Autodesk COMBUSTION-4 - Acad Full-seat Windows Version, Combustion 4 discreet Network Manual

11 March 2005

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Titl e: combustion® 4 Network Administrator’s Guide for Microsoft® Windows®

Par t Numb er: NA

Software version: 4

Document version: 4.0

Date: 11 March 2005

Table of Contents

1Requirements 1

System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Network Installation Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2 Network Planning Concepts 5

Network Configuration Models. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

AdLM Network Communication Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

License Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

3 Installation 13

FLEXlm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Setting up the Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Silently Installing combustion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

4 License Server Configuration 19

Obtaining the Server Host Name and ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Obtaining and Setting Up a License File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Configuring the Server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

5 Administration 23

License Server Failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24

Using the FLEXlm Configuration Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Using the License Configuration Switcher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

iii

toc

Table of Contents

6 Networking Quick Start and Troubleshooting 27

FLEXlm Defined. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Obtaining Authorization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Identifying the Server Name and Host ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Handling the License File Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Configuring the FLEXlm Server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Troubleshooting Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

AGlossary 35

iv

Requirements

Summary

System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Network Installation Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

1

1

Requirements

The Network Administrator’s Guide gives you

the information you need to deploy

combustion® from a network location. This

chapter describes the system requirements and

network installation components required for

installing, authorizing, and configuring

combustion on a network.

System Requirements

Before you begin installing combustion on a

®

network using the Autodesk
(AdLM), ensure your network, servers, and client
workstations meet the minimum recommended
requirements for network installation. Refer to the
follow ing table for the server hardware and software
requirements.

License Server

Hardware /
Software

Operating
system

Network
interface card

Communication
Protocol

Requirements Notes

Windows NT®,
Windows 2000, or
Windows XP

Compatible with
current Ethernet
network infra­structure

TCP/IP By default, AdLM

Licensing Manager

AdLM supports
Ethernet network
configurations only.

AdLM supports
multiple network
interface cards.

uses TCP packet
types. Optionally,
you can configure
UDP packet types.

Refer to the following table for the client workstation
minimum recommended hardware and software
requirements.

Client
Workstation ­combustion

Hardware /
Software

Processor Intel® Pentium® III,

Operating
system

Hard drive 20 GB main hard drive,

RAM 256 MB

Video Video display card

CD-ROM Any speed For installation only.

Network inter­face card

Web browser Microsoft Internet

Requirements Notes

Pentium 4, or AMD®
Athlon™ XP

Microsoft
2000 or Windows XP

approximately 142
MB free space

®

Windows

CPU, 850 MHz or
higher.

It is recommended
that you install and
run
an on an English
version of the
operating system.
You must have
Administrator
permissions to
install
Not assigning these
permissions can
cause
and third-party
applications to
perform incorrectly.
See Windows Help
for information
about assigning user
permissions.

See the

4

Installation Guide

for details.

—
—

with 32 MB of VRAM
(1024x768 display
with 24-bit color
minimum required)

Compatible with
current Ethernet
network
infrastructure

Required for
installing and
running network
versions of

combustion

—

Explorer 6 or later

combustion

combustion

combustion

combustion

.

on

.

2

Network Installation Components

❚❘❘

Client
Workstation ­combustion

Hardware /
Software

Optional Modem or access to

Requirements Notes

—

an Internet
connection

Network Installation
Components

To de pl oy a n d c o nf i gu re combustion on a network,
the following network installation components are
required. These are included on the combustion 4
installation CD.

• Autodesk License Manager (AdLM)

• FLEXlm™ Tools

• combustion License Configuration Switcher

• SAMreport-Lite (optional); for information about

SAMrepor t-Lite, refer to the online samlite_ug.chm
file located on the combustion 4 installation CD,
in the Network Licensing\Manuals folder.

Autodesk License Manager

The Autodesk License Manager (AdLM) provides
authorization for clients running combustion on a
network. The AdLM also contains tools for network
administrators that provide query and tracking
capabilities. For authorizing combustion on a
network, double-click setup.exe in the Network
Licensing directory on the combustion 4
installation CD and follow the AdLM installer
instructions on the screen.

See “License Management” in Chapter 2, “Network

Planning Concepts’’.

FLEXlm Tools

The AdLM uses FLEXlm technology from
Macrovision® to manage network licenses. FLEXlm
provides administrative tools that help simplify
management of network licenses. You can use
FLEXlm tools to monitor network license status,
reset licenses lost to a system crash, troubleshoot
license servers, and update license files on the fly.

See “Using the FLEXlm Configuration Tools” in

Chapter 5, “Administration’’.

combustion License Configuration Switcher

You use the combustion License Configuration
Switcher (LicenseSwitcher.exe) located in the same
directory as the combustion.exe to allow a
workstation to use either a network license or a
standalone license. For example, users running a
network license of combustion on a network
workstation can use the combustion License
Configuration Switcher to switch their license
configuration to a standalone configuration and
take work on the road. When they return, they can
switch back to a network license configur ation. With
the combustion License Configuration Switcher,
users can remain productive while their computer is
detached from the network. Using the combustion
License Configuration Switcher does not convert a
network license to a standalone license. It only
changes the method combustion uses to get its
license. See “License Management” in Chapter 2,

“Network Planning Concepts’’.

