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The NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server is designed to manage floating licenses for NVIDIA vGPU software products, allowing functionalities to be activated during guest OS boot via network-served licenses. The guide covers installation, configuration, security, and management of the license server, including high availability setups and troubleshooting. Users can obtain licenses from the NVIDIA Licensing Portal and manage them through the server's interface.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)

18 views

grid-license-server-user-guide

Uploaded by

Aaron Call

Available Formats

Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

You are on page 1/ 130

Virtual GPU Software License Server

Version 2021.07

User Guide

DU-07754-001 _v2021.07 | July 2021

Table of Contents
Chapter 1. Introduction to the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server...............................1
1.1. Overview of NVIDIA vGPU software Licensing.........................................................................1
1.2. NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server High Availability........................................................ 2
1.3. Overview of the NVIDIA vGPU Software Licensing Process....................................................3
Chapter 2. Installing and Configuring the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server.............5
2.1. Platform Requirements............................................................................................................ 5
2.1.1. Hardware and Software Requirements.............................................................................5
2.1.2. Platform Configuration Requirements..............................................................................6
2.1.3. Network Ports and Management Interface...................................................................... 6
2.1.4. High Availability Requirements..........................................................................................6
2.2. Installing the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server on Windows........................................ 7
2.2.1. Installing the Java Runtime Environment on Windows....................................................7
2.2.2. Installing the License Server Software on Windows in Graphical Mode......................... 9
2.2.3. Installing the License Server Software on Windows in Console Mode.......................... 13
2.2.4. Upgrading the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server and Migrating to OpenJDK on
Windows..................................................................................................................................15
2.2.5. Upgrading from a 32-Bit to a 64-Bit NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server on
Windows..................................................................................................................................18
2.2.6. Upgrading Apache Tomcat on Windows......................................................................... 19
2.3. Installing the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server on Linux............................................21
2.3.1. Installing the Java Runtime Environment on Linux....................................................... 21
2.3.2. Installing and Running the Apache Tomcat Server on Linux.........................................22
2.3.3. Installing the License Server Software on Linux in Graphical Mode............................. 24
2.3.4. Installing the License Server Software on Linux in Console Mode................................28
2.3.5. Upgrading the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server and Migrating to OpenJDK
on Linux..................................................................................................................................29
2.4. Installing and Securing the License Server in the Cloud..................................................... 30
2.5. Accessing the License Server Management Interface......................................................... 31
2.6. Obtaining the License Server’s MAC Address.......................................................................33
2.7. Enabling Failover Support on the Primary and Secondary License Servers........................34
Chapter 3. Securing the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server...................................... 36
3.1. Controlling Access to the License Server Management Interface....................................... 36
3.1.1. Enabling Administrative Security for the License Server...............................................36
3.1.2. Default License Server Administrative Credentials........................................................37
3.1.3. License Server Password Requirements........................................................................38

Virtual GPU Software License Server Version 2021.07 DU-07754-001 _v2021.07 | ii

3.1.4. Resetting the Default Administrator Password for the License Server.........................38
3.1.5. Listing All License Server User Accounts...................................................................... 38
3.1.6. Creating a License Server User Account........................................................................39
3.1.7. Modifying a License Server User Account...................................................................... 39
3.1.8. Deleting a License Server User Account........................................................................ 40
3.2. Configuring HTTPS for Connections Between the Management Interface and the
License Server........................................................................................................................... 41
3.2.1. Obtaining an SSL Certificate for the License Server......................................................41
3.2.2. Configuring the License Server with an SSL Certificate................................................ 42
3.2.2.1. Configuring the License Server with an SSL Certificate on Windows..................... 43
3.2.2.2. Configuring the License Server with an SSL Certificate on Linux...........................44
3.2.3. Setting the License Server Connection Protocol to HTTPS........................................... 45
3.2.4. Importing a Self-Signed or Privately Signed Certificate into the Truststore File.......... 46
3.3. Specifying HTTPS for Connections from a Web Browser to the License Server
Management Interface.............................................................................................................. 48
Chapter 4. Managing Entitlements, Licenses, and Contacts on the NVIDIA Licensing
Portal...............................................................................................................................50
4.1. About the NVIDIA Licensing Portal........................................................................................50
4.2. Creating a License Server on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal..................................................51
4.3. Downloading a License File................................................................................................... 52
4.4. Adding or Removing Licenses on a License Server..............................................................54
4.5. Adding Licensed Products to a License Server.................................................................... 56
4.6. Removing Licensed Products from a License Server...........................................................58
4.7. Deleting a License Server...................................................................................................... 60
4.8. Managing Contacts on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal.............................................................61
4.8.1. Role-Based Access to an Organization and Virtual Groups...........................................61
4.8.1.1. Organization Administrator....................................................................................... 61
4.8.1.2. Organization User...................................................................................................... 62
4.8.1.3. Virtual Group Administrator...................................................................................... 63
4.8.1.4. Virtual Group User.....................................................................................................63
4.8.2. Adding a Contact on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal......................................................... 64
4.8.3. Removing a Contact on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal.....................................................66
4.8.4. Changing the Role of a Contact on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal...................................68
4.9. Managing Virtual Groups........................................................................................................ 69
4.9.1. Creating a Virtual Group.................................................................................................. 69
4.9.2. Deleting a Virtual Group.................................................................................................. 71
4.9.3. Moving an Entitlement from your Organization to a Virtual Group................................72
4.9.4. Removing an Entitlement from a Virtual Group............................................................. 73

Virtual GPU Software License Server Version 2021.07 DU-07754-001 _v2021.07 | iii
4.9.5. Sample Business Scenario for Virtual Groups............................................................... 74
Chapter 5. Managing Licenses on your Local NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server.... 76
5.1. Installing a License.................................................................................................................76
5.2. Verifying High Availability Setup of the License Server........................................................ 78
5.3. Viewing Information About Installed Licenses...................................................................... 79
5.3.1. Viewing the Properties of All Installed Licensed Features............................................ 79
5.3.2. Viewing the Details of a Single Licensed Feature.......................................................... 80
5.3.3. Viewing Information About All Borrowed Licenses........................................................ 81
5.3.4. Viewing the Details of a Single Licensed Client............................................................. 82
5.3.5. About the License Borrow Period................................................................................... 82
5.4. Reserving Licenses................................................................................................................. 83
5.4.1. Creating License Reservations........................................................................................ 83
5.4.2. Deleting License Reservations........................................................................................ 86
5.4.3. Exporting and Importing License Reservations..............................................................87
5.5. Converting an Evaluation License Server to a Permanent License Server..........................88
Chapter 6. Troubleshooting the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server.......................... 89
6.1. Obtaining Diagnostic Information from the License Server Log Files................................. 89
6.1.1. Log File Locations and Types.......................................................................................... 89
6.1.2. Changing the License Server Log Level......................................................................... 90
6.1.3. Setting the Time Zone of Log File Time Stamps............................................................ 91
6.2. Management Interface Connection Errors............................................................................ 92
6.3. License Server Connection Errors.........................................................................................93
6.4. License Upload Failures.........................................................................................................94
6.4.1. License Response Fails Trust Criteria............................................................................94
6.4.2. Capability Response Rejected - Response Time Too Old...............................................94
6.4.3. Capability Response Rejected – Update Time Invalid.................................................... 94
6.4.4. Capability Response Rejected - Response Enterprise ID Does Not Match the Server
...94
6.5. Trusted Storage Database Errors..........................................................................................95
6.5.1. Restoring the Trusted Storage Database from a Backup.............................................. 95
6.5.1.1. Restoring the Trusted Storage Database from a Backup on Windows................... 95
6.5.1.2. Restoring the Trusted Storage Database from a Backup on Linux.........................96
6.5.2. Deleting the Trusted Storage Database..........................................................................96
6.5.2.1. Deleting the Trusted Storage Database on Windows.............................................. 96
6.5.2.2. Deleting the Trusted Storage Database on Linux.................................................... 97
6.6. Issues when the License Server Is Used with Security Software.........................................97
6.7. FEATURE_NOT_STARTED Failure to Handle a License Request.........................................98
6.8. License Server Failures after Installation, Upgrade, or Migration of the JRE on Windows
.. 98
6.8.1. The JAVA_HOME System Variable Was Set Incorrectly................................................. 98

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6.8.2. A User Variable Instead of a System Variable Was Set..................................................99
6.8.3. The Path to an Old Version of the JRE Was Not Removed............................................ 99
6.8.4. The Path User Variable Instead of the Path System Variable Was Modified............... 102
6.9. HTTPS Connection Errors.................................................................................................... 102
6.9.1. Unable to Find Valid Certification Path.........................................................................102
6.9.2. Cannot Recover Key....................................................................................................... 102
Chapter 7. Uninstalling the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server............................... 104
7.1. Uninstalling the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server on Windows................................104
7.2. Uninstalling the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server on Linux..................................... 106
Appendix A. Administering the License Server from the Command Line.......................108
A.1. Running the nvidialsadmin Utility........................................................................................ 108
A.2. Setting the License Server Base URL for the nvidialsadmin Utility................................... 109
A.3. Getting Help for the nvidialsadmin Utility........................................................................... 110
A.4. Authenticating with the License Server.............................................................................. 110
A.5. Checking the Status of the License Server.........................................................................110
A.6. Listing Features Installed on the License Server...............................................................111
A.7. Listing the Distribution of License Server Features...........................................................111
Appendix B. Basic Windows OS Administration Tasks.................................................... 113
B.1. Setting a Windows System Variable.................................................................................... 113
B.2. Adding a Path to the Path Windows System Variable........................................................ 116
B.3. Deleting a Windows User Variable...................................................................................... 118
B.4. Removing a Path from the Path Windows User Variable...................................................120

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List of Figures
Figure 1. NVIDIA vGPU Software Licensing Architecture ................................................................ 2

Figure 2. License Agreements on Windows ....................................................................................10

Figure 3. Destination Folder Selection on Windows .......................................................................11

Figure 4. Firewall Settings on Windows ..........................................................................................12

Figure 5. Completed License Server Installation on Windows ...................................................... 13

Figure 6. Verifying the Apache Tomcat Installation ........................................................................24

Figure 7. License Agreements on Linux ......................................................................................... 25

Figure 8. Destination Folder Selection on Linux ............................................................................ 25

Figure 9. Apache Tomcat Server Path on Linux ............................................................................. 26

Figure 10. Firewall Settings on Linux ............................................................................................. 27

Figure 11. Completed License Server Installation on Linux .......................................................... 27

Figure 12. License Server Login Page ............................................................................................ 32

