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In some emulator products it is possible to configure the number of retries and the waiting time between them by adding parameters to the emulator configuration file. Please refer to the product documentation for the details regarding the relevant parameters: license_retry_period and license_retry_count parameters (obsolete starting with version 1.10)

2. At regular intervals during the runtime of the emulator (the default license check period of 1 hour can be changed by Stromasys using the appropriate license parameters):

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A software license does not require any special hardware but it still requires installation of the Sentinel runtime environment. 

Please note:

• To avoid unexpected problems, do not use any Sentinel runtime software that was not provided by Stromasys without being advised to do so by your Stromasys representative.
• Software licenses are best suited for stable environments, because their correct function depends on certain characteristics of the host system. Changing any of these characteristics will invalidate the license.
  • If the Charon host runs on real hardware, software licenses are by default tightly bound to the hardware for which they were issued. If major hardware characteristics of the system are changed, the license will be disabled.
  • If the Charon host runs in a virtual environment (e.g., VMware), software licenses are normally bound to the virtual machine ID and a set of additional characteristics of the virtual machine. If any of these parameters are changed, the license will be disabled.
• Software licenses are very sensitive to even small changes on the host system. Therefore, it is especially important to provide for a backup license that will ensure continued operation should there be a problem with the software license. See Handling Multiple License Keys and Product Licenses for details.

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After the installation of the V2C file, the license server will be restarted.

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Viewing the License

The license server must be added to the Charon-PAR emulator configuration. Please refer to the section Initial License Installationdata can be viewed via the web-based GUI of the VE license server (see Licensing Documentation). It can also be viewed with the license_viewer program using the following steps:

1. Use ssh to log in on the license server instance.
   # ssh -i ~/.ssh/<mykey> <user>@<license-server-ip>
   where

   1. <mykey> is the private key of the key-pair you associated with your license server instance
      (for an on-premises VMware installation where login with username/password is allowed, it is not needed)

   2. <user> is the user for interactive login associated with your license server instance (e.g., opc on OCI, centos for a CentOS instance on AWS, or the custom user on your VMware virtual machine or your physical server; for an instance installed from a prepackaged Charon VE marketplace image, use sshuser)

   3. <license-server-ip> is the ip address of your license server system

2. Become the privileged user and run the license_viewer program.

   1. Become the root user: # sudo -i

   2. Run the license_viewer program: # /opt/license-server/license_viewer

Charon-PAR Emulator License Configuration

The license server must be added to the Charon-PAR emulator configuration. Please refer to the section Initial License Installation.

Updating an Existing License

If you need to update an existing license, for example because the time limit on the license has expired or to upgrade to a new product versions, perform the following tasks:

1. Generate the C2V file for the existing license. This Customer-to-Vendor (C2V) file contains the license characteristics necessary for creating the license update.
2. Send the C2V file to Stromasys. Stromasys will use the data to create the necessary license update. You will receive a V2C file (the Vendor-to-Customer file).
3. Apply the license data from the V2C file(s) on the license server. This will install and activate the update for your license.

License Troubleshooting

The most important tool for identifying a license problem are the log files of the Charon emulator, the VE license server, and the Linux system. Always check them first in case of a problem.

Log Files for License Troubleshooting

Charon-SSP emulator log file location:

The default location of the emulator log files is the directory in which the emulator was started.

Please note: the path of the log emulator log files can be configured by the user to a non-default value.

VE license server log file location:

The path to the VE license server log on the license server is /opt/license-server/log/license.log.

The path to the VE integrated web server is /opt/license-server/log/webserver.log.

Linux system log:

The Linux logs can be viewed with the journalctl program. Examples:

• Identify VE license server entries (newest first): journalctl -r -t license_server

• Identify HASP runtime daemon entries (newest first): journalctl -r -t aksusbd

System Processes for Licensing

Correct license operation requires the corresponding system process:

• HASP licenses: the aksusbd service must run. You can check the status with
  # systemctl status aksusbd

• VE licenses: the licensed service must run on the license server. You can check the status with
  # systemctl status license_server

Further Information

Sentinel HASP licenses:

Should there be a failure when trying to display or load the license key, review the error codes listed on the Stromasys website and the associated solutions.

VE Licenses:

Refer to the VE license server guide.

If the problem cannot be solved, please contact your VAR or the Stromasys Customer Support Center (maintenance contract required) using the details in the section Obtaining Technical Assistance.

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