OpenLM Token-based licenses

What is it?

The OpenLM Token-based licenses enables users to purchase a certain number of tokens for OpenLM functionalities available with the reusable token licensing model. To activate additional functionalities of OpenLM, users need to install the OpenLM Workstation Agent on the end users’ workstation. Without the Agent, the functionalities provided through the token licensing module are unavailable.

In this specific environment, each functionality consumes a predefined number of tokens. Tokens are consumed when the monitored application is launched and released when the application is closed. The reusable token solution is available for a limited number of OpenLM functionalities, allowing users to reuse the same license for monitoring different applications and adjust their licenses based on current needs.OpenLM’s token-based licenses are optional.

Let’s take a scenario – You have a floating license on a workstation that’s sitting idle and you would like to safely release it back to the license pool so that other users can use this real-time.

How do we do this?
We have three ways – save & close; suspend & resume; customized. OpenLM helps you to manage any types of systems, licenses you have without worrying about the back-end functionalities.

Functionalities available via OpenLM Token-based licenses

OpenLM provides a comprehensive license harvesting technology:

Save & Close:
Save the engineer’s work on the workstation and close the application. This method can be configured for the following applications:

• ArcGIS and ArcGIS Pro
• AutoCAD (all features that use the acad.exe process)
• SOLIDWORKS
• MATLAB
• Catia
• Petra
• Harmony
• Kingdom

Suspend & Resume:
OpenLM detects an idle process and identifies the respective license. Our system freezes the application and releases the license into the common license pool. The application remains frozen until a license is reclaimed. This method is a global one, intended for all sorts of FlexLM licensed applications.

Customized:
It is a general-purpose license harvesting technology, applicable to any licenses either managed by a license manager or monitored by OpenLM.

Go to top of the page

Actual Usage

The OpenLM Actual Usage extension allows license administrators to know how end users are utilizing the licenses and collect data about license idle times.. This information is sampled by the OpenLM Agent on each end user workstation, and sent to the OpenLM Server (on-premises version) or OpenLM Cloud.

With the Agent running on the workstation, OpenLM measures the following:

• Duration of time a license is consumed by a specific user,
• Duration of time a shared license application was actually in use and for how long.

Advantages of OpenLM Token-based licenses

Flexibility
Built on the floating-license system architecture, OpenLM Token is the most flexible licensing method. It enables license administrators to maintain a pool of tokens or a number of licenses for an OpenLM functionality, which they can deploy across all or a selected number of users whenever and wherever they need.

OpenLM automatically calculates the number of tokens checked in or out based on the enabled functionality and the application monitored by our software. When the monitored application is launched on the end user’s workstation, the tokens are automatically consumed and released when the monitored application’s license is respectively checked in the license pool.License administrators are able to manage as many applications and users they want as long as there are enough unused tokens available in the token pool. When an end user releases the monitored application, the tokens return to the pool and are available for someone else to use. When OpenLM steps in to release an idling application, the tokens automatically return to the pool and become available for others to use.

For example: As a license administrator, you have 1000 tokens in the license pool, and you monitor ArcGIS and MATLAB applications. Now, when a user launches both applications, 400 tokens will be deducted from the pool for ArcGIS and 400 tokens for MATLAB, which means that 200 tokens remain in the pool. If the user closes Matlab, the tokens return to the token pool, so you’ll have 600 tokens ready to use. The same thing happens if OpenLM releases the idling Matlab application. OpenLM doesn’t charge customers for harvesting the tokens.

Optimize your licensing strategy
Flexible licensing paves the way for optimal use of any solution – OpenLM included – based on your current needs. The OpenLM Token makes the solution flexible, granting you access to different modules and functionalities of OpenLM. You can enable or disable the modules, depending on whether or not they are actually needed by your systems or projects. The flexibility eliminates unnecessary costs, as well as frustration related to constantly using suboptimal monitoring tools.

Why do I need OpenLM tokens?

• Buy tokens to access additional functionalities of OpenLM.
• Use tokens to gain access to the actual software usage data of the end user.
• Use tokens to enable the license harvesting capability of OpenLM.
• Monitor as many applications as you want.
• Harvest as many licenses as you need.

OpenLM functionalities available with OpenLM Token-based licenses

Actual usage
OpenLM allows you to report how much time a license was consumed by a specific user for a specific session. Parameters include CPU and data IO. This token will track idle time and usage by any given user.

License harvesting
OpenLM enables you to identify idle open sessions and safely release them to improve license utilization.

How can I harvest idle licenses?
OpenLM provides you with several ways to retrieve licenses sitting idle on the end users’ workstations. To enable OpenLM’s license-harvesting capabilities you need to

• Install the OpenLM Agent on the end users’ workstation.
• Purchase tokens to enable this functionality.

With OpenLM you can remotely harvest idle licenses in four ways:

• Manually
• By closing the application and saving the end user’s work on the workstation – Save & Close functionality
• By suspending and/or resuming the application – Suspend & Resume functionality
• By running a custom script to close the application – Agent Procedures