Figure 13. License Server Management Interface ......................................................................... 32

Figure 14. Obtaining the License Server's MAC Address .............................................................. 33

Figure 15. License Server Settings for Enabling Failover Support ................................................34

Figure 16. License Server Settings for Setting the Connection Protocol ......................................45

Figure 17. Selecting a License File ................................................................................................. 77

Figure 18. Successful Upload of a License File ............................................................................. 78

Figure 19. Viewing Licensed Feature Properties ............................................................................80

Figure 20. Licensed Feature Usage Details ....................................................................................81

Figure 21. Viewing License Usage ...................................................................................................82

Figure 22. Licensed Client Details ...................................................................................................82

Figure 23. Adding a License Reservation ........................................................................................84

Figure 24. Submitting a Pending Reservation ................................................................................ 85

Virtual GPU Software License Server Version 2021.07 DU-07754-001 _v2021.07 | vi

Figure 25. Listing Reservations ....................................................................................................... 86

Figure 26. Deleting a Reservation ................................................................................................... 87

Figure 27. Exporting and Importing License Reservations ............................................................ 88

Figure 28. Changing the License Server Log Level ........................................................................91

Figure 29. Apache Tomcat Status in the Windows Services Application ......................................92

Figure 30. License Server Connection Error .................................................................................. 93

Figure 31. License Server Status in the Windows Services Application ........................................93

Figure 32. Starting the Uninstaller from Windows Control Panel ............................................... 105

Figure 33. Running the License Server Uninstaller on Windows ................................................ 106

Figure 34. Running the License Server Uninstaller on Linux ...................................................... 107

Virtual GPU Software License Server Version 2021.07 DU-07754-001 _v2021.07 | vii
List of Tables
Table 1. Licensed Feature Properties ............................................................................................. 80

Table 2. Log File Locations .............................................................................................................. 89

Virtual GPU Software License Server Version 2021.07 DU-07754-001 _v2021.07 | viii
Chapter 1. Introduction to the NVIDIA
vGPU Software License
Server

The NVIDIA vGPU software License Server is used to serve a pool of floating licenses to NVIDIA
vGPU software licensed products. The license server is designed to be installed at a location
that is accessible from a customer’s network, and be configured with licenses obtained from
the NVIDIA Licensing Portal.

1.1. Overview of NVIDIA vGPU software

Licensing
NVIDIA vGPU software is a licensed product. Licensed vGPU functionalities are activated
during guest OS boot by the acquisition of a software license served over the network from an
NVIDIA vGPU software license server. The license is returned to the license server when the
guest OS shuts down.

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Introduction to the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server

Figure 1. NVIDIA vGPU Software Licensing Architecture

The licenses served by the NVIDIA vGPU software license server are obtained from the NVIDIA
Licensing Portal as downloadable license files, and installed into the license server through its
management interface.

1.2. NVIDIA vGPU Software License

Server High Availability
To provide NVIDIA vGPU software clients with continued access to NVIDIA vGPU software
features if a single license server fails, you can configure the license server for high
availability. High availability requires two license servers in a failover configuration:

‣ A primary license server, which is actively serving licenses to NVIDIA vGPU software clients
‣ A secondary license server, which acts as a backup for the primary license server
Configuring two servers in a failover configuration increases availability because simultaneous
failure of two servers is rare. The primary and secondary license servers work together to
ensure that licenses in the enterprise remain continually available to NVIDIA vGPU software
clients.
If the primary license server fails, failover occurs and the secondary server can continue to
serve licenses for up to the license server maintenance interval, which is seven days.

Note: To ensure that licenses in the enterprise remain continually available after failure of the
primary license server, return the primary server to service within seven days of the failure.
Furthermore, the remaining server becomes a single point of failure. Therefore, you should
return the failed server to service as quickly as possible to restore high availability support for
the license server.

Virtual GPU Software License Server Version 2021.07 DU-07754-001 _v2021.07 | 2

Introduction to the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server

During normal operation, the primary license server periodically updates the secondary
server with information about the licenses that are being served to clients. However, when the
primary server is returned to service after a failure, it is not updated with information from the
secondary server about licenses that were served while the primary server was out of service.
For more information about configuring the license server for high availability, see High
Availability Requirements.

1.3. Overview of the NVIDIA vGPU

Software Licensing Process
The following table lists the major tasks in the process of licensing NVIDIA vGPU software and
provides a cross-reference to instructions for performing each task.

Note: If you are configuring the license server for high availability, you must perform some
tasks for both the primary license server and the secondary license server. For more
information, see High Availability Requirements.

Task Instructions
Get your NVIDIA vGPU software and NVIDIA vGPU Virtual GPU Software Quick Start Guide
software License Server software.
Install the NVIDIA vGPU software License Server Installing and Configuring the NVIDIA vGPU
software. Software License Server
Access the management interface of the license Accessing the License Server Management
server. Interface
Get the MAC address of the license server. Obtaining the License Server’s MAC Address
HA license servers only: Enable failover support. Enabling Failover Support on the Primary and
Secondary License Servers
Register your license server, generate licenses, Managing Entitlements, Licenses, and Contacts
and download license files. on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal
Install a license. Installing a License
View available licenses. Viewing Information About Installed Licenses
Reserve and release licenses. Reserving Licenses
Move a license to a new server. 1. Removing Licensed Products from a License
Server
2. Adding Licensed Products to a License Server

Convert a trial license server to a permanent Converting an Evaluation License Server to a

license server. Permanent License Server
Configure licensed NVIDIA vGPU software Virtual GPU Client Licensing User Guide
products for use with license server.
Troubleshoot the license server. Troubleshooting the NVIDIA vGPU Software
License Server

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Introduction to the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server

Task Instructions
Uninstall the license server software. Uninstalling the NVIDIA vGPU Software License
Server

Virtual GPU Software License Server Version 2021.07 DU-07754-001 _v2021.07 | 4

Chapter 2. Installing and Configuring
the NVIDIA vGPU Software
License Server

You can install the NVIDIA vGPU software license server on Windows and Linux systems that
meet the license server’s platform requirements. If you require high availability for the license
server, you must install the license server both on the system that you will use as the primary
license server and on the system that you will use as the secondary license server.
The license server requires a Java runtime environment and an Apache Tomcat server. Before
you install the license server software, ensure that the required software is already installed
on each license server host machine that you are using:

‣ On Windows, you need ensure only that the Java runtime environment is installed. The
Apache Tomcat server is included in the license server installer for Windows.
‣ On Linux, you must ensure that both the Java runtime environment and the Apache
Tomcat server are installed.
Also ensure that you have obtained your NVIDIA vGPU software and NVIDIA vGPU software
License Server software. For more information, refer to Virtual GPU Software Quick Start Guide.

2.1. Platform Requirements

Before proceeding, ensure that you have a platform suitable for hosting the license server.

2.1.1. Hardware and Software Requirements

‣ The hosting platform may be a physical machine, an on-premises virtual machine (VM),
or a VM on a supported cloud service. NVIDIA recommends using a host that is dedicated
solely to running the license server.
‣ The recommended minimum configuration is 2 CPU cores and 4 Gbytes of RAM. A high-
end configuration of 4 or more CPU cores with 16 Gbytes of RAM is suitable for handling up
to 150,000 licensed clients.
‣ At least 1 Gbyte of hard drive space is required.
‣ The hosting platform must run a supported operating system.

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Installing and Configuring the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server

‣ On Window platforms, .NET Framework 4.5 or later is required.

Note: Before proceeding with the installation, refer to Virtual GPU License Server Release Notes
for details of supported operating systems and known issues.

2.1.2. Platform Configuration Requirements

‣ The platform must have a fixed (unchanging) IP address. The IP address may be assigned
dynamically by DHCP or statically configured, but must be constant.
‣ The platform must have at least one unchanging Ethernet MAC address, to be used as
a unique identifier when registering the server and generating licenses in the NVIDIA
Licensing Portal.
‣ The platform’s date and time must be set accurately. NTP is recommended.

2.1.3. Network Ports and Management Interface

The license server requires TCP port 7070 to be open in the platform’s firewall, to serve
licenses to clients. By default, the installer will automatically open this port.
The license server’s management interface is web-based, and uses TCP port 8080. The
management interface itself does not implement access control; instead, the installer does
not open port 8080 by default, so that the management interface is only available to web
browsers running locally on the license server host. Access to the management interface
is therefore controlled by limiting remote access (via VNC, RDP, etc.) to the license server
platform.

Note: If you choose to open port 8080 during license server installation, or at any time
afterwards, the license server’s management interface is unprotected.

2.1.4. High Availability Requirements

If you plan to configure high availability for the license sever by configuring a primary server
and a secondary server, these requirements must be met:

‣ Both servers must run the same version of the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server
software.
‣ The clocks on both servers must be accurate and synchronized. NTP is recommended.
‣ The same license configuration file must be installed on both servers. This file is
configured to include the Ethernet MAC addresses of both servers.
If you are configuring the license server for high availability, you must perform the following
tasks for both the primary license server and the secondary license server:

‣ Installing the license server:

‣ Installing the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server on Windows
‣ Installing the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server on Linux

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Installing and Configuring the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server

‣ Obtaining the License Server’s MAC Address

‣ Enabling Failover Support on the Primary and Secondary License Servers
‣ Managing Entitlements, Licenses, and Contacts on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal
‣ Installing a License
‣ Verifying High Availability Setup of the License Server
‣ Reserving Licenses

2.2. Installing the NVIDIA vGPU Software

License Server on Windows
The license server requires a Java runtime environment, which must be installed separately
before you install the license server.

Note: If you require high availability for the license server, you must install the license server
both on the system that you will use as the primary license server and on the system that you
will use as the secondary license server.

2.2.1. Installing the Java Runtime Environment on

Windows
If a suitable Java runtime environment (JRE) version is not already installed on your system,
install a supported JRE before running the NVIDIA license server installer.
If you are installing OpenJDK to migrate from Oracle Java SE JRE and upgrade your license
server version, see Upgrading the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server and Migrating to
OpenJDK on Windows.

1. Download a supported Oracle Java SE JRE or OpenJDK JRE.

CAUTION: To ensure that you download a 64-bit JRE, do not download the JRE from
www.java.com. Either a 32-bit JRE is downloaded or the bitness of the downloaded version
is determined from your browser, which might be 32-bit even on a 64-bit operating system.

‣ Download Oracle Java SE JRE from the Java Downloads for All Operating Systems
page.
‣ Download OpenJDK JRE from the Community builds using source code from OpenJDK
project on GitHub.
2. Install the JRE that you downloaded.

