As the account manager, how can I set up a License server on a Mac for sharing a Floating SnapGene license?
These instructions are for shared (floating) licenses only, NOT for standard subscription or permanent licenses.
Make sure the Mac is set to not sleep via System Preferences → Energy Saver → "Prevent computer from sleeping automatically when display is off". The license server background process will stop if the Mac sleeps and will not restart automatically on waking.
Contact SnapGene Support
Contact our support team via this direct link - Contact SnapGene Support - and provide details of your shared (floating) license key. We will then provide a download link for the latest version of the Flexnet license server, and also provide a vendor daemon license file for use with the license server.
Download the License Server Disk Image
Use the link provided by the support team and download the disk image FLEXnet_GSL_mac.dmg to an appropriate location.
Mount the Installer Disk Image
To mount the disk image, double-click on FLEXnet_GSL_mac.dmg.
Install the License Server Folder
To install the License Server folder, drag the FLEXnet_GSL_mac folder to your home folder on your hard drive, then double-click to open the folder.
Note: The location you select to install to must have sufficient permissions to allow the server to write to the directory. If you plan to install in a location other than the default location then install into a new folder that has full read/modify/write and execute permissions set for all license server administrators.
For macOS Mojave, macOS Catalina or Later
More recent versions of macOS prevent the License server lmadmin executable from running correctly. Perform the steps in this section if you are running macOS 10.14 (Mojave) or later.
Open the FLEXnet_GSL_mac folder, then double click on the "lmadmin" icon to run it. You will receive an error message. Click OK.
Click menu Apple → System Preferences → Security and Privacy. A warning will be present about "lmadmin", click Open Anyway.
A further warning will appear, click Open to run "lmadmin", a Terminal window will open. Close the Terminal window to stop the "lmadmin" process.
Start the Server
Double-click the startServer file in the FLEXnet_GSL_mac folder to start the license server.
Sign In to the Server
Click the Administration link at the top right of the window.
To sign in, type the default User Name: admin and Password: admin, then click Submit.
Change the Password
To change the password, type the old and new passwords, then click Save.
Import the SnapGene Vendor Daemon License
Contact the SnapGene support team (support @snapgene.com) if you have not received a "vendor daemon license" file.
To import the SnapGene Vendor Daemon license, click the Vendor Daemon Configuration button.
Then click the Import License button.
Click Choose File, browse to the .lic file sent to you by the SnapGene team, then click Import License.
Note: If you received a new license file (e.g., for additional licenses), instead check the box for Overwrite License File on License Server, then click Import License.
Configuration of the license server is complete. Click OK.
Eject the Disk Image
The virtual disk is no longer needed. To eject the disk image, right click (CTRL-click) on the FLEXnet_GSL_mac drive.
Review Shared License Usage
To review the current SnapGene license usage, click the Dashboard link, then click Concurrent. The number of licenses in use (and available) will be shown in the In Use column.
Open Required Ports
The SnapGene license server uses two TCP ports for communications with SnapGene clients and with the SnapGene license server. If the computer running the license server restricts access to ports the you will need to open specific ports on the server computer Firewall.
License Server Configuration Ports
By default the Flexnet Server will use TCP ports in the range of 27000 - 27009 for client-server communications. We recommend you open all ports in this range on your server firewall.
If you require use of a specific port (for example, if other software already uses a port in the range 27000 - 27009), then this can be configured via the Flexnet Publisher Dashboard. To do this, on the Dashboard click Admin then select Server Configuration.
Scroll down to section License Server Configuration, subsection License Server Manager Port, select the option Use this Port and specify the port number you wish to use.
Vendor Daemon Port
The vendor daemon port is used for communication with SnapGene services. By default a random port number is selected when the server is started. Sites with Firewalls will need to specify a single static port.
The vendor daemon port then this can be configured via the Flexnet Publisher Dashboard. To do this, on the Dashboard click Admin then select Vendor Daemon Configuration and click Administer.
At option Vendor Daemon Port: check the option to Use this port and specify the port number you wish to use.
You should then open the corresponding port on your Firewall.
Restart the Server When Necessary
For the licenses to be accessible, the administrator computer running this server must remain on. If the administrator computer is turned off and then back on, the server must be restarted. For this purpose, open the FLEXnet_GSL_mac folder and double-click the startServer file.