The License File and The License Features
The license file has the same structure on all platforms: Windows, macOS, and Linux. In this section, the most important parts of the license file are explained. Below is an example of the contents of a license.dat file:
#------------------------------------------------------------------
# COMSOL 6.1 FNL License No: 1234567
# Visit www.comsol.com/install for latest installation instructions
#------------------------------------------------------------------
SERVER apollo.thecompany.com 0050569e1b87 1718
USE_SERVER
VENDOR LMCOMSOL port=1719
FEATURE SERIAL LMCOMSOL 6.1 permanent uncounted \
VENDOR_STRING=C,5701108 HOSTID=ANY BORROW=720 SN=1234567 TS_OK \
SIGN=0C3A8BF6722E
INCREMENT COMSOL LMCOMSOL 6.1 permanent 4 SUPERSEDE DUP_GROUP=UHD \
ISSUED=6-JUN-2012 BORROW=720 SN=1234567 SIGN=123456789ABC
INCREMENT COMSOLGUI LMCOMSOL 6.1 permanent 4 SUPERSEDE DUP_GROUP=UHD \
ISSUED=6-JUN-2012 BORROW=720 SN=1234567 SIGN=123456789ABC
INCREMENT HEATTRANSFER LMCOMSOL 6.1 permanent 2 SUPERSEDE \
DUP_GROUP=UHD ISSUED=6-JUN-2012 BORROW=720 SN=1234567 \
SIGN=123456789ABC
INCREMENT CLIENTSERVER LMCOMSOL 6.1 permanent 4 SUPERSEDE \
DUP_GROUP=UHD ISSUED=6-JUN-2012 BORROW=720 SN=1234567 \
SIGN=123456789ABC
INCREMENT CLUSTERNODE LMCOMSOL 6.1 permanent 4 SUPERSEDE DUP_GROUP=U \
ISSUED=6-JUN-2012 BORROW=720 SN=1234567 SIGN=123456789ABC
INCREMENT COMSOLBATCH LMCOMSOL 6.1 permanent 2 SUPERSEDE \
DUP_GROUP=UHD ISSUED=6-JUN-2012 BORROW=720 SN=1234567 \
SIGN=123456789ABC
INCREMENT HEATTRANSFERBATCH LMCOMSOL 6.1 permanent 2 SUPERSEDE \
DUP_GROUP=UHD ISSUED=6-JUN-2012 BORROW=720 SN=1234567 \
SIGN=123456789ABC
the comment lines
Comment lines can be included in the license file by starting them with the hash symbol #. These lines have no effect on the license server or client.
the server line
In the license.dat file, the contents of the line starting with SERVER should contain:
•
The hostname of the license server. In the example above, the hostname is apollo.thecompany.com. This name can be edited by the user.
•
The hostid of the license server. In the example above, the hostid is 0050569e1b87. This number cannot be edited by the user.
•
A port number. In the example above, the port number is 1718. This number can be edited by the user.
Confirm that the license server hostname is the actual name of your license server (the computer that you intend to run the FlexNet license manager software on); otherwise, change it by editing the file. The default port number (1718) can be changed in the unlikely event that another program is already using it (you will get an error message indicating this when starting the license manager). If the default port number 1718 is in use, change it to any other number between 1025 and 64,000.
the use_server line
The USE_SERVER line, with no arguments, does not impact the license manager but has implications for the client. When a COMSOL client sees the USE_SERVER line, it ignores everything in the license file except the preceding SERVER lines and transfers checkout validation to the vendor daemon. This means that if you are running COMSOL on one computer, and the license manager on a different computer, then your license file can only contain two lines: the SERVER line and the USE_SERVER line.
the vendor line
The VENDOR line defines the name of the LMCOMSOL vendor daemon. This name cannot be changed. The vendor daemon is a process that has to be running together with the license manager and is automatically started when the license manager is started. The LMCOMSOL vendor daemon requires its own port number. In the example above, the default port number 1719 is shown.
