Licensing
- DEVOPS
Licensing Getting Started
According to the terms of your CM Labs contract, you are entitled to one or more products.
CM Labs will create one or more activation keys corresponding to the purchased products.
An activation key is a 16-digit code used to generate one or more license files for the computer(s) that will run Vortex Studio applications.
The Vortex Studio License Manager application lets you generate license files using the activation keys provided by CM Labs, you don't need to contact support to generate license files once you have an activation key.
Products are complementary, i.e. each license file unblocks a product. For example, Vortex Studio Create and CAD Add-On require two license files, each one generated using a different activation key.
See Using the License Manager Application.
You must have a computer with an internet connection to be able to generate license files using your activation key(s).
Terminology
- Activation Key: An activation key is a 16-digit code used to generate one or more license files
- Activation Server: Server that users connect to in order to generate a license file using an activation key. The RLM activation server is reached via the internet. The activation server URL is http://hostedactivation.com/cmlabs.
- License file: A file created as the result of generating a license.
- License Server: A centralized computer software system that allows client computers to enable licensed software to run on them.
- License Folder: Location of the generated license file, typically
C:/CM Labs/Licensesfolder on Windows or/opt/cmlabs/licenses/on Linux.
Types of Licensing
Four types of licenses are available depending on the products you purchased.
Node-Locked Licensing
Node-locked license files are bound to one hardware device and cannot be transferred.
Any number of application instances are allowed to execute on the same computer.
See Generating Node-Locked License Files.
Dongle-Locked Licensing
Dongle-locked license files are bound to one specific dongle device.
The generated license files are valid on any computer that detects the specific dongle for which the license files have been generated.
You must install a dongle driver on each computer you want to use the dongle with. The dongle driver can be found on the Sentinel customer website.
See Generating Dongle-Locked License Files on Windows
Floating Licensing
Floating licensing is hosted on license servers.
The application using a floating license must connect to the license server, a request is sent to the server.
If a license is available, the license server allows the application to run.
When the application ends using the license, the license is reclaimed by the license server and made available to other authorized users.
Floating licensing enforces a maximum number of computers that can use the product at the same time.
See License Server Setup.
See Generating Floating License Files.
Application-Locked Licensing
The generated license files are valid for the associated executable file as long as the binary signature of the executable remains the same.
See Generating a License File for a Custom Application.
How to Use your Activation Key
How to Use your Activation Key for Vortex Studio Create
| License | Description | How To |
|---|---|---|
| Vortex Studio Create – Subscription Node Locked | Provides generation of one node-locked license file valid for 1 year. | |
| Vortex Studio Create - Subscription Floating | Provides generation of one floating license file valid for 1 year on a license server. | Generating Floating License Files |
| Vortex Studio Academic – Subscription Node Locked | Provides generation of one node-locked license file valid for 1 year. | Generating Node-Locked License Files |
| Vortex Studio CAD Importer Add-on – Subscription Node Locked | Provides generation of one node-locked license file valid for 1 year together with a PiXYZ node-locked license file to unlock additional CAD formats. | Generating Node-Locked License Files |
| Vortex Studio Demonstration – Time Limited Node Locked | Provides generation of one node-locked license file valid with a limited time for demonstration purposes. |
How to Use your Activation Key for Vortex Studio Activate
| License | Description | How To |
|---|---|---|
| Vortex Studio Activate Five Nodes – Subscription Node-Locked | Provides generation of five node-locked license files valid for 1 year. | |
| Vortex Studio Activate One Node – Subscription Node-Locked | Provides generation of one node-locked license files valid for 1 year. | |
| Vortex Studio One Simulator Node - Permanent Node-Locked | Provides generation of one node-locked license files valid permanently. | |
| Vortex Studio Create Simulator Add-on – Subscription Node Locked | Provides generation of one node-locked license files valid for 1 year. Enables content creation for Simulator features on top of Vortex Studio Create. | Generating Node-Locked License Files |
| Vortex Studio Activate Five Nodes – Subscription Floating | Provides generation of five floating license files valid for 1 year on a license server. | Generating Floating License Files |
| Vortex Studio Activate One Node – Subscription Floating | Provides generation of one floating license file valid for 1 year on a license server. | Generating Floating License Files |
| Vortex Studio Create Simulator Add-on – Subscription Floating | Provides generation of one floating license file valid for 1 year on a license server. Enables content creation for Simulator features on top of Vortex Studio Create. | Generating Floating License Files |
| Vortex Studio Unlimited Simulator Node - Permanent Node-Locked | Provides generation of an unlimited number of node-locked license files valid permanently. | Generating Node-Locked License Files for a Simulator |
| Vortex Studio Embed Add-on - Permanent Application Locked | Provides generation of an unlimited number of application license files signing permanently each instance of your application executable compiled with Vortex Studio SDK. |
Using the License Manager Application
To generate each license file, you must use the Vortex License Manager application, installed by default with Vortex Studio.Generating Node-Locked License Files
When you purchase a Vortex Studio product with a node-locked license, CM Labs sends you activation keys that you can use to generate the node-locked license files on your computer.License Server Setup
This information explains how to set up a license server, allowing any computer on your network to run Vortex Studio with floating licenses.Generating Floating License Files
When you purchase a Vortex Studio product with a floating license, CM Labs sends you activation keys that you can use to generate the floating license files on the license server.Generate Vortex Embed Add-on License Files
When you purchase a Vortex Studio product with a Vortex Studio Embed Add-on, CM Labs sends you activation keys that you can use to generate the application license files. The Application is called a Custom Vortex Application.Troubleshooting Licenses
This section describes how to troubleshoot issues with licensing.Custom Licensing
This topic covers some licensing situations that apply to custom use cases.