MATLAB Installation Guide for Unix

Configuring Redundant License Servers

If a large number of licenses are governed by a single license server, failure of the server becomes a major event. To prevent problems, you may want to set up redundant servers so that, if one server goes down, the license manager can still function.

In the redundant server configuration, three machines are designated to be license servers. All three machines must be running at the time the license manager is started. However, once the license manager is running, only two machines need to be running at any time; this is called a quorum. As long as a quorum exists, the license manager can continue to run.

Selecting Servers

The first step in configuring the license manager is choosing the servers. The servers should be chosen with the following criteria in mind:

• The servers should be able to handle the network traffic associated with license management. A primary server must be chosen. This is the machine to which clients connect first and which receives the majority of the network traffic. The primary server is the first server listed in the License File. If this machine fails, the next server listed in the License File becomes primary.
• The servers should be running supported versions of their operating systems.

License Files in Redundant Configurations

Once you have chosen the servers, determine the host IDs of each server and provide them to the MathWorks when you request your License File. The MathWorks will generate an appropriate License File. For more information about these topics, see Determining Your Host ID and Obtaining or Changing Your License File.

The following example shows a License File that supports redundant servers. Note that the License File has three SERVER lines that identify each of the three redundant servers:

• # MATLAB license passcode file for use with FLEXlm 
  # LicenseNo: 12345         HostID: 7260d091      
  #                          HostID: 7275caa1    
  #                          HostID: 72701448    
  SERVER pooh   7260d091 27000
  SERVER piglet 7275caa1 27000
  SERVER rabbit 72701448 27000
  DAEMON MLM /usr/local/matlab6p5/etc/lm_matlab
  INCREMENT TMW_Archive MLM 13 01-jan-0000 0 BC7CC831F0F7B7C8D488 \
    VENDOR_STRING="b" HOSTID=DEMO SN=12345
  INCREMENT MATLAB MLM 13 01-jan-0000 1 2C0CF621EF8554F42D11 \
    DUP_GROUP=UH SN=12345
  INCREMENT SIMULINK MLM 13 01-jan-0000 1 7C2CD651802358GAB571 \
    DUP_GROUP=UH SN=12345
  INCREMENT Identification_Toolbox MLM 13 01-jan-0000 1 \
    9CDC162D90C0FF7C7C30 DUP_GROUP=UH SN=12345
  

Note    After you perform the first installation on one of the systems in the redundant configuration, you must edit the processed License File, $MATLAB/etc/license.dat, created during the installation. The installer only adds the first SERVER line to the License File during the installation. You must add the additional SERVER lines. Make sure to include the names and host IDs of the other systems in the redundant configuration and the port number of the license manager in these additional SERVER lines, as shown in the example. Put a copy of this edited License File in the $MATLAB/etc directory on all of the systems in the redundant configuration.

Starting License Manager Daemons in Redundant Configurations

To run the three license managers for this example interactively, log in to each machine with any valid username, but not as superuser. To maintain program security, you cannot start a license manager if you are logged in as superuser. Run the lmstart script.

For example, if the MATLAB root directory is /usr/local/matlab6p5, use this procedure:

1. Log in to pooh:

• cd /usr/local/matlab6p5/etc
  lmstart
  

2. Log in to piglet:

• cd /usr/local/matlab6p5/etc
  lmstart
  

3. Log in to rabbit:

• cd /usr/local/matlab6p5/etc
  lmstart
  

If you change the definition of LM_LICENSE_FILE in .matlab6rc.sh, you need to edit the license manager options file $MATLAB/etc/lmopts.sh to change the LM_FILE variable assignment. For example, if you change the location of the License File to /usr/licenses/license.dat, use the assignment

• LM_FILE=/usr/licenses/license.dat
  

in the license manager options file.

Wait for the license manager daemons on the three machines to synchronize with each other. This may take a few minutes. If, for some reason, the license manager daemons do not connect, take the daemons down on each machine, and rerun the procedure. Network traffic may affect the synchronization, so it may require several attempts to establish a proper connection. Again, all three machines must connect for the license manager to begin serving keys. Once the daemons are up and connected on all three machines, only two machines are needed for a quorum; the loss of any one machine will not cause any licenses to be revoked.

Starting the License Manager at Boot Time

If you want the license manager to start automatically when rebooting the machine, place a Bourne shell code fragment into the appropriate boot script by following the directions in Table 1-4, Editing UNIX Boot Scripts,. You must supply a valid user name (not superuser) when configuring the boot script.

Note that, on each server, a link must exist between /etc/lmboot_TMW and $MATLAB/etc/lmboot. This link is normally created during the installation process. However, when running multiple license servers, some or all of the systems may not have MATLAB installed. To create this link on a given server, first log in to the server as root, and then enter the following UNIX commands:

• cd /etc
  ln -s $MATLAB/etc/lmboot lmboot_TMW
  

Determining Your Host ID

Troubleshooting