If the license manager is running on a computer with an active firewall and the COMSOL client is outside of that firewall, at least two port numbers must be opened up in the license server’s firewall to allow client computers to connect to the license manager and the vendor daemon.
Using the example license file above, configure the firewall to allow access to the port numbers 1718 and 1719. If you have chosen other port numbers and modified the license.dat file accordingly, configure the firewall to allow access to your chosen port numbers. If you are unsure about which port numbers are free or how to enable firewall port access, contact your system administrator.
You cannot modify anything in the license.dat file except the license server name and (if necessary) port numbers, or the license might not work.
the serial line
The SERIAL line contains information on the license type, license number, and the products included in the license.
the increment and feature lines, and License Features
The INCREMENT or FEATURE lines contain a license feature name, version, expiration date, and the number of available licenses. The example file above shows that the user has a perpetual (permanent) COMSOL 6.1 Floating Network License allowing four concurrent users of COMSOL Multiphysics and two concurrent users of the Heat Transfer Module. Borrowing is enabled and BORROW=720 sets a time limit to 720 hours. “SN=” shows the license’s serial number. The number after “SIGN=” at the end of each INCREMENT line contains a license key. Long lines can be broken by a continuation character (\).
The License Feature Names
The following table contains the license feature names for all products and software components in the COMSOL 6.1 product suite:
Product/Feature
Feature Name
COMSOL Multiphysics
COMSOL, COMSOLUSER, MODELMANAGER1
COMSOL Server
COMSOLSERVER, COMSOLUSER
COMSOL Multiphysics Desktop
COMSOLGUI
COMSOL Multiphysics Floating Network License
CLIENTSERVER, CLUSTERNODE, MODELMANAGERSERVER
COMSOL Compiler
COMSOLCOMPILER
AC/DC Module
ACDC
Acoustics Module
ACOUSTICS
Battery Design Module
BATTERYDESIGN
CAD Import Module
CADIMPORT, CADREADER, CADIMPORTUSER
CFD Module
CFD
Chemical Reaction Engineering Module
CHEM
Composite Materials Module
COMPOSITEMATERIALS
Corrosion Module
CORROSION
Design Module
DESIGN, CADIMPORT, CADIMPORTUSER, CADREADER
ECAD Import Module
ECADIMPORT
Electrochemistry Module
ELECTROCHEMISTRY
Electrodeposition Module
ELECTRODEPOSITION
Fatigue Module
FATIGUE
File Import for CATIA V5
CATIA5
Fuel Cell & Electrolyzer Module
FUELCELLANDELECTROLYZER
Geomechanics Module
GEOMECHANICS
Heat Transfer Module
HEATTRANSFER
Liquid & Gas Properties Module
LIQUIDANDGASPROPERTIES
LiveLink™ for AutoCAD®
LLAUTOCAD, CADIMPORT, CADREADER
LiveLink™ for PTC® Creo® Parametric™
LLCREOPARAMETRIC, CADIMPORT, CADREADER
LiveLink™ for Excel®
LLEXCEL
LiveLink™ for Inventor®
LLINVENTOR, CADIMPORT, CADREADER
LiveLink™ for MATLAB®
LLMATLAB
LiveLink™ for Revit®
LLREVIT, CADIMPORT, CADREADER
LiveLink™ for PTC® Pro/ENGINEER®
LLPROENGINEER, CADIMPORT, CADREADER
LiveLink™ for Simulink®
LLSIMULINK
LiveLink™ for Solid Edge®
LLSOLIDEDGE, CADIMPORT, CADREADER
LiveLink™ for SOLIDWORKS®
LLSOLIDWORKS, CADIMPORT, CADREADER
Material Library
MATLIB
MEMS Module
MEMS
Metal Processing Module
METALPROCESSING
Microfluidics Module
MICROFLUIDICS
Mixer Module
MIXER
Molecular Flow Module
MOLECULARFLOW
Multibody Dynamics Module
MULTIBODYDYNAMICS
Nonlinear Structural Materials Module
NONLINEARSTRUCTMATERIALS
Optimization Module
OPTIMIZATION
Particle Tracing Module
PARTICLETRACING
Pipe Flow Module
PIPEFLOW
Plasma Module
PLASMA
Polymer Flow Module
POLYMERFLOW
Porous Media Flow Module
POROUSMEDIAFLOW
Ray Optics Module
RAYOPTICS
RF Module
RF
Rotordynamics Module
ROTORDYNAMICS
Semiconductor Module
SEMICONDUCTOR
Structural Mechanics Module
STRUCTURALMECHANICS
Subsurface Flow Module
SUBSURFACEFLOW
Uncertainty Quantification Module
UQ
Wave Optics Module
WAVEOPTICS
1
Not included in Class Kit licenses.

