What is the FlexNet® License Manager?

COMSOL uses the FlexNet license manager version 11 from Flexera Software, Inc. for license management. (FlexNet was formerly called FLEXlm™.)

The license manager comes bundled with any COMSOL installation. The COMSOL software products and the license manager can be installed in any order, unless you are installing based on a port number and Host Name. In that case, the license manager software needs to be installed and started before installing COMSOL.

Installation of any paid-for license on Windows requires a license file (license.dat), which is sent to you by a COMSOL representative by email. You can view the contents of the license file by opening it with a text editor or word processing software. If the file contains a line starting with the word SERVER, then the FlexNet license manager is required. For a Floating Network License, the purpose of the license manager software is to count the number of concurrent users and to give an error message if the number exceeds the licensed number of concurrent users. Depending on your region and operating system, the license manager software might also be needed for Single User Licenses. In that case, the purpose of the license manager software is to lock a COMSOL session to a computer that is authorized by COMSOL.

The FlexNet license manager supports a heterogeneous network of Windows, Linux, and OS X computers. Both the license manager and the COMSOL software can run on either Windows, Linux, or Mac platforms. In this context, the computer where the license manager is installed is called the license server and any computer that has the COMSOL products installed is called a client. Any type of computer can function as a license server, such as a laptop, desktop, workstation or a centrally located server. COMSOL can be installed anywhere, typically on a local PC or on a file server where users access the program over a network. A single computer can function as both license server and client, holding both the license manager and COMSOL.

Even though the license manager and COMSOL can be installed in any order, a full test of the installation cannot be done until both are installed.