‣ Oracle Java SE JRE installation:

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Installing and Configuring the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server

‣ OpenJDK JRE installation:

3. Set the JAVA_HOME system variable to the full path to the jre folder of your JRE
installation.
For example:

‣ For Oracle Java SE JRE: C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.8.0_191

‣ For OpenJDK JRE: C:\Program Files\ojdkbuild\java-1.8.0-
openjdk-1.8.0.201-1\jre

Ensure that the path does not include any trailing characters, such as a slash or a space.
The license server installer warns users if the path in the JAVA_HOME system environment
variable appears to be incorrect.

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Installing and Configuring the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server

If you are upgrading to a new version of the JRE, update the value of the JAVA_HOME
system variable to the full path to the jre folder of your new JRE version.
4. Ensure that the Path system variable contains the path to the java.exe executable file.
The installer may have already added this path for you.
For example:

‣ For Oracle Java SE JRE: C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.8.0_191\bin

‣ For OpenJDK JRE: C:\Program Files\ojdkbuild\java-1.8.0-
openjdk-1.8.0.201-1\bin

Note: If a 32-bit JRE and 64-bit JRE are installed, ensure that the path to the 64-bit JRE
appears before the path to the 32-bit JRE in the Path system variable.

2.2.2. Installing the License Server Software on

Windows in Graphical Mode
If you are upgrading from an earlier 64-bit license server and are not changing your JRE, you
can upgrade the license server software by overinstalling this release of the license server on
your current release of the license server.
If you are replacing an existing version of the license server that was configured to use HTTPS,
copy the files that are necessary to re-instate the configuration after you install the new
version.

‣ If you configured HTTPS for connections between the management interface and the
license server, copy the SSL certificate that the license server was configured with. The
installer deletes the entire contents of any existing license server installation folder,
including files that were added after the license server software was installed, such as the
SSL certificate.

Note:

Copying an SSL certificate might corrupt it. To determine if the certificate is corrupted, run
this command:
$JAVA_HOME/bin/keytool -list -keystore certificate-file-name.jks -
storepass certificate-password

If the certificate is corrupted, contact the CA that issued your certificate to obtain a new
certificate.

‣ If you specified HTTPS for connections from a web browser to the license server
management interface, copy the Tomcat configuration file server.xml so that you can
reinstate the necessary changes to the Tomcat configuration. The installer overwrites the
existing server.xml file and any custom configuration specified in the file is lost.

1. Unzip the license server installer and run setup.exe.

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Installing and Configuring the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server

2. Accept the EULA for the license server software and the Apache Tomcat software used to
support the license server’s management interface.

Figure 2. License Agreements on Windows

3. Choose the destination folder where you want the license server software to be installed.

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Installing and Configuring the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server

Figure 3. Destination Folder Selection on Windows

4. In the Choose Firewall Options dialog box, select the ports to be opened in the firewall.
To enable remote clients to access licenses from the server and prevent remote access to
the management interface, use the default setting, which sets ports as follows:

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Installing and Configuring the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server

Figure 4. Firewall Settings on Windows

5. After installation has completed successfully, click Done to exit the installer.

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Installing and Configuring the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server

Figure 5. Completed License Server Installation on Windows

If you are replacing an existing version of the license server and it was configured to use
HTTPS, re-instate the HTTPS configuration as explained in Configuring HTTPS for Connections
Between the Management Interface and the License Server and Specifying HTTPS for
Connections from a Web Browser to the License Server Management Interface.
Verify the installation by accessing the license server management interface as explained in
Accessing the License Server Management Interface.

2.2.3. Installing the License Server Software on

Windows in Console Mode
Note: Support for installation in Windows console mode was introduced in license server
release 2018.06. It is not supported in earlier license server releases. The license server
installer for earlier releases must be run in a graphical desktop environment. Installation in
silent mode is not supported in any release.

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Installing and Configuring the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server

If you are upgrading from an earlier 64-bit license server and are not changing your JRE, you
can upgrade the license server software by overinstalling this release of the license server on
your current release of the license server.
If you are replacing an existing version of the license server that was configured to use HTTPS,
copy the files that are necessary to re-instate the configuration after you install the new
version.

Note:

If the certificate is corrupted, contact the CA that issued your certificate to obtain a new
certificate.

1. Extract the contents of the license server zip archive.

2. Run the extracted setup binary.
C:\> setup.exe -i console
The Introduction screen of the InstallAnywhere installer is displayed.
3. In the Introduction screen, press Enter to continue.
4. In the License Agreement screen, press Enter each time you are prompted to page
through the license agreement.
When you reach the end of the license agreement, you are prompted to accept its terms.
5. Type y to accept the terms of the license agreement and proceed with installation.
6. In the Apache License Agreement screen, press Enter each time you are prompted to
page through the license agreement.
When you reach the end of the license agreement, you are prompted to accept its terms.
7. Type y to accept the terms of the license agreement and proceed with installation.
8. In the Choose Install Folder screen, specify where you want the license server software to
be installed:

‣ Press Enter to accept the default installation folder.

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‣ Enter the absolute path to the destination folder where you want the license server
software to be installed.
9. In the Choose Firewall Options screen box, select the ports to be opened in the firewall.
The options for selecting ports to be opened in the firewall are presented as follows:
->1- License server (port 7070)
2- Management interface (port 8080)

‣ Press Enter to accept the default setting.

‣ Enter a comma-separated list of numbers that represent your choice of ports to be
opened.
To enable remote clients to access licenses from the server and prevent remote access to
the management interface, use the default setting, which sets ports as follows:

‣ Port 7070 is open to enable remote clients to access licenses from the server.
‣ Port 8080 is closed to ensure that the management interface is available only through
a web browser running locally on the license server host.
10.In the Pre-Installation Summary screen, review your choices and press Enter to start the
installation.
After installation has completed successfully, the Install Complete screen is displayed.
11.In the Install Complete screen, press Enter to exit the installer.

2.2.4. Upgrading the NVIDIA vGPU Software

License Server and Migrating to OpenJDK on
Windows
If you no longer want to use Oracle Java SE JRE and are upgrading your existing installation
of NVIDIA vGPU software license server, you can replace the Oracle Java SE JRE with the
OpenJDK JRE.

Note:
Do not perform this task for upgrades from a 32-bit license server to a 64-bit license server.
Instead, follow the instructions in Upgrading from a 32-Bit to a 64-Bit NVIDIA vGPU Software
License Server on Windows.
If you are upgrading from an earlier 64-bit license server and are not changing your JRE, you
can upgrade the license server software by overinstalling this release of the license server
on your current release of the license server. For instructions, see Installing the License

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Server Software on Windows in Graphical Mode and Installing the License Server Software on
Windows in Console Mode.

1. Use the Services application to confirm that the Apache Tomcat 9.0 Tomcat9 service is
running.

2. Use the Services application to confirm that the FlexNet License Server - nvidia service is
running.

3. In the Services application, context-click the FlexNet License Server - nvidia service and
choose Stop.
4. In the Services application, context-click the Apache Tomcat 9.0 Tomcat9 service and
choose Stop.
5. Uninstall Oracle Java SE JRE.
a). Open Windows Control Panel and under Programs, follow the Uninstall a program
link.
b). Context-click the installed Oracle Java SE JRE program, choose Uninstall, and if you
are prompted to confirm that you want to uninstall the program, click Yes.

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6. Install OpenJDK.
7. Set the JAVA_HOME system variable to the full path to the jre folder of your JRE
installation.
For example: C:\Program Files\ojdkbuild\java-1.8.0-openjdk-1.8.0.201-1\jre.
Ensure that the path does not include any trailing characters, such as a slash or a space.
The license server installer warns users if the path in the JAVA_HOME system environment
variable appears to be incorrect.
If you are upgrading to a new version of the JRE, update the value of the JAVA_HOME
system variable to the full path to the jre folder of your new JRE version.
8. Ensure that the Path system variable contains the path to the java.exe executable file.
For example: C:\Program Files\ojdkbuild\java-1.8.0-openjdk-1.8.0.201-1\bin.

Note: If a 32-bit JRE and 64-bit JRE are installed, ensure that the path to the 64-bit JRE
appears before the path to the 32-bit JRE in the Path system variable.

9. Ensure that Apache Tomcat can locate your OpenJDK JRE.

a). In Windows File Explorer, navigate to the bin folder of your Apache Tomcat
installation.
This default folder is %SystemDrive%:\NVIDIA\LicenseServer\Tomcat\bin.
b). Double-click the Tomcat9w application in this folder.
c). In the Apache Tomcat 9.0 Tomcat9 Properties window that opens, click the Java tab.
d). Deselect the Use default option, set Java Virtual Machine to the full path to the JVM
DLL file jvm.dll of your OpenJDK installation and click OK.
For example: C:\Program Files\ojdkbuild\java-1.8.0-
openjdk-1.8.0.201-1\jre\bin\server\jvm.dll.
10.In the Services application, context-click the Apache Tomcat 9.0 Tomcat9 service and
choose Start.
11.In the Services application, context-click the FlexNet License Server - nvidia service and
choose Start.
12.Confirm that the license server is working by accessing the license server management
interface as explained in Accessing the License Server Management Interface.

Upgrade to this release of the license server by installing the license server software as
explained in the following topics:

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‣ Installing the License Server Software on Windows in Graphical Mode

‣ Installing the License Server Software on Windows in Console Mode

2.2.5. Upgrading from a 32-Bit to a 64-Bit NVIDIA

vGPU Software License Server on Windows
The 64-bit NVIDIA vGPU software license server requires a 64-bit JRE. If you want to upgrade
from a 32-bit license server to a 64-bit license server, you must uninstall and reinstall the
license server and associated software to meet this requirement.

Note: If you are upgrading from an earlier 64-bit license server and are not changing your
JRE, you can upgrade the license server software by overinstalling this release of the license
server on your current release of the license server. For instructions, see Installing the License
Server Software on Windows in Graphical Mode and Installing the License Server Software on
Windows in Console Mode.

If you are replacing an existing version of the license server that was configured to use HTTPS,
copy the files that are necessary to re-instate the configuration after you install the new
version.

Note:

If the certificate is corrupted, contact the CA that issued your certificate to obtain a new
certificate.

1. Uninstall the existing 32-bit license server.

For instructions, see Uninstalling the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server on Windows.
2. Uninstall the existing 32-bit Apache Tomcat software.
a). Open Windows Control Panel.
b). Select Programs and Features.

