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What is Hosted HyperWorks Units?

Hosted HyperWorks Units (HHWU) is a cloud-based license server solution to HyperWorks versions 12.0 and beyond, developed by Altair.

A brief overview

Altair has introduced Hosted HyperWorks Units (HHWU), a cloud-based license server solution, to HyperWorks versions 12.0 and beyond. This integration offers customers the flexibility to either utilize a traditional on-premise license server or leverage an Altair-hosted server managed through Altair Connect, the company’s Global Customer Portal.

 

With Hosted HyperWorks Units (HHWU), users can access licenses from anywhere, as long as they have internet connectivity.

 

Authorization for license usage is granted to client computers or individual users. Typically, individual users authorize their own machines and user/login accounts. In cases where a single machine is shared among multiple users, there can be multiple authorizations for each user, or alternatively, a system administrator may authorize the entire machine for all users.

 

The key distinction between these two authorization methods lies in accounting and management. If an individual user authorizes a machine, de-authorization may apply only to that specific individual, leaving other users authorized. Conversely, with a ‘system-wide’ authorization, de-authorization affects the entire machine, revoking access for all users.

 

System-wide authorizations are primarily used for compute clusters. Since it’s unpredictable which machines in the cluster a particular user may utilize at runtime, administrators opt to authorize the entire machine for all users. Although usage log files still record usernames, the authorization applies universally to all users of the machine.

 

It is important to note that only Windows and Linux systems can support HHWU.

How to set up HHWU?

  1. To utilize the HHWU system, you must first possess a valid user account on the Altair Connect Portal, and your account (or your company’s account) must have procured and activated Hosted Units. Please consult your administrator if necessary.
  2. Upon acquiring a valid Altair Connect account, you should be able to locate the HHWU or Hosted Units menu on the left-hand side. This section encompasses both administrative functions (if you are designated as one of your company’s administrators) and user functions. This segment will focus on typical user functions. The primary functions include authorizing a machine to utilize HHWU and checking current usage.
  3. To employ the HHWU system and utilize your purchased units, each machine you intend to use must be authorized before launching any client applications. This process entails two steps. Firstly, you acquire an authorization code from the Altair Connect portal and then input it into almutil on the client machine. You have the option to authorize multiple machines to your account using this code or obtaining new codes. This authorization pertains to your specific username on the designated host you authorize. Your computer login username is not directly linked to the HHWU account; rather, the association is established through the authorization tokens. Consequently, if you are logged in on machine A as user1 and machine B as user2, you can still utilize the same Altair Connect account on both machines.
  4. Depending on the installed products, you will find almutil and almutil_gui located in different directories.
  • For Linux, the command line utility almutil resides in the security directory (typically <installdir>/security/<PLATFORM>/almutil), and the GUI utility almutil_gui is in the same directory under GUI (<installdir>/security/<PLATFORM>/gui/almutil_gui). You will need to open a command terminal to execute this command.
  • For Windows, you can access Altair LicenseUtility via a Start Menu entry under Tools, and the command line utility is situated in the security directory within the installation (typically <installdir>/security/win64/almutil.exe).
  1. To authorize a machine, retrieve your authorization code by logging in to Altair Connect, navigate to H-HWU User, and select Generate New Token.
  1. Afterward, you can either select the code and ‘copy’ it using your browser or leave the window open to view the code.

 

  1. This temporary authorization code remains valid for 15 minutes, as indicated by the timer displayed in the browser. If it expires, simply generate a new one. Once done, your machine and user account will be authorized to access the HHWU system.
  2. To proceed, you’ll need to input the authorization code either into the command prompt or the GUI text box, depending on your preference.
  • For the command line utility, navigate to the directory containing almutil and execute the following command, replacing “YOURCODE” with the obtained code:

./almutil -hhwuauth -code YOURCODE

  • If you’re using the GUI tool, navigate to the Hosted HWU tab, paste the code into the “Authorization Token” text box, and click on “Authorize”.

Maximize your HHWU licenses using OpenLM

Knowing all features of HHWU licenses is not enough if you cannot optimize their performance. Notably, it is common in license management to experience issues such as licenses running idle, users getting denials when there is an urgency, scheduled report which has no value in real-time monitoring, and more. With OpenLM, you can resolve all these by ensuring comprehensive optimization of your HHWU licenses. Sounds interesting? Register for our webinars to get a detailed insight into our product, its business benefits, and more.

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