How the Velocity License Server works

The Velocity License Server is an application that provides licenses to mobile devices that are using the Velocity or Terminal Emulation Client. The License Server stores those licenses at a central location and automatically distributes the licenses to mobile devices that request them.

The License Server is most useful when you have devices that are not pre-licensed, or when the license that came with the device does not include the emulation type and/or version of the Client that you want to use. The License Server is not required, but using a License Server will save time, reduce errors, and make it easier to track license allocation.

First, install the Velocity License Server (Installing the License Server) and configure it (Changing License Server settings). Set up Site IDs to restrict which devices can use which licenses, and add your licenses to the server (Managing licenses).

Next, make sure the Clients can reach the License Server. (For information about configuring the Client, reference the Velocity User Guide.) By default, the Clients use a UDP broadcast to request a license, but if you set up the license server with a certificate, you must configure the Client with the License Server address and port.

Client licenses are distributed to mobile devices in the following manner:

1.When the Client is launched, the mobile device requests a license.

2.The License Server responds to the mobile device by sending a license. If the Client on the mobile device has a Site ID configured, the License Server will only assign it licenses that have the same Site ID.

3.The mobile device accepts the license and responds to the License Server verifying that it received the license.

Once a mobile device obtains a license, it keeps the license until one of the following criteria are met:

•The license expires.

•The Client discovers that another mobile device is using the same license.

•Someone manually deletes the license from the device.

When any of these criteria are met, the Client determines it is no longer licensed and requests a new license from the License Server.

Depending on the device type and settings, the License Server associates the license it distributed to the device with either the device MAC address or the Velocity ID. If a device becomes unusable or changes its MAC address or Velocity ID (for example, if it is sent for repairs), you may need to delete that device record from the License Server so that the license can be reassigned.

If the License Server stops running, devices that already have a license will continue to work with the license they have. New devices will be unable to obtain a license until the License Server is running again.

If you already have manually licensed devices and you want to start using a License Server, the steps to get started are the same. As soon as the License Server is configured (including adding the licenses) and the devices can contact it, any devices that are already licensed will report to the License Server so the server can track which licenses are assigned to which devices. New devices receive licenses when the Client launches and requests a license.