See “Using the License Configuration Switcher” in

Chapter 5, “Administration’’.

3

1

Requirements

SAMreport

While not part of the network installation, a version
of SAMreport called SAMreport-Lite™ is included
in the Network Licensing folder on the combustion
4 installation CD to help you track network license
usage. With SAMreport-Lite technology from
Macrovision, you can monitor client usage for all
software that uses FLEXlm to manage network
licenses.

SAMreport-Lite generates usage reports in a variety
of output formats, including HTML, text, and
Report Interchange Format.

For more information about the SAMreport-Lite
features and for instructions on installing
SAMreport-Lite, see the online help file
samlite_ug.chm included on the combustion 4
installation CD in the Network Licensing\Manuals
directory.

For additional information about SAMreport-Lite,
and for updates and fixes for this feature, visit the
Autodesk website at:

samreportlite

www.autodesk.com/

.

4

Network Planning Concepts

Summary

Network Configuration Models . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

AdLM Network Communication Protocol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

License Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

5

2

Network Planning Concepts

This chapter explains concepts related to

installing and operating combustion on a

network.

Network Configuration Models

Installing combustion on a network requires
careful planning. The type of installation you choose
to deploy can differ depending on your network
infrastructure and requirements for client use. The
network configuration model you choose to
implement determines where the components that
combustion requires for a network installation are
installed in your network environment.

Before you choose the appropriate network
configuration for your users, you must determine
how you want to deploy combustion and which
components you need to deploy on a network.

Most deployment types require two components:

the AdLM and the deployment on the same
server or on separate servers.

The network server model you choose for your
installation determines where each component
resides on the network. The server model you
choose is based on the structure of your network, the
number of users, and your performance
requirements. It can determine how well
combustion performs in your network
environment and the length of recovery time in the
event of a network problem.

Another important aspect of a deployment to
consider is data sharing. One of the key benefits of a
deployment is that users can share data. When you
plan a deployment, consider the requirements for
sharing data and the network resources (such as
shared folders) when choosing your deployment
type and server model.

combustion supports the single server model, the
distributed server model, and the redundant server
model.

• Autodesk License Manager (AdLM)

Installing, authorizing and starting the AdLM is
the first component of any network installat ion of
combustion. The AdLM and related files
(located on a network share) control available
licenses used by combustion. A user can run
combustion only if a license is available. The
AdLM is required for all deployment types.

• Deployment location

Creating and installing the deployment is the
second component of any network installation of
combustion. A deployment is a shared network
resource where a preconfigured combustion
setup program resides. A user installs
combustion from a deployment on the network
onto each workstation. A deployment location is
required for all deployment types. You can store

6

Single Server Model

With the single server model, all license
management takes place on a single server. Since all
license management takes place on a single server,
this configuration requires the least amount of
maintenance.

To create a deployment using the single server
model, you run the AdLM on the server you want to
configure and store the deployment on the same
server.

Network Configuration Models

❚❘❘

Distributed Server Model

The distributed server model is the preferred
method of installing combustion in a network
environment. The distributed server model allows
you to place (distribute) the AdLM on more than
one server. This lets you split your software licenses
between multiple servers. The servers can be located
at different sites, if necessary.

The distributed server model gives you more
network tolerance. Since the software licenses are
split among multiple servers, licenses can still be
granted should one of the servers fail or run out of
licenses. In addition, a distributed server requires
less system administration than a redundant server
model. However, if a server fails, some licenses are
not available. This drawback can be resolved by
adding the
variable to each client workstation.

To create a deployment using the distributed server
model, you install the AdLM on each server you
want to configure.

This model requires a unique license file for each
server. See License File

Once the network installation is complete, you
install combustion on each workstation. The client
installation creates a combustion.lic file on the client
workstation that identifies which license server the
client communicates with to obtain a network
license. The client workstation tries to obtain a
network license only from the server that was
configured when the AdLM created the deployment
location from which the client was installed.

Adding the
variable to each client workstation is necessary if you
want to have license carr yover. This is a key strength
of the distributed server model. It allows the client
workstation to automatically obtain a license from
another server in the distributed server pool if one
server should fail or run out of licenses.

lm_license_file environment

.

lm_license_file environment

For example, if you installed a distributed server
pool of two servers, each server has a license file for
five combustion licenses. You then create six client
installations that use the default combustion.lic file
pointing to the first server. If all the licenses on the
first server are in use, the sixth workstation that tries
to obtain a license from the server will be denied,
even when the second server in the pool has five
available licenses.

You have two options to get the sixth workstation a
license:

• Edit the combustion.lic file so the sixth workstation
looks exclusively to the second server for its license.

Note:

Using this method does not give you the

benefit of network tolerance.

• Add the lm_license_file environment

variable to all the workstations so the AdLM can
access any available licenses on either server. See

License File Parameters

Note:

If the

combustion.lic

lm_license_file

used, the environment variable takes priority.

