License Management

This chapter describes Ixia software license management. It contains the following topics:

 

Introduction

Ixia's license management system. Ixia Licensing Utility (ILU) and License Server Plus (LS+) replace Ixia Registration Utility (IRU) and License Server (LS). ILU enables you to do the following:

Offline activation and deactivation of licenses are also available now.

The Activation Code for the purchased Ixia product(s) is sent in an e-mail message, when you purchase an Ixia software. Enter this Activation Code in ILU  to generate a license. For the licensed software to work properly, licenses must be activated on-site. License activation for an Ixia product can be done after the software installation but must be done before the software usage.

The licensing operation is done with a simple wizard and can be run in the following ways:

The computer used to perform the licensing process must be connected to the Ixia chassis and to workstations in the lab environment. If at all possible, it should also be connected to the Internet. If simultaneous connections to the lab network and Internet are not feasible, it is still possible to complete all licensing operations. The offline activation and deactivation processes are covered in Overview of Offline Activation/Deactivation section of the Ixia Licensing Management User Guide.

During the IxOS installation process, a dialog box appears that shows several options for licensing information. The following figure shows the dialog box as it appears.

 

The following table explains the options in the licensing prompt.

 

 

Options

Description

Install permanent license

Runs the registration process. You must have purchased a license and received a licensing e-mail with a registration number and password.

Selecting this option starts the license installation process.

Install license later

Skips the licensing process and continues with the installation. IxOS does not run without a valid, registered license.

If you select this option, at some point it is necessary to run the Ixia Licensing Utility (ILU), and register the software.

 

For IxOS, only IxServer is licensed. The IxExplorer client can be installed anywhere, as many times as needed, without a license. A license is also required when using the Windows Control Panel to modify or repair the IxOS software. In any instance where a license is not available, a temporary license is offered. For example:

 

Types of Licenses

Ixia provides the following types of licenses for its products:

 

Node-Locked Licenses

Node-locked licenses are locked to a particular chassis or workstation and allow only certain product functions to run on that chassis or workstation.

 

Floating Licenses

Floating licenses are stored on a license server and allow a set number of chassis or workstations to use product software features. All chassis or workstations that use this type of license must be connected to the license server and the server must be up and running. Once the set number of users is reached for that particular feature, additional users for the product features are denied.

Note: You can mix both node-locked and floating licenses to get the best solution according to your testing environment.

 

Evaluation Licenses

Evaluation licenses evaluate Ixia products. Except for a time limit, they act in all respects as a regular license (must be activated using ILU).

 

Licensing Models

Ixia provides the following licensing models for its products:

 

Subscription Licenses

Subscription licenses are floating and limited licenses, stored on a license server. They are checked out from the defined license servers and allow only a limited number of licenses to be used concurrently.

Note: For specific details on subscription licenses, please refer to the documentation of your product of interest.

Perpetual Licenses

Perpetual licenses are node-locked licenses, stored on a chassis. They are checked out from the individual chassis and cannot be installed on a different license server.

Note: For specific details on perpetual licenses, please refer to the documentation of your product of interest.

 

Prerequisites

Before activating a license, you must have the following:

The e-mail message from Ixia with the activation code. The key contents of this e-mail message are as follows:

 

Tcl Notes for use with Licensing

Although the GUI offers the ability to designate an independent license server as a menu option, no such option is available to a Tcl program. Instead an environment variable named IXN_LICENSE_SERVER must be set.

If you are running your Tcl program on a Unix client computer, the environment variable must be set on the host running the TclServer. If you are running your Tcl program on a Windows client computer, it must be set on that client computer. Environment variables are set on a Unix host through the user’s shell initialization script.

To set the environment variables on a Windows host, do the following:

  1. Select My Computer on the desktop and then select Properties from the context menu.
  2. Select Advanced tab from the System Properties dialog box.
  3. Select Environment Variables at the bottom of the page.
  4. In either User variables for <user> or System variables list, if IXN_LICENSE_SERVER does not exist in the list, select New, or else Edit.
  5. The name of the variable should be IXN_LICENSE_SERVER and the value should be the name or IP address of the license server computer.

 

Installation Scenarios

These installation scenarios are described in the following sections:

The Installation Host is the computer that is used to perform the licensing installation. This can be the same computer on which the Ixia software was installed, an Ixia chassis, a License Server, or a separate workstation.

 

Licensing to a Chassis or Workstation via the Internet

In this case, the Installation Host is connected to the Internet and licenses are installed to the workstation or Ixia chassis to which the license pertains (the workstation and the Installation Host can be the same computer). The Installation Host must also be connected to the workstation/chassis (if they are not the same computer) as shown in the following figure.

 

 

Licensing to a License Server via the Internet

In this case, the installation host is connected to the Internet and licenses are installed on a central license server (the license server and the installation host can be the same machine). The installation host must also be connected to the license server and the workstation/chassis (if the license server and the installation host are not the same machine).

 

 

Licensing to a Chassis or Workstation without the Internet

In this case, the Installation Host is not connected to the Internet and the licenses are installed to the workstation or Ixia chassis to which the license pertains (the workstation and the Installation Host can be the same computer). The Installation Host must also be connected to the workstation/chassis (if they are not the same computer).

To complete the installation process, an additional computer is necessary—an Online Host, as shown in the following figure. This computer must be connected to the Internet. It is necessary to transfer small amounts of information from the Online Host to the Installation Host to complete the process. E-mail or a portable USB drive may be appropriate.

 

 

Licensing to a License Server without the Internet

In this case, the installation host is not connected to the Internet and licenses are installed on a license server (the license server and the installation host can be the same machine). The installation host must also be connected to the license server and the workstation/chassis (if the license server and the installation host are not the same machine).

In order to complete the installation process, an additional computer is necessary – an online host – shown in the figure below. This machine must be connected to the Internet. It is necessary to transfer small amounts of information between the online host and the installation host to complete the process. E-mail or a portable USB drive may be appropriate.

 

 

Installing Ixia Licensing Utility

For details on installing Ixia Licensing Utility, refer to the Ixia Licensing Management User Guide.