COMSOL Multiphysics License Features
Each COMSOL Desktop process checks out a COMSOL feature, a COMSOLUSER feature, and a COMSOLGUI feature. The COMSOLGUI feature is checked out by a COMSOL Desktop process. The COMSOL feature is checked out by all COMSOL Multiphysics processes, whether it has a GUI or not. The COMSOLUSER feature is checked out to count the number of distinct COMSOL Multiphysics users.
When you use functionality that requires an add-on product, license features corresponding to that product will be checked out.
If you run an attached batch job from COMSOL Desktop, the COMSOL feature and add-on product features are passed along from COMSOL Desktop to the batch job. When the batch job is finished, or when you detach from the batch job, COMSOL Desktop takes back the licenses.
When you run distributed jobs on a cluster, the CLUSTERNODE feature is checked out from each node.
COMSOL Multiphysics Batch License Features
For floating network licenses, a separate set of batch features are available for COMSOL Multiphysics and the licensed add-on products. This means that you in some cases can continue to use COMSOL Multiphysics locally while running batch jobs on remote computers and clusters.
With COMSOL Desktop, you can use batch features by selecting the Use batch license check box in the Cluster Sweep and Cluster Computing nodes. From the command line, you can use the option -usebatchlic to use batch license features.
Batch jobs will check out a batch feature, and when you use functionality that requires an add-on product, batch features corresponding to that product will be checked out as well.
The name of the batch feature for COMSOL Multiphysics is COMSOLBATCH, and for an add-on product it is, for example, RFBATCH for the RF Module. In general, BATCH is appended to the feature name corresponding to the add-on product.
A concurrent user can run an unlimited number of distinct batch processes using a single license as long as the models in those jobs only differ by parameter values, as defined in the Model Builder under Global Definitions>Parameters. This is implemented by computing a hash value based on model object features using the hash value as vendor value for the DUP_GROUP=UV keyword.
The CLUSTERNODE feature is checked out when batch features are used. When you run distributed jobs on a cluster, the CLUSTERNODE feature is also checked out from each node.
COMSOL Multiphysics Server License Features
A COMSOL Multiphysics server process will not check out any license features until you connect to it. When you connect using only the COMSOL API it will check out a COMSOL feature and a COMSOLUSER feature, as well as features corresponding to the add-on products that you use. If you connect to the COMSOL Multiphysics server from COMSOL Desktop, all license features that have been checked out from the desktop will be passed from COMSOL Desktop to the COMSOL Multiphysics server, including the COMSOLGUI feature. When you disconnect from the COMSOL Multiphysics server, the license features will be passed back from the server to COMSOL Desktop.
In addition to the above, when you connect to a COMSOL Multiphysics server from a remote computer, the COMSOL Multiphysics server checks out a CLIENTSERVER feature. The CLIENTSERVER feature is available for floating network licenses. When you run distributed jobs on a cluster, the CLUSTERNODE feature is checked out from each node.
CAD-Specific License Features
For add-on products that use the CAD kernel, the CADIMPORT feature is always checked out, in addition to the feature corresponding to the add-on product. For example, when you use the Design Module, the CADIMPORT feature is checked out in addition to the DESIGN feature.
The CADIMPORTUSER feature is checked out to count the number of distinct CADIMPORT users, including Desktop users and batch users for floating network licenses.
Under certain circumstances a single CADREADER feature may also be checked out when using CAD functionality.
