How to install the License Server¶
With the new license server installers downloads from the License Server section of our new Downloads page, setting up licensing to work on Windows, Mac and Linux has been made even easier. By using the installers, services are created and started automatically and correct permissions are set where needed.
Troubleshooting licensing issues will become much easier as well. When the license service starts lmgrd, it will now output its log information into a file named “Thinkbox.log” within the installation directory. If you have any issues with licensing, check this log file first. We will be providing some solutions to common problems in this guide, but do not hesitate to contact us if the possible problem is unclear.
Installing new licenses received from Thinkbox Sales or Support can be done by re-running the license installer. Since the installer stops and restarts the service, there is nothing more to do than; run the installer application, specify the location of the new license file, and let the installation complete.
Pre Install Notes¶
The installation of licenses will be similar for; Windows, Macintosh, and Linux operating systems, we will make note of any differences below.
During installation a copy of the license file will be added into the license server directory. The new file is renamed as “Thinkbox.lic,” because of this it is not required to keep the original license file. Although we recommend moving the original license file to a location you can access later, if any changes need to be made in the future.
If custom ports or other options are required, specify within the license file before running the installer. Later, if changes need to be made, you will be editing the license file and then re-installing the license server.
The install location will include the application files, log, and license file. The location varies per operating system, see Location of Installed Files for reference.
The lmtools application only exists on Windows, which is used for managing the service.
Windows¶
On Windows, the installer will create a Windows service and lmtools entry, both named “Thinkbox License.” This should make the license server compatible with existing tools.
OSX¶
We support versions OS X 10.6 and newer. Support for PowerPC is no longer available within the license server binaries.
Linux¶
If running a distribution that does not conform to the Linux Standard Base, such as Debian or Ubuntu, you may be required to install the lsb package. For distributions that already conform to the Linux Standard Base, you should be able to run without additional steps.
At this time, we only provide an executable binary file for installation of the license server. We hope to make deb and rpm packages available soon to help catch lsb conformance problems.
Removal of Old Installations¶
If this is the first time the Thinkbox licensing tools have been installed on the current machine, you may skip this section entirely.
Those who have already set up the license tools to start automatically should remove old installations, as the installer does not check this. Failure to do so will likely result in conflicts between the old and new server. Instructions for removing old installations is in the next section.
Windows¶
To remove the automatic start configuration; open lmtools, choose the old service under “Config Services” tab, select the “Remove” button. Close lmtools, copy any existing license files to a safe location. Finally, remove the “C:\FLEXnet\” folder to finish the process.
OSX¶
Since there was no convention for automatically configuring the license server to begin at system boot time, just remove the the licensing binaries as needed. To make sure the binaries are not in use, force quit the lmgrd process. By convention, the files should be within the hidden folder “/usr/local/Thinkbox/flexnet”.
Linux¶
On Linux, the init script named “thinkboxls”, which is used to start lmgrd, was renamed to “thinkboxlm”. Make a backup of the license file, optionally remove the folder containing the license binaries, which will be contained within “/usr/local/Thinkbox/flexnet”.
Graphical Installation of the New Binaries¶
Installation will be performed the same way across Windows, Macintosh, and Linux operating systems.
There are three options that are required during installation. These are the destination of the license binaries, the location of the license file that will be used, and whether you want to have an options file to remove the logging of in and out messages.
Unattended Installation¶
To install from the command line, specify the location of the license file using the ‘licenseFile’ option. If you would like to force text mode, you can use the ‘mode’ option. Note: the options file flag is not currently working in the text based silent installer.
The following are examples for each operating system:
Windows¶
C:\LicenseServer> ThinkboxLicenseServer*.exe --mode unattended --licenseFile c:\path\license.lic
OSX¶
$ cd ThinkboxLicenseServer*.app/Contents/MacOS/
$ sudo chmod +x ./osx-x86_64
$ sudo osx-x86_64 --mode unattended --licenseFile /path/license.lic
Linux¶
$ sudo ./ThinkboxLicenseServer*.run --mode unattended --licenseFile /path/license.lic
Manual License Server Installation¶
We strongly recommend against the manual install method.
For manual installation, the binaries can be downloaded from the License Server section of the Downloads Page page.
