Setting up redundant license servers

You can configure a redundant license server environment.

About this task

Redundant servers are a system of three servers that work as a team to manage a single pool of floating license keys. If one of the servers goes down, the other two license servers automatically continue managing the license pool. If any two license servers no longer work, the third license server will no longer serve licenses. Two servers must operate to serve licenses to clients.

It is a common misconception that separating redundant servers across multiple sites (for example, one in the U.S., one in Europe, and one in Asia) provides maximum fault tolerance. This is not the case. Redundant servers should always be at the same site and on the same subnet.

Procedure

To set up redundant license servers:

  1. Install the license server software on each server computer. For instructions, see the topic Managing licenses with Rational Common Licensing in the IBM Rational® Software Information Center: http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/rational/v0r0m0/index.jsp?topic=/com.ibm.rational.license.doc/topics/c_managing_lic.html.
    Note: Do not implement servers on a mix of operating systems (Windows, Linux, and the UNIX system). Use a redundant environment of all servers on the same operating system.
  2. Make sure that the three servers operate on the same TCP/IP port.
  3. Make sure that other processes are not sharing the TCP/IP port.
  4. Enter or import the license keys on each license server.
  5. To configure named-user floating licenses, edit the options file.
  6. Start each license server.
  7. Optional: Enter port values.
  8. Give users the license server names (in the correct order: Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary) to enter into their License Key Administrator (LKAD). This step is not necessary if the server names were entered into a site defaults file in a network release area. For more information about release areas, see your IBM Rational product installation information.

Results