IPv6 Support in FLEXnet Licensing

Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is a suite of standard protocols that is the next generation of network layer protocols for the internet. This chapter describes IPv6 support in FLEXnet Licensing. FLEXnet Licensing can support a heterogeneous mixture of IPv4-only, IPv6-only, and dual IPv4/IPv6 machines in both client (machine on which the FLEXenabled product resides) and server (machine on which the FLEXnet license server system resides) roles.

An IPv6 address can be used as a FLEXnet Licensing hostid in these contexts within the FLEXnet Licensing paradigm:

In a license file SERVER line to specify the license server system machine

An IPv6 address is used as a hostid to define which machine is authorized to run a license server system that serves licenses to your publisher's FLEXenabled product. See "SERVER Lines" for information on how IP addresses can be used in SERVER lines.

In license file FEATURE and INCREMENT lines

An IPv6 address is used to lock the feature to a particular machine. See Appendix A, "Hostids for FLEXnet Licensing-Supported Platforms," for more information on how IP addresses can be used as hostids.

In an options file to specify host restrictions

An IPv6 address can be used in a HOST type specification with these keywords to specify the restriction: EXCLUDE, EXCLUDEALL, EXCLUDE_BORROW, INCLUDE, INCLUDEALL, INCLUDE_BORROW, MAX, and RESERVE. Additionally, it can be used in a HOST_GROUP keyword. See "Feature Specification" for more information on how IP addresses can be used in this context.

FLEXnet Licensing IPv6 Support

In order for you to take advantage of IPv6 support in FLEXnet Licensing, you need to determine the level of support your publisher provides. Consult Table H-1for the possible client (machine on which the FLEXenabled product resides) and server (machine on which the FLEXnet license server system resides) combinations supported by FLEXnet Licensing. Of these supported configurations, find out from your publisher the ones that he specifically supports.

Table H-1: Client/Server Compatibility Matrix
		FLEXnet License Server Machine
		IPv4-only	Dual IPv4/IPv6 Stack	IPv6-only	No server
FLEXenabled Application Machine	IPv4-only	Use IPv4 addresses only.	Use IPv4 addresses only.	Not supported.	Use IPv4 addresses only.
	Dual Stack, uses IPv4 address only		Use IPv4, IPv6, or both addresses.
	Dual Stack, uses both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses			Use IPv6 addresses only.	Use IPv4, IPv6, or both addresses.
	Dual Stack, uses IPv6 address only	Not supported.	Use IPv6 addresses only.		Use IPv6 addresses only.
	IPv6-only

IPv6-Aware FLEXnet Licensing Components

Your publisher needs to provide IPv6-aware components. These components are used on IPv6-only and dual IPv4/IPv6 machines; they will not work on IPv4-only machines. Consult your publisher's installation instructions for specific details on how these components are packaged.

What to Tell Your Publisher

You need to survey your environment to determine your IPv4-only, IPv6-only, and dual IPv4/IPv6 machines that are involved in your FLEXnet Licensing ecosystem. Provide your publisher with the hostids for those machines you plan to host the FLEXenabled product and those you plan to host the FLEXnet licenser server system.

With this information, your publisher can create license certificates locked to the appropriate machines.

Using IPv6 Addresses in the Options File

Both IPv6 and IPv4 addresses can be used in the HOST_GROUP keyword and options file type specifications. To specify restrictions for dual IPv4/IPv6 machines, consider specifying both addresses. The wildcard character, "*," may be used in place of an entire field or on a byte-by-byte basis to specify a range of addresses without having to list them all. See "Type Specification"