Creating a License for TimeStorm

Overview of TimeStorm Licensing

TimeStorm requires a license to use and is associated with an APPDEV seat. There are two broad types of license that can be used with TimeStorm:

A node-locked license tied to a particular host system based on MAC address.
A floating license checked out from a central license server that typically supports a fixed number of seats.

The license creation process is quite different depending on which type you are using. Both will be covered here. In either case there are some set up tasks that will have to be performed by an account user with manager privileges, or a system administrator for a floating license server. We will briefly outline these prerequisites as well for each license type (though they are covered in detail elsewhere). In a list form there is:

Prerequisite set-up work that an account manager, or I/T system administrator (license server administrator), will need to do
Local set-up work that needs to be done on the system you will run TimeStorm on. This page addresses these tasks for each license type.

NOTE: If you have a "free" account, then you already have an option to create a trial 30-day license, and you can proceed to generate a TimeStorm license below.

Using a Node-Locked License for TimeStorm

To configure and install a node-locked license for TimeStorm Tools, you must already have a license assigned to you. The assignment process requires manager-level authority for your team account. If you have that authority, you can perform the task yourself. This is described in Account and Member Administration, in the section labeled To assign a subscription/seat.

If the computer on which you will be working does not have an Internet connection, you can use a separate computer to generate the license file and then transfer that file to the computer on which you want to run TimeStorm. You'll need the MAC address for that computer.

Note: You can create a new license for TimeStorm three times within the life of the subscription. If you need to create additional licenses beyond this limit, contact Timesys (support@timesys.com). These requests are handled on a case-by-case basis.

Generate a Node-Locked License Using LinuxLink

To generate a TimeStorm license:

Note: The MAC address of the machine on which you will be running TimeStorm. For TimeStorm 4.x or later, you can use the MAC address of any NIC. (Previously eth0 was required.) If you are running TimeStorm in a Virtual Box, make sure you use the MAC address of the NIC inside the virtual box.
Log in to LinuxLink and then access your LinuxLink User Profile page using the drop-down in the upper right.:
Scroll to the Active Licenses section of the page, and then click the applicable Create License button.
Note: There are 2 forms of this button, depending on the license type and term.
Enter the MAC ID (address with colons) and a description. It can be helpful to include the type of operating system and computer that will use the license. The license expiration date and the user’s email address are entered automatically.
Note: The MAC address must have colons as the separator, e.g. a9:b8:c7:d6:e5:f4
Click the Create button to generate the license.
An email with the license file attached is automatically sent to the user’s email account, and a link to download the contents of the license file is displayed in LinuxLink.
Download the license, and copy it to the computer you will be using for TimeStorm. You should save the license in one of the expected locations. For detailed information about which directory you should copy the license to, refer to the TimeStorm User’s Manual.
The license file is saved and can be retrieved at any time. To retrieve a license file, follow steps 2 and 3 above. Then scroll to the Active Licenses section of the page, and click the applicable View button (rather than Create License) in the License column.

Applying the License

To use the license, you can do one of the following:

Cut and paste the license text on the screen into a file.
Save the emailed license attachment on the target system.
Click the Download link and save the license file.

TimeStorm will look in default locations for the license on the host. These locations are described in the TimeStorm User’s Manual and in the TimeStorm help, along with additional information about licenses.

Using a Floating License for TimeStorm

To configure and install a floating license for TimeStorm Tools, your organization must have installed and configured a Timesys Floating License server. This task is described in TimeStorm Floating License Setup Guide. In order to use that server to supply your TimeStorm license, you will need to know it's network name (or the IP address) and the port number used. By default, the port number is 65352.

Obtain and Verify the Timesys Floating License Server Information

You should verify that you have the correct server and port information for the Timesys Floating License server before proceeding. You also need to be able to access the server over the network, and this can be checked using a web browser on your host system. Enter the address of the server and port in your browser address field in this format

http://<server_network_name_or_ip_address>:<server_port_number>

This should display a page which looks similar to this if the server information is correct:

Create a serverinfo.lic File on the Host Running TimeStorm

You may have been given a serverinfo.lic file by your account manager, or server administrator (license server administrator). If so, you can skip to the next section, Install and Use TimeStorm with a Floating License.

Create a serverinfo.lic file for your host system on which you will run TimeStorm.
Enter these lines in the serverinfo.lic:
server=<license server host network name OR IP address>
port=<license sever port number>
user=<optional – your user name>
location=<option – the location of host machine>

Server should be set to the server’s IP address or host name. Port should be set to the server’s port number. The default server port number is 65352. Note that user and location entries are optional, but they will help the license sever administrator (and perhaps you) in managing the server.

An example serverinfo.lic file might look like this:

NOTE: The strings after the '=' sign cannot contain blanks and should NOT be enclosed in quotes. Use underbars in place of spaces as illustrated above.

Install and Use TimeStorm with a Floating License

Your severInfo.lic file needs to be copied a location where TimeStorm can find it. Please refer to TimeStorm User’s Manual to determine an appropriate location.

Start TimeStorm. If TimeStorm cannot get a license from the server, you will see an error message when you try to use TimeStorm specific features. Common errors occur if TimeStorm cannot connect to the license server or if the license server is out of licenses. You should contact your license server administrator to fix this issue.

Once you have started TimeStorm and leased a license from the server, you can continue to use it for 24 hours by default. At the end of 24 hours, TimeStorm will contact the server to renew your license. If the server is able to renew the license, you can continue to use TimeStorm. Otherwise TimeStorm will not work for Timesys-specific features. If you restart TimeStorm within the 24-hour period, it is required that the license sever is reachable to use TimeStorm.

Checking the License Server

You can check your license server from a browser by typing: http://<server_network_name_or_ip_address>:<server_port_number>. From this page, you can:

View the number of installed licenses and their expiration date.
View the licenses that are issued to TimeStorm instances.
Optionally revoke any issued or stray host licenses by clicking the Revoke link next to the license if you have an appropriate login and password.
Reload and refresh any new floating licenses you have added to the server by clicking the Reload link at the bottom of the page.