Installing RLM License Server on Linux

Owned by Mihai Iliuta (Unlicensed)
Last updated: 20 Jan, 2014 by Miguel Talens (Unlicensed)

These steps explain how to manually install RLM license server in a Linux box using the supplied rlm_nl.tar.gz file found in the Maxwell installation folder.

You should install the RLM License Server ONLY if you have a floating license and want the Linux box to act as a license server. Node locked licenses do not require the RLM License server.

How to make Maxwell Render work with an existing RLM License server

Many applications use RLM for license management. If you are already running a RLM License Server you do not need to install an additional license server for Maxwell but you can reuse the existing one. In order to do so please follow these steps:

  • Download the file nextlimit.set (it's in a zip archive so unzip it after download) and copy it where the existent RLM executable ("rlm.exe" in Windows, just "rlm" in OSX and Linux) is located.
  • Copy the maxwell_suite_floating.lic file generated with the license activator to where the rest of the license files are located. 
  • Send a reread command to the RLM License Server to load the Maxwell Render license file. You can do this by opening a browser window in the computer that's running the RLM License Server, typing in localhost:5054 and in the RLM interface that appears, press the Reread/Restart servers link from the left hand side, then the Reread/Restart button on the page that appears.

Installing the RLM License Server step by step

You must be root to perform these operations!

  1. Unpack rlm_nl.tar.gz into the place you want the server to be installed. In our example, it will be "/opt". This will create a directory called "rlm", so everything will be inside "/opt/rlm".

  2. Inside this directory, there will be some files and directories:

    [maxwell@mylinuxbox rlm]$ pwd
/opt/local/howtorlm/rlm
[maxwell@mylinuxbox rlm]$ ll
total 1492
drwxr-xr-x 2 maxwell maxwell    4096 Nov 14 12:47 init.d_script
drwxr-xr-x 2 maxwell maxwell    4096 Oct 18 14:57 licenses
drwxr-xr-x 2 maxwell maxwell    4096 Oct 18 14:57 logs
-rw-r--r-- 1 maxwell maxwell     476 Oct 11 14:35 nextlimit.set
-rw-r--r-- 1 maxwell maxwell     822 Nov 14 12:48 README_RLM.txt
-rwxr-xr-x 1 maxwell maxwell 1190336 Oct 11 09:59 rlm
lrwxrwxrwx 1 maxwell maxwell       7 Dec 10 19:00 rlmdown -> rlmutil
lrwxrwxrwx 1 maxwell maxwell       7 Dec 10 19:00 rlmhostid -> rlmutil
lrwxrwxrwx 1 maxwell maxwell       7 Dec 10 19:00 rlmreread -> rlmutil
lrwxrwxrwx 1 maxwell maxwell       7 Dec 10 19:00 rlmstat -> rlmutil
-rwxr-xr-x 1 maxwell maxwell  261048 Oct 11 14:35 rlmutil
  3. With a text editor, open ./init.d_script/rlm and change the following lines:

    Line 14: rlmuser=maxwell 
    Change "maxwell" to the user under which rlm will run. This user must NOT be root. The user must have read write and execute permissions on the rlm installation folder.

    Line 17: rlmdir=/opt/rlm
    Change /opt/rlm to the path where you want to install rlm. In our example is /opt/rlm, but it can be wherever you want.

    Line 23: debuglog=$rlmdir/logs/rlm.log
    Change $rlmdir/logs/rlm.log to the file path where you want to write the rlm server logs. In our example is /opt/rlm/logs/rlm.log, but it can be wherever you want.

    Line 26: licsdir=$rlmdir/licenses
    Change $rlmdir/licenses to the folder where you want to store the maxwell license. The LicenseActivator program will save the floating license in $HOME/Maxwell so in theory you could set licsdir=/home/$rlmuser/Maxwell. BUT THIS IS NOT THE NORMAL PRACTISE WITH RLM. Normally the licenses are in the same folder as rlm, i.e: licsdir=$rlmdir, so we strongly suggest moving the license from $HOME/Maxwell to $rlmdir.

  4. Save ./init_d_script/rlm

  5. On Fedora Core, and CentOS, copy ./init.d_script/rlm to /etc/rc.d/init.d  (this needs root permissions to be done)
    On Debian and Debian-like distros (Ubuntu....) copy ./init.d_script/rlm to /etc/init.d  (this needs root permissions to be done). This method works with Red Hat, Fedora, Ubuntu (install package chkconfig and service), Suse. Actually /etc/init.d it's either the proper directory or a link to the proper directory depending on the distro, so it will work the same.
    sudo cp ./init.d/rlm  /etc/init.d/ 
sudo chmod 0755 /etc/init.d/rlm
  6. Then you need to add it to the system start-up process. Instead of creating all the required links, use chkconfig (install the package first on Ubuntu)
    sudo chkconfig add rlm

  7. To start rlm now, run the command:

    /etc/init.d/rlm start

    to start the license server. The RLM License Server will now start automatically on boot.

  8. Check that the license server is up and running opening a web browser and opening the following URL:

    http://localhost:5054

  9. If the license server machine will also be running Maxwell Render, create a text file named maxwell_license.lic in the $HOME/Maxwell directory with just one line that reads:

    HOST localhost ANY 5053

    This line tells Maxwell which computer to connect to, and using which port, in order to get a license from the RLM License Server running on that particular computer. In this case, the computer is "localhost". Instead of "localhost" (without the quotes) this could be the IP address, i.e: 192.168.0.13

  10. Proceed with the Maxwell installation as described here.