I am looking at running FlexLM on AWS to use our existing cloud infrastructure, but I am a bit concerned about the FME licencing server having issues when the virtual machine changes requiring a new .lic file.
Is there a nice solution to running an FME licencing server on AWS, or will I be required to request a new .lic file whenever the hardware changes?
Hiya @jasoneroad!
Yes it will. We do this internally for our online training, where the Flex LM license manager is hosted on a micro or nano instance of AWS, that is set up with an elastic ip ( aka it doesn't change). Our EC2 machines are then use that instance as the licesne server. However, if you can't have a static IP, then your .lic will invalidate every time the ip changes and is not recommended.
Cheers,
Cat
@CatAtSafe - I'm trying to do this very thing... Install FlexLM on an EC2 Instance to allow licensing for an Autodesk software package. The EC2 side seems to be working well but the client machine can't seem to connect. Is there a good explanation available for both ends of the connection needed to implement this connection?
@CatAtSafe - I'm trying to do this very thing... Install FlexLM on an EC2 Instance to allow licensing for an Autodesk software package. The EC2 side seems to be working well but the client machine can't seem to connect. Is there a good explanation available for both ends of the connection needed to implement this connection?
The trick with EC2 instances is that you have to open up the ports in both the firewall AND the Amazon security group. The real issue ends up being the vendor daemon port. The FlexNet port range is 27000 to 27009, but the vendor daemon ports have a much larger range. It is best to hardcode the vendor port to 27010, and then open 27000-27010 in both the firewall and the Amazon EC2 security group used by the EC2 instance.
The trick with EC2 instances is that you have to open up the ports in both the firewall AND the Amazon security group. The real issue ends up being the vendor daemon port. The FlexNet port range is 27000 to 27009, but the vendor daemon ports have a much larger range. It is best to hardcode the vendor port to 27010, and then open 27000-27010 in both the firewall and the Amazon EC2 security group used by the EC2 instance.
I'm guessing this is just going to become more and more common.
As requested: Using FME Desktop on AWS: https://knowledge.safe.com/articles/60408/fme-desktop-on-amazon-aws-ec2.html
Here's an article outlining the steps required to get the FME Desktop floating license server up and running on an EC2 instance quickly.
https://knowledge.safe.com/articles/82230/create-fme-license-server.html
If you are really familiar with AWS and Linux, it's possible to have it up and running in less than 8 minutes. Total cost is ~$45 per year.