The Charon VE License Server has a number of prerequisites:

1. The VE license server package

2. A suitable Linux instance to be used as the VE license server. This instance must run

   1. in a supported cloud environment, or

   2. in a supported VMware environment.

3. Correct firewall settings

4. The VE-capable Charon emulator software running on a Charon host with appropriate network access to the VE license server

These requirements are described in detail below.

The Charon VE License Server package is delivered as an RPM package. Stromasys or your Stromasys VAR will provide you with the software or a download link.

Package name:

Where <version> indicates the version of the software, for example, 1.1.6.

The license server package must be installed on a Linux cloud instance or a Linux VM on VMware.

At the time of writing, the following cloud providers are supported by the VE license server:

• Amazon AWS

• Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI)

• Microsoft Azure

• Google Cloud Platform (GCP)

• IBM cloud

Please refer to your cloud provider's documentation for configuring and launching an appropriate instance. A description of the basic steps of launching an instance can be found in Additional Information and in the cloud-specific Getting Started guides on the CHARON-SSP documentation page.

Depending on the cloud environment, Stromasys may offer prepackaged Charon VE images on selected cloud marketplaces. Such images include the Charon VE-enabled emulator software (already installed) and the VE License Server RPM package (can be installed optionally). An instance launched from a prepackaged image can also be used as a VE license server.

At the time of writing, the following VMware Platforms are supported by the VE license server.

• Requirements for direct ESXi host binding:

  • The VE license server must run in one of the VMs on the ESXi server.

  • ESXi/vSphere version 6.5 and above.

  • Valid license that supports the vSphere API feature. Otherwise the license server fails to start with the message
    Failed to detect ESXi/vCenter Server.

  • Ports 443 (TCP) and 902 (TCP, UDP) must be accessible to the VE license server host.

  • 100 MB of free disk space on the ESXi server to be used by the VE license server host.

  • Administrative user (and password) on the ESXi/vSphere host used for the binding between license server and ESXi/vSphere host.

• Requirements for vCenter Server binding:

  • The VE license server must run in a VM on one of the ESXi systems managed by the vCenter Server.

  • vCenter Server version 6.5 and above.

  • Ports 443 (TCP) and 902 (TCP, UDP) must be accessible to the VE license server host.

  • 100 MB of free disk space on the vCenter Server to be used by the VE license server host.

  • Administrative user (and password) on the vCenter Server used for the binding between license server and vCenter Server.

Please note: vMotion for the virtual machine running the VE license server can only be used if the license server binds to the vCenter Server. The target system must be managed by the same vCenter Server.

The VE license server for VMware environments has also been tested successfully in a Google GCVE (Google Cloud VMware Engine) environment. Please contact Stromasys to discuss your requirements if you need this product combination.

The Linux system on which the VE license server runs must fulfill the requirements described below.

Software requirements for the VE License Server itself:

Basic hardware requirements (cloud instance capabilities or VMware host configuration) for running only the license server:

Additional hardware requirements (cloud instance capabilities or VMware host configuration) for running the emulator software on the same system:

• For Charon-SSP, refer to the Charon-SSP user's guide of your emulator version for details (see CHARON-SSP for Linux).

In the AWS cloud, an IAM role allowing the ListUsers action (IAMReadOnlyAccess in the example below) must be attached to the instance. This can be done during the launch of the instance as shown in the sample below.

Alternatively, the role can be set/changed by selecting the instance, right-clicking on it, and selecting Security > Modify IAM Role (in the older AWS console, use the Action menu). If such a role has not yet been defined, please refer to Creating and Attaching an AWS IAM Role and to the documentation provided by AWS for additional information.

For the license server to work properly in the IBM cloud, an API key must be created and installed. Please refer to Creating and Installing an IBM API Key.

Any intermediate firewall as well as the cloud-specific subnet and instance security settings must permit the following ports for the appropriate source systems:

• TCP/8083: must be permitted on the license server for the client system to enable the use of the license by the client.

• TCP/8084: must be permitted by the license server for any system that should access the web interface to display information about licenses and active clients (currently not encrypted, hence should not be run across the Internet without a VPN).

See Cloud-Specific Firewall Information for an overview about the traffic filtering mechanisms used in the different cloud environments.