What is the Stage Research License Server?The Stage Research License Server is software that runs on a central computer (server) to manage concurrent use of any Stage Research product. For example, if 5 licenses are registered for SFX, then up to 5 computers anywhere on the network can request a license to run SFX. Any request above 5 licenses will be denied. Once a user exits SFX, then the license is released and another user can request the freed license.
The Stage Research License Server can sit anywhere on a network as long as it is accessible via TCP/IP and an open port. Only the Stage Research License Server needs to be installed and licenses/serial numbers can be added directly at any time.
Installing the Stage Research License ServerDownload and run the installation for the Stage Research License Server from:
ftp://ftp.stageresearch.com/LicenseServer/LicenseServer_Setup.exe
If you notice any failure in installation, please report details to support@stageresearch.com and include the install setup file found at c:\Windows\Setup_LicenseServer_Log.txt so that we may assist you.
After installing the Stage Research License Server you will have a Windows Service and a Windows Application that can run to access the licenses.
Typically you will use the Windows Service to process license requests in the background and use the Windows Application to view licenses. The Windows Service is OFF by default and can be turned on after licenses are installed.
Running the Stage Research License Server for the First TimeFind the License Server in the Start | Program Files | Stage Research | License Manager and click on the icon. The first time you run the Stage Research License Server, you may be prompted that it is trying to open a TCP/IP port. Since client computers need to access this port, the firewall needs to be modified to allow access.
Press the “Unblock” button to allow access through port 3799 (default). Failing to open this port will block any requests for licenses from clients.
Once running you will find the Stage Research License Server in your System Tray.
Viewing LicensesWhen the Stage Research License Server is running in UI mode, double click on the icon in the system tray to open the interface.
In this example, the Stage Research License Server will lend out 41 licenses for SFX Deluxe, 10 licenses for SFX Standard and 1 license for ShowBuilder 6. The bottom window will contain messages about end users requesting and releasing licenses.
Adding or Updating LicensesFind the Stage Research License Manager in the Start | Program Files | Stage Research | License Manager and click on the icon. The Stage Research License Manager is where you will add/remove/update your licenses for the license server to hand out.
Click on the Register New License button and follow the prompts to enter your new license.
Click on the Unregister License if you want to remove the license from this system and release it to move to another system manually.
Click on the Upgrade License if you have a license that has expired or a license that you want to extension the subscription on.
Click on the Transfer to Drive button to transfer the selected license(s) to an external USB Jump or Flash Drive. You may want to do this if you have a system that’ll be reformated. Once the license(s) is on an external USB Jump or Flash Drive it may be moved back to any C: drive.
After you add or modify a license, the Stage Research License Server must be restarted, just click the “Restart” button to do so.
Running Stage Research License Server in UI ModeRunning the Stage Research License Server from the Start Menu will run as a normal windows application so you can view current server activity. In UI mode it will serve licenses, however you'll want to put it into service mode so that licenses will be available even if a user isn't logged into the computer.
Running Stage Research License Server as a ServiceNOTE: First exit the Stage Research License Server running in UI mode before you run the Windows Service otherwise there’ll be a conflict in Port access. You can always run the UI regardless of if the Windows Service is running or not, but you cannot startup the Windows Service if the UI is running first.
In Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Services you will find the Stage Research License Server as a new Windows Service.
By default the service is set to Manual and Local Service. To have this service automatically run when Windows boots, the service needs to change to Automatic and may have to change the user login information. Double click on the SR License Server to access properties.
Find the Startup type and change it to Automatic. This will startup the Stage Research License Server when Windows boots. In addition you may have to change the Log On credentials depending on your security needs. Click on the Log On tab and set the username/password accordingly to your system administrator.
Finally click the Start button (remember to close the UI first). The service will now be running in the background and will start serving out licenses.
Stage Research License Server StatusTo validate the Stage Research License Server or to see how many licenses are in use, you can run Telnet and query the server for information. From the Run prompt, type in Telnet and press
ENTER. You can run Telnet from anywhere on the network to query your License Server.
Once Telnet is running, connect to your License Server:
if your running Telnet on the same computer as the License Server type in:
open localhost 3799
or if you are remote type in:
open (IP ADDRESS OF SERVER) 3799
And press
ENTER. Once you are connected the License Server will return:
At this time you can type in the word STATUS and press
ENTER to see the current list of licenses and their counts.
Using the Stage Research License ServerDuring the installation process of all Stage Research software a shortcut will be created to run that software in Network Mode. Running our software in Network Mode will first look for a license from a license server on your network. If one is not found, then the local computer will be searched for a license. Failing to find a license our software will run in demo mode.
To properly setup the shortcut to find your license server, you must modify the shortcut properties.
In the above example, SFX will run and look to the LOCALHOST to find it’s license. To configure to use an external Stage Research License Server, change LOCALHOST to either the NETBIOS name or the IP address of your Stage Research License Server.
“c:\program files\stage research\SFX6\SFX6.exe” /n MyLicenseServer 3799 or
“c:\program files\stage research\SFX6\SFX6.exe” /n 192.168.55.133 3799
Ask your network administrator what the NETBIOS or IP address is of your license server.