This page gives details on how to instance the license system on multiple machines. This guide is for medium to large networks using Chaos products.
Overview
When using floating licenses in a local network, you may consider creating a redundant license setup for environments where you need to run hundreds or thousands of instances of Chaos products.
In such cases, you can deploy up to 3 instances of the Chaos Chaos License Server that serve the same pool of floating licenses in a local network. This ensures that licenses are still available if one of the machines that run the License Server loses power or connection to the network.
To create a redundancy setup, you will need to do the following:
- Install the Chaos License Server on up to 3 machines, which are centrally accessible in your local network.
- Authenticate the License Server instances with a Chaos account that holds the floating license pool. This is usually the Administrator's account.
- Configure each artist instance of a Chaos product to use a list of the IP addresses of the machines where the Chaos License Server is installed. Chaos products can try to obtain a license from up to 3 License Server instances, where failing to obtain from one License Server in the list will make the product try the next one.
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Read below for more details.
Installation
Download and install the Chaos License Server on up to 3 machines in your local network.
You can authenticate each instance with the Administrator account for your Chaos licenses.
See the Installing the License Server page for more details.
Chaos Product License Configuration
Configure your Chaos products for remote licensing and add up to 3 IP addresses of where the product can try to reach a License Server.
When installing a Chaos Product, opt for the Advanced installation path and select the Remote option on the Licensing screen. Enter up to 3 different IP addresses of machines in your network where an instance of the Chaos License Server can be found. See the Installing the Product for Network Floating Licensing page for more details.
Alternatively, you can change the product licensing configuration without re-installing. Use the Change License Settings utility that comes with the product or see the Changing the Product License Setup page for more details.
Use-Case Examples
The following are a few examples of how to best deploy license servers in multi-machine environments, depending on the needs.
Small Studio Office
In a small office or studio environment, for example, with 10 workstations, it's best to install a single instance of the Chaos License Server and activate it with a Chaos account that holds floating licenses. All of the workstations will then need their Chaos products configured to connect to the IP address of that single License Server as their primary server. The license server should be accessible in the local network by default. However, you can check Settings > Expert mode to make sure that Network Visibility is set to Visible to Local Network. To make configuration changes easier, a single vrlclient.xml file may be loaded from a shared network drive for all networked office machines requiring a license. For more details on how to do that, visit the Sharing a License Configuration in a Network page. |
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Large Studio Office
In a larger office or studio where there are many workstations and a render farm, install up to 3 instances of the Chaos License Server on different machines in the network with a redundancy. You can authenticate each instance with the Administrator account for your Chaos floating licenses. All of the workstations in that office will need their Chaos products configured to use the IP addresses of those license server machines as their primary and alternate server(s). |
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Multiple Regional / Global Locations
In offices or studios with multiple regional or even global locations, install up to three license servers for each location, all activated with the same account. This way, each office will have a local redundancy. All the workstations in that local office would have their Chaos products configured to use the IP addresses of license server instances in their own office network as their primary and alternate server(s). |
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Example: Redundant License Settings
This is an example of using the Change License Settings utility that comes with your product installation.
The product is configured to look for 3 different instances of the Chaos License Server, running on 3 different machines in the same local network.
When the product fails to obtain a license from the first address, it will try the second, and then the third one. It will cycle through the list a few times until it either successfully obtains a license, or give up after several attempts. If all attempts fail, this may mean that either the License Server instances are unreachable, or there are no available licenses at that moment.
See the Changing the Product License Setup page for more details on changing the product licensing configuration.
Example License Settings for a workstation using three License Server systems for redundancy.
This shows the use of two alternate servers in different locations, such as with a multi-office organization.
Having too many instances of the License Server
Installing too many instances of the License Server is unnecessary, although it will not cause any actual network or licensing issues.
A default installation of any Chaos product also installs the License Server. In this case, the intended usage is for individual users who do not use floating licenses in a local network.
If you are using a setup where you share floating licenses in a local network, it's best to use the Advanced installation options of the Chaos installer and select the Remote option at the Licensing screen of the installer. Then simply enter up to 3 IP addresses of where a Chaos License Server runs in your local network. This prevents having an unnecessary number of instances of the License Serve in your network, as well as any confusion that may arise about the licensing setup in your environment.
Using many licenses on a Linux machine
When many licenses are utilized at the same time on a Linux machine(s), license errors may appear on randomly. That is caused by the limit of "open files", i.e. file descriptors, which by default is 1024. The limit should be increased to 10,000 or more.
