Monday, April 28, 2008

Repository of software that use FLEXlm/FLEXnet


A new repository of software systems that use FLEXlm/FLEXnet for licensing was published. The aim of the repository is to list all the software systems that use the FLEXlm/FLEXnet licensing.

The address of the repository is: FLEXnet repository

Monday, April 14, 2008

Global Maps Inc. unveils new version of OpenLM


By Oren Gabay, CTO
Rachel Bahar, CDO
Doron Regev, CMO


OpenLM Utilizer 1.5.0 (Floating software optimizer)

Software developer Global Maps Inc. from Kibbutz Givat Haim Ihud in Israel, has announced the launching of the new version of OpenLM Utilizer.
The software is available for download and EVAUATION at the OpenLM web site.

OpenLM Utilizer is designed to improve the use of all FLEXlm managed software, and is also a very cost effective replacement of FLEXnet Manager and the retired SAMreport.

The main focus of OpenLM version 1.5.0 is to provide support for organizations who work with multiple servers in various timezones. In addition, the new version provides connectivity to Active Directory and OpenLM plans to offer more important management tools, in the following versions at the near future.

New features for OpenLM Utilizer 1.5.0 (for all FLEXlm managed software)

  • Ability to work with unlimited FLEXlm servers - including servers in different timezones.
  • Support for FLEXlm redundant server configuration (three or five FLEXlm that work together).
  • Significant performance improvements in OpenLM EasyAdmin.
  • Ability to connect OpenLM server to Active Directory, in order to display additional user's information.
  • Ability to hide the OpemLM Agent from the users by the system administrator.
  • Actual product name in the "license usage information" and EasyAdmin, instead of the FLEXlm name (FEATURE) of the software.
  • Ability to "Filter" licenses list in the EasyAdmin - very useful for large organizations with considerable amount of licenses.
  • Option to avoid license information refresh at each query - important for big organizations with numerous amount of licenses.
  • Option to limit user access, and deny the ability to query license status information for specific servers.
  • OpenLM Agent displays the software version of the Agent and OpenLM Server.
  • OpenLM Server version is displayed in the Configuration Form title bar.
  • New "user activity" report allows you to query activity for each user/feature combination.
  • If you bill projects for software usage you can now use EasyAdmin to get the billing report.

For more information please contact:

Regev Doron, CMO
reggev@openlm.com
Office 972-4-6308085
Mobile 972-52-6811094

Global Maps is a Carbon Neutral Company - we print ONLY when we have to

Global Maps Inc. unveils new version of OpenLM


By Oren Gabay, CTO
Rachel Bahar, CDO
Doron Regev, CMO

OpenLM 1.5.0 for ESRI ArcGIS (Floating software optimizer)

Software developer Global Maps Inc. from Kibbutz Givat Haim Ihud in Israel, has announced the launching of the new version of OpenLM for ESRI ArcGIS software.

The software is available for download and EVALUATION at the OpenLM web site.
OpenLM for ESRI ArcGIS is designed to improve the use of the popular ESRI Desktop ArcGIS family of products: ArcView, ArcEditor and ArcInfo.
OpenLM offers a dramatic improvement in the availability of software licenses to end users and has a significant influence on users productivity.

OpenLM also provide a very cost effective replacement of FLEXnet and SAMreport.

The main focus of OpenLM version 1.5.0 is to provide support for organizations who work with multiple servers in various timezones. In addition, the new version provides connectivity to the Active Directory and OpenLM plans to offer important management tools, in the following versions at the near future.


