VSNi Licensing

Minimum Requirements for RLM Licensing

• An Internet connection to register your software license
• 64 bit processor
• Windows 10 or higher operating system
• macOS High Sierra or newer
• Linux: Ubuntu/CentOS
• Administrative rights
• Sufficient free space on your hard disk (this varies by product but 500 MB will be sufficient)
• 2 open ports (the port numbers will be specified at time of purchase): one to allow access to the Reprise License Management Server and a secondary port for the VSNi License Management Server. If your organization has a network security policy / firewall you may see error messages during installation and will need to contact your IT department / network administrator. Refer to Ports and Network Security further down this page.

For this licensing you must always be connected to the Internet unless you are using the software in offline mode – see Set up requirements for licensing further down this page.

VSNi Licence System

Please be aware the VSNi licensing system has changed. We suggest you read the following paragraphs in detail.

VSNi has migrated to a licence system underpinned by Reprise technology This system is widely used by software vendors and will allow for much more robust licence management. This is an easy-to-use, cloud-based solution for hosting licence servers. It allows us to deliver and manage your licence entitlements via the cloud without installing licence server software on your systems. This will make both accessing, amending and renewing a licence a much easier process.

About the licence

A licence is an entitlement in the cloud, similar to networked / floating licences, but off premise. Any number of users within an organization can access these licences on any device – the only limitation will be the number of concurrent runs purchased by your organization.

As licences can be used on any device, we will no longer supply additional licences for home and laptop use.

Set up requirements for VSNi licensing*

1. You must be connected to the Internet to activate your licence.
2. You will need to configure your firewall to allow your licence server to verify your licence entitlements. RLM (Reprise License Manager) uses 2 non-standard ports to communicate; you will be given these designated port numbers at the time of purchase. Refer to Notes for Network Administrator below.
3. VSNi enterprise licences have an “offline” feature, which enables them to be used without an Internet connection for up to 30 days. Users will initially need to connect to the Internet to activate the offline feature and then re-connect when they want to return the offline licence to the licence pool. Be aware that taking a licence offline removes it from the licence pool until it is returned either by manually putting the licence back online or when the offline period expires.

Virtual machines

1. Some VSNi licences do not support the use of virtual machines. If you wish to use a virtual machine please contact VSNi support to discuss your licensing requirements prior to product purchase.

Notes for the Network Administrator

To enable the activation of a licence you will need to allow outgoing traffic on 2 ports. These will be the ports listed in the email that contains the licence activation code.

Depending on your network and if you have IP white / black listing in place, you may have to add an exception rule for rlmcloud.com and its subdomains: (i.e *.rlmcloud.com)

Company A has a network whitelist allowing outgoing traffic only to:

1. google.co.uk on port 80 and 443 (TCP)
2. A.co.uk on all ports (for internal applications)

Company A then gets a licence from vsni that needs outgoing access to ports XXXX and YYYY on the ls34.rlmcloud.com domain. (note we also make a call to vsni.co.uk on ports 80/443, however these are usually open). Company A would need to allow the following ports:

1. rlmcloud.com on ports XXXX and YYYY (TCP)
2. vsni.co.uk on ports 80 and 443 (TCP)

More detail:

vsni.co.uk

You can easily test access to this by opening a browser and verifying that you can reach our website. (Access to port 80 and port 443 is usually open by default).

rlmcloud.com

You will be sent a licence email specifying the ports to use and a URL, for example:

ls34.rlmcloud.com, with port requirements for XXXX and YYYY

For this example you will need access to ls34.rlmcloud.com:XXXX and ls34.rlmcloud.com:YYYY

We cannot provide you/your IT staff with static IP addresses for these domains. However, we do recommend whitelist rules to use the domain (rlmcloud.com) and its subdomains (*.rlmcloud.com) instead of just the subdomain (ls34.rlmcloud.com), as you may not have access to this information in your licence email.

Port access can be tested with network utilities, such as those shown below.

Linux Netcat

$ nc -zv ls34.rlmcloud.com XXXX YYYY

The output should look like that below:

Connection to ls34.rlmcloud.com XXXX port [tcp/*] succeeded!
Connection to ls34.rlmcloud.com YYYY port [tcp/*] succeeded!

Windows powershell

PS C:\> Test-NetConnection -Port XXXX -ComputerName ls66.rlmcloud.com

The output should look like that below:

ComputerName : ls66.rlmcloud.com RemoteAddress : 45.58.34.163
RemotePort : XXXX
InterfaceAlias : Ethernet 5
SourceAddress : 192.168.1.124
TcpTestSucceeded : True

It should be noted that your VSNi software installation may not have access to the Internet due to your individual PC setup, please check your personal firewall/software internet permissions.

For further information please contact support.

Ports and Network Security

A port is essentially an incoming or outgoing communication channel – a location where information is sent.

For example, port 80 is the http network port. A listing of commonly known and used ports can also be found on wiki. Microsoft Windows can utilize the netstat command to view currently active connections that include ports being used.

Ports can be blocked using a firewall. If you are unable to get access to a particular port, a firewall or other network security measures may have been put in place. If your organization has a network security policy then please contact your IT department / network administrator (see Notes for Network Administrator above).

Activating your entitlement.

Customers will be given a unique activation code upon payment. After downloading the software you will be prompted to enter your activation code during the installation process. Detailed installation instructions will be provided with your software purchase documentation.

How it works

Organizations can purchase any number of licenses which will be for sole use within that organization for the agreed rental period. License entitlements will be accessed and monitored via the cloud (RLM server).

Editions:

The license will function with any version / editions released within the purchase period. The rental period will run from purchase date – NOT on activation.

Exclusions

Customers are not required to install an onsite license server – they must however connect to RLM cloud via the internet.

Legal

VSNi has strict licensing agreements that each user needs to read and agree to before purchasing and using the software. It is the responsibility of the purchaser and user to adhere to the terms and conditions in the policies. No customer data will be held in the cloud.

For further information please contact support.