Specify Port Numbers Used by FlexLM

Liz Sanderson
Liz Sanderson

Introduction

The FME floating license server runs on two ports and by default, communication between the floating license server and a client running FME occurs on a random port. Specifying ports can be useful in specific security configurations. For example, if you have a firewall between your floating license server and a client machine running FME, you may want to open a specific port for this communication. Or, you may wish to avoid conflict when multiple FlexNet servers are installed in the same environment. For example, FME may use a random port, but ArcGIS may use a fixed port, and a conflict will occur if the same port is in use. Another reason why specifying ports is needed is if you are configuring a three-server redundancy floating license. Specifying the ports in the license file for the FME License Server is also needed if you are configuring your license server on a cloud machine, see the related articles for more details on creating a floating license server in the cloud:


If there is a firewall between the floating license server and the client machine running FME, you will likely need to open specific ports for this communication in your firewall configurations. The SERVER and VENDOR port can be manually set to use specific port numbers in the safe.lic file.

By default, the first two lines of a safe.lic file looks like this with no port numbers:

SERVER servername 065a942c8ec3
VENDOR safe


To specify ports, the first two lines of the safe.lic will look something like this: 

SERVER servername 065a942c8ec3 xxxxx
VENDOR safe PORT=yyyy

 

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Open the safe.lic in a text editor
Edit the first two lines of the safe.lic file so that xxxxx on the SERVER line and yyyy on the VENDOR line is the port you want to be used for communication to the client machine running FME. 

SERVER servername 000c290de0df xxxxx
VENDOR safe PORT=yyyy


2. The port numbers for the SERVER and the VENDOR must be different
The SERVER port is typically between 27000 and 27009, and the VENDOR port number is typically between 1700 and 8000. Be sure to add the SERVER port and VENDOR port to the firewall exceptions.

3. Restart the FME License Server
After making the change to the safe.lic the FME License Server must be restarted for the port number to take effect:

  • Windows: Start Menu > FlexNet for Safe Software> Start - Restart FME License Server
  • Linux: % <FlexServerDir>/lmgrd -c <FLEXServerDir>/safe.lic


4. On the client machine running FME
If the VENDOR port is specified on the floating license server, the FME running on the client machine must also specify this port. Using the FME Licensing Assistant on the client machine, specify the port number when prompted to "Connect to a Floating License Server," as shown below:

LicenseServerName:yyyy

(where yyyy is the port number used in the VENDOR line of the safe.lic file).


NOTE for older versions of FME

In earlier releases of FME the fme_license.dat file in the <FMEDir>\licenses\ directory on the client machine has to be edited manually. It should contain the following line by default:

SERVER LicenseServerName Any

Change it to:

SERVER LicenseServerName Any yyyy

(where yyyy is the port number used in the VENDOR line of the safe.lic file)

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Comments

1 comment

  • Comment author
    oscarwillems

    When opening the firewall, for the vendor port it can be any of these:
    On Windows, the VENDOR port is typically between 1024 and 65535. On Linux, the default VENDOR port is between 32768 and 61000. 

    Or you can fix the vendor port in the safe.lic file if you don't want to open the whole range

    Specifying Floating License Server Ports (safe.com)

    0

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