Licensing Synergy/DE products

Follow these instructions to license Synergy/DE products. (On Windows, you need to do this only on a license server or stand-alone system—not on a license client. See Choosing local or network licensing (Windows). On Linux, you can optionally use license forwarding to access licenses on a Windows license server; see Using Linux license forwarding.)

The Synergy License Web Service will automatically install and update product keys for your Synergy/DE products. If the system does not have an internet connection, see Licensing Synergy/DE products on a system without internet access.

Tip

To ensure your system can access the Synergy License Web Service, you may want to run the lmcheck utility before you install Synergy/DE. It can be downloaded from the Downloads area of the Synergex Resource Center. See lmcheck utility for more information.

This topic explains what you need to know about Synergy/DE licensing in the following situations:

When you install version 11 or higher on a new system

When you order products for a new system, Synergex will email you an install code. After you have installed Synergy/DE products, the system will be in a 14-day grace period and lmu (or the Synergy Configuration Program) will indicate “Reg string not found.”

Apply the install code from the command line with lmu -install or by using the Synergy Configuration Program (SynConfig). See Applying an install code.

Applying the install code transmits the registration string from your system to Synergex. Then, product keys are generated, downloaded, and installed automatically. You can verify that product keys are installed by running lmu (without any options) from the command line or by clicking the View Licensed Products button in SynConfig.

When you upgrade to version 11 or higher

Note

On UNIX, if you install REV11 licensing alongside a previous Synergy version, you will not be able to run older versions of lmu or synd because they will not be able to access the updated license file. However, all other pre-REV11 products and components (dbl, dbr, and so forth) will still work.

 

Note

On Windows, if you have installed the REV11 licensing upgrade package on Synergy/DE 9.5.3b–10.3.3 and are now upgrading to version 11 or higher, follow the instructions in Upgrading Synergy/DE on a system that has the licensing upgrade package installed.

Upgrade your system as you normally would. Once the upgrade is complete, License Manager will start polling and will contact the Synergy License Web Service.

Note

Fuzzy matching is a REV11 feature that allows a license request for a specific product code and version to be satisfied by that product code with a different version. For more information on fuzzy matching, see the Licensing FAQ.

When a system is cloned

When setting up a new machine, it is often more efficient to copy an image from an existing machine than to install everything from scratch. The new machine, of course, requires its own license, which means it will need a different licensee name than the one used on the image.

1. Copy the image to the new machine. When License Manager starts up, it will detect a registration string mismatch and put the machine into a 14-day forced expiration period. You’ll see a message to this effect when you run Synergy applications, and an error will be logged in the event log on Windows or synd.log on UNIX. Lmu (or SynConfig) will indicate “Reg string not found.”
2. If you have not already placed an order with Synergex Customer Service, do so now and specify a new licensee name and the products that will be licensed on the machine.
3. Customer Service will process the order and send you an email containing an install code. Use the install code to change the licensee name on the machine:

Windows: lmu -rNewLicenseeName -ns -installCode

UNIX: lmu -rNewLicenseeName -installCode

If NewLicenseeName contains spaces, it must be enclosed in quotation marks (" ").

(Optionally, on Windows, you can change the licensee name from the Synergy Configuration Program; see Changing the licensee name from the Synergy Configuration Program (Windows) for instructions.)

This will generate a new registration string, remove all existing product keys, and sync with the Synergy License Web Service. Then, the new product keys will be downloaded and installed, and the system will be removed from forced expiration

When a backup is restored or a system is reinstalled

This procedure covers the following cases. Synergex Customer Service refers to all of these cases as a reinstall, so you will need to sign a Synergy/DE License Reinstall Agreement.

In these cases, even though the licensee name hasn’t changed, the new hardware will likely cause License Manager to generate a new registration string, which won’t match the one currently stored in Synergex’s database. You’ll need to communicate the new registration string to Synergex using an install code, as explained below.

Note

When you restore a backup to a system with the same hardware, in most cases the registration string will be the same and you won’t need to relicense products. If you’re not sure whether you need to relicense products, run lmu (without any options) from the command line after you’ve completed the restoration. If the system is in 14-day forced expiration, you need to relicense products.

If you’re restoring a backup

1. Restore the backup. When License Manager starts up, it will detect a registration string mismatch and put the machine into a 14-day forced expiration period. You’ll see a message to this effect when you run Synergy applications, and an error will be logged in the event log on Windows or synd.log on UNIX. Lmu (or SynConfig) will indicate “Reg string not found.”
2. Go to the Licenses area of the Synergex Resource Center and generate an install code. See Obtaining an install code for instructions. Once you have the code, apply it with lmu:
lmu –installCode

This updates the registration string in Synergex’s database. Then, new product keys are generated and downloaded to the system, which will be taken out of 14-day forced expiration.

3. Contact Synergex Customer Service to sign a Synergy/DE License Reinstall Agreement.

If you’re performing a fresh install

1. Install Synergy/DE.
2. Go to the Licenses area of the Synergex Resource Center and generate an install code for the license that you are transferring to the new machine. See Obtaining an install code for instructions. Once you have the code, apply it with lmu:
lmu –installCode

This updates the registration string in Synergex’s database. Then, new product keys are generated and downloaded to the system, which will be taken out of 14-day forced expiration.

3. If the original system is still running, uninstall Synergy. (Otherwise, Synergex Customer Service will contact you because there will be two systems attempting to access the same license.)
4. Contact Synergex Customer Service to sign a Synergy/DE License Reinstall Agreement.

When you need to reinitialize licensing

In rare cases, Synergy/DE Developer Support will request that you reinitialize licensing to fix a problem. This involves running lmu -k to remove the current licensing and then reinitializing License Manager using the same licensee name.

1. Contact Synergy/DE Developer Support to get the current -k password (also referred to as a kill string).
2. From the command line, run
lmu –kpassword
3. Reinitialize licensing:

Windows: lmu -cLicenseeName -ns

UNIX: lmu -cLicenseeName

When you start SynConfig, you will be prompted to configure licensing. Select Server and then specify the same licensee name you used previously on this system.

4. Lmu or SynConfig will report “Reg string not found” because the registration string will have changed and needs to be communicated to Synergex. To do this, obtain and apply an install code. See Obtaining an install code and Applying an install code.

Once the install code is applied, License Manager will automatically sync with the Synergy License Web Service, and your product keys will be downloaded and reinstalled.