FLEXlm
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
FLEXlm is a common software license manager from Acresso Software which implements license management and is often used in corporate environments to provide floating licences to multiple end users of computer software.
Computer software can be licensed in a variety of ways. A license to use a piece of software may be associated with a specific machine (in FLEXlm speak, node-locked), permitting it to only run on that machine (node in a network); alternatively, a company may buy a pool of floating licenses and these licenses may be allocated dynamically to machines, a license being checked-out when a user begins using the software on any given machine and checked-in when the user finishes using the software. In this way, for example, a company might buy a pool of 50 licenses but support a user community of hundreds of occasional users of the software (so long as no more than 50 users ever want to use the software simultaneously).
FLEXlm supports both usage models.
FLEXlm was originally a joint development by GLOBEtrotter Software and Highland Software in 1988. Highland's rights to the FLEXlm product were acquired by GLOBEtrotter in 1994; Highland continued as a reseller of 3rd party software. GLOBEtrotter was then acquired by Macrovision in 2000; Macrovision subsequently renamed FLEXlm to FLEXnet Publisher.
On the 1st of April 2008 Macrovision's Software Business Unit, which includes FLEXnet Publisher, was to sold to the private equity company Thoma Bravo and subsequently relaunched as Acresso Software. It was a cash transaction valued at approximately $200 million.[1]
The original FLEXlm development team moved on to develop the Reprise License Manager (RLM) at Reprise Software in 2006.
This FLEXlm product is currently marketed by Acresso Software as FLEXnet Publisher.
[edit] External links
- Acresso Software Acresso Main Site
- FLEXlm End Users Guide (versions 5 through 9.5)
- FLEXnet End Users Guide (versions 10.0 and later, under the new brand)
