RESERVE numlic featurename type name

Reserves licenses for a specific user.

• numlic - number of licenses to reserve
• featurename - name of feature to reserve
• type - one of USER, HOST, DISPLAY, GROUP, HOST_GROUP or INTERNET (see Section 5.2.3, `GROUP and <a href="chap5.htm#16409: 2Head: 6.2.2 HOST_GROUP">Section 5.2.4, `HOST_GROUP, on page 34
• name - name of the user or group to reserve licenses for.

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 TIMEOUT

TIMEOUT featurename seconds

Sets the time after which an inactive license is reclaimed by the vendor daemon.

• featurename - name of the feature
• seconds- number of seconds after which inactive license is reclaimed

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 Files

The 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 File

When 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 Files

Before 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:

• If there is only an EXCLUDE list, everyone who is not on the list will be allowed to use the feature.
• If there is only an INCLUDE list, only those users on the list will be allowed to use the feature.
• If neither list exists, then everyone is allowed to use the feature.
• The EXCLUDE list is checked before the INCLUDE list; so someone who is on both lists will not be allowed to use the feature.

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:

• Give most users access and list only the exceptions or
• Severely limit access and list only the those users that have access privileges.

5.4.3 Simple Options File Example

RESERVE     1 compile      USER robert

RESERVE     3 compile      HOST mainline

EXCLUDE compile USER lori

NOLOG QUEUED

This options file would:

• Reserve one license for the feature `compile' for the user `robert.<li>Reserve three licenses for the feature `compile for anyone on a computer with the hostname `mainline.<li>Prevent the user `lori from using the `compile' feature on any node on the network.
• Cause QUEUED messages to be omitted from the debug log file.

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 Users

Each 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 <a href="chap5.htm#16409: 2Head: 6.2.2 HOST_GROUP">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:

• Prevent the users `picasso, `mondrian, and `klee' from using the feature `spell' on any machine on the network.
• Prevent the user `bob' from using the feature `spell' on any machine on the network.
• Prevent any user logged into a host with an IP-Address in the range 123.123.123.0 through 123.123.123.255 from using the feature `spell'
• Allow any other user, as long as they are not on the excluded IP-Addresses , and they are not a member of the `painters' GROUP and they are not `bob' to use feature `spell' (By implication.)

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 Example

INCLUDE paint USER picasso

INCLUDE paint USER mondrain

INCLUDE paint HOST bigbrush

This options file would:

• Allow the user `picasso' to use the feature `paint' on any machine on the network.
• Allow the user `mondrain' to use the feature `paint' on any machine on the network.
• Allow any user, as long as they are on the host `bigbrush', to use feature `paint'
• Deny access to the feature `paint' to anyone except `picasso', `mondrain' or anyone from the host `bigbrush' (By implication.)

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