Interfacing the OpenText License Manager with OpenLM Broker – KB813

This document describes the steps required to interface OpenLM with the OpenText license manager to monitor license usage and obtain license statistics. This guide is based on the OpenText implementation integrated with OpenLM Broker v4.8.8. If you’re using an older version of Broker that relies on the EventLog Monitor tool, please consult this document instead.

Requirements

To query the OpenText license manager, the following components must be installed:

1. OpenLM SLM v4.3 or higher installed on a machine in your organization
2. OpenLM Broker v4.8.8 or higher installed on the same machine as the OpenText license manager

Monitoring capabilities and features

The monitoring capabilities available for the OpenText license manager through the OpenLM Broker are as follows:

Additionally, the Broker component allows for buffered communication and the ability to start/stop the license manager service remotely.

OpenLM Broker configuration

Diagram of how OpenLM interfaces with the OpenText license manager

The mechanism of how OpenLM Broker interfaces with the OpenText license manager is as follows:

1. The OpenText license manager writes usage data to a log file.
2. Broker monitors this log file for changes, reads it, and creates an XML file in the OpenLM Generic format.
3. All gathered license usage information is then sent to OpenLM SLM for processing. The license usage data is then accessible through the EasyAdmin interface.

Please note that before proceeding, the OpenLM Broker must already be installed and configured to report to an OpenLM SLM.

Enabling OpenText license manager usage log functionality

The OpenText license manager needs to be configured to log all information to a specific file (e.g., ImgLM_##_##_##.log).

ImgLM.ini is the file that has to be configured for OpenText logging. Please note the following:

Event log message IDs

The “Event log message IDs” part marks the information to be logged. ID numbers are attributed a value:

• 0 – Do not log this event
• 1 – Enable logging for this event

For example, the line

257=0

This means that a successful license check-out event will not be logged, whereas

257=1

Will log a successful license check-out event.

Event Log File

• Event Log File Max Size: Maximal size of the log file in MB. Please set it to a large enough value to contain data for a significant amount of time.
• Event Log File Max Duration: The number of days for which the log should be run. Please set it to 365 days.

OpenLM Broker configuration tool settings

To configure the Broker to monitor the OpenText license server in the OpenLM Broker configuration tool:

1. Click Add Port.
2. Enter any port number (since Broker interfaces OpenText using only the log file, any value will do., E.g., 12345).
3. Select OpenText from the “License Manager Type” drop-down menu. Click Apply.
4. Select “Vendor Name to Be Filled” under Vendors. In the “Vendor Name” field, enter a name that you would like to see in OpenLM’s Reports (e.g., OpenText), then click Apply.
5. Select the Log Files node and click on Add Log File.
6. Select the “log” node that has just been created. Click […] and browse to the path where the configured OpenText log file is located. (e.g., “C:OpenTextImgLM_##_##_##.txt” where the # hash symbols indicate the creation date for that particular log file). We recommend using the newest file created from the moment OpenText logging was turned on.
7. Click Advanced, then check the “Watch Files by Pattern” box.
8. Click Apply.
9. Open the opentext@PORT.properties file created in the OpenLM Broker folder (typically “C:Program FilesOpenLMOpenLM Broker”) in a text editor.
10. Adjust the values as described in the “OpenText.properties” section below. When done, save and close the file.
11. Click Restart Broker.
12. Follow the steps in the next section (“4. OpenLM SLM configuration”).

OpenText.properties configuration

The values should be configured as follows:

• monitored.log.next is used to specify which log file Broker should read: newest (default) means that if you have multiple files, the latest one will be chosen; newer is suitable for testing purposes, and if you want OpenLM Broker to read historical data from various files one by one. However, with newer, it is not guaranteed that all data will be loaded.
• date.format – used for parsing the internal OpenText log file (default: MM/dd/yyy HH:mm: ss )
• opentext.feature.name – the feature name to be monitored (default: OpenText Desktop Viewer)
• total.<FeatureName> – the total amount of licenses to be reported to the Server and displayed in EasyAdmin and the associated reports (e.g., total.OpenText Desktop Viewer=10)

OpenLM SLM configuration

Automatic OpenLM SLM configuration through EasyAdmin

If you have followed the steps in the section above, OpenLM Broker should now transmit data to OpenLM SLM.  The final step is to approve the configuration in EasyAdmin:

1. Open the EasyAdmin interface either by accessing it in your browser or through Windows Start → OpenLM → OpenLM EasyAdmin User Interface, or if you use the cloud version – https://easyadmin.openlm.com/
2. In the License Servers window,  click on There are x servers pending approval.
   
   
3. Click on OpenText, verify the details of the newly added OpenText license manager entry, and click Approve.

The OpenText license manager has been automatically added to the OpenLM Server, and the configuration is complete.

Manual OpenLM SLM configuration

You can also manually add the OpenText license server in OpenLM:

Adding an OpenText server

1. In EasyAdmin User Interface, navigate to Start.→ Administration →License Manager Servers tab.
2. Click Add LM. The below window appears:
3. In the Type tab, insert a description in the Display name text box (e.g., “OpenText license manager”):
4. From the Type drop-down menu, select OpenLM Generic.
5. Set the Time Zone to where the License Server physically resides.
6. Enter the Hostname and Port number of the machine where the OpenText license manager is installed. They must be precisely as configured for OpenLM Broker.
7. Allow server to fall back to denied license toggle: off.
8. Use Broker toggle: on.
9. Switch to the Custom Fields tab:
   
10. Insert optional details: Country, Usage scope, and Description.
11. Click Save.

OpenLM SLM is now configured to monitor incoming data from OpenLM Broker.

How to verify your OpenText license manager configuration

To check if the OpenText license manager is being monitored correctly:

1. Open the EasyAdmin user interface in your browser.
2. Click EasyAdmin Start → Widgets → License Servers. Verify that the configured license manager(s) appears in the server list. A green circle node indicates an active connection to the license server.

Please note that if this is a new connection, it may take up to 3 minutes for the status indicator to change.