| The information on this page refers to LM-X v5.3.3 and newer, which now filters out removable drives for Harddisk HostIDs on Windows platforms. If you are using an older version of LM-X, refer to documentation for earlier versions. |
The following table lists all HostID types that are supported by LM-X License Manager and indicates the level of security and flexibility of each type to help you decide which HostID type(s) work best for your needs. We recommend using a HostID that the end user will not change often during the valid period of the license.
Note: The values you enter as HostID(s) are case-insensitive (for example, "User" and "USER" are interpreted as the same entries).
| HostID Type | Security | Flexibility | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hostname | Low | High | Easy to move. |
| Username | Low | High | Easy to move. |
| IP address | Low | High | Easy to move. This HostID is a good choice if the IP address is static and available. |
| Windows product ID | Low | High | Easy to move. |
Harddisk | High | Low | Difficult to move. For optimal security, locking to the BIOS and/or Harddisk HostID is more resistant to abuse; however, these HostIDs can be acquired only on Windows platforms. Note that removable drives are filtered out for Windows platforms. |
BIOS | High | Low | Difficult to move. For optimal security, locking to the BIOS and/or Harddisk HostID is more resistant to abuse; however, these HostIDs can be acquired only on Windows platforms. |
| Long (Unix-specific locking) | High | Low | Difficult to move. Note: Mac OS X machines which have undergone extensive hardware modifications, for example had their internal hardware components replaced, may irreversibly lose their serial number (Long HostID). This can cause LM-X to fail to check out the license. Therefore, users without a well-defined serial number or those users who lost their serial number are recommended to choose a HostID type other than Long HostID for their licensing purposes. |
Ethernet card (MAC address of the Ethernet card) | Medium | Low | Difficult to move; however, it is possible to change the MAC address, which somewhat compromises security. Generally a good choice for locking either a node-locked license or a floating license, because almost all machines have an Ethernet card, and information about the Ethernet HostID is available on all platforms. |
Hasp HL dongle | High | High | Dongles have superior security and flexibility; however, because the dongle is a physical device, it has the risk of being lost or broken. |
| Custom | High | High | Lets you develop your own algorithm to lock the application to custom hardware. |
| AWS Instance ID | High | High | May be somewhat time-consuming when collected in environments other than AWS; therefore, this HostID should be disabled if not being used by the client. |
| Google Compute Engine (GCE) | High | High | May be somewhat time-consuming when collected in environments other than GCE; therefore, this HostID should be disabled if not being used by the client. |
| Azure | High | High | May be somewhat time-consuming when collected in environments other than Azure; therefore, this HostID should be disabled if not being used by the client. |
| Raspberry Pi | High | Low | Difficult to move. Locking is done using the Raspberry Pi serial number. |
Note: For the highest level of security, we recommend that you use as many HostID types as possible. We also recommend using HostID matching to define custom configuration settings more accurately.