Class Kit License Features
If you have a Class Kit license for academic use, and enable it by using the -ckl option, CKL features will be checked out.
The name of the Class Kit license feature for COMSOL Multiphysics is COMSOLCKL, and for add-on products it is, for example, RFCKL for the RF Module. In general, CKL is appended to the feature name for the corresponding add-on product.
COMSOL Server License Features
Each COMSOL Server process will check out a COMSOLSERVER feature and there is no limitation on the number of such checkouts. When you start running applications with COMSOL Server, the server will check out CSL and CSLU features corresponding to the add-on products. The CSL features are used to allow that each user can run four applications, and the CSLU features are used to count the number of users.
The COMSOLUSERCSL feature will also be checked out to keep track of distinct COMSOL Server users.
The name of the COMSOL Server feature for COMSOL Multiphysics is COMSOLCSL, and for add-on products it is, for example, RFCSL for the RF Module. In general, CSL is appended to the feature name for the corresponding add-on product.
The name of the COMSOL Server user feature for COMSOL Multiphysics is COMSOLCSLU, and for add-on products it is, for example, RFCSLU for the RF Module. In general, CSLU is appended to the feature name for the corresponding add-on product.
COMSOL Server Batch Job License Features
You can launch batch jobs from applications run with COMSOL Server. Batch jobs can only be started from running applications and not from the command line. The application always uses COMSOL Server batch license features. The batch jobs will check out a COMSOLUSER CSL feature as well.
The name of the batch feature for COMSOL Server is COMSOLBACSL, and for add-on products it is, for example, RFBACSL for the RF Module. In general, BACSL is appended to the feature name for the corresponding add-on product.
A concurrent user can run an unlimited number of distinct batch processes using a single license as long as the models in those jobs only differ by parameter values, as defined in the Model Builder under Global Definitions>Parameters. This is implemented by computing a hash value based on model object features using the hash value as vendor value for the DUP_GROUP=UV keyword.
The COMSOLUSERCSL feature will also be checked out to keep track of distinct COMSOL Server batch job users.
The CLUSTERNODECSL feature is checked out when the BACSL license features are used. When you run distributed jobs on a cluster, the CLUSTERNODECSL feature is also checked out from each node.
COMSOL Compiler License Features
A COMSOL Compiler license enables you to compile stand-alone applications based on models created with COMSOL Multiphysics and most add-on products. When you use COMSOL Compiler, compiler license features for COMSOL Multiphysics and all allowed add-on products are checked out.
The name of the compiler feature for COMSOL Multiphysics is COMSOLCOMPL, and for add-on products it is, for example, RFCOMPL for the RF Module. In general, COMPL is appended to the feature name for the corresponding add-on product.
Idle Timeout of Licenses
For information about the TIMEOUT and TIMEOUTALL settings, see the FlexNet Publisher License Administration Guide for FlexNet Publisher. See also the following section.
Configuring FlexNet License Features
It is possible for the license administrator to configure how FlexNet handles license features. To do so, create an options file (usually called LMCOMSOL.opt) in the format described in FlexNet Publisher License Administration Guide for FlexNet Publisher. Additionally, COMSOL has made the following decisions that cannot be overridden by the license administrator:
•
 VENDOR_STRING is used for determining license pools.
•
Borrowed licenses can be returned early.
•
Fully qualified domain name matching is not used.
•
Minimum LINGER time is 0.
•
 TIMEOUT is supported. The minimum idle time is 900 seconds (15 minutes). If TIMEOUT or TIMEOUTALL is not specified, idle licenses are never timed out.
•
Each new license request scans all the license servers.
•
The FLEXLM_DIAGNOSTICS environment variable is supported.
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The LM_LICENSE_FILE and LMCOMSOL_LICENSE_FILE environment variables are supported, except when running the installer, since the installer needs full control of which license file is being used. Note that COMSOL internally sets LMCOMSOL_LICENSE_FILE to point to COMSOL61/Multiphysics/license/license.dat if LMCOMSOL_LICENSE_FILE has not already been set by the user.
•
License files are not case sensitive.