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c). In the list of programs, select Apache Tomcat and click Uninstall/Change.
3. Remove the existing license server log files and trusted storage database by deleting
all files in the folder %SystemDrive%:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\NetworkService
\flexnetls\nvidia.
4. Uninstall the existing 32-bit JRE.
a). Open Windows Control Panel and under Programs, follow the Uninstall a program
link.
b). Context-click the installed JRE program, choose Uninstall, and if you are prompted to
confirm that you want to uninstall the program, click Yes.
5. Install a 64-bit JRE.
For instructions, see Installing the Java Runtime Environment on Windows.
6. Install the 64-bit license server and Apache Tomcat software.
For instructions, see the following topics:

‣ Installing the License Server Software on Windows in Graphical Mode

‣ Installing the License Server Software on Windows in Console Mode
If you are replacing an existing version of the license server and it was configured to use
HTTPS, re-instate the HTTPS configuration as explained in Configuring HTTPS for Connections
Between the Management Interface and the License Server and Specifying HTTPS for
Connections from a Web Browser to the License Server Management Interface.
Verify the installation by accessing the license server management interface as explained in
Accessing the License Server Management Interface.
After uninstalling and reinstalling the license server, you must reinstall each of your licenses
as explained in Installing a License. Installed NVIDIA vGPU software licenses are not retained
across an uninstallation followed by reinstallation.

2.2.6. Upgrading Apache Tomcat on Windows

Apache Tomcat is included with the license server installer package for Windows. The version
that is included is current when the package is built. If you want to obtain bug fixes or security
updates for Apache Tomcat that were released after the license server installer package was
built, you can upgrade your installed version of Apache Tomcat.

1. Stop the Apache Tomcat service.

In the Services application, context-click the Apache Tomcat 9.0 Tomcat9 service and
choose Stop.
2. Uninstall the Apache Tomcat software.
a). Open Windows Control Panel and under Programs, follow the Uninstall a program
link.
b). Context-click Apache Tomcat 9.0 Tomcat9 (remove only), choose Uninstall/Change,
and if you are prompted to confirm that you want to uninstall the program, click Yes.
c). When prompted, click Yes to confirm that you want to remove all files.

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3. Download the 32-bit/64-bit Windows Service Installer for the version of Apache Tomcat you
are interested in from the Apache Tomcat project website and run it.
For information about Apache Tomcat releases that the license server supports, see
Virtual GPU License Server Release Notes.
4. Use the Services application to confirm that the Apache Tomcat service for the version
that you installed is running.

5. Copy the files fne.war and licserver.war from the license-server-installation-

folder\ui folder to the apache-tomcat-installation-folder\webapps folder.
license-server-installation-folder
The folder in which the license server software is installed. The default license server
installation folder is %SystemDrive%:\NVIDIA\LicenseServer.
apache-tomcat-installation-folder
The folder in which the Apache Tomcat software is installed. The default Apache
Tomcat installation folder is %SystemDrive%:\Program Files\Apache Software
Foundation\Tomcat version, for example, C:\Program Files\Apache Software
Foundation\Tomcat 9.0.
6. Verify the installation by accessing the license server management interface as explained
in Accessing the License Server Management Interface.
7. Configure the Apache Tomcat service to start automatically on boot.
a). In the Services application, context-click the Apache Tomcat service and choose
Properties.
b). In the Apache Tomcat Properties window that opens, set Startup Type to Automatic
and click OK.

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2.3. Installing the NVIDIA vGPU Software

License Server on Linux
The license server requires a Java runtime environment and an Apache Tomcat server, which
must be installed separately before you install the license server software.

2.3.1. Installing the Java Runtime Environment on

Linux
If a suitable Java runtime environment (JRE) version is not already installed on your system,
you can install OpenJDK from your Linux distribution’s package repositories.
If you are installing OpenJDK to migrate from Oracle Java SE JRE and upgrade your license
server version, see Upgrading the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server and Migrating to
OpenJDK on Linux.

Note: For information about installing Oracle Java SE JRE, see the Java Platform, Standard
Edition Documentation in the Oracle Help Center. After installing Oracle Java SE JRE, set the
JAVA_HOME environment variable to the jre folder of your Oracle Java SE JRE installation.

1. Determine whether a version of Java is installed on your system.

[nvidia@localhost ~]$ java -version

If a Java version is installed, the version is shown as follows and you do not need to install
JRE.
openjdk version "1.8.0_272"
OpenJDK Runtime Environment (build 1.8.0_272-b10)
OpenJDK 64-Bit Server VM (build 25.272-b10, mixed mode)
[nvidia@localhost ~]$

Note: If a 32-bit JRE and 64-bit JRE are installed, ensure that the java -version
command shows the 64-bit JRE.

2. Use your Linux distribution’s package manager to install OpenJDK.

[nvidia@localhost ~]$ sudo yum install java
3. Set the JAVA_HOME environment variable to the jre folder of your OpenJDK JRE
installation, for example, /usr/lib/jvm/java-8-openjdk-amd64/jre.

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2.3.2. Installing and Running the Apache Tomcat

Server on Linux
The license server’s management interface requires an Apache Tomcat server. To ensure
that you install a version that is supported with this release of the license server, obtain the
Apache Tomcat software directly from the Apache Tomcat project website. Do not use your
Linux distribution’s package manager to install Apache Tomcat.

1. Create the tomcat user to run the Apache Tomcat software.

a). Create the user group tomcat for the tomcat user.
[nvidia@localhost ~]$ sudo groupadd tomcat
b). Add the user tomcat to the tomcat user group.
Set the tomcat user's home directory to /usr/share/tomcat, do not create this
directory, and ensure that nobody can log in as this user.
[nvidia@localhost ~]$ useradd -d /usr/share/tomcat -g tomcat -M -s /bin/false
tomcat
2. Download and install the Apache Tomcat software.
a). Create the /usr/share/tomcat directory.
[nvidia@localhost ~]$ sudo mkdir -p /usr/share/tomcat
b). From the Apache Tomcat project website, download the compressed tar (tar.gz)
archive of the core distribution of the Apache Tomcat version that you want to install.
c). Extract the compressed tar archive that you downloaded in the previous step to the /
usr/share/tomcat directory.
[nvidia@localhost ~]$ sudo tar xvf apache-tomcat-*.tar.gz -C /usr/share/tomcat --
strip-components 1
3. Set the required ownership and permissions of the Apache Tomcat directories.
a). Change to the Apache Tomcat installation directory /usr/share/tomcat.
b). Change the group that owns all the Apache Tomcat directories to tomcat.
[nvidia@localhost ~]$ sudo chgrp -R tomcat /usr/share/tomcat
c). Grant the tomcat group read permission to the conf subdirectory of /usr/share/
tomcat and its contents.
[nvidia@localhost ~]$ sudo chmod -R g+r conf
d). Grant the tomcat group execute permission to the conf subdirectory of /usr/share/
tomcat.
[nvidia@localhost ~]$ sudo chmod g+x conf
e). Change the user that owns the webapps, work, temp, and logs subdirectories of /usr/
share/tomcat and their contents to tomcat.
[nvidia@localhost ~]$ sudo chown -R tomcat webapps work temp logs
4. Configure Apache Tomcat to run as a systemd service that is automatically started on
boot.
a). In a plain text editor, create the /etc/systemd/system/tomcat.service service unit
file.
[Unit]
Description=Apache Tomcat Server
After=network.target

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[Service]
Type=forking

Environment=JAVA_HOME=jre-directory
Environment=CATALINA_PID=/usr/share/tomcat/temp/tomcat.pid
Environment=CATALINA_HOME=/usr/share/tomcat
Environment=CATALINA_BASE=/usr/share/tomcat
Environment='CATALINA_OPTS=-Xms512M -Xmx1024M -server -XX:+UseParallelGC'
Environment='JAVA_OPTS=-Djava.awt.headless=true -Djava.security.egd=file:/
dev/./urandom'

ExecStart=/usr/share/tomcat/bin/startup.sh
ExecStop=/usr/share/tomcat/bin/shutdown.sh

User=tomcat
Group=tomcat
UMask=0007
RestartSec=15
Restart=always

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
jre-directory
The jre directory of your OpenJDK or Oracle Java SE JRE installation, for example,
for the OpenJDK JRE, /usr/lib/jvm/java-8-openjdk-amd64/jre.
b). Load the service unit file that you created.
[nvidia@localhost ~]$ sudo systemctl daemon-reload
c). Enable the Apache Tomcat service for automatic startup on boot.
[nvidia@localhost ~]$ sudo systemctl enable tomcat.service
5. Start the tomcat.service service.
[nvidia@localhost ~]$ sudo systemctl start tomcat.service
6. Verify that the Tomcat service is operational by opening the URL http://localhost:8080
in a web browser.
The home page of the default Tomcat web application should be displayed, as shown in
Figure 6.

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Figure 6. Verifying the Apache Tomcat Installation

Note: Do not relocate the webapps folder, which is where Web applications are deployed on
Apache Tomcat Server. If you relocate this folder, the installation of the license server software
may fail.

2.3.3. Installing the License Server Software on

Linux in Graphical Mode
If you are upgrading from an earlier 64-bit license server and are not changing your JRE, you
can upgrade the license server software by overinstalling this release of the license server on
your current release of the license server.

1. Extract the contents of the license server ZIP archive.

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Figure 7. License Agreements on Linux

5. Choose the destination folder where you want the license server software to be installed.

Figure 8. Destination Folder Selection on Linux

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6. Specify the path to the folder on the local host that contains the webapps folder.
Web applications are deployed on Apache Tomcat Server to the webapps folder. The
default path to this folder is /usr/share/tomcat.

Figure 9. Apache Tomcat Server Path on Linux

7. In the Choose Firewall Options dialog box, shown in Figure 10, select the ports to be
opened in the firewall.
To enable remote clients to access licenses from the server and prevent remote access to
the management interface, use the default setting, which sets ports as follows:

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Figure 10. Firewall Settings on Linux

8. After installation has completed successfully, click Done to exit the installer.

Figure 11. Completed License Server Installation on Linux

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Verify the installation by accessing the license server management interface as explained in
Accessing the License Server Management Interface.

2.3.4. Installing the License Server Software on

Linux in Console Mode
Note: Support for installation in Linux console mode was introduced in license server release
2018.06. It is not supported in earlier license server releases. The license server installer for
earlier releases must be run in a graphical desktop environment. Installation in silent mode is
not supported in any release.