New OpenLM features for ESRI ArcGIS include:


  • A new tool is prompting the user to release unused extensions.
  • Ability to exclude folders, so documents in excluded folders will not be saved by OpenLM.
  • Ability to control IO and CPU usage levels, which are used to determine if software is active or none active.
  • Ability to work with unlimited FLEXlm servers - including servers in different timezones.
  • Support for FLEXlm redundant server configuration (three or five FLEXlm that work together).
  • Significant performance improvements in OpenLM EasyAdmin.
  • Ability to connect OpenLM server to Active Directory, in order to display additional user's information.
  • Ability to hide the OpemLM Agent from the users by the system administrator.
  • Actual product name in the "license usage information" and EasyAdmin, instead of the FLEXlm name (FEATURE) of the software.
  • Ability to "Filter" licenses list in the EasyAdmin - very useful for large organizations with considerable amount of licenses.
  • Option to avoid license information refresh at each query - important for big organizations with numerous amount of licenses.
  • Option to limit user access, and deny the ability to query license status information for specific servers.
  • OpenLM Agent displays the software version of the Agent and OpenLM Server.
  • OpenLM Server version is displayed in the Configuration Form title bar.
  • New "user activity" report allows you to query activity for each user/feature combination.
  • If you bill projects for software usage you can now use EasyAdmin to get the billing report.

For more information please contact:


Regev Doron, CMO
reggev@openlm.com
Office 972-4-6308085
Mobile 972-52-6811094

Global Maps is a Carbon Neutral Company - we print ONLY when we have to

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

How to use OpenLM for creating billing reports?

OpenLM is a license statistics application for FLEXnet (FLEXlm) and also a replacement for Macrovision SAMsuite and SAMreport. The software allow you to produce monthly usage reports and use them in order to create your bills for users and projects.

This article will demonstrate EasyAdmin capability for creating billing reports using Simens NX UGS license statistics.

In order to produce the report open OpenLM EasyAdmin which is the system interface for FLEXnet reports. Go to the user activity TAB to see the following interface:
Fill in the range you would like the report to cover and click view. Then Export the data by clicking "Download CSV".

You can open the CSV file with your spreadsheet software or any other software in order to calculate the usage time. Each exported row looks as follow:


The date/time format is UNIX time stamp (milliseconds from 1970). We would like to calculate the work time in minutes so we will add a new column with this formula:

= (F1-E1)/60000

The value is the number of minutes that the user have used the product.

The next release of OpenLM will feature a ready made billing report with totals for each user.

If you want to display the start and end date in a date format you can use this formula (translate UNIX time stamp to Excel Date):
= E1 / 86400 + 25569

Then change the cell format to the desired date/time format (for example this custom format: mm/dd/yyyy h:mm).

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

The OpenLM system can connect with the Microsoft Active Directory and use information which is stored there, to offer wide range of additional capabilities as a result of it.

This article will explain how to control which servers an end user will be able see, when querying for license status information.

To begin with, we would like to demonstrate an "Out of the box" feature which is available for users once the configuration of OpenLM Server to connect with AD (Active Directory) is accomplished. The following picture is demonstrating how users can query the system to find all the information they need, about licenses in use by other users in the network.

Your first step is to set the connection between the OpenLM server and your organization Active Directory. The user name used to connect to AD must have permission level which will allow it to read users details.

Fill in your domain name user and password, and click the check button. The connection to AD will only work after OpenLM was successfully connected to the active directory.

Your second step is to determine which license servers the user should see when querying "License Information Status". This is an important tool for use when you operate multiple license servers but would like to hide available licenses, on license servers which are not permitted to specific users. It is necessary to build a dedicated tree in the AD with specific servers as branches inside (see picture). By creating the tree you will be able to select branches/servers that specific users are allowed to see and borrow licenses from. If a user is not listed (connected with) a server he will be able to see all the servers.

Define the following OpenLM organizational unit tree:

Under "allow_query_server" OU, add security groups in the following format: port_number@license_server_name. Add users (or groups) to the group with the server name on which you wish to grant query permissions.

For example, let us assume we have one license server (licserv1) serving two type of licenses on two ports, Matlab from Mathsoft on port 27003 and SolidWorks licenses on port 27006. Some of your users need access to the Matlab licenses and the other, to the SolidWorks licenses.
We will build two security groups under the OpenLM tree:
27003@licserv1
27006@licserv1

Once users are divided between the proper security groups, they will be limited to see and borrow licenses from those servers only. Users which will not be listed as part of any branch/server on the tree, will be able to query and borrow any license from any of the servers in your network.