How to Monitor Unigraphics (Siemens NX) Licenses

Unigraphics, now known as Siemens NX, is an advanced design software used in fields such as mechanical engineering and manufacturing. For companies that manage multiple licenses, monitoring their use is crucial to avoid overages or penalties resulting from unauthorized use.

License tracking is generally managed through a floating license system, in which licenses are shared among multiple users. For Unigraphics, this process is facilitated by the License Manager, which allows you to check the status of available and active licenses. Here’s how to properly track software licenses.

1. Installation and Configuration of Tools

To get started, you’ll need to use the lmutil application, which allows you to query the license server. This tool is compatible with both Windows and Linux and provides all the commands needed to view the license status.

Preliminary Steps

1. Download lmutil: Be sure to download a version that is compatible with the License Manager running on the server.
2. Identify the license server: The server on which the Unigraphics daemon (usually referred to as ugslmd) is running and its communication port are essential for access. You’ll find this information in the license file.

2. Commands for Monitoring Licenses

Once the configuration is complete, you can use various commands to obtain information about the licenses you are using and those that are available.

Check Available Licenses

To view the license status in Unigraphics, use the following command:

lmutil.exe lmstat -i -c porta@nomeserver 

This command will return a list of available licenses and those currently in use, along with information on how many users are using the licenses and from which workstations.

Sample Output

lmutil - Copyright (c) 1989-2013 Flexera Software LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Flexible License Manager status on Wed 10/24/2024 12:35

License server status: 27000@server1
    License file(s) on server1: C:\Program Files\Siemens\UGS\license\ugslmd.lic:
    
Vendor daemon status (on server1):
    ugslmd: UP v11.18
    
Feature usage info:
Users of ugslmd:  (Total of 50 licenses issued;  Total of 5 licenses in use)
  "nx" v2024 vendor: ugslmd
  floating license
    user1@hostname1 (v2023.0) (server1/27000 123) start Wed 10/24 12:20

In this example, we can see that there are 50 licenses available, with 5 currently in use. The list includes the users, the computers they are accessing from, and the start time of their session.

Check License Usage

To monitor who is actively using the licenses, you can run the following command:

lmutil lmstat -S ugslmd -c port@nomeserver

This command will provide you with detailed information about users who currently have a license in use, allowing you to identify any usage spikes or unavailable licenses.

Automate Monitoring with Advanced Solutions

If your company manages a large number of licenses, it can be difficult to perform these checks manually every day. Observer offers an advanced solution for automatic license monitoring.

With Observer, you can:

• Monitor license usage in real time.
• Receive notifications about expiring licenses or unusual usage.
• Generate detailed reports to analyze software usage and optimize the purchase of new licenses.

Properly monitoring Unigraphics licenses is essential for the efficient and compliant use of the software within the company. By using the right commands or relying on advanced tools such as Observer, you can avoid service interruptions and optimize software license management.

If you’d like to learn more about how Observer can simplify license tracking for Unigraphics and other software, contact us for a free demo!