Can i get a floating license for a server that has mulitple seats ?

[akrithalllal]

We want to load Arbortext Editor onto a server and have users RDP onto the server and use Arbortext Editor. Currently i have a floating license which allows one person, can i get a floating license that allows multiple people.

[TimPhelps]

Ultimately, you will need to discuss this with your sales representative or file a case with PTC's licensing group

PTC uses Flex license. Floating licenses are single user licenses.

Floating licenses can be doled out to users from a license manager.

However, the licenses do not support more than one user.

I do not believe your desired scenerio is supported.

[RayStachowiak]

Just to be clear, or maybe it is me, but a floating license is just that, it floats from user to user. It is usable by only one user at a time, but when that user is done other can use them. We have 4 licenses available on our system, and 10 people able to access them. If they are casual users this all works. If they are writers or power users then you need fixed licenses and we have 40 or so of these. Depending on how much your three users use the licenses 1 could work or 2 might work. You need to see what the mix of usage will be.

[GarethOakes]

It sounds like you are looking at deploying Arbortext Editor as part of a "virtual desktop" environment. Floating licenses can work the way you want and I've seen it in action with Citrix and Windows Terminal Services software. You have a licensing server which hands out licenses to each RDP session. One floating license gives one user access to use the software this way, so you need to buy enough floating licenses to handle the maximum expected user capacity at any given time of the day or night.

Ray gives a good example of how this can work in practice.

[akrithalllal]

Hi Gareth,

This is the environment we have setup. Using the PTC Flex License server i installed 2 floating licenses (1 txt file). When i get 2 users to connect, only one user can open Arbortext Editor. The second user double clicks on the icon, nothing happens. No Error messages nothing.

[GarethOakes · Accepted solution]

If there is a licensing problem it pops up an error dialog, so it is unlikely to be a licensing problem. Perhaps it is a configuration problem with your Citrix or Windows Terminal Services environment? You can check the Flex Licensing web administration page to see if both licenses are being access or not as a way to verify.

[akrithalllal]

Hi Gareth,

There was an issue with the Flex License server. I downloaded a recent version. and now it works fine. Also had to set up the PTC_D_LICENSE_FILE variable.

works great now.

Thank you

Ashona

[mray]

Hi Ashona,

We're facing the similar issue,no pop up for licensing.Please let us know if you were able to resolve it.

Thanks,

Mandy

[GarethOakes]

Hi Mandy,

You may end up needing help from a Citrix specialist, but the things to check from the Arbortext side are:

1. Is Arbortext installed successfully? Does it start up when you're not running inside Citrix?
2. Is Arbortext licensed successfully? For Citrix use I believe you need to use FlexNet Licensing Server with Floating or Register User licenses. Note that when installing such licenses on the FlexNet server the machine ID (MAC address) to use must be the server's. When in doubt use cpu_id.exe from PTC to check.
3. Is Flexnet installed successfully? Check the Flexnet Web Admin GUI status for the PTC_D daemon and its list of associated licenses.
4. Does each client instance have correct PTC_D_LICENSE_FILE environment variable set? (usually: $LMHOST$@7788, where $LMHOST$ is the name or IP address of your Flexnet Server, and port 7788 is the default PTC_D port that must be accessible by the clients)

Cheers,

Gareth

[mray]

Thank you Gareth for your quick response.

We've Arbortext editor 5.4 with fixed license which is installed on the windows terminal.t\There is a .lic file inside the PTC Installation.Please find my comments below.

1. Is Arbortext installed successfully? Does it start up when you're not running inside Citrix?

Mandy : Yes...It's starting from Citrix for a single user.

1. Is Arbortext licensed successfully? For Citrix use I believe you need to use FlexNet Licensing Server with Floating or Register User licenses. Note that when installing such licenses on the FlexNet server the machine ID (MAC address) to use must be the server's. When in doubt use cpu_id.exe from PTC to check.

Mandy : The license automatically gets pushed on the terminal.The version of the software is 5.4.Flexnet is not configured.

1. Is Flexnet installed successfully? Check the Flexnet Web Admin GUI status for the PTC_D daemon and its list of associated licenses.

Mandy : Flexnet is not configured.

1. Does each client instance have correct PTC_D_LICENSE_FILE environment variable set? (usually: $LMHOST$@7788, where $LMHOST$ is the name or IP address of your Flexnet Server, and port 7788 is the default PTC_D port that must be accessible by the clients)

[GarethOakes]

There is your answer then. Arbortext cannot run in a multi-user environment on fixed licenses. You must use floating (concurrent) or registered user licenses with FlexNet.

[mray]

Can you please help me on how to use FlexNet for 5.4

[GarethOakes]

There is plenty of documentation for FlexNet available, and it's not hard to set up. If you don't have floating or registered user licenses available that is the first problem you must solve. That can only be resolved with help from PTC sales or an approved PTC reseller. Then you can setup Flexnet Server and proceed to update your single user test environment to have Arbortext connect to your Flexnet Server. Once that is working then Citrix should also work.

If you require documentation or training please contact PTC Support, PTC Sales, or one of the PTC resellers or channel partners.

[mray]

Thanks Gareth.

I noticed that Flexnet is applicable for Arbortext 6.0 onwards.Please suggest if I should use License Manager or Flexnet for 5.4.

[GarethOakes]

Arbortext 5.4 and earlier used a completely different licensing software called "ELAN". The concurrent licensing server software was called ELAN License Manager. However PTC no longer supports or distributes Arbortext earlier than 6.0 so you will find it very difficult to download such old software. Instead you should look at using a currently available version such as 6.0, 6.1 or 7.0.

BTW I've heard of people who were able to get Arbortext 5.x working under Citrix with fixed licenses but use of such a configuration is likely to be in violation of the software license agreement.

[mray]

Gareth,

We've enough amount of license for Arbortext 5.4.But Upgrade is not a good option for now,we can add it in our roadmap.

We're ready to configure it using any license manager but guidance is required.I've even raised a case with PTC.

I've seen in PTC Support notes that PTC do not assist in any Citrix configuration.Thought to check if we can get the help from the experts.

Thanks,

Mandy

[GarethOakes]

You could try contacting PTC partners who would be able to quote you for assistance with such activity. Our team is available at sales@gpsl.co or you can find other companies by looking at the PTC partners list http://www.ptc.com/partners.

[TimPhelps]

As Gareth noted, one license does not serve many. You need a number of licenses. The number of licenses depends on the number of user that you expect to be using Arbortext Editor at any one time. Ray gives a good example.

If your question has been answered, then can you select a "Correct Answer" for the response that aided you?

If you found an alternate solution, could you write a note about that solution?

It is very helpful to the community to know the ultimate solution.