Installing a License on the VE License Server
Contents
Important Information to Protect the License Validity
Certain actions can invalidate your license. Therefore, once you have installed your license, please note the following points:
Requesting and Installing a License
Perform the following basic steps to request and install a license:
VMware only: for the first license request in a VMware environment, or if the binding data has changed, use the esxi_bind command to bind the license server to its ESXi host or vCenter Server.
Collect the fingerprint (the customer-to-vendor - or C2V - file) on the license server and (if applicable) the backup license server.
Send the fingerprint data to Stromasys stating the license requirements based on your contract with Stromasys (product version, number of concurrent instances, is this the main or the backup license, etc.). Stromasys will send you the license data. Please also indicate if you require a license with or without a passphrase (can be selected per product section). The use of a passphrase requires Charon-SSP emulator versions 4.3.x and higher and VE license server versions 1.1.x and higher.
Install the license data (the vendor-to-customer - or V2C - file) on the license server and (if applicable) on the backup license server.
Verify the license installation.
These basic steps are described in more detail below.
Running the esxi_bind Command (VMware environment only)
The esxi_bind command sets up the necessary communication connection between the VE license server and the ESXi host / the vCenter Server.
It must be run on the license server (and the backup license server, if applicable)
once before the first license is requested,
and again should the user, the password, or the address data for the access to the ESXi host / the vCenter Server change.
Perform the following steps:
Use ssh to log in on the license server instance (assuming that username/password login is possible for an on-premises VMware installation).
# ssh <user>@<license-server-ip>
where<user> is the user for interactive login associated with your license server system
<license-server-ip> the ip address of your license server system
Become the privileged user and run the esxi_bind program.
Become the root user:
# sudo -iRun the esxi_bind program:
# /opt/license-server/esxi_bind -a <address> -u <username> -p <password>
where<address> is the IP address of the ESXi host or vCenter Server
<username> is a user with administrative rights on the ESXi host or vCenter Server
<password> is the password of the administrative user
If the command is successful, it will create the file /opt/license-server/config.ini containing the connection data (the password is encrypted).
Collecting the Fingerprint Data on the License Server
The fingerprint is collected on the license server using the c2v utility.
Perform the following steps to collect the fingerprint on the license server and (if applicable) the backup license server:
Use ssh to log in on the license server instance.
# ssh -i ~/.ssh/<mykey> <user>@<license-server-ip>
where<mykey> is the private key of the key-pair you associated with your cloud instance
(for an on-premises VMware installation where login with username/password is allowed, it is not needed)<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;
for an instance installed from a prepackaged Charon-SSP VE marketplace image, use sshuser)<license-server-ip> is the ip address of your license server system
Become the privileged user and run the c2v program.
Become the root user:
# sudo -iRun the c2v program:
# /opt/license-server/c2v --filename <my-file>.c2v --platform <my-platform>
where<my-file>.c2v is the path and name under which you want to store the fingerprint. The file type is C2V (customer-to-vendor)
<my-platform> indicates the platform on which the license server runs (possible values: aws, oci, gcp, azure, ibm, or esxi)
Copy the resulting C2V file to your local system (unless you can send email from the license server system).
Sending the C2V File to Stromasys and Receive License Data File
Stromasys or your Stromasys VAR will provide you with an email address to which you should send the C2V file you created in the previous step. Please indicate if you require a license with or without a passphrase (can be selected per product section). The use of a passphrase requires Charon-SSP emulator versions 4.3.x and higher and VE license server versions 1.1.x and higher.
In response, you will receive a so-called V2C (vendor-to-customer) file which contains the license data. The content of the license (type of emulated SPARC, expiration date, number of concurrent instances, etc.) depends on your contract with Stromasys. You may also receive a text file containing the license content in human readable form.
Installing the License Data on the License Server
The license data is installed on the license server using the v2c utility.
Perform the following steps to install the license on the license server:
Copy the V2C file to the license server (e.g., with SFTP).
Use ssh to log in on the license server instance.
# ssh -i ~/.ssh/<mykey> <user>@<license-server-ip>
where<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)<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);
for an instance installed from a prepackaged Charon-SSP VE marketplace image, use sshuser)<license-server-ip> is the ip address of your license server system
Become the privileged user and run the v2c program.
Become the root user:
# sudo -iRun the v2c program:
# /opt/license-server/v2c -f <my-file>.v2c
where <my-file>.v2c is the path and name under which you want to store the fingerprint. The file type is V2C (vendor-to-customer).