FLEXlm Architecture
This section explains the FLEXlm architecture to provide a context for the setup instructions that follow. FLEXlm uses a client-server architecture. The FLEXlm server daemon, lmgrd, runs on one computer, known as the license server. This machine services every machine (including possibly itself) on which you want to run a MÄK Technologies product. The machines on which the MÄK Technologies products are running are called clients.
The license server executes vendor daemons (for MÄK Technologies, maklmgrd) and uses one or more license files, provided by individual vendors. The license file identifies the products for which you have licenses. On each client machine, the MAKLMGRD_LICENSE_FILE environment variable (which you must set) points to the server.
Licenses "float", so you can install product software on as many computers as you want, but at any given time, you can run only as many instances of a product as you have licensed.
NOTE:
The license key in the license file is tied to the host ID of the server machine. Therefore, if you decide to change the server (or replace the network card), you need to get a new license file. If you change the name of the server, you must update the MAKLMGRD_LICENSE_FILE environment variable on every client. Depending on how many clients you have, this may not be a trivial process. Keep this in mind when you choose the machine to use as a license server.
The following figure illustrates the client-server architecture for FLEXlm and MÄK products:
