Appendix A – RLM API

This appendix lists all the RLM API calls in alphabetical order.

To call any of the functions in the RLM API, you need to include the RLM header file “license.h”:

#include "license.h"

RLM_HANDLE

RLM_HANDLE is the main handle in RLM. Your program needs to call rlm_init() to get a handle; this only needs to be done once. This handle (or an RLM_LICENSE handle) is passed to all the RLM API calls.

RLM_LICENSE

RLM_LICENSE is the license handle in RLM. This handle is returned from the rlm_checkout() call and is passed to the rlm_license_stat(), rlm_get_attr_health() and rlm_checkin() calls.

N.B. RLM_LICENSE is also the name of the environment variable for specifying the license file path.

Core API

These 8 functions provide all basic licensing operations needed for most applications:

Function	Description
rlm_init(), rlm_init_disconn()	Initalize licensing operations with RLM.
rlm_close()	Terminate licensing operations with RLM.
rlm_checkout()	Request a license.
rlm_checkin()	Release a license.
rlm_errstring()	Format RLM status into a string.
rlm_stat()	Retrieve RLM_HANDLE status.
rlm_license_stat()	Retrieve RLM_LICENSE status.
rlm_get_attr_health()	Check license status by checking server.

Advanced API

Most applications will need few, if any, of these calls:

Function	Description
rlm_act_request()	Request license activation from the internet.
rlm_activate()	Request license activation from the internet.
rlm_act_new_handle(), rlm_act_destroy_handle()	Create/destroy handle to pass activation parameters.
rlm_act_keyinfo2()	Get the most info about an activation key.
rlm_act_fulfill_info()	Get info about key and latest fulfillment.
rlm_act_info()	Get info about an activation key from the server.
rlm_act_keyinfo()	Get info about an activation key from the server.
rlm_act_keyvalid(), rlm_act_keyvalid_license()	Verify that an activation key still has a valid license on this hostid from the activation server.
rlm_act_refresh()	Request refreshing of all refreshable licenses. [Deprecated]
rlm_act_rehost_revoke()	Revoke a rehostable license.
rlm_act_revoke_disconn()	Revoke a disconnected rehostable license.
rlm_act_set_handle()	Set data in activation handle.
rlm_add_meter_count()	Add count to a specified meter.
rlm_auth_check()	Ask the server to verify a license.
rlm_auto_hb()	Enable Automatic Heartbeats.
rlm_set_auto_hb_isvdata()	Enable Automatic Heartbeats.
rlm_add_meter_count()	Add count to a specified meter.
rlm_checkout_product()	Request an exact license from RLM.
rlm_detached_demo()	Install RLM Detached Demo^TM license.
rlm_detached_demox()	Remove RLM Detached Demo^TM license.
rlm_errstring_num()	Translate RLM status value into a string.
rlm_get_attr_lfpath()	Get license path in use by RLM.
rlm_get_rehost()	Retrieve the hostid of a rehostable license.
rlm_hostid()	Retrieve the hostid of this machine.
rlm_all_hostids()	Retrieve the hostid of this machine.
rlm_all_hostids_free()	Retrieve the hostid of this machine.
rlm_id_login()	For Identity-based licensing with RLM Cloud.
rlm_license_XXXX()	Get checked-out license information.
rlm_log()	Log ISV-specific data.
rlm_dlog()	Log ISV-specific data.
rlm_products()	Generate list of products that can be checked out.
rlm_putenv()	Set environment variable within the application.
rlm_set_active()	Inform RLM of activity status of application.
rlm_set_environ()	Set user/host/ISV-defined values for RLM.
rlm_set_attr_keep_conn()	Set “keep connection” status for RLM.
rlm_set_attr_logging()	Turn server logging on or off.
rlm_set_attr_password()	Set license password-string for future.
rlm_set_attr_req_opt()	Set required substring in license options.
rlm_set_attr_reference_hostid()	Set reference hostid for ActPro.
rlm_skip_isv_down()	Enable “skip” of license servers where your ISV.
rlm_temp_xxx()	Temporary license functions.
rlm_act_revoke()	Deprecated.
rlm_act_revoke_reference()	Deprecated.

Namespace

All RLM client library functions have names beginning with rlm_ or _rlm_.
All defined constants in license.h begin with RLM_

All the RLM API functions are described (in alphabetical order) on the following pages.

rlm_act_request()

Request license activation from the internet

Note

New code should use the rlm_activate() call instead of rlm_act_request(). rlm_act_request() will be supported in the future, but all new options will be added only to rlm_activate().

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE rh;
int stat;
const char *url;
const char *isv;
const char *akey;
const char *hostid_list;
const char *hostname;
int count;
const char *extra;
char license[RLM_ACT_MAX_LICENSE+1];

rh = rlm_init(...);
stat = rlm_act_request(rh, url, isv, akey, hostid_list, hostname, count, extra, license);

rlm_act_request() requests a license activation from the server at url for ISV name isv. The activation key akey and license count count are sent to the server.

Note

If the license count is <= 0, a count of 1 is used.

A count of 0 requests that all remaining licenses be fulfilled for this request. In this way, your activation code does not need to supply the number of licenses ordered during fulfillment time. Note that a request of 0 will not retrieve an already-activated license - in order to re-retrieve an already-activated license, you must specify the number of licenses actually generated. If either the akey or extra parameter contains an embedded newline, rlm_act_request() will return RLM_EL_BADPARAM.

The ISVNAME_ACT_URL environment variable will override the url parameter to this call. This allows you to change the URL of the activation server without rebuilding your software. For example, if your ISV name is “demo”, the environment variable would be named “DEMO_ACT_URL”, and you would set it to the URL to use for activation if the url parameter in this call is no longer correct.

Note

The URL should always be http, never https. rlm_act_request() encrypts the request independent of the webserver.

hostid_list is a space-separated list of RLM standard hostids. If hostid_list is NULL or empty, the hostid list from the current machine is used. Note that ethernet addresses should be exactly 12 hex characters (without the leading “0x”), and 32-bit hostids should be hex numbers without the leading “0x”. RLM will select a hostid from this list for use in the license, as described in the next paragraph.

Prior to v11.0, RLM would only activate licenses with rehostable, non-zero RLM_HOSTID_32BIT, RLM_HOSTID_ETHER, RLMIDn, RLM_DISKSN, or ISV-defined hostids. Any other hostid will return an RLM_ACT_BAD_HOSTID_TYPE status from rlm_act_request(). You can specify exactly the hostids you will accept with the rlm_isv_cfg_actpro_allowed_hostids() call in rlm_isv_config.c, then either re-building your license generator or creating a new generator settings file. See Customizing RLM with rlm_isv_config for more details.

The priority is (assuming the particular hostid type is enabled):

rehostable hostid
ISV-defined hostid
ISV string hostid
rlmid hostid
Disk Serial Number
ethernet address
UUID
32-bit hostid
IP address hostid
user-based hostid
host-based hostid
serial number hostid
string hostid
DEMO hostid
ANY hostid

If none of the hostid types above are present (or enabled), the activation software will return RLM_ACT_BAD_HOSTID_TYPE. If RLM_ACT_BAD_HOSTID_TYPE is returned, the “license” parameter will contain the decimal representation of the list of valid hostids (as defined in license.h, in the RLM_ACTPRO_ALLOW_xxx definitions). This parameter is a string which represents a decimal number containing a bitwise OR of the allowed hostid types. To decode the allowed hostid types from the license string, use code similar to this:

allowed = atoi(license);

The hostid_list parameter can contain a list of hostids for use in nodelocked licenses. This is specified with the following syntax:

list:list-of-hostids

For example:

list:user=joe host=sam ip=192.16.7.23 3f902d8b0027

If a list is supplied, note the following:

The activation software uses the hostids in the list as you specified, even if they are not “secure”.
If the license to be activated is a served license (floating), only the first hostid in the list is used.
The number of available activations on the activation key is decremented by 1 regardless of the number of hostids in the license created.
The hostid list must be less than RLM_ACT_MAX_HOSTID_LIST characters long (205) including the “list:” prefix.
The hostid list can contain no more than RLM_MAX_HOSTID_LIST (25) hostids.

This capability can be used to create a license which works on 2 (or more) systems, e.g., to create a license for a primary and a backup system. It can also be used to pass a hostid of a less secure type to be used, e.g., the hostid-list “list:ip=172.16.7.12” will cause the activation software to use the IP address as a hostid without returning RLM_ACT_BAD_HOSTID_TYPE.

If hostname is NULL or empty, the hostname of the current machine is used.

extra is a string containing extra “keyword=value” license attributes. These must be valid RLM license syntax, not just any keyword=value pair.

Note

The extra string should not contain characters illegal in license files, and most particularly, it should not contain the ‘&’ character, which is illegal in a license file and also is the cgi separator in web requests.

If you put spaceseparated strings into the extra parameter, be sure to enclose them in quotes. For example: set extra to “customer="Your Customer Name Here"” in order to put your customer name into the generated license, or set it to “customer="Your Customer Name Here" min_timeout=100” to set your customer name and the minimum timeout.

The parameter license must be an allocated string of length RLM_ACT_MAX_LICENSE+1. If rlm_act_request() succeeds, the activated license is returned in this string. For certain errors, the license string will contain MySQL error information, otherwise it will be an empty string.

Error Codes

Status returns >=0 indicate success, < 0 are failure status.

Status	Meaning
0	License was activated, first request, activation count consumed.
1	License previously activated. Activation count is not consumed; the prior license is returned. This status indicates that a duplicate activation key/count/hostid was sent to the server.
RLM_ACT_BADPARAM	Bad parameter to activation function.
RLM_ACT_NO_KEY	No Activation key supplied.
RLM_ACT_NO_PROD	No product definition (internal database error).
RLM_ACT_CANT_WRITE_KEYS	Cannot write activation keys (admin tool).
RLM_ACT_KEY_USED	Activation key used already (no count remaining).
RLM_ACT_BAD_HOSTID	Missing hostid.
RLM_ACT_BAD_HOSTID_TYPE	Invalid hostid type.
RLM_ACT_BAD_HTTP	Bad HTTP transaction.
RLM_ACT_CANTLOCK	Cannot lock activation database.
RLM_ACT_CANTREAD_DB	Cannot read activation database.
RLM_ACT_CANT_WRITE_FULFILL	Cannot write fulfillment (licf) table.
RLM_ACT_CLIENT_TIME_BAD	Time difference too great from server → client system.
RLM_ACT_BAD_REDIRECT	Bad HTTP Redirect.
RLM_ACT_TOOMANY_HOSTID_CHANGES	Too many hostid changes for redirect.
RLM_ACT_BLACLISTED	Domain on blacklist.
RLM_ACT_NOT_WHITELISTED	Domain not on whitelist.
RLM_ACT_KEY_EXPIRED	Activation Key expired.
RLM_ACT_NO_PERMISSION	HTTP request denied.
RLM_ACT_SERVER_ERROR	HTTP internal server error.
RLM_ACT_BAD_GENERATOR	Bad or missing license generator file.
RLM_ACT_NO_KEY_MATCH	No matching activation key found in database.
RLM_ACT_NO_AUTH_SUPPLIED	No proxy authentication credentials supplied.
RLM_ACT_PROXY_AUTH_FAILED	Proxy authentication failed.
RLM_ACT_NO_BASIC_AUTH	Activation supports only BASIC proxy authentication.
RLM_EH_CANTCONNECT_URL	Cannot connect to specified URL.
RLM_ACT_GEN_UNLICENSED	Activation generator unlicensed.
RLM_ACT_DB_READERR	Activtion DB read error (MySQL).
RLM_ACT_GEN_PARAM_ERR	Generating license - bad parameter.
RLM_ACT_UNSUPPORTED_CMD	Unsupported command to generator.

If you are using Activation Pro, you should consult the Activation Pro manual for troubleshooting tips and additional error returns.

Proxy Server Support

RLM activation has support for proxy servers. To use a proxy server, there are 2 environment variables which must be set:

HTTP_PROXY- set to the hostname:port of the proxy server. For example, if your proxy server is on port 8080 on host proxy_host:

% setenv HTTP_PROXY proxy_host:8080

If your proxy server uses authentication, you can use the HTTP_PROXY_CREDENTIALS environment variable to pass the credentials to the proxy server:

HTTP_PROXY_CREDENTIALS - the username and password to authenticate you to the proxy server, in the format user:password. For example, if your username is “joe” and password is “joes_password”:

% setenv HTTP_PROXY_CREDENTIALS joe:joes_password

Note

RLM activation supports only the BASIC authentication type.

You can either set these environment variables before running your application or use putenv() (or rlm_putenv()) to set them inside your application before calling rlm_act_request().

rlm_act_request() encrypts the data sent to the activation server. If RLM_ACT_NO_ENCRYPT is set in the environment, rlm_act_request() will not encrypt the data sent to the activation server.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_activate()

Request a license activation from the internet.

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE rh;
int stat;
const char *akey;
int count;
char license[RLM_ACT_MAX_LICENSE+1];
RLM_ACT_HANDLE act_handle;

rh = rlm_init(...);
stat = rlm_activate(rh, url, akey, count, license, act_handle);

rlm_activate() is the preferred call to request license activation from the internet. url is the location of the activation server (without the trailing /cgi-bin/ISV_mklic) The activation key akey and license count count are sent to the server.

Note

If the license count is <= 0, a count of 1 is used.

A count of 0 has a special meaning for NORMAL activation fulfillments of floating licenses – a count of 0 requests that all remaining licenses be fulfilled for this request. In this way, your activation code does not need to supply the number of licenses ordered during fulfillment time.

Note

A request of 0 will not retrieve an already-activated license - in order to re-retrieve an already-activated license, you must specify the number of licenses generated.

If the akey parameter contains an embedded newline, rlm_act_request() will return RLM_EL_BADPARAM.

The ISVNAME_ACT_URL environment variable will override the url parameter to this call. This allows you to change the URL of the activation server without rebuilding your software. For example, if your ISV name is “demo”, the environment variable would be named “DEMO_ACT_URL”, and you would set it to the URL to use for activation if the url parameter in this call is no longer correct.

Note

The URL should always be HTTP, never HTTPS. rlm_activate() encrypts the request independent of the webserver.

Prior to v11.0, RLM would only activate licenses with rehostable, non-zero RLM_HOSTID_32BIT, RLM_HOSTID_ETHER, RLMIDn, RLM_DISKSN, or ISV-defined hostids. Any other hostid will return an RLM_ACT_BAD_HOSTID_TYPE status from rlm_act_request(). You can specify exactly the hostids you will accept with the rlm_isv_cfg_actpro_allowed_hostids() call in rlm_isv_config.c, then either re-building your license generator or creating a new generator settings file. See Customizing RLM with rlm_isv_config for more details.

The priority is (assuming the particular hostid type is enabled):

rehostable hostid
ISV-defined hostid
ISV string hostid
rlmid hostid
Disk Serial Number
ethernet address
UUID
32-bit hostid
IP address hostid
user-based hostid
host-based hostid
serial number hostid
string hostid
DEMO hostid
ANY hostid

If none of the hostid types above are present (or enabled), the activation software will return RLM_ACT_BAD_HOSTID_TYPE. If RLM_ACT_BAD_HOSTID_TYPE is returned, the “license” parameter will contain the decimal representation of the list of valid hostids (as defined in license.h, in the RLM_ACTPRO_ALLOW_xxx definitions). This parameter is a string which represents a decimal number containing a bitwise OR of the allowed hostid types. To decode the alllowed hostid types from the license string, use code similar to this:

allowed = atoi(license);

You can override RLM’s notion of the hostid by calling rlm_act_set_handle() with the RLM_ACT_HANDLE_HOSTID_LIST parameter. The hostid_list parameter can contain a list of hostids for use in nodelocked licenses. This is specified with the following syntax:

list:list-of-hostids

For example:

list:user=joe host=sam ip=192.16.7.23 3f902d8b0027

If a list is supplied, note the following:

The activation software uses the hostids in the list as you specified, even if they are not “secure”.
If the license to be activated is a served license (floating), only the first hostid in the list is used.
The number of available activations on the activation key is decremented by 1 regardless of the number of hostids in the license created.
The hostid list must be less than RLM_ACT_MAX_HOSTID_LIST characters long (205) including the “list:” prefix.
The hostid list can contain no more than RLM_MAX_HOSTID_LIST (25) hostids.

This capability can be used to create a license which works on 2 (or more) systems, e.g., to create a license for a primary and a backup system. It can also be used to pass a hostid of a less secure type to be used, e.g., the hostid-list “list:ip=172.16.7.12” will cause the activation software to use the IP address as a hostid without returning RLM_ACT_BAD_HOSTID_TYPE.

If act_handle is NULL, no optional parameters are specified. If act_handle is passed to rlm_activate() as a non-NULL handle, other, lesser-used parameters can be specified:

isvname – if different from your ISV name.
hostid – if you do not want to use the default hostid.
hostname – if you want to change the notion of your hostname
extra – any extra license parameters
log – information to log to the activation server (Activation Pro only).

These other parameters are passed in by calling rlm_act_new_handle() and rlm_act_set_handle().

The parameter license must be an allocated string of length RLM_ACT_MAX_LICENSE+1. If rlm_activate() succeeds, the activated license is returned in this string. For certain errors, the license string will contain MySQL error information, otherwise it will be an empty string.

Error Codes

See Error Codes above.

Proxy Server Support

See Proxy Server Support above.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_act_keyinfo2()

Get the most info about an activation key.

rlm_act_fulfill_info()

Get info about key and latest fulfillment.

rlm_act_info()

Get info about an activation key from the server.

rlm_act_keyinfo()

Get info about an activation key from the server.

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE rh;
const char *url = "your activation server URL here";
char *akey = "activation-key-desired";
char product[RLM_MAX_PRODUCT+1];
char version[RLM_MAX_VER+1];
char upgrade_version[RLM_MAX_VER+1];
char exp[RLM_MAX_EXP+1];
char keyexp[RLM_MAX_EXP+1];
char hostid[RLM_MAX_HOSTID_STRING+1];
int date_based;
int license_type;
int status;
int count, fulfilled, rehosts, revoked, allowed_hostids, sub_interval, sub_window;

rh = rlm_init(...);

status = rlm_act_keyinfo2(rh, url, akey, product, version, &date_based, &license_type,
upgrade_version, &count, &fulfilled, &rehosts, &revoked, exp, hostid, keyexp,
&allowed_hostids, &sub_interval, &sub_window);

status = rlm_act_info(rh, url, akey, product, version, &date_based, &license_type,
upgrade_version);

status = rlm_act_keyinfo(rh, url, akey, product, version, &date_based, &license_type,
upgrade_version, &count, &fulfilled, &rehosts, &revoked);

status = rlm_act_fulfill_info(rh, url, akey, product, version, &date_based, &license_type,
upgrade_version, &count, &fulfilled, &rehosts, &revoked, exp, hostid);

Note

rlm_act_keyinfo2() returns a superset of the information from all the other calls, and it is the preferred call.

The rlm_act_info() call presents the activation key akey to the server at url and retrieves information about the license which would be generated by this key.

The rlm_act_keyinfo() returns everything that rlm_act_info() returns, plus some fulfillment information about the activation key.

The rlm_act_fulfill_info() returns everything that rlm_act_keyinfo() returns, plus the actual expiration date and hostid from the most recent fulfillment on the activation key. If no fulfillments have been made (i.e., fulfill == 0), the return values exp and hostid are undefined.

Note

The URL should always be HTTP, never HTTPS. rlm_act_info() encrypts the request independent of the webserver.

Note

rlm_act_info() will return RLM_ACT_KEY_DISABLED with no further information for disabled activation keys.

The rlm_act_info() call returns 0 for success, or an RLM error code otherwise.

The returned information is passed back in the last 5 parameters:

product – the product name in the license that would be generated from this activation key.
version – the version in the generated license. If date_based is non-zero, this is a string representing an integer number of months; the version is a date-based version of the form yyyy.mm for this number of months after license generation. If date_based is 0, the actual license version is returned in this parameter.
date_based – non-zero indicates that the version string is the number of months after license generation for a date-based version.

license_type – this is the type of license that will be generated. These types are defined in license.h:

#define RLM_ACT_LT_FLOATING 0 /* Floating */

#define RLM_ACT_LT_F_UPGRADE 4 /* Floating UPGRADE */

#define RLM_ACT_LT_UNCOUNTED 1 /* Nodelocked, Uncounted */

#define RLM_ACT_LT_NLU_UPGRADE 5 /* Nodelocked, Uncounted UPGRADE */

#define RLM_ACT_LT_SINGLE 3 /* Single */

#define RLM_ACT_LT_S_UPGRADE 7 /* Single UPGRADE */

upgrade_version – the version eligible for an upgrade for UPGRADE type licenses. This is always a fixed string (ie, it is never date-based). For non-upgrade licenses, this will be an empty string.

In addition to the above information, rlm_act_keyinfo() returns fulfillment information:

count – The allowed fulfillment count (0 = unlimited).
fulfilled – The # already fulfilled.
rehosts – The number of rehost operations allowed.
revoked – The number of revocations already performed.

Note

When revoked==rehosts, no additional license revocations will be allowed.

In addition to the above information, rlm_act_fulfill_info() returns recent fulfillment information:

exp – The actual expiration date of the latest fulfillment. This date is returned in the ActPro sortable date format of yyyy-mm-dd, rather than the RLM standard date format of dd-mmm-yyyy.
hostid – The hostid from the latest fulfillment.

In addition to the above, rlm_act_keyinfo2() also returns:

keyexp – The expiration date of the activation key itself. This date is returned in the ActPro sortable date format of yyyy-mm-dd, rather than the RLM standard date format of dd-mmm-yyyy.
allowed_hostids – The bitmap of allowed hostids for this activation key.
sub_interval – The subscription interval, as follows:
- -1: monthly subscription
- -2: quarterly subscription
- -3: annual subscription
- >0: # of days in subscription interval
sub_window – The subscription window, in days

Note

Unless you are doing offline activation, all rlm_actXXX() calls (except rlm_act_XXX_handle()) require internet access.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_act_keyvalid(), rlm_act_keyvalid_license()

Verify that an activation key still has a valid license on this hostid from the activation server.

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE rh;
const char *url = "your activation server URL here";
char *akey = "activation-key-desired";
char hostid[RLM_MAX_HOSTID+1];
char license[RLM_ACT_MAX_LICENSE+1];
int status;

rh = rlm_init(...);
status = rlm_act_keyvalid(rh, url, akey, hostid);
status = rlm_act_keyvalid_license(rh, url, akey, hostid, license);

The rlm_act_keyvalid() call presents the activation key akey and hostid to the server at url and retrieves status of fulfilled licenses on this hostid for this activation key. This call is intended to be used for nodelocked licenses only. If you want to invalidate a floating license, use Alternate Server Hostids.

Note

The URL should always be HTTP, never HTTPS. rlm_act_keyvalid() encrypts the request independent of the webserver.

The rlm_act_keyvalid() call returns:

0 for success, ie, a non-revoked license has been generated on this hostid for this activation key.
RLM_ACT_KEY_DISABLED if the activation key itself is disabled.
RLM_ACT_KEY_NO_HOSTID if there is no fulfilled license matching this hostid for this activation key, or
RLM_ACT_KEY_HOSTID_REVOKED if the only fulfilled license(s) for this hostid on this activation key have been revoked, or
RLM_EH_ACT_OLDSERVER or RLM_ACT_UNSUPPORTED_CMD if the activation server is too old to process this request.

There is no other returned information.

The rlm_act_keyvalid_licenese() call performs the same operation with the same return as rlm_act_keyvalid(), but in addition, it returns the license if the status return is 0. In the case of a floating license which has had multiple fulfillments, the license returned will be one of the licenses generated with this activation key (in general, the first license generated). If the status return is non-zero, the contents of license are undefined. rlm_act_keyvalid_license() requires an RLM Activation Pro server to return the license.

Note

Unless you are doing offline activation, all rlm_actXXX() calls (except rlm_act_XXX_handle()) require internet access.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_act_new_handle(), rlm_act_destroy_handle()

Create/destroy handle to pass activation parameters.

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE rh;
RLM_ACT_HANDLE act_handle;

rh = rlm_init(...);
act_handle = rlm_act_new_handle(rh);

(void) rlm_act_destroy_handle(act_handle);

rlm_act_new_handle() creates a blank handle to pass optional activation parameters to rlm_activate(). rlm_act_new_handle() returns a NULL handle on error.

Call rlm_act_new_handle() before calling rlm_act_set_handle(). After activation is complete, call rlm_act_destroy_handle() to free the memory associated with the handle.

Note

Unless you are doing offline activation, all rlm_actXXX() calls (except rlm_act_XXX_handle()) require internet access.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_act_set_handle()

Set data in activation handle.

#include "license.h"
RLM_ACT_HANDLE act_handle;
int stat;
int what;
void *val;
stat = rlm_act_set_handle(act_handle, what, val);

rlm_act_set_handle() sets various options in an activation handle in order to pass these activation parameters to rlm_activate(). rlm_act_new_handle() returns 0 for success, RLM_EH_BADPARAM on error (no handle supplied, no value supplied, or bad “what” value).

Call rlm_act_set_handle() after calling rlm_act_new_handle(). After activation is complete, call rlm_act_destroy_handle() to free the memory allocated in the handle.

what values:

All values for the “what” parameter are defined in license.h:

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_DISCONN: (int val)

If set to 1, rlm_activate() will create a rehostable hostid, then return data in the “license” parameter. Take this data to an internet-connected system, pass the data back into rlm_activate() in the hostid_list parameter when requesting the activation (again with RM_ACT_HANDLE_DISCONN set). See License Rehosting for details on how to make these calls.

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_EXTRA: (const char * val)

This parameter is used to pass extra license options to the activation server. val is a string containing extra “keyword=value” license attributes. These must be valid RLM license syntax, not just any keyword=value pair.

Warning

The val string should not contain characters illegal in license files, and most particularly, it should not contain the ‘&’ character, which is illegal in a license file and is also the cgi separator in web requests. If you put space-separated strings into the extra parameter, be sure to enclose them in quotes. For example: set extra to “customer="Your Customer Name Here"” in order to put your customer name into the generated license, or set it to “customer="Your Customer Name Here" min_timeout=100” to set your customer name and the minimum timeout.

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_HOSTID_LIST: (const char * val)

This parameter is used if you want to pass a particular hostid (other than the default) or a list of hostids to the activation server.

The hostid_list parameter can contain a list of hostids for use in nodelocked licenses. This is specified with the following syntax:

list:list-of-hostids

OR

list-of-hostids

For example:

list:user=joe host=sam ip=192.16.7.23 3f902d8b0027

OR

user=joe host=sam ip=192.16.7.23 3f902d8b0027

What is the difference between using “list:” and not?

With a leading “list:”, the hostid list is used without checking whether the hostids are allowed or not. For nodelocked licenses, the whole list will be in the license, meaning the license will work on any hostid in the list.
Without the leading “list:”, each hostid in the list will be checked against the allowed hostid types, and the “most secure” one present will be used. This is the default way that RLM passes client hostids to the activation server if you do not set RLM_ACT_HANDLE_HOSTID_LIST.

If a list is supplied with a leading “list:”, note the following:

The activation software uses the hostids in the list as you specified, even if they are not “secure”.
If the license to be activated is a served license (floating), only the first hostid in the list is used.
The number of available activations on the activation key is decremented by 1 regardless of the number of hostids in the license created.
The list will not be accepted by the server if encryption of the request is turned off with RLM_ACT_NO_ENCRYPT

This capability can be used to create a license which works on 2 (or more) systems, e.g., to create a license for a primary and a backup system. It can also be used to pass a hostid of a less secure type to be used, e.g., the hostid-list “list:ip=172.16.7.12” will cause the activation software to use the IP address as a hostid without returning RLM_ACT_BAD_HOSTID_TYPE.

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_HOSTNAME: (const char * val)

This parameter is used for the (rare) case where you want to pass a specific hostname to the activation server.

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_LOG: (const char * val)

This parameter is used to pass a string to be logged in the activation server database. This parameter will override any setting of the RLM_ACT_LOG environment variable.

Warning

The use of the RLM_ACT_LOG environment variable is deprecated and is not guaranteed to work in all future versions of RLM. Setting logging using the rlm_act_set_handle() call is preferred).

RLM Activation Pro allows you to log an arbitrary string to the database every time you fulfill a license. This string can be up to 80 characters in length, and it will appear in the ‘log’ column in the licf table. This string cannot contain the ‘>’, ‘<’, or ‘&’ characters.

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_ISV: (const char * val)

This parameter, which takes a (char *) value, is used to set the ISVname, if it is different from your ISV name. This will not normally be used. It is used, for example, in the RLM web interface to request an activation from a specified ISV’s activation server.

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_PRODUCT: (char * val)

This parameter, which takes a (char *) value, is used to set the product name when you are preparing to do activation of a rehostable hostid on a disconnected system. This will not normally be used. RLM_ACT_HANDLE_DISCONN should also be set when the product name is set. See the Activation Pro manual for more information.

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_REHOST: (int val)

If set to 1, rlm_activate() will create a rehostable hostid, then activate the license using that rehostable hostid. If the hostid already exists for the product associated with the activation key, rlm_activate() will return RLM_EH_REHOST_EXISTS and will not proceed with the activation.

Warning

Once created, the contents of the rehostable hostid directory CANNOT BE TOUCHED, MODIFIED, ** **DELETED, or RESTORED from a BACKUP without invalidating the hostid.

REHOSTable hostids can be used with nodelocked, uncounted, and SINGLE licenses only.

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_CONTACT: (char * val)

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_COMPANY: (char * val)

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_EMAIL: (char * val)

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_STATE: (char * val)

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_COUNTRY: (char * val)

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_U1: (char * val)

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_U2: (char * val)

These 7 parameters, all of which take a (char *) value, are used to set the contact and company of the person doing the activation. If any of these parameters are set, CONTACT and COMPANY must both be set, otherwise you will receive an RLM_AT_CONTACT_BAD error from rlm_activate(). Upon activation, this information will populate the contact and company tables.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_act_refresh()

Request refreshing of all refreshable licenses.

Warning

rlm_act_refresh() is deprecated in RLM v9.3, in favor of the new rehostable licenses.

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE rh;
char *isv;
void (*callback)(char *licfile, char *license, int status);

rh = rlm_init(...);
error_count = rlm_act_refresh(rh, isv, callback);

rlm_act_refresh() requests refreshing of all the refreshable licenses known to rlm through the paths supplied to rlm_init() when rh was created, plus licenses pointed to by the RLM_LICENSE and <isv>_LICENSE environment variables, if set. The act of refreshing the license involves a transaction with the activation server.

isv is your ISV name. callback is a function supplied by the ISV that is called after each individual license refresh is attempted. licfile is the name of the license file containing the rehostable license, license is the name of the license on which a refresh was attempted, and status is the status of the refresh attempt. Values of status are as for rlm_activate()/rlm_act_request, except that a status of 1 means that the license was refreshed earlier the same day. callback may be specified as NULL. If specified, callback is invoked for each successful license refresh as well as unsuccessful ones. error_count is the number of licenses where the refresh attempt failed.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_act_rehost_revoke()

Revoke a rehostable license.

rlm_act_revoke_disconn()

Revoke a disconnected rehostable license.

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE rh;
char *url;
char *product, *param;
char retval[RLM_ACT_MAX_LICENSE+1];
int stat, flags;

rh = rlm_init(...);
stat = rlm_act_rehost_revoke(rh, url, product, flags);
stat = rlm_act_revoke_disconn(rh, url, param, retval);

rlm_act_rehost_revoke() causes RLM to revoke a rehostable hostid by taking the following actions:

Contacts the activation server at url and tells it to revoke all activations performed for the revokable hostid for product product.
Removes the hostid for product from the system.

flags is one or more of the following values, ORed together:

RLM_ACT_REVOKE_REFERENCE	Revoke using the reference hostid if the hostid is not found on this system.
RLM_ACT_REVOKE_NOFULFILL	Removes the rehostable hostid even if the activation server does not think there is a fulfillment.
RLM_ACT_REVOKE_NODEL	Tells the server to revoke the fulfillment even if the rehostable hostid cannot be deleted.

If rlm_act_rehost_revoke() cannot contact the activation server, or no fulfillments have been made using rehostable hostids for product, or the rehostable hostid for product does not exist, and none of the 3 possible conditions specified in flags corrects this, rlm_act_rehost_revoke() will return a non-zero error status. Otherwise, rlm_act_rehost_revoke() returns a 0 status to indicate success.

Note

The URL should always be HTTP, never HTTPS. rlm_act_revoke() encrypts the request independent of the webserver.

If you set a reference hostid with rlm_set_attr_reference_hostid() prior to activating this license, be sure to set the same reference hostid before attempting to revoke the license.

Once a license is revoked with rlm_act_rehost_revoke(), it will no longer work on the system, and activation count associated with the fulfillment to this system will be returned to the activation server so that your customer can re-activate the license on another system.

See the notes below for considerations when setting the various flags bits.

rlm_act_revoke_disconn() is used to perform a rehostable hostid revocation on a system which is not connected to the internet. For the usage of this function, see License Rehosting.

Note/risks when setting the flags bits to rlm_act_rehost_revoke():

RLM_ACT_REVOKE_REFERENCE – this should always be a safe option to set, unless you are worried that your customer has the same native hostid for multiple systems. In that case, the license could be revoked on a different system, and the original system would still have a valid rehostable hostid. If you already call rlm_revoke_reference() after rlm_revoke() fails, you should set this option and not worry about it.
RLM_ACT_REVOKE_NOFULFILL – in this case, the server did not find the fulfillment, but with this option set, the rehostable will be deleted. This prevents a new activation from receiving a “rehostable hostid exists” error and is a good option to set.
RLM_ACT_REVOKE_NODEL – this option tells the server to remove the fulfillment even if the rehostable cannot be deleted. This would allow a dishonest customer to cheat the system by first write-protecting the rehostable directory hierarchy, then revoking the license. With this option set, even if the hostid can’t be deleted, rlm_act_rehost_revoke() would still tell the activation server that it was deleted, and the server would put activation count back into the key.

Note

Reprise Software recommends always setting RLM_ACT_REVOKE_REFERENCE and RLM_ACT_REVOKE_NOFULFILL, and adding RLM_ACT_REVOKE_NODEL depending on your tolerance for some customers being able to cheat the system.

Notes on the deprecated calls

rlm_act_revoke() - the pre-14.1 revoking API call, is still available, and it is 100% equivalent to calling rlm_act_rehost_revoke(rh, url, product, 0). New applications should call rlm_act_rehost_revoke() with the appropriate flags.

There is no longer any reason to call rlm_act_revoke_reference() after a failure of rlm_act_revoke(). rlm_act_rehost_revoke(rh, url, product, RLM_ACT_REVOKE_REFERENCE) is equivalent to rlm_act_revoke() followed by rlm_act_revoke_reference().
rlm_act_revoke_reference() performs the same operation as rlm_act_revoke(), but it will work even when the rehostable hostid is bad or missing on the system. You must decide if you are willing to revoke the license in this case, and you should only call rlm_act_revoke_reference() after rlm_act_revoke() fails with an RLM_EH_CANT_GET_REHOST or RLM_EL_NOTTHISHOST status.

Note

That rlm_act_rehost_revoke() and rlm_act_revoke() will return RLM_ACT_REVOKE_TOOLATE (-1029) if the license associated with the rehostable hostid has expired, and you have not enabled “Revocation of expired rehostable hostids” in the Database section of the Admin tab in RLM License Center. This error means that no count was returned to the activation key, however, the rehostable hostid was deleted in this case. If there is sufficient count in the activation key, or if a different activation key is used, a new rehostable activation will succeed.

The most likely scenario where you would see this is as follows:

User attempts to check out license, gets RLM_EL_EXPIRED status.
User then attempts to re-activate the license, gets RLM_EH_REHOST_EXISTS
User then attempts to revoke the activation, gets RLM_ACT_REVOKE_TOOLATE

At this point, the rehostable hostid is gone, and the user can re-activate successfully.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_add_meter_count()

Add count to a specified meter.

#include "license.h"
int status;
RLM_HANDLE rh;
RLM_PRODUCTS product;
int counter, count;

status = rlm_add_meter_count(rh, product, counter, count);

rlm_add_meter_count() is used by an application to add count to a server’s meter counter.

The rlm_add_meter_count() call requires a connection to a license server which was created with rlm_init() (NOT rlm_init_disconn()). The license server connection is specified in one of 2 ways:

If a product is specified via the product and rh parameters, this connection is used.
If no product is specified, the connection from the supplied RLM_HANDLE is used. This connection must have been established prior to the call to rlm_add_meter_count() via an rlm_checkout() call.

If no server connection is specified:

If neither a product nor an RLM_HANDLE is specified, RLM_EH_NOHANDLE is returned to the caller.
If the specified product or RLM_HANDLE does not have a server associated, RLM_EH_NOSERVER is returned to the caller.

Given a server as specified above, this call will add count to the specified meter counter.

Example (add 100 to counter for “your-product-name”):

int status, counter, count_to_add;
RLM_PRODUCTS products;

  products = rlm_products(rh, "your-product-name", "");
  if (products && rlm_product_ismetered(products))
  {
    counter = rlm_product_meter_counter(products);
    count_to_add = 100;
    status = rlm_add_meter_count(rh, products, counter, count_to_add);
  }

alternately:

int status, counter, count_to_add;
RLM_LICENSE lic;

  lic = rlm_checkout(rh, "your-product-name", "1.0", 1);
  if (!rlm_license_stat(lic) && rlm_license_ismetered(lic))
  {
    counter = rlm_license_meter_counter(lic);
    count_to_add = 100;
    status = rlm_add_meter_count(rh, (RLM_PRODUCTS) NULL, counter, count_to_add);
  }

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_auth_check()

Ask the server to verify a license.

#include "license.h"
int status;
RLM_LICENSE license;
char *license_to_check;

status = rlm_auth_check(license, license_to_check);

rlm_auth_check() is used by an application to verify the integrity of the license server. This call is not required by RLM and is used only as an additional check that the license server has not been modified.

The rlm_auth_check() call asks the license server to verify a signed license (license_to_check) after you have checked out some other license. You pass a node-locked uncounted license to this call as the license_to_check parameter. This license can be either a good or a bad license, and you should pass both types at different times to make spoofing this call harder.

Warning

Do not include HOST or ISV lines in this license, only the LICENSE line. Also note that these licenses must be node-locked, uncounted (or SINGLE) licenses, and do not enclose the license in angle brackets - “<” and “>”.

You must pass a valid RLM_LICENSE handle in, and this handle should represent a checked-out license from a license server. license_to_check is a signed license, either valid or not.

This function will return either:

0 - the server authenticated the license, and it is correct.
RLM_EL_SYNTAX (-26) – the license to be checked has a syntax error, or the received message is incorrect.
RLM_EL_BADKEY (-5) - the license did not authenticate in the server.
RLM_EH_NOSERVER (-112) - the RLM_LICENSE handle passed in does not have a license checked-out on a license server.

See the Securing Your Application FAQ for more information on how to secure your application and license server.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_auto_hb(), rlm_set_auto_hb_isvdata()

Enable Automatic Heartbeats.

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE rh;
int period;
int auto_reconnect;
void (*notify(RLM_HANDLE, RLM_LICENSE, int, void *));
const void *isv_data;

status = rlm_auto_hb(rh, period, auto_reconnect, notify);
rlm_set_auth_hb_isvdata(rh, isv_data);

With RLM, you must either manually send heartbeats to the license server by calling rlm_get_attr_health() periodically in your code, or tell RLM to do this for you. rlm_auto_hb() is the function that sets up automatic heartbeats. You should call either rlm_get_attr_health() or rlm_auto_hb(), but not both. Also note that while this is not strictly a requirement, you need to send heartbeats to the server if you want to detect license loss. On the other hand, if your application runs for less than a minute or so, there is no real need to send heartbeats to the license server and you can safely ignore heartbeats.

You can call rlm_auto_hb() any time after calling rlm_init(). If rlm_auto_hb() returns a 0 status, the handler was installed without error, otherwise, status contains the RLM error code.

The first parameter is the handle on which to perform automatic heartbeats. RLM will perform heartbeats on all checked-out licenses on this handle. You can call rlm_auto_hb() any time after the rlm_init() and before the rlm_close() call. In practice, you should call rlm_auto_hb() within 30 seconds or so of your first license checkout, but it can be called before any checkouts if you wish.

The second parameter, period, is the period at which the heartbeat thread runs. period must be at least 2 seconds (and is set to 2 if specified as a lower value). RLM will not send heartbeats any more often than once every 30 seconds even if you set period to a value less than 30, however, when the license is lost, rlm_auto_hb() will attempt to re-acquire it every period seconds. Also note that there is an interaction between the period you pick and the minimum heartbeat interval. For example, if you set period to 25 seconds, the heartbeat will not be sent the first time requested (since it is less than 30 seconds), but it will be sent the 2^nd time – in other words, after 50 seconds. So setting period to a value <30 seconds may cause the heartbeat interval to be longer than 30 seconds.

Note

The period parameter is set to a minimum of 2 seconds internally.

The third parameter, auto_reconnect, is set to 0 if you do not want RLM to attempt to re-acquire lost licenses. If you would like RLM to re-acquire licenses that have been lost, set auto_reconnect to one. If RLM does an automatic re-acquisition of the license, your original RLM_LICENSE handle will reflect the new status of the license.

Note

If you have modified the ISV data via a call to rlm_set_environ() between the time you made your original checkout and the time of the reconnection, the ISV data sent on the new checkout request will be the new version of the ISV data, NOT the ISV data that was transmitted originally.

The fourth parameter is a function pointer which is called when a license is lost, after re-acquisition is attempted. If you supply a NULL pointer in this argument, no callback is done to your code. This function is called independent of the setting of auto_reconnect. The notify handler will be called as long as the license is lost, and, if you have a reconnection handler set, one time when license re-acquisition is successful (i.e., when status==0). Note that the last call will not happen if you do not have a reconnection handler installed. The function is called as follows:

(*notify)(rh, license, lic_status, isv_data);

The license parameter is the license which was lost. Note that the status may be 0 when this routine is called if you have set auto_reconnect to one and the license has already been re-acquired. This function is called in the context of the thread in which heartbeats are performed. The only RLM functions you can call in this routine are all the rlm_license_xxxx() functions with the exception of rlm_license_stat(). The third parameter, lic_status, is the status of the license (updated after the reconnection attempt). The fourth parameter is a void * that you specified in the latest call to rlm_set_auto_hb_isvdata() on this handle, or NULL if rlm_set_auto_hb_isvdata() was not called on this handle. This argument can be used to pass any data from the application to the reconnection handle.

rlm_set_auth_hb_isvdata() specifies the data item to be passed to the automatic heartbeat reconnection function, above.

If you call rlm_auto_hb(), heartbeats will be sent to the server whenever your application is running, whether you are actively processing or not. This means that an application which is simply waiting for user input will continue to send heartbeats and will not appear to be inactive to RLM. If you would like your customers to be able to time-out the licenses from applications which are in such an idle state, use the rlm_set_active() call to inform RLM when your application is active or inactive.

Note

rlm_auto_hb() uses pthreads on Unix, and Windows threads on Windows.

If you call rlm_auto_hb() on Unix, you must include -lpthreads in your link command for your application. In addition to this, on Solaris, you must include -lrt in your link command. On Unix systems, rlm_auto_hb() sets the handler for SIGPIPE to SIG_IGN in both the main thread and in the thread that generates the heartbeat.

Note

If a license expires, the license server does not invalidate or remove any instances of that license which are checked out at the time of license expiration. Heartbeats on such a license will continue to succeed.

Some additional notes on heartbeats and server status checking

rlm_get_attr_health() will re-attempt to verify the connection to the server each time it is called. This means a few things:

The client will be able to “re-acquire” a license that is lost due to a temporary network interruption. During the time of the interruption, rlm_get_attr_health() will return RLM_EL_NO_HEARTBEAT. If you are using rlm_auto_hb(), this is attempted 5 times, then the connection is deemed bad and it is shut down. If you are doing manual heartbeats, you control how many times you look for a heartbeat before giving up (although Reprise Software recommends that you keep this number relatively low, say 4-6 attempts).
In rlm_auto_hb(), your application will not attempt to re-acquire a lost license until it has tried to verify a heartbeat 5 times. Previously, it attempted a reconnection on the initial detection of the lost heartbeat.
In any case, if the network was interrupted and then restored, it may take more calls to rlm_get_attr_health() to detect a loss of heartbeat in a subsequent interruption. This is because several heartbeat responses may have been queued up for the application to read.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_checkin()

Release a license.

#include "license.h"
RLM_LICENSE license;

rlm_checkin(license);

rlm_checkin() releases license and frees all data associated with it. After calling rlm_checkin(), the RLM_LICENSE license is no longer valid, and you should make no further calls using this handle. Do not call rlm_checkin() more than once on a license.

Note

You cannot call rlm_license_stat() on a license handle after that handle has been checked in, or if the RLM_HANDLE used to check it out has been closed. In fact, you cannot use this handle in any way. Use of the handle after an rlm_checkin() or rlm_close() will result in unpredictable behavior (including possible application crashes), since the handle you are using has been freed by RLM.

Note

If you plan to check any licenses in then close the handle (ie, if you are not going to use the handle after checking a license in), then you should omit the rlm_checkin() call, and simply call rlm_close() on the handle. rlm_close() always checks-in any licenses which are checked out on the handle, and if you are using a disconnected handle, RLM will only reconnect to the server one time for all your license check-ins as well as to tell the server that you’re are done with the handle.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_checkout()

Request a license from RLM.

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE handle;
RLM_LICENSE license;
const char *product;
const char *version;
int count;

license = rlm_checkout(handle, product, version, count);

rlm_checkout requests count licenses of product product at version version. count must be a positive integer. If there are node-locked, uncounted licenses available in a license file that is specified in The License Environment, then these node-locked licenses are used. Otherwise, a request is made to each server specified by The License Environment, until either the licenses are granted, or all servers have been tried without success. rlm_checkout() creates license and returns it to its caller. The version string should be of the form major or major.minor where major and minor are integers. The count parameter must be a positive integer.

The order of license checkout attempts is as follows:

If RLM_ROAM is set to a positive value, roamed licenses on the local node will be checked first.
All node-locked, uncounted licenses in local license files (from all license files in the license file path) will be checked next.
All licenses served by servers that RLM has already connected to are checked next.
All licenses served by servers which RLM has not previously connected to are checked next.
Finally, if RLM_ROAM is not set, a check will be made for local roamed licenses.

Note

If RLM_ROAM is set, the setting of RLM_QUEUE is ignored, ie, you cannot queue for the license.

To get the status of the rlm_checkout call, use rlm_license_stat(license). For a list of status returns, see Appendix B – RLM Status Values.

There are generally 3 “success” status returns from a license checkout request:

0	License checked out normally.
RLM_EL_OVERSOFT	License checkout results in usage over the soft_limit specified, or a token-based license is misconfigured and the server is in an overdraft condition (see note in Restrictions on token-based licenses).
RLM_EL_INQUEUE	License request is in the queue.

If you have specified a minimum server version/revision/build via the rlm_isv_cfg_set_oldest_server() call in rlm_isv_config.c, and the server is older than your specification, you will get an RLM_EL_COMM_ERROR error from the server and the handle will have the error status RLM_EH_SERVER_REJECT.

Note

You should always call rlm_checkin() when you are done with the license, even if the checkout call returns an error. Calling rlm_checkin() on the license frees any associated memory with the license. You can call rlm_checkin() even if rlm_checkout() returns a NULL license handle, however, you should only call rlm_checkin() on a non-NULL license handle once.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_checkout_product()

Request an exact license from RLM.

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE handle;
RLM_LICENSE license;
RLM_PRODUCTS product;
const char *version;
int count;

license = rlm_checkout_product(handle, product, version, count);

In most cases, applications use rlm_checkout() to check out licenses, as any license that meets the product name and version requirements is sufficient. In some other cases, an application may want to choose from multiple instances of licenses for the same product. For example, if there are several licenses present for a product, but they contain different options attributes, the application may want to check out a specific instance based on the options content determined with rlm_products(). In that case the application would use rlm_checkout_product() to check out the license.

rlm_checkout_product() requests count licenses of version version of the product specified by the RLM_PRODUCTS handle product. count must be a positive integer. rlm_checkout_product() creates license and returns it to its caller. The version string should be of the form major or major.minor where major and minor are integers. The count parameter must be a positive integer.

rlm_checkout_product() operates on the RLM_PRODUCTS handle returned from rlm_products(). Once you have found the product you want to check out via the rlm_product_first() and rlm_product_next() calls, a call to rlm_checkout_product() will check out the product that is described by the current state of the RLM_PRODUCTS handle product.

To get the status of the rlm_checkout_product() call, use rlm_license_stat(license). For a list of status returns, see Appendix B – RLM Status Values.

There are generally 3 “success” status returns from a license checkout request:

0	License checked out normally.
RLM_EL_OVERSOFT	License checkout results in usage over the soft_limit specified, or a token-based license is misconfigured and the server is in an overdraft condition (see note in Restrictions on token-based licenses).
RLM_EL_INQUEUE	License request is in the queue.

If you have specified a minimum server version/revision/build via the rlm_isv_cfg_set_oldest_server() call in rlm_isv_config.c, and the server is older than your specification, you will get an RLM_EL_COMM_ERROR error from the server and the handle will have the error status RLM_EH_SERVER_REJECT.

Note

You should always call rlm_checkin() when you are done with the license, even if the checkout call returns an error. Calling rlm_checkin() on the license frees any associated memory with the license. You can call rlm_checkin() even if rlm_checkout() returns a NULL license handle, however, you should only call rlm_checkin() on a non-NULL license handle once.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_close()

Terminate licensing operations with RLM.

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE handle;

rlm_close(handle);

When you are finished with all licenses and do not intend to make any more calls to RLM, call rlm_close() to clean up the handle created with rlm_init() and free all the data associated with it.

rlm_close() does the following:

If you have automatic heartbeats - syncs with the other thread and destroys that thread.
Checks in any licenses that are still checked out - which will disconnect from all servers and shut down the connections (and on windows, calls WSACleanup() to close down Winsock).
Frees all data structures used in that handle.
Frees the handle.

Note

If you are using a DLL on Windows, you cannot call rlm_close() in the DLL unloading routine.

Note

You cannot use any license handles that were created using this RLM_HANDLE after the call to rlm_close(). Use of the RLM_HANDLE or any associated license handles after an rlm_close() will result in unpredictable behavior (including possible application crashes), since the handle you are using has been freed by RLM.

Note

If you plan to check any licenses in then close the handle (i.e., if you are not going to use the handle after checking a license in), then you should omit the rlm_checkin() call, and simply call rlm_close() on the handle. rlm_close() always checks-in any licenses which are checked out on the handle, and if you are using a disconnected handle, RLM will only reconnect to the server one time for all your license checkins as well as to tell the server that you’re are done with the handle.

You are not strictly required to call rlm_close() unless the handle is a disconnected handle. Specifically, if your program is about to exit, rlm_close() is unnecessary for a connected handle, but for a disconnected handle, rlm_close() informs the server that you are done and allows the server to clean up data associated with your process. Of course, you can omit the rlm_close() call even for a disconnected handle, in which case the server will time out the licenses after your promise interval.

If you do not call rlm_close(), memory leak detectors will report leaked memory.

Important

Prior to v16.1 it was necessary to call rlmssl_ERR_remove_state(0); before exiting your program to avoid memory leaks caused by OpenSSL. Starting in 16.1 this is no longer necessary and the call was removed, so you must remove this call from your program.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_create_temp_license(), rlm_return_temp_license(), rlm_temp_new_handle(), rlm_temp_destroy_handle(), rlm_temp_set_handle()

Temporary license functions

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE rh;
RLM_TEMP_HANDLE temp_handle;
const void *val;
int status, what;

(void) rlm_temp_destroy_handle(temp_handle);

temp_handle = rlm_temp_new_handle(rh);

status = rlm_temp_set_handle(temp_handle, what, val);

status = rlm_create_temp_license(rh, temp_handle);

status = rlm_return_temp_license(rlm_license);

rlm_create_temp_license() will create a new temporary license specified by the information in temp_handle.

rlm_return_temp_license() removes the temporary license and returns it to the source.

rlm_temp_new_handle() creates a new temporary license handle, rlm_temp_set_handle() sets the parameters in the handle, and rlm_temp_destroy_handle() removes the handle.

rlm_temp_new_handle() creates a blank handle to pass temporary license parameters to rlm_create_temp_license(). rlm_temp_new_handle() returns a NULL handle error. Call rlm_temp_new_handle() before calling rlm_temp_set_handle(). After the temporary license has been created, call rlm_temp_destroy_handle() to free the memory associated with the handle.

To create a temporary license, first create a handle using rlm_temp_new_handle(). rlm_temp_new_handle() sets the following defaults:

RLM_TEMP_SOURCE is set to RLM_TEMP_RLMCLOUD
RLM_TEMP_TYPE is set to RLM_TEMP_UNCOUNTED

Next, set the parameters using rlm_temp_set_handle() as follows:

RLM_TEMP_HANDLE_DURATION (int)	# of minutes until license expires.
RLM_TEMP_HANDLE_NEW_DURATION (int)	New duration at refresh (see below)
RLM_TEMP_HANDLE_SOURCE (integer)	The license comes from the source specified, which is either RLM_TEMP_RLMCLOUD or RLM_TEMP_ACTPRO. Currently only RLM_TEMP_RLMCLOUD is supported; this is the default.
RLM_TEMP_HANDLE_LICENSE (RLM_LICENSE)	A checked-out license. Used for RLM_TEMP_RLMCLOUD only. The RLM_LICENSE must come from an RLM Cloud server, not a local server.
RLM_TEMP_HANDLE_TYPE (int)	Either RLM_TEMP_UNCOUNTED or RLM_TEMP_HANDLE_SINGLE to create an uncounted or single license, respectively. RLM_TEMP_HANDLE_UNCOUNTED is the default.
RLM_TEMP_WINDOW (int)	Refresh window, in seconds, if ==0, no automatic refresh (see below).
RLM_TEMP_AKEY (const char *)	Activation key for activation pro. Unused.
RLM_TEMP_COUNT	# of licenses requested. Unused.
RLM_TEMP_URL (const char *)	URL of the ActPro server. Unused.

Once the license is created, on each subsequent checkout, if the license expires within window, minutes, then the license will be renewed for new_duration minutes (RLM will do this using this same call, with new_duration substituted for duration). When RLM performs this automatic renewal, it uses the same call, and if the renewal fails, it returns the original license. If the renewal succeeds, the new license is returned.

Note

The new expiration is computed from the time of the renewal, NOT from the time of the initial expiration. Also note that if window is specified as 0, no automatic renewal will be done.

For example, the following code will create an uncounted license for “prod” which lasts for 3 days, and which auto-renews when you check out the license 12 hours before the end time for an additional 2 days:

#define HOURS 60
#define DAYS (24 * HOURS)
RLM_LICENSE lic;
RLM_HANDLE rh;
rh = rlm_init(....);
lic = rlm_checkout(rh, ...);
if (!rlm_license_single(lic) && !rlm_license_uncounted(lic))
{

  temp_handle = rlm_temp_new_handle(rh);
  if (!temp_handle) /* whatever error code you want */
  rlm_temp_set_handle(temp_handle, RLM_TEMP_DURATION, (void *) 3*DAYS);
  rlm_temp_set_handle(temp_handle, RLM_TEMP_WINDOW, (void *) 12*HOURS);
  rlm_temp_set_handle(temp_handle, RLM_TEMP_NEW_DURATION, (void *) 2*DAYS);
  rlm_temp_set_handle(temp_handle, RLM_TEMP_LICENSE, (void *) lic);
  status = rlm_create_temp_license(rh, temp_handle);

}

If rlm_create_temp_license() returns 0 status, the license was written and is ready for checkout. Otherwise status contains the RLM error status.

rlm_return_temp_license() can only be called on a license that is checked out. To return this license, call rlm_return_temp_license() with the RLM_LICENSE handle returned by rlm_checkout(). If rlm_return_temp_license() returns good status (0), the license is checked in, and the handle should not be used again.

For example, to return the license created above:

lic = rlm_checkout(rh, "prod", "1.0", 1);
if (lic)
{
status = rlm_return_temp_license(lic);
if (status) rlm_checkin(lic);
}

Note

If rlm_create_temp_license() returns RLM_EH_NOTEMPFROMLOCAL status, this means there was already a temporary license present on the system. In this case, the temporary license might have been refreshed as part of the operation.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_detached_demo()

Install RLM Detached Demo^TM license.

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE rh;
int stat;
int days;
const char license[RLM_MAX_LINE+1];

rh = rlm_init(...);
stat = rlm_detached_demo(rh, days, license);

rlm_detached_demo() requests RLM to install a Detached Demo^TM valid for days. The parameters of the demo license installed are contained in the license string.

days - the number of days the demo license should be valid.

license - an RLM license string.

When installing the demo license, the license string is parsed into its components, and these are used for the license. The license should not be signed, but must have valid syntax, otherwise an RLM_EL_BADPARAM error will result. If rlm_detached_demo() returns a non-zero status, the status is contained in the RLM_HANDLE parameter (rh) after the call.

The count, hostid, and expiration date fields of this input license are unused. The resulting installed demo license will be a node-locked, uncounted license, valid on the machine which made the call to rlm_detached_demo(), and valid for the version specified in the license only. The expiration date will be days days in the future. Note that licenses are valid until midnight, local time, so a 0-day license will be valid until midnight on the day it is installed.

A Detached Demo^TM license can only be installed once on a particular system for any given combination of product and version. Detached Demo^TM licenses cannot be modified or re-installed. They do not require any kind of internet connectivity; however, they are not as secure as licenses created with RLM Activation Pro, which is always the preferred way to install a license which expires in a fixed number of days.

For a Detached Demo^TM license to be usable, you must be able to check out an rlm_demo license. This allows you to add the code to create demo licenses into your product but enable it only in certain situations. If you call rlm_detached_demo() without an rlm_demo license available, the operation will fail with an RLM_EH_NO_DEMO_LIC status. Note that the rlm_demo license must be valid, in other words, you must sign this license and it must be present and valid on the system where the demo is going to be installed. The rlm_demo license should be placed in the directory with your product binary, and it should be a nodelocked, uncounted license, perhaps locked to hostid demo or any, e.g.:

LICENSE demo rlm_demo 1.0 permanent uncounted hostid=demo

The following example is a call to rlm_detached_demo() to set up a 30-day license for v1.0 of myproduct:

RLM_HANDLE rh;
int stat;
char license[RLM_MAX_LINE+1];

rh = rlm_init(...);
sprintf(license, "LICENSE demo mylicense 1.0 permanent uncounted hostid=any _customer=%s",
customer);
stat = rlm_detached_demo(rh, 30, license);

To determine if a license which is checked out is a Detached Demo^TM license, call rlm_license_detached_demo() on the license handle. If it is a Detached Demo^TM license, rlm_license_detached_demo() will return 1.

Note

Detached Demo^TM licenses are not as secure as licenses created with RLM Activation Pro. Using internet activation to install demo licenses is always preferred, and Detached Demo^TM licenses should only be used when absolutely required. Also note that Detached Demo^TM licenses are not reported by the rlm_products() call.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_detached_demox()

Remove RLM Detached Demo^TM license.

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE rh;
int stat;
const char product[RLM_MAX_PRODUCT+1];
const char version[RLM_MAX_VER+1];

rh = rlm_init(...);
stat = rlm_detached_demox(rh, product, version);

rlm_detached_demox() requests RLM to remove an installed Detached Demo^TM license. The license is specified by the product name and version.

product - the name of the product license to be removed.

version – the version of product to be removed.

Since a Detached Demo^TM license can only be installed once on a particular system for any given combination of product and version, rlm_detached_demox() gives you a way to test this functionality during development.

Note

Reprise Software STRONGLY recommends that you use this function only during development, and that you do not ship products that include rlm_detached_demox() calls to your customer.

rlm_detached_demox() will only remove a Detached Demo^TM license created by the same version of RLM.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_diagnostics()

Print client-side diagnostics

RLM HANDLE rh;
char *filename;

(void) rlm_diagnostics(rh, filename);

rlm_diagnostics() will print client-side diagnostics to the filename specified. rlm_diagnostics() can be called any time after a call to rlm_init() or rlm_init_disconn(). The values for the 3 rlm_init() parameters will be the values used in the most recent call to rlm_init().

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_errstring()

Format RLM status into a string

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE handle;
RLM_LICENSE lic;
char string[RLM_ERRSTRING_MAX];
int stat;

(char *) rlm_errstring(lic, handle, string);

rlm_errstring() will take the latest status returns from any call-in handle and from the latest rlm_checkout() call in lic, and format the resulting status into string. It is the caller’s responsibility to manage the memory used by string. string should be at least RLM_ERRSTRING_MAX bytes in length. You can pass either a NULL lic or a NULL handle to rlm_errstring(), and only the status from the other will be returned.

Note

Prior to RLM v9.1, rlm_act_errstring() was used to return a printable string corresponding to the error returned by rlm_activate()/rlm_act_request(). Beginning in RLM v9.1, rlm_errstring() prints all RLM errors, including activation errors. Thus, rlm_act_errstring() is no longer required and should not be used.

rlm_errstring() returns its 3rd argument, so that it can be placed directly in an output (e.g., printf()) call.

If RLM_EXTENDED_ERROR_MESSAGES is set in the user’s environment, rlm_errstring() will output additional information (for certain errors) with suggestions for solving the problem.

The returned string consists of multiple lines of information, in the following format. If any of these errors are not present, the corresponding line will not appear in the output (e.g., if there is no RLM_HANDLE error, the 2nd line will not appear):

license (RLM_LICENSE) error string (error number)
handle (RLM_HANDLE) error string (error number)
communications error (comm: error number)
system error string (errno: error number)
Optional extended error messages

For example, if a connection attempt is made to an ISV server that is not running, the following error string might be returned. Note that this example does not contain an RLM_LICENSE error line:

Networking error (in msg_init()) (-103)
Cannot connect to server (comm: -4)
Transport endpoint is not connected (errno: 146)

If RLM_EXTENDED_ERROR_MESSAGES is set, the following lines would be added to this message:

This error usually means that:
(1) The license server (rlm) is not running, or
(2) The hostname or port # in a port@host or license file is incorrect, or
(3) The ISV server isn't running, or
(4) The license server machine is down.

Note

For certain activation errors (rlm_act_request() or rlm_activate()) additional status will be contained in the returned license string. See rlm_activate() for more information.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_errstring_num()

Translate RLM status value into a string.

int error;
char string[RLM_ERRSTRING_MAX];

(char *) rlm_errstring_num(error, string);

rlm_errstring_num() will take any RLM status return and turn it into an error string. The error parameter can be the return from any RLM call which returns status (primarily rlm_stat() and rlm_license_stat())

It is the caller’s responsibility to manage the memory used by string. string should be at least RLM_ERRSTRING_MAX bytes in length.

rlm_errstring() returns its 3rd argument, so that it can be placed directly in an output (e.g., printf()) call.

RLM_EXTENDED_ERROR_MESSAGES has no effect on the rlm_errstring_num() call.

The returned string consists of a single line of error information.

Example:

char string[RLM_ERRSTRING_MAX];
        rlm_errstring_max(-24 /* RLM_EL_TIMEDOUT */, string)
        printf("RLM Error is: %s\n", string);

The output will be:

RLM Error is: License timed out by server

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_get_attr_health()

Check license status by testing server connection.

#include "license.h"
RLM_LICENSE license;
int status;

status = rlm_get_attr_health(license);

Once you have checked out a license, you need to periodically check the health of the connection to the license server by calling rlm_get_attr_health() on a license-by-license basis. You can make this call as often as you like; RLM ensures that communications with the license server is done at most once every 30 seconds. This communication is called a heartbeat.

In general, it is sufficient to call rlm_get_attr_health() every couple of minutes. If your product runs for less than a few minutes, you can skip this call entirely. The main function of rlm_get_attr_health() is to protect against a malicious user killing and restarting the license server in order to make all licenses available again. If this is not a concern, you can simply never call rlm_get_attr_health() in your application.

Status of 0 indicates that everything is OK, non-zero status returns are defined in license.h

If, after successfully checking out a license, rlm_get_attr_health() returns a non-zero status, you should call rlm_checkin() on the license to free any associated memory, and then check out the license again.

If you receive a return of RLM_EL_INQUEUE from your checkout call, you would call rlm_get_attr_health() until you receive a 0 status, at which point the license is checked out. In this case, if rlm_get_attr_health() returns anything other than 0 or RLM_EL_INQUEUE, this is an error and you should call rlm_checkin() on that license.

If you would like RLM to provide this checking automatically (in a separate thread), see rlm_auto_hb(), rlm_set_auto_hb_isvdata() for a description of the rlm_auto_hb() function. Note that you should call either rlm_get_attr_health() or rlm_auto_hb(), but not both.

Some notes on heartbeats and server status checking

rlm_get_attr_health() will re-attempt to verify the connection to the server each time it is called. This means a few things:

The client will be able to “re-acquire” a license that is lost due to a temporary network interruption. During the time of the interruption, rlm_get_attr_health() will return RLM_EL_NO_HEARTBEAT. If you are using rlm_auto_hb(), this is attempted 5 times, then the connection is deemed bad, and it is shut down. If you are doing manual heartbeats, you control how many times you look for a heartbeat before giving up (although Reprise Software recommends that you keep this number relatively low, say 4-6 attempts).
In rlm_auto_hb(), your application will not attempt to re-acquire a lost license until it has tried to verify a heartbeat 5 times. Previously, it attempted a reconnection on the initial detection of the lost heartbeat.
In any case, if the network was interrupted and then restored, it may take more calls to rlm_get_attr_health() to detect a loss of heartbeat in a subsequent interruption. This is because several heartbeat responses may have been queued up for the application to read.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_get_attr_lfpath()

Get license path in use by RLM.

#include "license.h"
RLM_LICENSE license;
char *path;

path = rlm_get_attr_lfpath(license);

Once you have attempted a license checkout, you can determine the license path in use by RLM by calling rlm_get_attr_lfpath() on the license handle (the checkout does not need to be successful for rlm_get_attr_lfpath() to work). This call will retrieve the same path for any license handle passed in.

You should NOT free the returned string.

Note

On Windows, the path components are separated by the ‘;’ character. On all other RLM platforms, the path components are separated by the ‘:’ character.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_get_attr_lic_check()

Get license check information

#include "license.h"
RLM_LICENSE lic;
char *license;
char *hostid;
int status;

status = rlm_get_attr_lic_check(lic, &license, &hostid);

If you have enabled server license checking with rlm_isv_cfg_enable_check_license() AND you have disabled failures from this license check with rlm_isv_cfg_no_server_license_fail(), you can check the status of the returned license from the server with this call after you have attempted a checkout. This data will be valid after the checkout and before any other call that attempts to connect to the server.

The call will return pointers to the license and server hostid returned by the license server in the license and hostid parameters, if they are supplied as non-NULL pointers. You should NOT free or otherwise modify either the license or hostid strings returned from this call.

The return from the call will be one of the following values:

0	License from server verified correctly.
RLM_EH_BADPARAM	Either lic is NULL or the RLM_HANDLE associated with lic is NULL.
RLM_NO_SERVER_LIC	The server did not return a license.
RLM_LIC_BAD	The returned license did not verify correctly.
RLM_EH_LIC_WITH_NEW_KEYWORDS	The returned license has unknown keywords.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_get_rehost()

Retrieve the hostid of a rehostable license.

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE handle;
char *product;
char *hostid[RLM_MAX_HOSTID_STRING+1];
int status;

status = rlm_get_rehost(handle, product, hostid);

rlm_get_rehost() will return the hostid for the specified product if there is a rehostable hostid on this system. If status==0, hostid will contain the hostid string for this product.

This call can be used to retrieve a rehostable hostid when the license file is lost, and then transmit this hostid to the activation server to retrieve the hostid.

Note

Prior to RLM v12.4, rlm_get_rehost() changed the working directory during the time of the call. This caused problems with multi-threaded applications, specifically plugins to Adobe products. In RLM v12.4, the working directory is not changed during this call. There are no changes to the API or the file layout of rehostable hostids, so no changes to your product are needed.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_hostid(), rlm_all_hostids(), rlm_all_hostids_free()

Retrieve the hostid of this machine.

rlm_hostid()

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE handle;
int type;
char hostid[RLM_MAX_HOSTID_STRING];
const char *description;

description = rlm_hostid(handle, type, hostid);

Call rlm_hostid() on any open RLM_HANDLE to retrieve the hostid of type type. The hostid will be returned in the string hostid. The value of the hostid can be the string “invalid” in certain circumstances.

The value of type should be one of:

RLM_HOSTID_32BIT
RLM_HOSTID_DISKSN (Windows only)
RLM_HOSTID_ETHER
RLM_HOSTID_UUID (Windows only)
RLM_HOSTID_USER
RLM_HOSTID_HOST
RLM_HOSTID_IP
RLM_HOSTID_RLMID1
One of your ISV-defined hostid types.

Note

type could also be one of RLM_HOSTID_ANY, RLM_HOSTID_DEMO, or RLM_HOSTID_STRING, but these will always return “ANY”, “DEMO”, or “”.

The description return value will be NULL for an error, otherwise it is a static string - do not free it. Currently it is always an empty string, but may be used in the future.

Note

You cannot retrieve a rehostable hostid with rlm_hostid() or rlm_all_hostids(). Call rlm_get_rehost() to retrieve a rehostable hostid for a product.

rlm_all_hostids()

The rlm_all_hostids() call returns a list of hostids for hostid types which allow for multiple instances on a given machine.

RLM_HANDLE handle;
int type;
char **list;

list = rlm_all_hostids(handle, type);

rlm_all_hostids() returns a pointer to an array of (char *) pointers. Each pointer points to a string which is one instance of the specified hostid type. The list is terminated with a NULL pointer.

rlm_all_hostids_free()

Free all memory allocated for the list with the rlm_all_hostids_free() call.

char **list;
(void) rlm_all_hostids_free(list);

Example:

char **list, **list_save;

        list_save = list = rlm_all_hostids(handle, RLM_HOSTID_ETHER);
        while (list && *list)
        {
                printf("Hostid: %s\n", *list);
                list++;
        }
        rlm_all_hostids_free(list_save);

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_id_login()

Retrieve entitlements from RLM Cloud with ID licensing

rlm_id_login(const char username, const char password)

Example Usage:

char *product= "my_product";
char *version = 1.0;
int count = 1;

char *username = some_get_username_func();
char *password = some_get_password_func();

int login_status = rlm_id_login(username, password);

if(login_status != 0)
{
    char login_stat_str[RLM_ERRSTRING_MAX] = {0};
    printf("Login error: %s\n", rlm_errstring_num(login_status, login_stat_str);
    return -1;
}

RLM_HANDLE rlm_handle = rlm_init("", argv[0], "");
RLM_LICENSE rlm_checkout(rlm_handle, product, version, count);

If using Identity-Based Licensing you should call rlm_id_login() before calling rlm_init(). If the rlm_id_login() call is successful, rlm_init() will retrieve the users license entitlements and subsequent calls to rlm_checkout() will be able to acquire the licenses which the user is entitled as defined in RLM Cloud ID Licensing.

The first parameter username is the users Identity-Based Licensing username as defined on RLM Cloud ID Licensing.

The second parameter password is the users Identity-Based Licensing password as defined on RLM Cloud ID Licensing.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_init(), rlm_init_disconn()

Initialize licensing operations with RLM.

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE handle;
const char *license;
const char *argv0;
const char *license_strings;
int promise;

handle = rlm_init(license, argv0, license_strings);

handle = rlm_init_disconn(license, argv0, license_strings, promise);

Before any RLM operations can be done, you must call either rlm_init or rlm_init_disconn to obtain an RLM_HANDLE. This handle is then passed to the rlm_checkout(), rlm_stat(), rlm_errstring(), and rlm_close() calls. If you plan to call rlm_init_disconn(), please read the section on Disconnected Operation first.

The first parameter is the license file (or directory) you would like to use. If you allow the license administrator to specify the license file, put the path to this license file here. If you do not allow specification of the license file, Reprise Software recommends searching the current directory - you do this by passing a string with a single dot (“.”) as the first parameter. This first parameter can be a list. List elements are separated by a semicolon on Windows and a colon on all other platforms. This parameter can also be a port@host specification. This string must have a length <= RLM_MAX_PATH bytes (1024 on Unix, 2048 on Windows), otherwise an RLM_EH_BADPARAM error will be returned by rlm_init(). If this string is dynamically allocated, it must remain valid for the lifetime of the RLM_HANDLE created by the rlm_init() call.

For example:

5053@myhost

RLM Cloud

This can also be done for RLM Cloud access. In this case, set RLM_LICENSE to “port@host@customer-name@password” (customer name MUST be all lowercase, even if it is mixed case on the RLM Cloud server).

5053@ls1.rlmcloud.com@demo1@abc123

For more information see Your Customer’s License File in the RLM Cloud manual.

The second parameter should be your argv[0] invocation argument. This will cause RLM to look in the directory where your binary resides to find license files. If you do not have access to argv[0], pass a NULL or empty string as the second parameter. Using anything other than an empty/NULL string or argv[0] will result in unpredictable behavior. This string must have a length <=RLM_MAX_PATH bytes (1024 on Unix, 2048 on windows), otherwise an RLM_EH_BADPARAM error will be returned by rlm_init().

The third parameter is used to pass licenses into RLM directly. This can be one license, or a list of licenses separated by the path separator (‘:’ on Unix, ‘;’ on Windows). Each license must be enclosed within angle brackets (‘<’ and ‘>’). This would be used, for example, when you are licensing a library and you want to give your customer a license to use the library, yet you do not want to require that they use a separate license file. In this case, they would compile the license into the code and you would pass it into rlm_init() in this parameter. Do not include HOST or ISV lines in this license, only the LICENSE line. These licenses must be node-locked, uncounted (or SINGLE) licenses. Also, if this string is dynamically allocated, it must remain valid for the lifetime of the RLM_HANDLE created by the rlm_init() call.

Note

On Windows platforms, if the paths your application would pass to rlm_init() in the first and second parameters are Unicode wide characters (wchar_t or WCHAR), you must first convert them to UTF-8. The Win32 function WideCharToMultiByte() can be used for this conversion.

For example, to pass 2 licenses into RLM using the rlm_init() call, pass a string similar to the following as the third parameter to rlm_init() (you must include the entire signed license within the angle brackets):

<LICENSE isv lic1 1.0 permanent 0 key hostid=xxx .sig=yyy ..>:<LICENSE isvname lic2 1.0
permanent 0 key hostid=xxx sig=yyy ...>

If you are calling rlm_init_disconn(), the fourth parameter is how often you promise to contact the server. Specify promise in minutes. If you do not contact the server every promise minutes (by calling rlm_get_attr_health()), your licenses will be automatically checked back in by the license server, and the server will forget about you; subsequent calls to rlm_get_attr_health() will return RLM_EL_REMOVED (or alternately RLM_EL_NO_HEARTBEAT, RLM_EL_SERVER_DOWN, or RLM_EH_NOCLIENT).

Note

RLM uses environment variables for a number of user-selectable options, such as queuing (RLM_QUEUE), license roaming (RLM_ROAM), project identification (RLM_PROJECT), etc. It is possible for you as an ISV to set these environment variables within your application, but if you wish to do this, you should do it before you call rlm_init(), because the environment is read and initialized at the time rlm_init() is called.

Retrieve the status of the rlm_init() call by calling rlm_stat(handle) and providing the handle returned by rlm_init(): For a list of status returns, see Appendix B – RLM Status Values.

int status;
status = rlm_stat(handle);

rlm_init() will set up a list of licenses, port@host specifications and license files in the RLM handle. This order will determine the order in which license checkouts will be attempted. The order will be randomized if the user has set the RLM_PATH_RANDOMIZE environment variable to any value. The default order is:

The contents of the ISV_LICENSE (if present) or RLM_LICENSE environment.
The license specifications in the first parameter (license) in the rlm_init() call.
The license files contained in the directory (argv0) in the second parameter in the rlm_init() call.
Any licenses passed as strings in the third parameter (license_strings) in the rlm_init() call.

Client timeouts connecting to the license server

There are 2 different timeouts that clients can experience when talking to license servers: CONNECT timeouts and READ/WRITE communication timeouts.

By default, the CONNECT timeout is set to 10 seconds. To change this, set the environment variable RLM_CONNECT_TIMEOUT to a positive integer, e.g.:

% setenv RLM_CONNECT_TIMEOUT 5

to set the connect timeout to 5 seconds.

The read/write timeout is set to 5 seconds by default. To change this, set the environment variable RLM_COMM_TIMEOUT to 1000 times the timeout desired, e.g.:

% setenv RLM_COMM_TIMEOUT 10000

to set the comm timeout to 10 seconds.

Special note about MacOS

The RLM temporary directory on mac changed from /var/tmp to /Library/Application Support/Reprise in RLM v14.1. The main implication for this is that rehostable hostids should be revoked before upgrading to v14.1 and re-activated after. See Appendix H - RLM Temporary Files for more information.

One additional implication is that while this directory was writable in older macOS versions, it is no longer writable (at least on Catalina, and possibly on some earlier versions). So you will need to add a step to your installation procedures on macOS, to create /Library/Application Support/Reprise and set it to mode 777. If you do not do this, and the directory doesn’t exist or is unwritable, you will get the new RLM_EH_NOTEMPDIR error from rlm_init(), and when RLM is started, it will log this message and exit:

% rlm

  The RLM temporary directory:
   /Library/Application Support/Reprise
   could not be created.

  Please create this directory with the following 2 commands:
   sudo mkdir "/Library/Application Support/Reprise"
  and
   sudo chmod 777 "/Library/Application Support/Reprise"

Also, in RLM v14.1 (and v14.1 only) the rlmsign utility will fail with some type of “unauthorized” error. This last error is corrected (i.e., a better error message) in later versions of RLM.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_license_XXXX()

Get checked-out license information.

This is a family of functions that operate on a valid license handle. These functions return status and attributes of a checked-out license. Note that in the case of token-based licenses, these data will be attributes of the license which actually satisfied the request, rather than attributes of the token-based license itself. These functions are divided into policy functions, which you should use to affect license policy, and display functions, which you should use only to display license data to your user.

Warning

Other than the policy functions, be very careful using these functions. The display functions are intended for the application to use to determine the details of the license checked out, for the purposes of display to the user. Use of these functions to affect the behavior of the application based on the contents of the optional fields in the license is annoying and frustrating to license administrators. This is because doing so makes application behavior mysterious to them, and non-standard across all their licensed applications. For example, using rlm_license_customer() to display the name of the customer is reasonable. Making runtime decisions about application behavior or capability based on the data returned from rlm_license_customer() makes the application behavior different from other licensed applications and risks customer dissatisfaction. This violates the RLM design philosophy of “policy in the license” and is historically a sore point with license administrators of license management systems. Reprise Software urges you to take heed.

All functions operate on an RLM_LICENSE. Definitions for all functions are:

#include "license.h"
RLM_LICENSE license;

Note

On all of the following functions that return strings, if there is no valid checked-out license or the license handle is invalid, the function returns a NULL pointer. For functions that return int, a return value of RLM_EL_NOHANDLE indicates that a null or invalid handle was passed to the function.

The functions are:

Policy Functions

rlm_license_akey()

Retrieve activation key used to create license.

char *akey = rlm_license_akey(license);

Note

The akey field is only used by RLM to control license pooling in the server.

rlm_license_count()

Retrieve requested license count.

int count = rlm_license_count(license);

Note

The count is the count you requested in checkout. The sum of the counts across all processes might be larger than the total available count due to sharing.

rlm_license_stat()

Retrieve license status.

int status;
status = rlm_license_stat(license);

You can retrieve the status of an rlm_checkout() call by calling rlm_license_stat(license). license is the license handle returned by rlm_checkout(). This call does not query the license server for the status, it merely returns the status stored the last time the server was contacted. You can call this as often as you like. For a list of status returns, see Appendix B – RLM Status Values. This call, and rlm_license_goodonce() are the only calls in the family of rlm_license_xxxx() functions which you should use to affect application behavior.

Note

You cannot call rlm_license_stat() on a license handle after that handle has been checked in, or if the RLM_HANDLE used to check it out has been closed. This will result in unpredictable behavior (including possible application crashes), since the handle you are using has been freed by RLM.

rlm_license_goodonce()

Was checkout ever successful on this handle.

int status;
status = rlm_license_goodonce(license);

You can determine whether a checkout was ever successful on a particular license handle by calling rlm_license_goodonce(license). If status is 0, the checkout was never successful. If non-zero, the checkout succeeded at one time (although the license may no longer be valid). Note that a license status of RLM_EL_OVERSOFT will be considered to be a good checkout, but RLM_EL_INQUEUE is not. RLM_EL_OVERSOFT is an error if you have a misconfigured token-based license (see the note in Restrictions on token-based licenses).

rlm_license_options()

Retrieve license options.

char *options = rlm_license_options(license);

The meaning of the options string is completely determined by an individual ISV. This string is intended to encode product options for this license.

Display Functions

rlm_license_cached()

Is the license cached on client node?

int cached = rlm_license_cached(license);

If this is a cached license, the return is 1, otherwise 0.

rlm_license_client_cache()

Returns the value of client_cache.

int cache_time = rlm_license_client_cache(license);

Returns the cache time for the license, in seconds.

rlm_license_contract()

Retrieve license contract string.

char *contract = rlm_license_contract(license);

Note

This license field is unused by RLM.

rlm_license_customer()

Retrieve license customer string.

char *customer = rlm_license_customer(license);

Note

This license field is unused by RLM.

rlm_license_detached_demo()

Retrieve “detached demo” status of license.

int detached = rlm_license_detached_demo(license);

If this is a Detached Demo^TM license, the return is 1, otherwise 0.

rlm_license_exp()

Retrieve license expiration date.

char *exp = rlm_license_exp(license);

Note

For licenses checked-out from a license server, the expiration date returned by the server is the first (earliest) expiration date from all the licenses which make up the license pool used to satisfy this request. In other words, there may be other licenses for this same product which expire later than this date.

rlm_license_exp_days()

Retrieve the # of days until license expiration.

int days = rlm_license_exp_days(license);

Note

For licenses checked-out from a license server, the number of days to expiration is based on the first (earliest) expiration date from all the licenses which make up the license pool used to satisfy this request. In other words, there may be other licenses for this same product which expire later than this date.

Note

rlm_license_exp_days() counts today as a day. So, for example, a license which expires tomorrow at midnight will be reported as expiring in 2 days. A license which expires today at midnight will be reported as expiring in 1 day.

If days == 0, this is a permanent license. If days is < 0, there was an error.

rlm_license_exptime()

Retrieve the expiration time of the license.

char *exptime = rlm_license_exptime(license);

rlm_license_hold()

Retrieve license hold time.

int secs = rlm_license_hold(license);

rlm_license_host_based()

Is license host-based?

int host_based = rlm_license_host_based(license);

rlm_license_hostid()

Retrieve license hostid.

char *hostid = rlm_license_hostid(license);

License servers can serve nodelocked licenses as well as floating licenses. If you want to know if the license was checked out from a license server, call rlm_license_server(). If you want to know if the license is nodelocked, call rlm_license_hostid() - if the license is floating instead of nodelocked, this will return NULL. This call, however, returns the hostid from the LICENSE line, never the server’s hostid. So for floating licenses, the return will be empty.

rlm_license_ismetered()

Is this license metered?

int ismetered = rlm_license_ismetered(license);

rlm_license_ismetered() returns non-zero for a metered license, - 0 otherwise. Note that 0 is returned if the handle passed in is invalid.

rlm_license_issued()

Retrieve license issued date.

char *issued = rlm_license_issued(license);

Note

This value is only correct for licenses which aren’t served. Any license coming from a license server has an undefined rlm_license_issued() value.)

rlm_license_issuer()

Retrieve license issuer string.

char *issuer = rlm_license_issuer(license);

Note

This license field is unused by RLM.

rlm_license_line_item()

Retrieve license line_item string.

char *line_item = rlm_license_line_item(license);

Note

This license field is unused by RLM.

rlm_license_max_roam()

Retrieve maximum roam time.

int days = rlm_license_max_roam(license);

rlm_license_max_roam_count()

Retrieve maximum roam count.

int max_roam_count = rlm_license_max_roam_count(license);

rlm_license_meter_counter()

Retrieve the meter counter for this license (if metered).

int counter = rlm_license_meter_counter(license);

rlm_license_min_checkout()

Retrieve license minimum checkout time.

int secs = rlm_license_min_checkout(license);

rlm_license_min_remove()

Retrieve license minimum remove time.

int secs = rlm_license_min_remove(license);

rlm_license_min_timeout()

Retrieve license minimum timeout.

int secs = rlm_license_min_timeout(license);

rlm_license_named_user_count()

Retrieve license Named User Count.

int count = rlm_license_named_user_count(license);

If count == 0, this is not a named user license.

rlm_license_named_user_min_hours()

Retrieve license Named User Minimum # of hours on the list.

int minimum_hours = rlm_license_named_user_min_hours(license);

The return from this call is only valid for licenses with named_user_count > 0.

rlm_license_platforms()

Retrieve licensed platforms.

char *platforms= rlm_license_platforms(license);

rlm_license_product()

Retrieve licensed product.

char *product = rlm_license_product(license);

Note

rlm_license_product() retrieves the product name which satisfied the request. This may be different than the product requested. In the case of token-based licenses, the license requested is not the product that satisfies the license request. The actual product which satisfied the request is returned by rlm_license_product(). Also note that only the attributes of the first license (in the case of a compound token-based license) is returned by these calls. The first license is the first license listed in the token definition.

rlm_license_roaming()

Retrieve “roaming” status of license.

int roaming = rlm_license_roaming(license);

If this is a roaming license, the return is 1, otherwise 0. Note that when you check the license out from the server requesting the roam, this is not a roaming license. The license is only roaming when the system is using the local roamed license without using the license server.

rlm_license_server()

Retrieve license server hostname.

char *server = rlm_license_server(license);

If license is a license handle which has a valid checkout of a license which was granted from a license server, then the rlm_license_server() call will retrieve the hostname of the license server, otherwise an empty or NULL string will be returned. License servers can serve nodelocked licenses as well as floating licenses. If you want to know if the license is nodelocked, call rlm_license_hostid() - if the license is floating instead of nodelocked, this will return NULL.

rlm_license_single()

Is license a “single” type.

int single = rlm_license_single(license);

Returns 1 if the license is “single”, 0 otherwise.

rlm_license_soft_limit()

Retrieve license soft limit.

int soft_limit= rlm_license_soft_limit(license);

Note

If licenses are pooled by the license server, the soft limit returned by this call is the sum of the soft limits of all pooled licenses. If some licenses do not have soft limits, the license count is used as the soft limit, thus this number could be equal to the license count.

rlm_license_start()

Retrieve license start date.

char *start= rlm_license_start(license);

rlm_license_teams() - Retrieve RLM Teams URL

char *url = rlm_license_teams(license);

If license is a license handle which has a valid checkout of a license which was granted by RLM Teams, then the rlm_license_teams() call will retrieve the URL of the RLM Teams server, otherwise an empty or NULL string will be returned.

rlm_license_type()

Retrieve license type.

int type = rlm_license_type(license);

The type variable has bits set for the specified license types, as defined in license.h:

RLM_LA_BETA_TYPE - “beta” specified in license type keyword
RLM_LA_EVAL_TYPE - “eval” specified in license type keyword
RLM_LA_DEMO_TYPE - “demo” specified in license type keyword
RLM_LA_SUBSCRIPTION_TYPE - “subscription” specified in license type keyword

Note

This license field is unused by RLM.

rlm_license_tz()

Retrieve license timezone spec.

int tz = rlm_license_tz(license);

rlm_license_uncounted()

Is license uncounted.

int uncounted = rlm_license_uncounted(license);

Returns 1 if the license is uncounted, 0 otherwise.

rlm_license_user_based()

Is license user-based?

int user_based = rlm_license_user_based(license);

rlm_license_ver()

Retrieve license version.

char *ver= rlm_license_ver(license);

rlm_license_ver() returns the actual version of the license that was used to satisfy the request. This may be different than the version requested. Also note that if the request was satisfied by a TOKEN license on the server side, the version returned will be the greater of the requested version and the version of the first primary license which the TOKEN license utilizes.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_log(), rlm_dlog()

Log ISV-specific data.

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE handle;
const char data[];

Log to report log:

(int) status = rlm_log(handle, data);

Any time after calling rlm_init, the rlm_log() function can be called to log data to the ISV server’s report log (if it exists). The rlm_log() function will establish a connection to a license server if one does not already exist, then all subsequent rlm_log() and rlm_dlog() calls will operate with this server (until rlm_close() is called on the handle).

The data logged is a character string, which should not contain a newline character. The format of the data logged to the reportlog is:

log hh:mm:ss data from rlm_log call

Log to debug log:

(int) status = rlm_dlog(handle, (const char *) data);

Any time after calling rlm_init, the rlm_dlog() function can be called to log data to the debug log. The rlm_dlog() function will establish a connection to a license server if one does not already exist, then all subsequent rlm_log() and rlm_dlog() calls will operate with this server (until rlm_close() is called on the handle).

The data logged is a character string, which should not contain a newline character. The format of the data logged to the debug log is:

mm/dd hh:mm (ISV name) ISV: data from rlm_log call

Return value:

rlm_log() and rlm_dlog() return 0 for success, and on failures:

RLM_EH_NOHANDLE - Called without a valid RLM_HANDLE.
RLM_EH_NO_REPORTLOG - rlm_log() called but the server does not have a reportlog.

Note

The maximum length of a logged string is RLM_MAX_LOG (currently 256). However, logging strings much longer than 60 bytes will generally create wrapped lines in the debug and report log files.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_products()

Generate list of products that can be checked out.

#include "license.h"
RLM_PRODUCTS products;
RLM_HANDLE handle;
char *product;
char *ver;
int status;

products = rlm_products(handle, product, ver);
(void) rlm_product_first(products);
status = rlm_product_next(products);

Note

rlm_products() is an expensive call. If you don’t absolutely need it, don’t call it. If you do call it, specify a product name if you can. You should avoid calling it more than once inside an application. Why is it expensive? If called with empty product/version strings, it has to validate the license keys for all node-locked uncounted/single-use licenses in local license files, and it also goes to every server in the list and retrieves from each server a list of available licenses.

rlm_products generates a list of products of the specified version that can be checked out. If product is an empty or NULL string, all products are checked. If ver is empty or NULL, any version will be listed. If rlm_products() returns a non-null pointer, then there are products in the list. The status return from rlm_product_next() is 0 if there is another product in the list, or -1 if the list is exhausted. rlm_products() does not report on Detached Demo^TM licenses.

To examine the list of products, first call rlm_products() to retrieve the products pointer. Next, use rlm_product_first() and rlm_product_next() to walk the list of products returned. At any point after calling rlm_product_first(), you can call the appropriate function below.

Note

You should not free any data returned by any of these calls.

rlm_products() returns the licenses in the same order that rlm_checkout() will attempt checkouts. This order is:

If RLM_ROAM is set to a positive value, roamed licenses on the local node first.
All node-locked, uncounted licenses in local license files (from all license files in the license file path) will be next.
All licenses served by servers are next.
Finally, if RLM_ROAM is not set, the local roamed licenses will be last.

Note

rlm_products() returns the list of valid roamed products on the local node, whether or not it can check out an rlm_roam license.

rlm_checkout() first processes licenses from connected servers, then it attempts checkouts from servers that are not connected. However, rlm_products() will connect to all servers and get the lists from each of them. It will then close connections to all servers that have no active licenses checked out. If your software depends on the order of the licenses on license servers as returned from rlm_products() (not recommended), then you should call rlm_set_attr_keep_conn(handle, 1) before calling rlm_products(), so that rlm_products() will not close any connections that it makes.

Function	Description
char *rlm_product_name(products)	Returns the product name.
char *rlm_product_ver(products)	Returns the product version.
char *rlm_product_exp(products)	Returns the expiration date. If this product represents a pool in a license server, the expiration date will be the earliest expiration of any of the licenses which were combined to create the pool.
int rlm_product_exp_days(products)	Returns the number of days until expiration. Note that “0” indicates a permanent license; a license which expires today has a value of 1. If this product represents a pool in a license server, the expiration date will be the earliest expiration of any of the licenses which were combined to create the pool.
char *rlm_product_akey(products)	Returns the akey= attribute.
int rlm_product_client_cache()	Returns the value of the client_cache parameter.
char *rlm_product_customer(products)	Returns the customer attribute.
char *rlm_product_contract(products)	Returns the contract attribute.
int rlm_product_count(products)	Returns the license count.
int rlm_product_current_inuse(products)	Returns the license count in use.
int rlm_product_current_resuse(products)	Returns the # of reservations in use.
int rlm_product_hbased(products)	Returns the HOST-BASED count.
int rlm_product_hold(products)	Returns the license hold time.
char *rlm_product_hostid(products)	Returns the license nodelock hostid, if it exists.
int rlm_product_isalias(products)	Returns non-zero for an alias license, 0 otherwise.
int rlm_product_isfloating(products)	Returns non-zero for a floating license, 0 otherwise.
int rlm_product_ismetered(products)	Returns non-zero for a metered license, 0 otherwise.
int rlm_product_isnodelocked(products)	Returns non-zero for a nodelocked license.
int rlm_product_issingle(products)	Returns non-zero for a single license, 0 otherwise.
char *rlm_product_issuer(products)	Returns the issuer attribute.
int rlm_product_max_roam(products)	Returns the maximum roam time.
int rlm_product_max_roam_count(products)	Returns the max # of these licenses which can be roamed.
int rlm_product_max_share(products)	Returns the max number of processes that can share this license.
int rlm_product_meter_counter(products)	Returns the meter counter for this product (0 if not metered).
int rlm_product_meter_cur_count(products)	Returns the meter count for this product (0 if not metered).
int rlm_product_min_remove(products)	Returns the minimum rlmremove time.
int rlm_product_min_checkout(products)	Returns the license minimum checkout time.
int rlm_product_min_timeout(products)	Returns the minimum timeout time.
int rlm_product_named_user_count(products)	Returns the named user count.
int rlm_product_nres(products)	Returns the # of license reservations.
int rlm_product_num_roam_allowed(products)	Returns the # of roaming licenses allowed.
char *rlm_product_options(products)	Returns the product options.
int rlm_product_personal(products)	Returns the personal license reservation count.
int rlm_product_roaming(products)	Returns the # of licenses currently roaming (for roaming licenses).
char *rlm_product_server(products)	Returns the license server’s hostname (from the server’s license file).
char *rlm_product_start(products)	Returns the product’s start date, if present.
int rlm_product_share(products)	Returns the license share flags. (Share flags (RLM_LA_SHARE_xxx) are defined in license.h)
int rlm_product_soft_limit(products)	Returns the license soft limit.
int rlm_product_thisroam(products)	Returns 1 if this license is a roaming license.
int rlm_product_timeout(products)	Returns the current license timeout.
int rlm_product_tz(products)	Returns the license timezone specification.
int rlm_product_tokens(products)	If 0, this is a normal license. If non-zero, this is a token-based license.
int rlm_product_type(products)	Returns the license type (TYPE= parameter). (License type flags (RLM_LA__xxx_TYPE) are defined in license.h)
int rlm_product_ubased(products)	Returns the USER_BASED count.

Note

All functions with char * returns can return NULL for cases where the data does not exist, so you must check for a NULL return. For example, rlm_product_server() called on an unserved license will return NULL.

Note

client-cached licenses on the client side will never be returned by rlm_products(). The rlm_product_client_cache() call returns the value of the cache time (in seconds) from the server’s license.

Certain of these items will always be 0 for node-locked, uncounted licenses. These are:

current_inuse
current_resuse
min_remove
nres
num_roam_allowed
timeout

Note

The list of products may contain products that cannot be checked out at any given time, if all the licenses are in use, the maximum # of roaming licenses has been reached, etc. It is possible (at some time) to check out every product in the list, however. In other words, the list contains only licenses for which the license key is good, the time is past the start date and before the expiration date, the timezone is correct, and we are on the correct host if a hostid is specified.

Also note that the following licenses will never be returned by rlm_products():

Detached Demo^TM licenses
reserved license names (e.g., rlm_server, rlm_server_enable_vm, rlm_no_server_lock)
licenses passed in the 3rd parameter to rlm_init()
Client cached licenses

The data returned by the rlm_products() call is dynamically allocated. Call rlm_products_free(products) to free this memory when you are finished with it, in order to avoid memory leaks in your program. You should only call rlm_products_free() once on the data returned by rlm_products(), and only when you are finished accessing this data.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_putenv()

Set environment variable within the application.

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE rh;
int status;
const char *nvp;

status = rlm_putenv(const char *nvp);

rlm_putenv() sets the specified name into the specified value in the process’s environment. The return of rlm_putenv() is the return of the system putenv() call.

Example:

const char *nvp = "RLM_ROAM=10";
rlm_putenv(nvp);

In this example, the environment value of RLM_ROAM is set to 10.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_set_active()

Inform RLM of activity status of application.

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE rh;
int active;

(void) rlm_set_active(rh, active);

rlm_set_active() informs RLM that the application is active (active=1), or inactive (active=0). This is used with rlm_auto_hb() in order to allow your application’s license to be timed-out with the license administration TIMEOUT option. The activity state applies to all checked-out licenses on the handle.

If you call rlm_auto_hb(), heartbeats will be sent to the server whenever your application is running, whether you are actively processing or not. This means that an application which is simply waiting for user input will continue to send heartbeats, and will appear active to RLM. If you would like your license administrators to be able to time-out the licenses from applications which are in such an idle state, use the rlm_set_active() call to inform RLM when your application is active or inactive.

Note

If you use manual heartbeats the rlm_set_active() call is not necessary, since you would only send heartbeat requests by calling rlm_get_attr_health() calls when the application is active.

A call to rlm_checkout() will set the active flag to 1 (ie, the application is active) whether the checkout succeeds or not.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_set_attr_keep_conn()

Set “keep connection” status for RLM.

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE rh;
int conn_status;

rlm_set_attr_keep_conn(handle, conn_status);

When multiple checkouts are performed in a single application, RLM automatically create a new connection to a license server if the current license server cannot provide the license required. This operation is transparent to the application, and the RLM software maintains a list of connected servers which can be queried (in the order connected) for any new license request.

When a checkout request fails, RLM can either close down the connection to the license server or keep it open. If your product checks out multiple licenses, an optimization is to keep these connections open (at the expense of the TCP/IP overhead for the connection). The default is to close the connection, which will be correct for the vast majority of applications. However, if you would like to keep the connection open, you can call:

rlm_set_attr_keep_conn(handle, 1);

Please note that making this call will not affect the functioning of RLM in your application - it is an optimization only.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_set_attr_logging()

Turn server logging on or off.

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE rh;
int log;

rlm_set_attr_logging(handle, log);

By default, RLM servers log all license checkout and checkin activity.

You can call rlm_set_attr_logging() any time before a checkout or checkin request, and if the value of log is non-zero, the server will log the the checkout/checkin status in both the debug and report log files. If the value of log is zero, the server will not log anything about the checkout/checkin.

This is useful, for example, if you want to check out a product which should never succeed, in order to see if your license server has been compromised. The resulting checkout activity will not appear in any server log and will not confuse your customers. You should remember to turn logging back on after doing this, otherwise your license server logs will contain no checkout/checkin activity.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_set_attr_password()

Set license password-string for future operations.

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE rh;
char *password_string;

rlm_set_attr_password(handle, password_string);

Each license can contain a password. If the license contains a password, only processes which specify the matching password-string, will be able to use (either check out, or view) the license.

You can call rlm_set_attr_password() any time before a checkout or status request, and the value of the password-string can be changed for subsequent requests.

Note

The setting of the environment variable RLM_LICENSE_PASSWORD will be the default, but this call will override the value set in RLM_LICENSE_PASSWORD.

The intended use of this capability is to allow a single license server to serve licenses for several independent customers. Each customer would be given a password-string, which would enable access to all their licenses, but not the licenses of other customers.

If a license does not specify a password, calling rlm_set_attr_password() (or setting RLM_LICENSE_PASSWORD) will have no effect.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_set_attr_reference_hostid()

Set reference hostid for ActPro.

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE rh;
char *reference_hostid;

(void) rlm_set_attr_reference_hostid(handle, reference_hostid);

You can set the hostid which RLM uses as a reference hostid when creating a rehostable hostid. It is important that the hostid you set is a valid RLM hostid which is valid on the current host, otherwise your rehostable hostid will not work and will always return RLM_EL_NOTTHISHOST.

You can call rlm_set_attr_reference_hostid() any time before an rlm_act_request(), rlm_activate() or rlm_act_revoke_reference() call.

If you set the reference hostid when creating a rehostable hostid, you must set the same hostid before calling rlm_act_revoke_reference(), otherwise the rehostable hostid will not be revoked.

The hostid string you pass to this function must be <= RLM_MAX_HOSTID_STRING characters long, and must be a valid hostid on the current host.

Note

RLM selects a reference hostid automatically, and you should never need to make this call.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_set_attr_req_opt()

Set required substring in license options.

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE rh;
char *opts;

rlm_set_attr_req_opt(handle, opts);

You can request that any license must contain a certain substring in the “options=” field.

You can call rlm_set_attr_req_opt() any time before an rlm_checkout() or rlm_products() call, and the value of the option substring can be changed for subsequent requests. If you set opts to an empty string (“”), no checking of the license options will be done by rlm_checkout() or rlm_products().

The opts parameter must be a substring in the license options, and the comparison is CASE SENSITIVE.

Note

Once you call rlm_set_attr_req_opt(), you will only see licenses with the specified substring in the options field in either the rlm_checkout() or rlm_products() calls. If you want to see other licenses, call rlm_set_attr_req_opt() with an empty string.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_set_environ()

Set user/host/ISV-defined values for RLM.

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE rh;
char user[RLM_MAX_USERNAME+1];
char host[RLM_MAX_HOSTNAME+1];
char isv[RLM_MAX_ISVDEF+1];

rlm_set_environ(handle, user, host, isv);

License sharing operates by comparing user, host, and ISV fields for matches. rlm_set_environ() allows the ISV to override the system’s notion of user and/or host, and also provides a way to set the ISV-defined data. If any of user/host/isv are passed in as NULL, the corresponding field remains unchanged.

The ISV field should be a printable string which does not contain the double-quote character (“).

Note that rlm_set_environ() should be called after rlm_init() and before any rlm_checkout() call to which it should apply. Once rlm_checkout() is called, these values will persist for the life of the RLM_HANDLE in which you call rlm_set_environ().

You can call rlm_set_environ() any time (even after the first rlm_checkout() call), and the new user, host, and ISV-defined parameters will apply to all subsequent checkouts, until you call rlm_set_environ() again. The original settings will continue to apply to rlm_products() calls, however.

Note

RLM always treats usernames and hostnames as case-insensitive.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_skip_isv_down()

Enable “skip” of license servers where your ISV server isn’t running.

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE rh;

(void) rlm_skip_isv_down(rh);

RLM keeps track of which license servers in the list have your ISV server running on them.

If either:

The client cannot connect to the server, or
An attempt is made to check out a license from a server and the rlm server returns a status indicating that this ISV is not present,

then the server is flagged as not having your ISV server.

If you call rlm_skip_isv_down(), then future rlm_checkout() and rlm_products() calls will not attempt to use this license server.

Note

By default, RLM will attempt all operations on all servers.

You can call rlm_skip_isv_down() any time after calling rlm_init().

If you would like to give your user the opportunity to attempt to use these servers again, call:

(void) rlm_forget_isv_down((RLM_HANDLE) rh)

rlm_forget_isv_down() will cause RLM to attempt to use all license servers again, until it determines that your ISV server is not running.

Note

RLM will attempt a connection one time to servers that don’t have your ISV line in them. If the server is not up or if your ISV server isn’t present, then that server won’t be checked again.

Back to Appendix A – RLM API.

rlm_stat()

Retrieve RLM_HANDLE status.

#include "license.h"
RLM_HANDLE handle;
int status;

status = rlm_stat(handle);

rlm_stat() retrieves the status of the handle created with the rlm_init() call. The status returned by rlm_stat() is only meaningful if called after rlm_init() or rlm_init_disconn() and before any other RLM function.

Calls to rlm_stat() after other RLM function calls return undefined results.

For a list of status returns, see Appendix B – RLM Status Values.

Appendix A – RLM API

RLM_HANDLE

RLM_LICENSE

Core API

Advanced API

Namespace

rlm_act_request()

Request license activation from the internet

Error Codes

Proxy Server Support

rlm_activate()

Request a license activation from the internet.

Error Codes

Proxy Server Support

rlm_act_keyinfo2()

Get the most info about an activation key.

rlm_act_fulfill_info()

Get info about key and latest fulfillment.

rlm_act_info()

Get info about an activation key from the server.

rlm_act_keyinfo()

Get info about an activation key from the server.

rlm_act_keyvalid(), rlm_act_keyvalid_license()

Verify that an activation key still has a valid license on this hostid from the activation server.

rlm_act_new_handle(), rlm_act_destroy_handle()

Create/destroy handle to pass activation parameters.

rlm_act_set_handle()

Set data in activation handle.

what values:

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_DISCONN: (int val)

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_EXTRA: (const char * val)

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_HOSTID_LIST: (const char * val)

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_HOSTNAME: (const char * val)

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_LOG: (const char * val)

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_ISV: (const char * val)

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_PRODUCT: (char * val)

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_REHOST: (int val)

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_CONTACT: (char * val)

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_COMPANY: (char * val)

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_EMAIL: (char * val)

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_STATE: (char * val)

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_COUNTRY: (char * val)

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_U1: (char * val)

RLM_ACT_HANDLE_U2: (char * val)

rlm_act_refresh()

Request refreshing of all refreshable licenses.

rlm_act_rehost_revoke()

Revoke a rehostable license.

rlm_act_revoke_disconn()

Revoke a disconnected rehostable license.

Note/risks when setting the flags bits to rlm_act_rehost_revoke():

Notes on the deprecated calls

rlm_add_meter_count()

Add count to a specified meter.

Example (add 100 to counter for “your-product-name”):

rlm_auth_check()

Ask the server to verify a license.

rlm_auto_hb(), rlm_set_auto_hb_isvdata()

Enable Automatic Heartbeats.

Some additional notes on heartbeats and server status checking

rlm_checkin()

Release a license.

rlm_checkout()

Request a license from RLM.

rlm_checkout_product()

Request an exact license from RLM.

rlm_close()

Terminate licensing operations with RLM.

rlm_create_temp_license(), rlm_return_temp_license(), rlm_temp_new_handle(), rlm_temp_destroy_handle(), rlm_temp_set_handle()

Temporary license functions

rlm_detached_demo()

Install RLM Detached DemoTM license.

rlm_detached_demox()

Remove RLM Detached DemoTM license.

rlm_diagnostics()

Print client-side diagnostics

rlm_errstring()

Format RLM status into a string

rlm_errstring_num()

Translate RLM status value into a string.

Install RLM Detached Demo^TM license.

Remove RLM Detached Demo^TM license.