Synergy_Licensing_Toolkit_Example

Created Date: 7/15/2009
Last Updated: 10/13/2010
Description: The Synergy Licensing Toolkit allows you to take advantage of the Synergex product licensing technologies in your own applications. This download contains examples of how to create license keys, install license keys onto runtime systems, and how to implement license checking in your applications. (Update for Synergy 9.5 compatibility) IF YOU ARE USING REV11 LICENSING, refer to the examples included in the version 11 Licensing Toolkit distribution, available from Synergex Customer Service.
Platforms: Windows
Products: Synergy DBL; Licensing; C#
Minimum Version: 9.1.5b
Author: Steve Ives

Additional Information: Requirements and Setup

The availability of the Synergy Licensing Toolkit coincided with the release of Synergy/DE V9.1.5b in April 2009. In order to use these examples you will need to have Synergy/DE V9.1.5b or higher installed on a supported Microsoft Windows system.

To obtain a copy of the Synergy Licensing Toolkit you will need to contact Synergex and request it. You will need to tell Synergex the "Licensee name" and "Registration String" from your Synergy License Server. You can find this information using the Synergy Configuation Program, or using the LMU command at the Windows command prompt.

As well as providing you with a copy of the Licensing Toolkit files and documentation Synergex will provide you with a unique "Producer Code", and an LMK9 license for that producer code. You must install that license onto your license server in order to be able to use the KMK.EXE program to produce license keys for your producer code.

You will also need to edit the file "LicensingDemo.dbl" that is provided as part of this example and change the value of the variable "ProducerCode" to match the unique producer code provided by Synergex. Once you have done this you will need to recompile the program (see below).

Development Environment

This download includes a pre-configured Workbench development environment. Use workbench to open the Workspace LicensingToolkit.vpw. Note that to open a workspace you use the menu commands "Project" > "Open Workspace".

Once you have the workspace open you can compile the demo program by selecting "Build" > "Compile" from the menu. Then link it with "Build" > "Build" and run it with "Build" > Execute".

Running the demo

When you run the demo the program will check that you have an LMK9 license for your producer code installed on your license server. You will not be able to proceed if this is not the case, or if the LMK9 license is a temporary license which has expired.

Next the program checks to see if there are any licenses FROM your producer code installed on the system. If there are it will display them.

The demo uses license codes for five imaginary products. These are:

Application Version License Code

Accounts Payable 1.0 AP010 Accounts Receivable 1.0 AR010 General Ledger 1.0 GL010 Fixed Assets 1.0 FA010 Inventoty 1.0 IN010

To get started you need to create some license keys for these applications, and install the license keys onto your system. From the "Manage Keys" menu, select "Create License Install Key File". You should see a warning telling you that no license keys were found and that default demo data is being used. Click OK and you will see an input window that allows you to enter the number of users for each of the five products, and an optional expiry date for each license. You will notice that the "Licensee" and "Registration String" fields have been pre-populated with the data from your own system. If you wish you can enter the details from a different system in order to generate licenses for that system.

Note: The default demo data sets the Fixed Assets license (FA010) as having expired 10 days earlier, and sets the Inventory license (IN010) to expire in 20 days time. This is so that you can see how temporary and expired licenses are handled.

When you click the OK button the program uses the LMK utiltity to create the license keys that you have specified. These license keys are stored in a "Key File" called "installkeys.skf". The program will then ask if you would like to install the keys on the system.

To be able to install the keys from within the program you need to be running ON the license server system. If you are not on the license server then you will need to manually install the keys on the license server. You can do this by copying the generated license file (installkeys.skf) to the license server, and then on the server you can use:

• The Synergy Configuration program (Windows)
• The LMU utility at a command prompt (Windows or UNIX)

Note: Installing and uninstalling license keys takes a few seconds, because the Synergy License Manager service is restarted.

Once you have installed the keys you should see that the keys are displayed in the body of the application. If you installed the keys outside of the demo program then press F5 to refresh the display.

On the "Key Status" menu you can use several options to programatically check the status of a license key. This simulates what you could do in a program to determine if licenses you require are installed and available.

On the "Simulation" menu you can simulate starting and stopping programs which allocate and deallocate licenses. The license usage column in the display will be updated to reflect the number of licenses installed and used. This display is built by capturing the output of the LMU command, so you should find that you will see the same status if you use the LMU command at a command prompt.

You can create different combinations of licenses and install them on your system at any time. When you are done you can remove the licenses by selecting the "Generate License Uninstall Keyfile" from the "Manage Keys" menu and then execute the resulting key file (removekeys.skf).

Note: Licenses are removed by installing a license for 0 users.

The DotNetClient folder contains an example of using the WIN32 Licensing toolkit API from a C# Windows aplication.

IMPORTANT NOTE RE SEAT NUMBERS

To be able to simulate multiple users logging licenses in and out the code in this demo application uses "seat numbers". A seat number is a mechanism which allows the Licensing Toolkit to allocate unique licenses to individual users who may be using a single process on a system. For example, with xfNetLink client applications multiple physical users may be represented by a single xfServerPlus session, so passing a unique (application defined) seat number allows the Licensing Toolkit toolkit to recognise one user from another and allocate licenses to the "user" not the "process". When you use seat numbers in a Windows application like this one the result is that licenses are allocated to each running program, rather than all instances of a program a users workstation sharing one license.

Enjoy!