:28432
   127.0.0.2
   
   are all legal server names. When no port is specified, 27000 is implied. Ports range from 0-64000, inclusive.
   
   If you enter server1, server2:28001, server3 and then launch a product that requires a license, your product first checks port 27000 of server1 for a valid license, then moves to port 28001 of server2, port 27000 of server3, and finally your local system. If your product does not find a license on any of the network servers or your local system, your product does not start.
   
   

   Notes If you are running NI Volume License Manager on the same computer as NI License Manager, you must set your network license server to localhost or 127.0.0.1 to check out a license from the licenses being served by your local NI VLM. Contact your volume license agreement software administrator to obtain the server information.

4. Click OK.

You can now check out and use products from the network license server.

Notes A License Server item is denoted by if it is active and by if it is inactive. The right pane displays the server name, server status, administrator information, and volume license agreement information, if available. If you need to check out licenses from a "triple redundant" network server, list all three server names, separated by commas, in this box to properly configure your client.

For more information about the NI Volume License Program, refer to ni.com/vlp.

Switching between Concurrent Licenses

NI License Manager looks for all licenses available on the network license server. If your NI volume license agreement includes concurrent licenses for multiple types of the same product, you can switch between concurrent licenses to use a specific product type.

For example, if you have concurrent licenses for LabVIEW Professional and LabVIEW Full and you need only LabVIEW Full, you can disable license checkout for LabVIEW Professional to save the license for a colleague who needs its features.

To prevent using a specific network license, right-click on the product listed under a network license server and select Do Not Allow License Request. The Server License Request status reflected in the right-hand view changes to Not Allowed.

Notes: Concurrent license switching works on products shipped in August 2008 or later, such as LabVIEW 8.6, that use concurrent licenses. This feature is available only for concurrent licenses hosted by a network license server. If you are using managed concurrent licenses, you must have permission assigned on the network license server. Contact your volume license agreement software administrator for assistance assigning permissions.

To resume using the product, right-click on the product listed under a network license server and select Allow License Request. The Server License Request status reflected in the right-hand view changes to Allowed.