We would like to address a frequently asked question: Is it necessary to access FLEXlm report logs in order provide full license usage reports and denials?
The answer is no, and we will explain it in the following article.
What Are Report Logs?
Report log files contain feature usage information in 1 second resolution. In addition, they report active workstation IP addresses and license consumption information according to projects. Report logs are generated by the vendor daemon. They are not written by default; this action must be enabled. The data in report logs is compressed, encrypted, and organized into a repository (binary file). Since the report log information is encrypted, OpenLM can’t access it and need to rely on other data sources. Flexera FlexNet Manager tool can access the binary report log files.
What Does OpenLM Rely on for License Monitoring ?
OpenLM relies on a combination of information from multiple sources;
1. Direct license manager queries
2. Debug log files
3. License files
4. Options files
5. Additional interactive information provided by end users.
The combination of these sources provides monitoring and controlling capabilities that far exceed the mere reading of report log files. Here is why:
1. Second Resolution Reporting
FLEXlm report logs provide second-resolution license consumption reports. OpenLM provides the same resolution in its real time reports as shown in the image below:
2. IP Addresses
The report log provides IP addresses of active workstations. OpenLM provides this information as well. We employ several methods to obtain the workstations’ IP and hostname:
- The OpenLM Server runs network services to resolve workstations’ IP
- The OpenLM Agent may be employed for that same purpose
- The OpenLM Router is best for extracting workstation information in highly dynamic environments such as schools and university campuses
3. Monitoring of Licenses According to Pools
OpenLM reports license consumption according to license pools. This advantage enables license administrators to optimize the distribution of licenses, and provide access to appropriate license types (e.g.: Floating, Named-user) to specific people:
4. License Consumption Attribution by Projects
Report log files log usage according to projects. They do so in relation to the LM_PROJECT environment variable. OpenLM is backward compatible, and supports reporting according to the LM_PROJECT variable, but also does a lot more:
- OpenLM empowers end users to open new projects by themselves
- OpenLM empowers end users to report projects by themselves
- Users can interactively select which project they are working on, and even split sessions among different projects
- Users may be queried for reporting their active project upon license check-out and periodically in a predefined frequency.
Summary
OpenLM monitors and controls multiple license server types. It is not restricted to monitoring FlexNet licenses alone. Nevertheless, OpenLM’s solution for monitoring FLEXlm licenses is a comprehensive one, and is not lacking information, even though the encrypted report logs are not utilized by the OpenLM system. We invite you to install OpenLM and compare its reports with those of our competitors.
