Advanced features in FLEXlm - Borrowing Licenses

FLEXlm version 9.2 introduced the feature of borrowing licenses. The purpose of this action is to allow user to temporarily take license from the server to another workstation. After that period the license will only be used on the network.
The length of the time that a license can be borrowed is determined by the software vendor. You can check if you can borrow licenses by checking the license file. Each FEATURE line that has a BORROW=X on it indicates that this license key can be borrowed for a maximum of X hours. If you do not see BORROW=X as part of the FEATURE line, that license key cannot be borrowed. By default, the maximum number of hours is set to 4380 (6 months) when Tripos generates the license file.
OpenLM support the borrow feature of FLEXlm.

How do floating licenses work?

A license manager keeps a pool of floating licenses. Users can activate the software by using floating licenses from the pool. The pool of licenses determine how many users can work at the same time - if 10 licenses are available then only 10 users are able to work concurrently. User number 11 will not be able to get use of a license until one of the first 10 users will exit the software. The concept of "floating license" is good for companies that buy software since they can use the same license on many workstations and by many users simultaneously. For this reason floating licenses are much more expensive than node locked licenses, usually 3 times the price of a node locked license.
While the concept of floating licenses is very good, the implementation is not complete. Several problems do not let organizations utilize the benefits of floating licenses to the max and in many cases they pay a lot more per license but finally retreat to use it like a node locked license.