1. Extract the contents of the license server ZIP archive.

[nvidia@localhost ~]$ unzip NVIDIA-ls-linux-2021.07.0.30193485.zip
2. Add execute permission to the extracted setup binary file.
[nvidia@localhost ~]$ chmod +x setup.bin
3. As root, run the extracted setup binary.
[nvidia@localhost ~]$ sudo ./setup.bin -i console
The Introduction screen of the InstallAnywhere installer is displayed.
4. In the Introduction screen, press Enter to continue.
5. In the License Agreement screen, press Enter each time you are prompted to page
through the license agreement.
When you reach the end of the license agreement, you are prompted to accept its terms.
6. Type y to accept the terms of the license agreement and proceed with installation.
7. In the Choose Install Folder screen, specify where you want the license server software to
be installed:

‣ Press Enter to accept the default installation folder.

‣ Enter the absolute path to the destination folder where you want the license server
software to be installed.
8. In the Choose Local Tomcat Server Path screen, enter the path to the folder on the local
host that contains the webapps folder.
Web applications are deployed on Apache Tomcat Server to the webapps folder. The
default path to this folder is /usr/share/tomcat.
9. In the Choose Firewall Options screen box, select the ports to be opened in the firewall.
The options for selecting ports to be opened in the firewall are presented as follows:
->1- License server (port 7070)
2- Management interface (port 8080)

‣ Press Enter to accept the default setting.

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‣ Enter a comma-separated list of numbers that represent your choice of ports to be

opened.
To enable remote clients to access licenses from the server and prevent remote access to
the management interface, use the default setting, which sets ports as follows:

Verify the installation by accessing the license server management interface as explained in
Accessing the License Server Management Interface.

2.3.5. Upgrading the NVIDIA vGPU Software License

Server and Migrating to OpenJDK on Linux
If you no longer want to use Oracle Java SE JRE and are upgrading your existing installation
of NVIDIA vGPU software license server, you can replace the Oracle Java SE JRE with the
OpenJDK JRE.

Note: If you are upgrading from an earlier 64-bit license server and are not changing your
JRE, you can upgrade the license server software by overinstalling this release of the license
server on your current release of the license server. For instructions, see Installing the License
Server Software on Linux in Graphical Mode and Installing the License Server Software on
Linux in Console Mode.

1. Check status of the Apache Tomcat tomcat service.

[nvidia@localhost ~]$ systemctl status tomcat.service
2. Check the status of the NVIDIA vGPU software license server flexnetls-nvidia service.
[nvidia@localhost ~]$ systemctl status flexnetls-nvidia.service
3. Stop the NVIDIA vGPU software license server flexnetls-nvidia service.
[nvidia@localhost ~]$ systemctl stop flexnetls-nvidia.service
4. Stop the Apache Tomcat tomcat service.
[nvidia@localhost ~]$ sudo systemctl stop tomcat.service
5. Use your Linux distribution’s package manager to install OpenJDK.
[nvidia@localhost ~]$ sudo yum install java
6. Optional: Uninstall Oracle Java SE JRE.
For information about uninstalling Oracle Java SE JRE, see How do I uninstall Java for
Linux ? on the java.com: Java + You website.
7. Ensure that Apache Tomcat can locate your OpenJDK JRE.
a). Get the parent of the jre folder for your OpenJDK installation.

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The following example gets the parent of the jre folder for an installation of 64-bit
OpenJDK 8.
[nvidia@localhost ~] update-java-alternatives -l
java-1.8.0-openjdk-amd64 1081 /usr/lib/jvm/java-1.8.0-openjdk-
amd64
b). Open the file /etc/systemd/system/tomcat.service in a plain text editor and edit
the value of the JAVA_HOME environment variable to specify the full path to the jre
folder of your OpenJDK installation.
The following example sets JAVA_HOME for an installation of 64-bit OpenJDK 8.
JAVA_HOME=/usr/lib/jvm/java-8-openjdk-amd64/jre
8. Start the Apache Tomcat tomcat service.
[nvidia@localhost ~]$ sudo systemctl start tomcat.service
9. Start the NVIDIA vGPU software license server flexnetls-nvidia service.
[nvidia@localhost ~]$ systemctl start flexnetls-nvidia.service
10.Confirm that the license server is working by accessing the license server management
interface as explained in Accessing the License Server Management Interface.

Upgrade to this release of the license server by installing the license server software as
explained in the following topics:

‣ Installing the License Server Software on Linux in Graphical Mode

‣ Installing the License Server Software on Linux in Console Mode

2.4. Installing and Securing the License

Server in the Cloud
To support bring your own license (BYOL) deployments of NVIDIA vGPU software on supported
cloud services, you can host the license server on a VM on a supported cloud service.

Note: If you are using BYOL, you can host the license server on a physical machine or an on-
premises VM if you prefer.

The following cloud services support NVIDIA vGPU software running in GPU pass-through
mode:

‣ Amazon EC2
‣ Google Cloud Platform
‣ Microsoft Azure
For more information, see NVIDIA Virtual GPU Software Supported Cloud Services.
A license server that is hosted in the cloud is accessed over the public Internet. For increased
security, protect the license server and the licenses installed on it as follows:

‣ Use the features of the license server to secure the license server as as explained in
Securing the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server.

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‣ Restrict access to the license server by client machines in one of the following ways:
‣ Use firewall settings on the license server host or elsewhere to limit the machines that
can access the license server.
‣ Configure the license server host and the licensed client VMs to operate within a virtual
private network.

2.5. Accessing the License Server

Management Interface
Access the license server management interface to verify that the license server is operating
correctly or to manage licenses on the license server.

1. In a web browser, visit the home page for the license server management interface.

‣ If the license server host does not permit remote access, open a web browser on the
license server host and connect to one of the following URLs, depending on whether
the connection protocol is HTTP or HTTPS:

‣ HTTP: http://localhost:8080/licserver
‣ HTTPS: https://localhost:https-port/licserver
‣ If the license server host’s network firewall is configured to permit remote access to
the license server, open a web browser on a remote machine and connect to one of the
following URLs, depending on whether the connection protocol is HTTP or HTTPS:

‣ HTTP: http://hostname:8080/licserver
‣ HTTPS: https://hostname:https-port/licserver
https-port
The HTTPS port for users' connections from a web browser to the license server
management interface, for example, 8443. This port is specified in the Apache Tomcat
configuration as explained in Specifying HTTPS for Connections from a Web Browser to
the License Server Management Interface.
hostname
The fully-qualified domain name or IP address of the license server host.
the Login page is displayed.
2. If administrative security is enabled for the license server, log in to the license server.
a). In the license server management interface, select Login.
b). In the Login page that is displayed, enter your user name and password for logging in
to the license server and click Authorize.

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Figure 12. License Server Login Page

After a user has logged into the license server management interface through a web
browser, other users can access the license server through a browser at the same URL
without the need to log in for up to 30 minutes after the first successful login. After 30
minutes, any user must log in again to access the license server management interface
through a web browser.

Note: If administrative security is not enabled for the license server and you try to log in,
the license server reports that the login failed. However, you can ignore the login failure
and continue to use the license server management interface.

The browser should display the home page for the license server management interface, as
shown in Figure 13.

Figure 13. License Server Management Interface

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If the management interface is not displayed, consult Management Interface Connection

Errors for troubleshooting steps.

2.6. Obtaining the License Server’s MAC

Address
The license server’s Ethernet MAC address uniquely identifies your server to the NVIDIA
Licensing Portal. You will need this address to register your license server with the NVIDIA
Licensing Portal to generate license files.

Note: If you are configuring the license server for high availability, you will need the MAC
address of both the primary license server and the secondary license server.

1. In the license server management interface, select Configuration.

2. On the License Server Configuration page that opens, in the Server host ID drop-down
list, select the platform’s ETHERNET address.

Figure 14. Obtaining the License Server's MAC Address

Note: You must use the same ETHERNET ID to consistently identify the server when
generating licenses on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal. If your platform has multiple Ethernet
interfaces, multiple ETHERNET entries may be displayed in the Server host ID drop-down
list. To ensure that you use the same ETHERNET ID to consistently to identify the server,
select one entry that corresponds to a primary (nonremovable) interface on the platform.

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2.7. Enabling Failover Support on the

Primary and Secondary License
Servers
If you are configuring high availability for the license server, you must enable failover support
on both the primary license server and on the secondary license server. Set the same options
on both servers.

Note: The default log level of the license server is ERROR. If you enable failover support with the
log level set to ERROR, INFO level messages are not recorded in the log files and you will not be
able to verify the setup as explained in Verifying High Availability Setup of the License Server.
To ensure that you can verify the setup, set the log level to INFO before enabling failover
support. If necessary, revert the log level to ERROR after verifying the setup. For instructions,
see Changing the License Server Log Level.

1. In the license server management interface, select Configuration.

The License Server Configuration page opens.

Figure 15. License Server Settings for Enabling Failover Support

2. Under License Generation, use the Backup URI and Main URI fields to set the URI to each
server in a failover configuration.

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a). In the Backup URI field, enter http://secondary-server:7070/fne/bin/

capability.
b). In the Main URI field, enter http://primary-server:7070/fne/bin/capability.
secondary-server
The fully-qualified domain name (for example, gridlicense2.example.com) or the IP
address (for example, 10.31.20.46) of the secondary license server.
primary-server
The fully-qualified domain name (for example, gridlicense1.example.com) or the IP
address (for example, 10.31.20.45) of the primary license server.
3. Set the options under Settings for server to sync between License servers as follows:
a). Set the Synchronization to fne enabled option to true.
b). In the Main FNE Server URI field, enter http://primary-server:7070/fne/bin/
capability.
primary-server
The fully-qualified domain name (for example, gridlicense1.example.com) or the
IP address (for example, 10.31.20.45) of the primary license server.
4. Click Save.

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Chapter 3. Securing the NVIDIA vGPU
Software License Server

3.1. Controlling Access to the License

Server Management Interface
For increased security, you can control access to the license server management interface
by allowing access only to authorized users. When access to the license server management
interface is controlled, authorized users must authenticate themselves to manage licenses on
the license server.
You control access to the license server management interface by using the nvidialsadmin
command. For general information about the nvidialsadmin command that you need to
complete this task, see:

‣ Running the nvidialsadmin Utility

‣ Setting the License Server Base URL for the nvidialsadmin Utility
‣ Getting Help for the nvidialsadmin Utility

3.1.1. Enabling Administrative Security for the

License Server
When administrative security is enabled for the license server, any user attempting
to administer the license server through the command line tool or the license server
management interface must provide a set of authorization credentials. By default,
administrative security is not enabled on the license server.

CAUTION: To protect sensitive data that is being transmitted during administrative operations,
use the HTTPS protocol for communications between the license server and its management
interface when administrative security is enabled for the license server. For more information,
see Configuring HTTPS for Connections Between the Management Interface and the License
Server.

