Activate the License

The Chaos License Server is the bridge between the Chaos Product and the Chaos Account associated with a given license. You cannot use any Chaos product without a license.

You connect to the License Server by installing the license application locally on your machine or connecting to a machine in your local network that has a shared Premium license set up.

If you are hosting a Premium Chaos License Server for multiple machines, please see the License Server Deployment.

Please follow the instructions for your subscription plan:


Solo and Cloud-Based Floating Licenses

If you have a Chaos Solo license plan or are connected to a Cloud-Based Floating License, follow these steps.


  • During the default installation, the license application is installed locally on your machine. For more information on the specifics of the installation, go to the Installation page.

  • Open Houdini and go to V-Ray menu > Licensing > Chaos Account.

  • Select Sign in from this dialog and enter your Chaos account credentials on the Chaos accounts Sign in webpage.





If you don't sign in first, and attempt to render with V-Ray, you are prompted to verify your license by singing in.




Premium or Network Floating Licenses

The Premium License can be shared between multiple users and devices, or it can be used locally - similar to the Solo License. If you only plan to use the license on your machine, see the Solo License section.

When doing a shared setup for a Premium license, the license holder needs to install the license locally on at least one machine in the network. Installing the license happens automatically when you perform a default Chaos product installation. If you only need to install the License Server application separately, see the Installation page. This machine can use the license, but it also serves as a connection point for others to connect to the license. If you are the license holder, i.e., the administrator, see the License Server Deployment page.

Here is how to connect to an already set-up Premium shared license:

  • The administrator needs to give you their machine's IP address. This serves as your connection point to the Chaos License. 
  • When installing your Chaos product, at the Licensing step, select Remote. In the Primary License Server field, type the server IP address that your license administrator gave you. At the end, add the :30304 port.
  • Continue to finish the installation. You are connected to the active licenses after that.





Troubleshooting

If you are experiencing any difficulty installing or running the Chaos License Server, please refer to the Troubleshooting page for possible solutions.


Visit the License Server section of the documentation for further details on the Chaos License Server, such as how to check your license expiration and status, how to access various settings, and more advanced options.


Next Step

Go to step 3 to see how to load V-Ray in Houdini.