Requirements for licensing
You will need an Internet connection to activate your software license. (If you do not have Internet access please contact us about your particular situation.)
Licensing types
Our node-locked licenses will work on your machine “offline” after activation, as they are locked to the machine you activate your license on.
Our concurrent licensing will by default require you to be connected to the Internet at all times unless you are using the software in “offline mode”, which allows you to use the software without Internet access for up to 30 days at a time – see Set up requirements for VSNi licensing further down this page.
For our concurrent licenses, you will need 2 open outgoing ports, which on most networks are open by default. You will be emailed these designated port numbers at the time of purchase. If your organization has a network security policy / firewall you may see error messages during installation and will need to contact your IT department / network administrator. Refer to Ports and network security further down this page.
Bespoke on-premise solutions are available for large organizations. Please contact us about your particular situation.
New releases and upgrades
Your license will work with any new version / upgrade released within the purchase period. The licensing period will run from purchase date – NOT from date of activation.
Changes to the way we license (RLM – Reprise License Manager)
Please be aware the VSNi licensing system has changed. We suggest you read the following paragraphs in detail.
VSNi is migrating from Flexnet licensing to a new license system underpinned by Reprise technology (RLM).
The new licensing system allows greater flexibility. For example, it allows us to deliver and manage your license entitlements via a cloud-based license server without installing license server software on your individual device or network. This will make both accessing, amending and renewing a license a smoother process for our customers.
I want to upgrade to the latest version of Genstat. Do I need an RLM license?
In short, yes. We are consolidating all our Genstat licensing onto a new RLM licensing system underpinned by Reprise technology, which will provide additional flexibility to our licensing options.
From 1st September 2022, the following will apply:
Genstat 22 and all future releases will move to the new licensing system.
Earlier versions of Genstat will no longer be supported or available for renewal –
specifically versions earlier than Genstat 21.
Upon your next renewal date, and without exception, you will be required to move to our new licensing system.
We strongly encourage you to begin the move as early as possible and to carry out any testing procedures on the new licensing platform to make the transition as smooth as possible.
Genstat 23 and Genstat 22 can be installed alongside Genstat 21.
Okay, I’m ready to move to the new licensing. What do I need to do?
Follow this migration guide for further instructions.
- You must be connected to the Internet to activate your license (unless you are using “offline mode” – see 3 below.
- You may need to configure your firewall to allow your license server to verify your license entitlements. RLM (Reprise License Manager) uses 2 non-standard ports to communicate; you will be emailed these designated port numbers at the time of purchase. Refer to Notes for network administrators below.
- Most VSNi licenses have an “offline” feature, which enables them to be used without an Internet connection for up to 30 days. Users will initially need to connect to the Internet to activate offline mode and then re-connect when they want to go online again. If your software is shared with other people on your network (concurrent licensing), be aware that taking a license offline removes it from the license pool until it is returned either by manually putting the license back online or when the offline period expires.
Customers will be given a unique activation code upon payment. After downloading the software, during the installation process you will be prompted to enter your activation code. Detailed installation instructions will be provided with your software purchase documentation. If someone other than yourself purchased the software you will need to obtain the activation code from that person.
A port is essentially an incoming or outgoing communication channel – a location where information is sent.
For example, port 80 is the http network port. A listing of commonly known and used ports can also be found on wiki. Microsoft Windows can utilize the netstat command to view currently active connections that include ports being used.
Ports can be blocked using a firewall. If you are unable to get access to a particular port, a firewall or other network security measures may have been put in place. If your organization has a network security policy then please contact your IT department / network administrator (see Notes for network administrators).
To enable the activation of a license you will need to allow outgoing traffic on 2 ports. These will be the ports listed in the VSNi support email that contains the license activation code.
Depending on your network and if you have IP white / black listing in place, you may have to add an exception rule for rlmcloud.com and its subdomains: (i.e *.rlmcloud.com). For further information please contact support.
An example
Company A has a network whitelist allowing outgoing traffic only to:
- google.co.uk on port 80 and 443 (TCP)
- A.co.uk on all ports (for internal applications)
Company A then gets a license from VSNi that needs outgoing access to ports 5053 and 5488 on the ls34.rlmcloud.com domain. (Note: we also make a call to vsni.co.uk on ports 80/443, however these are usually open). Company A would need to allow the following ports:
- rlmcloud.com on ports 5053 and 5488 (TCP) <- –These ports are examples only!
- vsni.co.uk on ports 80 and 443 (TCP)
More detail
vsni.co.uk
You can easily test access to this by opening a browser and verifying that you can reach our website. (Access to port 80 and port 443 is usually open by default).
rlmcloud.com
You will be sent a license email specifying the ports to use and a URL, for example:
ls34.rlmcloud.com, with port requirements for 5053 and 5488.
(Your ports will most likely be different from this example)
For this example you will need access to ls34.rlmcloud.com:5053 and ls34.rlmcloud.com:5488.
We cannot provide you/your IT staff with static IP addresses for these domains. However, we do recommend whitelist rules to use the domain (rlmcloud.com) and its subdomains (*.rlmcloud.com) instead of just the subdomain (ls34.rlmcloud.com), as you may not have access to this information in your license email.
Testing port access
Port access can be tested with network utilities, such as those shown below.
Linux Netcat
$ nc -zv ls34.rlmcloud.com 5053 5488
The output should look like that below.
Connection to ls34.rlmcloud.com 5053 port [tcp/*] succeeded! Connection to ls34.rlmcloud.com 5488 port [tcp/*] succeeded!
Windows powershell
PS C:\> Test-NetConnection -Port 5053 -ComputerName ls66.rlmcloud.comThe output should look like that below.
ComputerName : ls66.rlmcloud.comRemoteAddress : 45.58.34.163RemotePort : 5053InterfaceAlias : Ethernet 5SourceAddress : 192.168.1.124TcpTestSucceeded : True
It should be noted that your VSNi software installation may not have access to the Internet due to your individual PC setup, please check your personal firewall/software internet permissions.
For further information please contact support.
Legal
VSNi has strict licensing agreements that each user needs to read and agree to before purchasing and using the software. It is the responsibility of the purchaser and user to adhere to the terms and conditions in the policies.