The information on this page refers to LM-X v5.4 or newer, which added the CLOUD share option. |
The SHARE directive specifies the type of license sharing that is in use. Share options are described in the following table.
Option | Description | Used for Network Licenses | Used for Local Licenses |
|---|---|---|---|
HOST | This option specifies that processes running on the same host will share licenses and that processes running on different hosts will use different licenses. Using the HOST option allows a user to start multiple sessions of the same application on the same host, yet take licenses for only one session. | Yes | No |
USER | This option specifies that processes started by the same user on a unique machine or on multiple machines will share the same license, regardless of how many machines the license runs on, and processes started by different users will use different licenses. Using the USER option allows a user to start multiple sessions of the same application on the same machine or on multiple machines, yet take licenses for only one session. | Yes | No |
CUSTOM | This option specifies that processes started using the same custom sharing string will be shared. This option also specifies that processes started using different custom sharing strings will use different licenses. You can use the CUSTOM share option to custom-define when to enable sharing, thereby potentially making the license sharing more restrictive. | Yes | No |
VIRTUAL | This option allows an application to run in a virtual machine environment; for example, using VMware or Virtual Server. See Licensing for virtual machines and cloud computing for more information. | Yes | Yes |
CLOUD | This option allows an application to run in a cloud environment. Currently, this option supports AWS, Azure, and GCE cloud platforms. | Yes | Yes |
TERMINALSERVER | This option specifies that the licensed application will work for remote terminal server clients. When TERMINALSERVER is not specified, remote clients will be blocked, thereby preventing a local license from being shared for multiple users via a terminal server. The TERMINALSERVER tag applies only to Windows and is ignored by Unix. (For information about problems that may occur when you set the SHARE=TERMINALSERVER directive, see Licensing issues.) | No | Yes |
SINGLE | This option limits checkouts to one instance of a feature across multiple sessions. A single-usage license is essentially a one-count floating license for a single host, but eliminates the need to setup a license server. | No | Yes |
Usage notes
The HOST, USER, and CUSTOM share options do not prevent a single process from using more than one copy of a feature license. Rather, these share options allow different processes to share the same licenses.
For share options used with network licenses, the COUNT directive must be set.
Combining share options
For network licenses, HOST, USER, CUSTOM and VIRTUAL sharing can be used together. For local licenses, VIRTUAL, TERMINALSERVER and SINGLE sharing can be used together. When combining multiple share options, separate them with a vertical bar ( | ); for example, SHARE = HOST|USER|CUSTOM.
Combining the HOST, USER, and CUSTOM share options results in a logical AND, so the license will be shared between the options if the strings match for the specified criteria; otherwise, the license will not be shared. Combining these share options results in the license being shared in fewer cases than if only one share option is used.
Licenses created using LM-X License Manager v5.4 and newer can use the VIRTUAL and CLOUD keywords individually or together. Using only the VIRTUAL keyword allows your application to be licensed on virtual platforms, but not in the cloud. Using the CLOUD keyword allows your application to be licensed on cloud platforms, which adds more flexibility to licensing modes.
For backward compatibility, licenses created using LM-X License Manager versions older than v5.4 will continue to use the SHARE keyword VIRTUAL, which includes both virtual machine environments and cloud environments.