.

file and the

environment variable are both

Redundant Server Model

With the redundant server model, you must use
three servers to authenticate a single license file. One
server acts as the master, while the other two provide
backup if the primary server fails. If all three servers
are active and functioning properly, all software
licenses are available to client workstations. A
redundant server model does have some drawbacks
you need to consider:

• A redundant server model should be maintained by
a dedicated system administrator.

• At least two servers must be functional in order for
client workstations to obt ain licenses. If two servers
fail, client workstations cannot get licenses.

7

2

Network Planning Concepts

• Since the redundant server model is more

susceptible to network failure, all servers must
reside on the same subnet and have consistent
network communications. All servers must be
located on the same site.

• Slow, erratic, or dial-up connections are not
recommended when using the redundant server
model.

• The redundant server model does not support the
UDP packet type.

To create a redundant server pool, run the AdLM
installation on the initial server you want to
configure, then repeat the AdLM installation for the
other two servers. To get proper license
authorization, you must obtain the Host ID and
server name for each server in the redundant server
pool before contacting Autodesk. For additional
information, see “Obtaining the Server Host Name

and ID” in Chapter 4, “License Server
Configuration’’.

Once all client workstations are installed and
communicating with the license server, you must
modify the combustion.lic file on each client
workstation to include server information for each
of the three servers. Following is an example of the
contents of the combustion.lic file:

SERVER PC54321 210987654321

USE_SERVER

Following is an example of a combustion.lic file
modified for a redundant server operation:

SERVER PC54321 210987654321 27005

SERVER PC12345 123456789012 27005

SERVER PC32154 321543210981 27005

USE_SERVER

The redundant server model requires a port number
(the default is 27005) for each server.

The port number at the end of each SERVER line
must also be included in the license file for the
redundant server model only.

The redundant server model requires Windows
2000 Server Edition.

Note:

Windows 2000 Workstation edition is not

supported as license servers.

The redundant server model also requires that
separate copies of the same license file, license
manager daemon (lmgrd), and vendor daemon
reside on each server; all are necessary to
authenticate and release licenses.

If the redundant server configuration fails, it might
be necessary for the system administrator to start
the license server on each of the redundant server
machines within a few minutes of one another.

AdLM Network Communication Protocol

Once you have chosen your preferred installation
configuration, you have the option of using either
the TCP/IP or UDP packet types. The AdLM uses
the standard network protocol—Transport Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) packets by
default. TCP sends data between applications
whereas IP communicates data between an
application and the physical network.

There is a 10-connection TCP/IP limit with
Windows 2000/Windows XP Professional editions.
The Windows 2000 and Windows XP Server
editions do not have the 10-connection limitation,
so they are the preferred Operating systems. If you
have more than 10 client workstations that need to
access a single license server and you do not have a
Server edition of Windows, then use UDP as the
default packet type. UDP requires more extensive
configuration at servers and clients.

8

License Management

❚❘❘

combustion does not support the redundant server
model if you choose to use UDP as your primary
packet type with UDP packet transmission.

To use UDP packets, you must set the environment
variable FLEXLM_COMM_TRANSPORT UDP on
each client workstation.

License Management

Rather than purchasing a single-user license for
every combustion user or workstation, you can
purchase a network license for a maximum number
of concurrent users, and purchase additional
licenses as needed.

combustion uses either TCP (default) or UDP
packets to communicate with the AdLM. You can’t
configure combustion to use both packet types
simultaneously. The packet type you use depends on
your network environment and the number of
clients assigned to a specific server.

License Operation and Availability

When a user starts combustion, the application
reads the combustion.lic file located on the client
workstation to determine which server it should try
to obtain a license from. combustion then sends a
message to the AdLM server listed in the
combustion.lic file through the network protocol and
requests a license. If the number of available licenses
has not exceeded, the AdLM assigns a license to the
user. The combustion session then starts on the
workstation, and the number of available licenses is
reduced by one.

The client and server communicate at regular
intervals to keep track of licenses in use and manage
license availability.

When a user exits combustion, the AdLM frees a
license for another user. Multiple sessions on an
individual workstation use only one license. When
the last session is closed, the license is freed.

The following three processes direct license
management:

License manager daemon (lmgrd.exe)

•

Handles the original contact with the application,
then passes the connection to the vendor daemon.
Lmgrd is used to communicate with the vendor
daemon only and does not authenticate or
dispense licenses, it passes user requests on to the
vendor daemons. By using this approach, a single
lmgrd daemon can be used by many different
software vendors to provide license authentication.
Lmgrd starts and restarts the vendor daemons as
needed.

•

Autodesk vendor daemon (adskflex.exe)

Contains the server process that releases licenses.
The vendor daemon keeps track of the licenses that
are checked out and which clients are using them.
Each vendor has a unique vendor daemon to
manage vendor-specific licensing. adskflex.exe is
specific to Autodesk products only. If the vendor
daemon terminates for any reason, all users lose
their licenses until lmgrd restarts the vendor
daemon or the problem causing the termination is
resolved.

•

License file

license information.

—A text file that has vendor-specific

—

—

If you use environment variables in a distributed or
redundant server environment, these variables take
precedence over the settings in the combustion.lic
file.

9