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Perform this task in a command shell on the license server host.

Set the property security.enabled to true.
nvidialsadmin -config -set security.enabled=true

Updated the property:security.enabled with value:true successfully

In any subsequent nvidialsadmin command, users must provide the required credentials
for authenticating with the license server. For more information, see Authenticating with the
License Server.
The authentication requirements for accessing the license server management interface
through a web browser are different. After a user has logged into the license server
management interface through a web browser, other users can access the license server
through a browser at the same URL without the need to log in for up to 30 minutes after the
first successful login. After 30 minutes, any user must log in again to access the license server
management interface through a web browser.
If you no longer require administrative security to be enabled on the license server, set the
property security.enabled to false.
nvidialsadmin -authorize admin admin-password -config -set security.enabled=false
User authentication succeeded.

Updated the property:security.enabled with value:false successfully

After setting the property security.enabled to false, restart the Apache Tomcat server and
the flexnetls-nvidia service.

3.1.2. Default License Server Administrative

Credentials
When the license server is started, the default administrator account is created and assigned
super user role. This account is inactive until administrative security is enabled for the license
server. By default, administrative security is not enabled for the license server.
When administrative security is enabled for the license server, the default administrator
account grants a full range of privileges to administer the license server, including
authorization to create and manage other user accounts that have limited administrative
privileges or other license server administrator accounts.
The default credentials for the license server administrator account are as follows:

‣ User name: admin

‣ Password: Admin@123
For increased security, reset the administrator password immediately after enabling
administrative security for the license server. For instructions, see Resetting the Default
Administrator Password for the License Server.

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3.1.3. License Server Password Requirements

To help you set strong passwords, the license server enforces some requirements on the
length and complexity of passwords.
A license server password must be 8-64 characters long, contain no white space, and contain
all of the following:

‣ At least one lowercase character

‣ At least one uppercase character
‣ At least one number
‣ At least one special character (for example, ^, *, $, -, +, ?, _, &, =, !, %, {, }, /, and #)

The password is case sensitive.

3.1.4. Resetting the Default Administrator

Password for the License Server
When the license server is started, the default administrator account is created and assigned
super user role. For increased security, reset the administrator password immediately after
enabling administrative security for the license server.
Perform this task in a command shell on the license server host.
Change the password of the admin user.
nvidialsadmin -authorize admin Admin@123 -users -edit admin new-password
new-password
Your choice of new password for the default administrator account. The password is case
sensitive and must be a strong password that meets the requirements in License Server
Password Requirements.

3.1.5. Listing All License Server User Accounts

Perform this task in a command shell on the license server host.

Note: For clarity, required options for authenticating the administrator user and specifying the
license server URL are omitted from this example.

Run the nvidialsadmin utility with only the -users option and no other options.
nvidialsadmin -users

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3.1.6. Creating a License Server User Account

Perform this task in a command shell on the license server host.

Note: For clarity, required options for authenticating the administrator user and specifying the
license server URL are omitted from this example.

Run the nvidialsadmin utility with the -users and -create options.
nvidialsadmin -users -create new-username new-user-password[ roles]
new-username
Your choice of user name for the user that you are adding.
new-user-password
Your choice of password for authenticating the user that you are adding. The password
is case sensitive and must be a strong password that meets the requirements in License
Server Password Requirements.
roles
One or more roles that determine operations allowed by the user for managing licenses on
the license server:

‣ ROLE_READ grants the user privileges to perform read-only operations on the license
server, for example, to query features, licenses, license reservations, or license server
status. This role is assigned by default.
‣ ROLE_RESERVATIONS grants the user privileges to create and manage license
reservations.
‣ ROLE_ADMIN grants the user administrator privileges to update license server policies
(local license server only), create and manage other user accounts, and perform other
administrative tasks.
You can assign multiple roles to a user by separating each role with the + sign, for example,
ROLE_READ+ROLE_RESERVATIONS.

This example adds the user lsmgr with the password 3Nt3rl5vr and the ROLE_ADMIN role.
nvidialsadmin -users -create lsmgr 3Nt3rl5vr ROLE_ADMIN

3.1.7. Modifying a License Server User Account

You can modify the account of an existing license server user to change the password or the
roles for the account.
Perform this task in a command shell on the license server host.

Note: For clarity, required options for authenticating the administrator user and specifying the
license server URL are omitted from this example.

Run the nvidialsadmin utility with the -users and -edit options.

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nvidialsadmin -users -edit username user-password[ new-roles]

username
The user name of the user whose account you are modifying.
user-password
The password for authenticating the user whose account you are modifying.
You must specify the password, even if you are not changing it.

‣ To leave the password unchanged, specify the user's existing password.

‣ To change the password, specify a new password. The password is case sensitive and
must be a strong password that meets the requirements in License Server Password
Requirements.
new-roles
The new roles that determine operations allowed by the user for managing licenses on the
license server.
Specify new roles only if you want to change the roles for the account. To leave the user's
existing roles unchanged, do not specify any roles in the command.
You can assign multiple roles to a user by separating each role with the + sign, for example,
ROLE_READ+ROLE_RESERVATIONS.

This example changes role of the user lsmgr to the ROLE_RESERVATIONS role. Because the
user's existing password 3Nt3rl5vr is specified, the password is not changed.
nvidialsadmin -users -edit lsmgr 3Nt3rl5vr ROLE_RESERVATIONS

3.1.8. Deleting a License Server User Account

Perform this task in a command shell on the license server host.

Note: For clarity, required options for authenticating the administrator user and specifying the
license server URL are omitted from this example.

Run the nvidialsadmin utility with the -users and -delete options.
nvidialsadmin -users -delete username
username
The user name for the user whose account you are deleting.
This example deletes the user account lsmgr from the license server.
nvidialsadmin -users -delete lsmgr

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3.2. Configuring HTTPS for Connections

Between the Management Interface
and the License Server
By default, the license server management interface connects to the license server over
the HTTP protocol. This connection is for communications between two processes that are
running on the same host machine. For increased security, you can specify that the license
server management interface connects to the license server over HTTPS.
To configure HTTPS for connections between the management interface and the license
server, follow this sequence of instructions:
1. Obtaining an SSL Certificate for the License Server
2. Configuring the License Server with an SSL Certificate
3. Setting the License Server Connection Protocol to HTTPS
4. Importing a Self-Signed or Privately Signed Certificate into the Truststore File
You can also specify HTTPS for users' connections from a web browser to the license server
management interface. See Specifying HTTPS for Connections from a Web Browser to the
License Server Management Interface.

Note: HTTPS is not supported for connections between the license server and licensed clients.
Only HTTP is supported for these connections.

3.2.1. Obtaining an SSL Certificate for the License

Server
You can obtain an SSL certificate for the license server either by requesting a certificate from
a certificate authority (CA) or by creating a self-signed certificate. The certificate must be in
Java keystore format (not a PEM text file) and secured with a password.

1. Request or create an SSL certificate for the license server.

‣ Request an SSL certificate by submitting a certificate signing request (CSR) to a CA.

In the certificate, you can choose to identify the license server host through either its
host name or its fully qualified domain name. In your CSR to the CA, ensure that the
Common Name (CN) attribute of the CSR matches how the license server is identified
in the certificate. For example, if the license server is identified in the certificate
through its fully qualified domain name, set the CN attribute to the fully qualified
domain name of the license server.
If necessary, contact the CA that will provide your certificate for information about how
to request a certificate in Java keystore format or convert an existing certificate to this
format.
‣ Create a self-signed certificate by using the keytool command.

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a). Run the following keytool command.

keytool -genkey -alias alias -keyalg RSA -keystore keystore.jks
alias
Your choice of alias name for accessing the keystore entry for the certificate that
you are creating.
b). When prompted for your first and last name, specify how the license server is
identified in the certificate.
For example, if the license server is identified in the certificate through its fully
qualified domain name, specify the fully qualified domain name of the license
server.
c). When prompted, provide the remaining information that the keytool command
requires.
d). When prompted for the key password, press Return to ensure that the key
password and the keystore password match.
2. Store the SSL certificate in the appropriate directory on the license server host.

‣ On Linux, store the SSL certificate in the /opt/flexnetls/nvidia/ directory.

‣ On Windows, store the SSL certificate in the folder in which the license server is
installed. The default license server installation folder is %SystemDrive%:\NVIDIA
\LicenseServer.
3. Optional: To prevent the password from being stored in plain text in license server
configuration files, obfuscate the password.
java -jar flexnetls.jar --password=password
password
The password with which the certificate is secured.
This example obfuscates the password abracadabra.
java -jar flexnetls.jar --password=abracadabra
abracadabra => OBF:1ri71v1r1v2n1ri71shq1ri71shs1ri71v1r1v2n1ri7

3.2.2. Configuring the License Server with an SSL

Certificate
Before configuring the license server with an SSL certificate, ensure that the following
prerequisites are met:

‣ You have obtained the certificate from a trusted CA.

‣ The license server is not blocked by a firewall.
How to configure the license server with an SSL certificate depends on whether the license
server is running on a Windows or Linux platform.

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3.2.2.1. Configuring the License Server with an SSL

Certificate on Windows
1. In the license-server-installation-folder\server\local-configuration.yaml
file, edit the https-in section to set attributes that provide access to the certificate.
license-server-installation-folder
The folder in which the license server software is installed. The default license server
installation folder is %SystemDrive%:\NVIDIA\LicenseServer.
Specifically, set the following attributes:

‣ Enable HTTPS
‣ The port number for incoming HTTPS requests
‣ The full or relative path to the SSL certificate file for the license server on the license
server host
‣ The password with which the certificate is secured
https-in:
# Set to true to enable HTTPS
enabled: true
# HTTPS listening port
port: https-port
# Path to keystore
keystore-path: server-certificate-file-path
# Keystore password. You can obfuscate this with java -jar flexnetls.jar -
password your-password-here
keystore-password: password
https-port
The port number for incoming HTTPS requests, for example, 443.
server-certificate-file-path
The full or relative path to the SSL certificate file for the license server on the license
server host.
password
The password with which the certificate is secured. If the password is obfuscated,
specify the entire obfuscated string, including the OBF: prefix, for example,
OBF:1ri71v1r1v2n1ri71shq1ri71shs1ri71v1r1v2n1ri7.

Note: To protect this password, ensure that the file that contains the password is
appropriately secured. Specifically, limit access to the file that contains the password
so that it can be read only by the user that the Tomcat process runs as and the
administrator user on Windows or the root user on Linux.

