Introduction to License Administrator

The License Administrator is the license server management application provided by Golden Software. The License Administrator is used in conjunction with the Sentinel RMS License Manager to serve concurrent-use licenses to the computers on your network. The License Administrator can perform the following tasks:

  • Activate: activate concurrent-use licenses to your license server
  • Manage: view information about your concurrent-use licenses
  • Status: view current license usage
  • Deactivate: deactivate concurrent-use licenses
  • Usage information: view historical license usage information
  • Settings: select the license server to view/manage and check for updates to the License Administrator application

What is a concurrent-use license?

A concurrent-use license is a license that resides on a server and has a specific number of seats. The number of seats limits the number of concurrent users. Computers on the network can acquire a seat from the server to use Golden Software products. A seat is acquired when software installed on a user’s computer is opened and is returned when shut down, allowing another user to use the seat. A seat can only be used by one computer at a time. Depending on how end users use Golden Software products, often a single seat can meet the needs of between two and five end users.

Access to the License Administrator and Sentinel RMS License Manager is included in the download instructions when you purchase a concurrent-use licensed product.

Setting up your license server

A license server must be set up on one of the computers on the network to serve concurrent-use licenses. The license server can be a dedicated server, physical or virtual, or the license server can be one of the end user computers. The license server should use a static IP address. The license server setup is performed in three parts: install the Sentinel RMS License Manager, install the License Administrator, and activate your concurrent-use licenses.

Installing the Sentinel RMS License Manager

It is recommended to start by installing the Sentinel RMS License Manager. If your server already has a Sentinel RMS License Manager installed, verify the RMS version is the same or newer than the latest version in the compatibility table. You can install or upgrade the version of RMS License Manager with the following installation instructions:

  1. Download the installation file according to the instructions in the Download Instructions email or from the Concurrent Licensing Tools section onhttps://www.goldensoftware.com/support/download-install/.
  2. Double-click the setup.exe file to run the installer.
  3. Follow the prompts in the Sentinel RMS License Manager - InstallShield Wizard. We recommend you perform a Complete installation to maximize compatibility with other software.
  4. Close the Sentinel RMS License Manager - InstallShield Wizard once the installation is complete.

The License Manager is not visible in the Windows Start menu applications list. To verify the License Manager is installed or to stop, start, or restart the License Manager, locate the Sentinel RMS License Manager in the Windows Services application. See the How to Check the License Manager Version topic if a Sentinel RMS License Manager may already be installed on your server.

Installing the License Administrator

After the Sentinel RMS License Manager is installed, proceed by installing the License Administrator. The License Administrator must be installed on the server for full functionality. The License Administrator can also be installed on client computers or other computers to view current usage remotely.

  1. Download the installation file according to the instructions in the Download Instructions email or from the Concurrent Licensing Tools section onhttps://www.goldensoftware.com/support/download-install/.
  2. Double-click the file to run the installer.
  3. Follow the prompts in the License Administrator - InstallAware Wizard.
  4. Once the installation is complete, run the License Administrator.

No configuration is necessary if the server has a 64-bit operating system. You can proceed to the Activating Licenses section of this page.

32-bit Operating System

If the server has a 32-bit operating system then the RMS Usage logfile path value must be changed to the 32-bit OS default location of C:\Windows\System32\lservsta.

  1. Open the License Administrator.
  2. Click the Settings tab.
  3. Click Edit next to the RMS Usage logfile path setting.
  4. Type C:\Windows\System32\lservsta in the RMS Usage logfile path field.
  5. Click Save next to the RMS Usage logfile path setting to save the updated setting.

Activating Licenses

Your Golden Software concurrent licenses can be activated to the server once the License Manager and License Administrator are installed. Clients can connect to the server and acquire seats once the license has been activated. The server must be connected to the internet to activate a license. However, once the licenses are activated the server does not need to maintain an internet connection. Please contact technical support if you wish to activate an offline server.

  1. Open the License Administrator.
  2. Click the Activate tab on the left side of the window.
  3. Paste your concurrent-use license product key from My Account or your Download Instructions email by pressing CTRL + V or by right-clicking in the box and clicking Paste. You can also type your product key, if desired.
  4. Click Activate.

The activation process is performed and the license is added to the server. The license is appended to the license file, lservrc, in the Sentinel RMS License Manager directory.

Additional Resources

This help file includes general installation and configuration information. If you can't find the answer to your questions here, additional information is available in the Knowledge Base and Forums at support.goldensoftware.com. If you need additional information or help, do not hesitate to contact us via one of the methods below:

System Requirements

The following requirements must be met to install and run the License Administrator and Sentinel RMS License Manager.

Minimum Requirements:

  • Windows Server 2016 or higher, Windows 10 or higher
  • 32-bit or 64-bit operating system
  • At least 512MB RAM
  • At least 20MB hard disk space
  • .NET Framework 4.8. (Note: .NET Framework 4.8 is preinstalled on Windows 10 and later versions)