A common scenario for the floating network license solution is that the
NKLS is deployed on a private network as a local license server. Therefore, you
must prepare the NKLS setup installer to be delivered to the user (or
administrator).
In the ElecKey directory \NetKeyLicenseServer, the NKLS setup installer
is provided in two versions:
·
NKLS Setup.exe
·
NKLS 4.0 EK.msi
You can choose and provide either version of the NKLS setup installer
to the user. Besides, you may also repack all files in the NKLS setup installer
and create your own setup package as well.
Machine based network license is the Network Key that is implemented as
Machine License, i.e. implemented on the hard disk drive. In this case, you
must build the Network Key Register utility to be distributed along with the
protected application. The user (or administrator) can deploy the network
license by running the Network Key Register utility on the server, and then
register the license to obtain a License Key.
The following instructions describe how to use ElecKey Integrator to
build the Network Key Register utility.
1.
Run ElecKey Integrator. The wizard dialog box
appears.
2.
In the Select Application License Type
dialog, select Machine License.
3.
In the Select Integration Task dialog,
select Build End-User Utilities for Network Key.
4.
In the Set Identification dialog,
assign the same Program ID (you previously used to protect your application) in
the Program ID field.
5.
In the Set Options dialog, you can use
the default settings.
6.
In the Select Evaluation Mode dialog,
select Custom/Secure Evaluation.
7.
In the Customize Messages dialog, the
needed dialog boxes for the implementation you have chosen are automatically
checked. However, you can enable the dialog boxes as well as edit messages and
options as you want. Then, click the Edit button of the Registration Dialog
Box checkbox.
8.
In the Registration Dialog Box Properties
dialog box, click the Options tab. Then, in the URL/Email/Document/Executable
field, enter your website URL. For instance, https://www.sciensoft.com/register.html
or https://www.sciensoft.com/register.htm?regid=<EncRegID>. Or, enter
the email composer parameters. For instance, mailto:service@sciensoft.com or
mailto:service@sciensoft.com?subject=Request License Key&body=My
Registration ID is <RegID>.
9.
In the Create End-User Utilities
dialog, the needed end-user utilities for the implementation you have chosen
are automatically checked. However, you can choose to build the end-user
utilities as you want.
10. In
the Summary dialog, review the action you have chosen.
11. Click
the Integrate button. The end-user utilities for Network Key are
created.
To create a setup package for deploying the network license, please
ensure to include the following files:
·
Register.exe
(Network Key Register utility)
·
Ekc3220.dll
(in \Deploy\Win32App\KeyCheck\)
·
Ekc6420.dll
(in \Deploy\Win64App\KeyCheck\)
·
Nkag20.exe
(in \Deploy\Win32App\Network\)
·
Nkag6420.exe
(in \Deploy\Win64App\Network\)
·
Netkey.ini
(Network Key configuration file)
·
End-user utilities
(optional)
The user can install the network license by running the Network Key
Register utility (REGISTER.EXE) locally on the server, or remotely from a
client computer. In both cases, the Network Key configuration file (NETKEY.INI)
must be edited with the proper settings of the NKLS address and port number.
USB dongle based network license is the Network Key that is implemented
as USB License, i.e. implemented on the USB flash drive. In this case, you must
make the USB License Key (dongle) to be distributed along with the protected
application. The user (or administrator) can deploy the network license by
attaching the USB License Key to the server.
The following instructions describe how to use USB LicenseKey Manager
to make the USB License Key.
1.
Run USB LicenseKey Manager.
2.
Attach a blank USB drive to a USB port on
your computer.
3.
In the Main tab of the Key
Properties pane, from the Program ID drop-down list, select Program
ID of your application.
4.
From the Implementation drop-down
list, select Distribution.
5.
Click the Network tab. In the Network
Key box, specify the maximum number of concurrent users in the Max-User
field, and then specify the network settings as you want.
6.
From the Package pane, you can save
the settings as a package for future use. In the Package Name field,
enter the title of the package. Then, from the File menu, click Save.
7.
From the Note pane, you can enter
notes about the package in the Messages field. Then, from the File
menu, click Save.
8.
Click the Key Properties pane. Then,
click the Make Key button. The Make Key dialog box appears.
9.
In the Make Key dialog box, from the Drive
drop-down list, select the drive letter of the attached USB drive. Then, click
the Make button.
10. When
the Result field shows as Complete, the attached USB drive is
successfully turned into a USB License Key. You can then remove the USB
drive from your computer.
11. You
can make another USB License Key by attaching another blank USB drive to your
computer. Then, in the Make Key dialog box, click the Make
button.
An instance of the NKLS can serve one application. In other words, it
can only detect one Network Key. To deploy multiple network licenses, the
server must run multiple instances of the NKLS, each with a different assigned
port number. Accordingly, the server must have multiple Network Keys installed,
each with a different Program ID.
For your convenience, you may create multiple shortcuts to run the
NKLS, using the parameter /CONFIG to specify the NKLS configuration file (e.g.
"C:\Program Files\ NetKey40EK\NKLS40EK.EXE" "/CONFIG
C:\Myapplication\NKLS1.INI"). Each configuration file must be assigned a
different port number, with a different caption to help to identify the
application the NKLS is serving. Then, you can easily use the shortcuts to run
multiple instances of the NKLS without having to make changes in the
configuration file.
The NKLS solution supports fault tolerance to provide continuous
availability for the application in the event of server failures. You can
deploy the NKLS on up to 4 servers in which each server must have the Network
Key with the same identifications (Key ID, Program ID) and necessary Key
Properties (e.g. Max-User). However, some other properties may be different
depending on your policy. For example, you may add Max-Exec and no Max-Roam for
the Network Key on the redundant servers to limit the licensing capacity. When
the main server is down, the application can automatically connect to the next
server in order, in background process without interruption.
To provide fault tolerance, the application on each client must also
have the Network Key configuration file configured properly with the address
and port number of the NKLSs. The following is an example of the Network Key
configuration file, when deploying NKLS fault tolerance.
|
[Network] |
|
ServerAddress1=192.168.2.1 |
|
ServerPort1=1245 |
|
Host1= |
|
ServerAddress2=192.168.2.2 |
|
ServerPort2=1245 |
|
Host2= |
|
ServerAddress3=192.168.2.3 |
|
ServerPort3=1245 |
|
Host3= |
|
TimeOut=60 |