This example provides access to the SSL certificate file keystore.jks, which is protected
by an obfuscated password. The port number for incoming HTTPS requests is 443.
https-in:
# Set to true to enable HTTPS
enabled: true
# HTTPS listening port
port: 443
# Path to keystore
keystore-path: ..\keystore.jks

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# Keystore password. You can obfuscate this with java -jar flexnetls.jar -
password your-password-here
keystore-password: OBF:1ri71v1r1v2n1ri71shq1ri71shs1ri71v1r1v2n1ri7
2. Restart the license server.

3.2.2.2. Configuring the License Server with an SSL

Certificate on Linux
1. In the /opt/flexnetls/nvidia/local-configuration.yaml file, edit the https-in
section to set attributes that provide access to the certificate.
Specifically, set the following attributes:

‣ Enable HTTPS
‣ The port number for incoming HTTPS requests
‣ The name of the SSL certificate file for the license server on the license server host
‣ The password with which the certificate is secured
https-in:
# Set to true to enable HTTPS
enabled: true
# HTTPS listening port
port: https-port
# Path to keystore
keystore-path: server-certificate-file-name
# Keystore password. You can obfuscate this with java -jar flexnetls.jar -
password your-password-here
keystore-password: password
https-port
The port number for incoming HTTPS requests, for example, 1443. To avoid the need
to run the license server from a privileged account, use a port number greater than or
equal to 1024. On Linux systems, access to ports below 1024 is restricted to processes
that run with root user privileges.
The default port for HTTPS requests is 443. If you use a different port, you can re-direct
incoming HTTPS requests for the default port to the port that you are using.
server-certificate-file-name
The name of the SSL certificate file for the license server on the license server host. Do
not include the path to this file.
password
The password with which the certificate is secured. If the password is obfuscated,
specify the entire obfuscated string, including the OBF: prefix, for example,
OBF:1ri71v1r1v2n1ri71shq1ri71shs1ri71v1r1v2n1ri7.

This example provides access to the SSL certificate file keystore.jks, which is protected
by an obfuscated password. The port number for incoming HTTPS requests is 1443.
https-in:

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# Set to true to enable HTTPS

enabled: true
# HTTPS listening port
port: 1443
# Path to keystore
keystore-path: keystore.jks
# Keystore password. You can obfuscate this with java -jar flexnetls.jar -
password your-password-here
keystore-password: OBF:1ri71v1r1v2n1ri71shq1ri71shs1ri71v1r1v2n1ri7
2. Restart the license server.
[nvidia@localhost ~]$ systemctl restart flexnetls-nvidia
3. Optional: If necessary, use the iptables command to re-direct incoming HTTPS requests
from the local host for the default port to the port that you specified earlier.
Perform this step if you are not using the default port for incoming HTTPS requests (443)
and cannot guarantee that all incoming HTTPS requests will specify the port number.
To re-direct incoming HTTPS requests from the local host, use the OUTPUT chain.
For example, to re-direct incoming HTTPS requests from the local host for port 443 to
1443, type this command:
[nvidia@localhost ~]$ sudo iptables -t nat -A OUTPUT -o lo -p tcp \
--dport 443 -j REDIRECT --to-port 1443

3.2.3. Setting the License Server Connection

Protocol to HTTPS
1. In the license server management interface, select Settings.
The Settings page opens.

Figure 16. License Server Settings for Setting the Connection Protocol

2. In the Settings page, set the properties for connecting to the license server over HTTPS
and click Save.
a). Set the License server host name property to the value of the CN attribute in the
certificate signing request for your license server certificate.
For example, if the CN attribute was set to the fully qualified domain name, set License
server host name to the fully qualified domain name of the license server.

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b). Set the License server listen port property to the port number for incoming HTTPS
requests, for example, 443 or 1443.
The port number is set in the license server configuration files. If necessary, ask the
system administrator who configured the license server for the port number.

Note: Do not use this port number for connections between the license server and
licensed clients. For connections between the license server and licensed clients, you
must still use port 7070.

c). Set the Connect using HTTPS property to Yes.

The license server management interface will now connect to the license server over
HTTPS.

If your SSL certificate for the license server is a self-signed certificate, import the certificate
into the keystore as explained in Importing a Self-Signed or Privately Signed Certificate into
the Truststore File.
To specify that the license server management interface connects to the license server over
HTTP, set the License server listen port to the port number for incoming HTTP requests, for
example, 7070, set the Connect using HTTPS property to No, and click Save.

3.2.4. Importing a Self-Signed or Privately Signed

Certificate into the Truststore File
The default truststore file contains only certificates signed by a public CA. If your SSL
certificate for the license server is self signed or privately signed, you must import it into the
truststore file. Otherwise, the JRE disallows connections to the license server because the
JRE cannot determine the CA that signed the certificate.
If your SSL certificate for the license server is signed by a public CA, omit this task.

1. In a web browser, access the license server management interface, accepting the SSL
certificate if required to establish the connection.
For more information, see Accessing the License Server Management Interface.
2. From the web browser, export the certificate as a DER-encoded binary X.509 (.cer) file
in the directory that contains the cacerts Java keystore file, namely $JAVA_HOME/lib/
security.

Note: If the certificate chain contains an intermediate certificate, you must also save it in
the same location.

How to export a certificate from a web browser depends on the web browser that you are
using. For example, if you are using Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge, follow these steps:
a). In the web browser, connect to the URL https://hostname:https-port/api/1.0/
health.
hostname
The fully-qualified domain name or IP address of the license server host.

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https-port
The port number for incoming HTTPS requests, for example, 443 or 1443. This port
is specified in the Apache Tomcat configuration as explained in Configuring the
License Server with an SSL Certificate.
b). Click the Not secure icon adjacent to the URL in the URL field of the browser and in the
window that opens, click Certificate.

c). In the Certificate window that opens, click the Details tab and on the Details tab, click
Copy to File.

d). Follow the Certificate Export Wizard to select the DER-encoded binary X.509 (.CER)
format and the directory and file name of the exported certificate file.
3. On the license server host, open a Windows Command Prompt window or a Linux shell
window.
4. Change to the directory that contains the cacerts Java keystore file.
cd $JAVA_HOME/lib/security
5. Make a backup copy of the default cacerts Java keystore file.

‣ On Windows, type the following command:

copy cacerts cacerts.bak

‣ On Linux, type the following command:

cp cacerts cacerts.bak
6. Run the following Java keytool command without line breaks to import each certificate
that you exported to your cacerts Java keystore file.
keytool -importcert -v -trustcacerts -alias alias
-file certificate-file -keystore cacerts -storepass changeit

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alias
The alias name for accessing the keystore entry for the certificate that you are
importing. This alias name was specified when the certificate was created.
certificate-file
The name, including the .cer extension, of the file to which you exported the certificate.
7. Verify the keystore entry for each certificate that you imported.

‣ On Windows, type the following command:

keytool -keystore cacerts -list -v | findstr alias

‣ On Linux, type the following command:

keytool -keystore cacerts -list -v | grep alias

alias
The alias name for accessing the keystore entry that you specified when you imported
the certificate.
8. Restart the Apache Tomcat server to reload the updated cacerts keystore file.

3.3. Specifying HTTPS for Connections

from a Web Browser to the License
Server Management Interface
By default, users connect from a web browser to the license server management interface
over the HTTP protocol. For increased security, particularly if the license server is accessed
over the public Internet, you can specify HTTPS for users' connections from a web browser to
the license server management interface. Specifying HTTPS for these connections involves
configuring an HTTPS connector for the Apache Tomcat server that the license server
management interface uses.

1. In the Tomcat configuration file catalina-base/conf/server.xml, add a Connector

element to define an SSL Coyote HTTP/1.1 connector on a specific port, for, example, 8443.
catalina-base
The base directory of the Apache Tomcat instance.

<Connector
protocol="org.apache.coyote.http11.Http11NioProtocol"
port="port"
maxThreads="200"
scheme="https"
secure="true"
SSLEnabled="true"
keystoreFile="path-to-server-certificate"
keystorePass="password"
clientAuth="false"
sslProtocol="TLS"
/>
port
The HTTPS port for users' connections from a web browser to the license server
management interface, for example, 8443.

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Ensure that the port is not already in use by another service. For example, do not use
the port for accessing the license server SSL certificate as described in Configuring the
License Server with an SSL Certificate on Windows and Configuring the License Server
with an SSL Certificate on Linux.
path-to-server-certificate
The full path to the certificate file on the license server host.
password
The password with which the certificate is secured. The password must be specified in
plain text. You cannot use an obfuscated password.

For additional information about how to obscure the password, see Apache Tomcat
Passwords FAQ.
For more information, see Edit the Tomcat Configuration File in the Apache Tomcat SSL/
TLS Configuration HOW-TO.
2. Restart the Apache Tomcat service.

Users now must access the license server management interface from a web browser through
HTTPS on the specified port, for example, port 8443.

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Chapter 4. Managing Entitlements,
Licenses, and Contacts on
the NVIDIA Licensing Portal

Use the NVIDIA Licensing Portal to manage your entitlements, licenses, and contacts.

4.1. About the NVIDIA Licensing Portal

The NVIDIA Licensing Portal provides access to the entitlements that you purchased and the
licenses that they contain.
To be able to download NVIDIA vGPU software licenses, you must create at least one license
server on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal and allocate licenses in your entitlements to the server.
You can also distribute your licenses across multiple license servers as necessary, add new
licensed products to an existing server, and delete license servers that you no longer require.
To help you manage your entitlements and licenses on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal, you
can add other users as registered contacts in the organization associated with your NVIDIA
Enterprise Account. To secure your entitlements and licenses, NVIDIA Licensing Portal
provides role-based access for all registered contacts. For more information, see Managing
Contacts on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal.
By default, all entitlements are associated with a top-level organization and are accessible
to all contacts in the organization. If you need to allow only specific groups of contacts within
your organization to access specific entitlements, you can partition your entitlements into
isolated segments. However, if a single collection of entitlements that spans your entire
organization meets your business needs, you can leave all your entitlements in the top-level
organization.
To partition your entitlements into isolated segments, NVIDIA Licensing Portal provides
the ability to create virtual groups and assign entitlements and contacts to them. For more
information, see Managing Virtual Groups.

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4.2. Creating a License Server on the

NVIDIA Licensing Portal
To be able to download NVIDIA vGPU software licenses, you must create at least one license
server on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal. Creating a license server on the NVIDIA Licensing
Portal registers your license server host with the NVIDIA Licensing Portal through the MAC
address of the host.
You can also create multiple servers on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal and distribute
your licenses across them as necessary, for example to group licenses functionally or
geographically.
The role that this task requires depends on whether the license server is being created for an
organization or a virtual group:

‣ For an organization, this task requires the Organization Administrator or the Organization
User role.
‣ For a virtual group, this task requires the Virtual Group Administrator or the Virtual Group
User role.

1. In the NVIDIA Licensing Portal, navigate to the organization or virtual group for which you
want to create the license server.
a). If you are not already logged in, log in to the NVIDIA Enterprise Application Hub and
click NVIDIA LICENSING PORTAL to go to the NVIDIA Licensing Portal.
b). Optional: If your assigned roles give you access to multiple virtual groups, select
the virtual group for which you are creating the license server from the list of virtual
groups at the top right of the page.
If no license servers have been created for your organization or virtual group, the NVIDIA
Licensing Portal dashboard displays a message asking if you want to create a license
server.

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2. On the NVIDIA Licensing Portal dashboard, click CREATE LICENSE SERVER.

If you are adding a license server to an organization or virtual group for which a license
server has already been created, click CREATE SERVER.
The Create License Server pop-up window opens.

3. Provide the details of your primary license server.

a). In the Server Name field, enter the host name of the primary license server.
b). In the Description field, enter a text description of the license server.
This description is required and will be displayed on the details page for the license
server that you are creating.
c). In the MAC Address field, enter the MAC address of your primary license server.
4. Add the licenses for the products that you want to allocate to this license server.
For each product, add the licenses as follows:
a). From the Product drop-down list, select the product for which you want to add
licenses.
b). In the Licenses field, enter the number of licenses for the product that you want to add.
c). Click ADD.
5. Optional: Provide the details of your secondary license server.
a). In the Failover License Server field, enter the host name of the secondary license
server.
If you have only one license server configured, leave this field unset.
b). In the Failover MAC Address field, enter the MAC address of your secondary license
server.
If you have only one license server configured, leave this field unset.
6. Click CREATE LICENSE SERVER.

4.3. Downloading a License File

Each license server that you create has license file associated with it. The license file contains
all the licenses that you allocated to the license server. After downloading the license file,

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you can install it on the license server host associated with the license server on the NVIDIA
Licensing Portal.
The role that this task requires depends on whether the license file is being downloaded for an
organization or a virtual group:

1. In the NVIDIA Licensing Portal, navigate to the organization or virtual group for which you
want to download the license file.
a). If you are not already logged in, log in to the NVIDIA Enterprise Application Hub and
click NVIDIA LICENSING PORTAL to go to the NVIDIA Licensing Portal.
b). Optional: If your assigned roles give you access to multiple virtual groups, select the
virtual group for which you are downloading the license file from the list of virtual
groups at the top right of the page.
2. In the list of license servers on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal dashboard, select the license
server whose associated license file you want to download.
3. In the License Server Details page that opens, review the licenses allocated to the license
server.

If necessary, add or remove licenses on the server as explained in Adding or Removing

Licenses on a License Server.
4. Click DOWNLOAD LICENSE FILE and save the .bin license file to your license server for
installation.

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4.4. Adding or Removing Licenses on a

License Server
Perform this task if you need to add or remove individual licenses for a specific product on the
license server.
If you want to remove licensed products from a license server to return all licenses for the
product to the entitlement, see Removing Licensed Products from a License Server.
The role that this task requires depends on whether the licenses are being managed for an
organization or a virtual group:

1. In the NVIDIA Licensing Portal, navigate to the organization or virtual group for which you
want to add or remove licenses.
a). If you are not already logged in, log in to the NVIDIA Enterprise Application Hub and
click NVIDIA LICENSING PORTAL to go to the NVIDIA Licensing Portal.
b). Optional: If your assigned roles give you access to multiple virtual groups, select the
virtual group for which you are adding or removing licenses from the list of virtual
groups at the top right of the page.
2. In the list of license servers on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal dashboard, select the license
server to which you want to add or from which you want to remove licenses.
3. Click MANAGE LICENSES.

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4. In the Manage Licenses pop-up window that opens, add or remove licenses for the
licensed products that you are interested in.
Add or remove licenses for each licensed product as follows:

a). From the Feature drop-down list, select the product for which you want to add or
remove licenses.
b). In the Licenses field, enter the number of licenses for the product that you want to
remain on the server after updating licenses.

‣ To add licenses to the server, enter a number greater than the number already
allocated to the server, but less than or equal to the total number of licenses
available.
If you enter a number greater than the total number of licenses available, an error
occurs.

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‣ To remove licenses from the server, enter a number less than the number already
allocated to the server but greater than 0.
For example, to remove 4 licenses from a server to which 10 licenses are allocated,
leaving 6 licenses allocated to the server, enter 6 in the Licenses field.
If you enter 0, an error occurs. You must leave at least 1 license on the license
server. If you want to remove all licenses for a product from the license server, you
must follow the instructions in Removing Licensed Products from a License Server.
c). Click ADD.
The product and number of licenses are added to the Features to Modify list.
5. After adding or removing licenses for all the products that you are interested in, click
UPDATE LICENSES.

To ensure that the correct licenses are available on your license server host, download and
install the license file after you add or remove licenses.

4.5. Adding Licensed Products to a

License Server
You can add a new licensed product to a license server after the license server has been
created. When you add a licensed product to a license server, you must also set the number of
consumed licenses.
The role that this task requires depends on whether the licensed products are being added for
an organization or a virtual group:

1. In the NVIDIA Licensing Portal, navigate to the organization or virtual group for which you
want to add licensed products.
a). If you are not already logged in, log in to the NVIDIA Enterprise Application Hub and
click NVIDIA LICENSING PORTAL to go to the NVIDIA Licensing Portal.
b). Optional: If your assigned roles give you access to multiple virtual groups, select the
virtual group for which you are adding licensed products from the list of virtual groups
at the top right of the page.
2. In the list of license servers on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal dashboard, select the license
server to which you want to add licensed products.
3. Click ADD FEATURES.

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4. In the Add Features pop-up window that opens, add the licensed products that you are
interested in.
Add each licensed product as follows:

a). From the Feature drop-down list, select the licensed product that you want to add to
the license server.
b). In the Licenses field, enter the number of licenses for the product that you want to
allocate to the server.
c). Click ADD.
The product and number of licenses are added to the Features to Add list.
5. After adding all the licensed products that you are interested in, click ADD FEATURES.

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4.6. Removing Licensed Products from a

License Server
Remove licensed products from a license server if they are no longer needed or in preparation
for migrating them to a new server. All licenses for the products that you remove are returned
to the entitlement.
To comply with the NVIDIA vGPU software end-user license agreement, you must remove the
license file from your license server before returning all your licenses back to the entitlement.
The role that this task requires depends on whether the licensed products are being removed
for an organization or a virtual group:

1. In the NVIDIA Licensing Portal, navigate to the organization or virtual group for which you
want to remove licensed products.
a). If you are not already logged in, log in to the NVIDIA Enterprise Application Hub and
click NVIDIA LICENSING PORTAL to go to the NVIDIA Licensing Portal.
b). Optional: If your assigned roles give you access to multiple virtual groups, select the
virtual group for which you are removing licensed products from the list of virtual
groups at the top right of the page.
2. In the list of license servers on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal dashboard, select the license
server from which you want to remove licensed products.
3. Click REMOVE FEATURES.

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4. In the Remove Features pop-up window that opens, select the licensed products that you
want to remove.
For each licensed product that you want to remove, select the product from the Feature
drop-down list and click REMOVE.

5. After removing all the licensed products that you are interested in, click REMOVE
FEATURES.

If you removed licenses in preparation for migrating them to a new server, add them to the
new server as explained in Adding Licensed Products to a License Server.

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4.7. Deleting a License Server

The role that this task requires depends on whether the license server is being deleted for an
organization or a virtual group:

1. In the NVIDIA Licensing Portal, navigate to the organization or virtual group for which you
want to delete the license server.
a). If you are not already logged in, log in to the NVIDIA Enterprise Application Hub and
click NVIDIA LICENSING PORTAL to go to the NVIDIA Licensing Portal.
b). Optional: If your assigned roles give you access to multiple virtual groups, select
the virtual group for which you are deleting the license server from the list of virtual
groups at the top right of the page.
2. In the list of license servers on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal dashboard, select the license
server that you want to delete.
3. In the License Server Details page that opens, click DELETE SERVER.

4. When asked to confirm that you want to delete the license server, click DELETE LICENSE
SERVER.

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4.8. Managing Contacts on the NVIDIA

Licensing Portal
To help you manage your entitlements and licenses on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal, you
can add other users as registered contacts in the organization associated with your NVIDIA
Enterprise Account. You can also remove users who no longer require access from your
account on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal.
To secure your entitlements and licenses, NVIDIA Licensing Portal provides role-based access
for all registered contacts. Each role has a scope that determines whether the role applies
to a virtual group within an organization or the organization itself. For more information, see
Role-Based Access to an Organization and Virtual Groups.

4.8.1. Role-Based Access to an Organization and

Virtual Groups
Role-based access helps secure the entitlements and licenses in your organization on the
NVIDIA Licensing Portal. If you partition your entitlements into isolated segments, role-
based access also provides isolation between the segments into which your entitlements are
partitioned. It does so by ensuring that only specific contacts in your organization are allowed
to view or perform actions on the entitlements and contacts that are allocated to a virtual
group.
A role is a collection of actions or capabilities within the NVIDIA Licensing Portal. Each role
has a scope that determines the context to which the actions and capabilities of the role apply,
specifically, a virtual group within an organization or the organization itself.
Every registered contact has at least one role, but can have multiple roles if the scope of
each role is a virtual group. As a result, a contact can be a member of multiple virtual groups.
However, roles with a virtual group scope and roles with an organization scope are mutually
exclusive. A contact that has a virtual group role cannot also have an organization role.
To enable role-based access to an organization and virtual groups, the NVIDIA Licensing
Portal provides pre-defined roles.

4.8.1.1. Organization Administrator

An organization administrator has the highest level of visibility and access within an
organization. The person that created the organization's NVIDIA Enterprise Account is initially
assigned the organization administrator role.
Each organization must have at least one organization administrator. Multiple organization
administrators in an organization are allowed. To prevent the absence of a single user
from denying you access to your organization's entitlements, consider adding at least two
organization administrators to your organization.
An organization administrator can see all of the following items for the organization on the
NVIDIA Licensing Portal:

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‣ Entitlements
‣ Users
‣ Virtual groups
‣ License servers provisioned from the entitlements that have not been assigned to a virtual
group
An organization administrator can mange virtual groups as follows:

‣ Create a virtual group.

‣ Delete a virtual group.
‣ Assign an entitlement at the organization level to a virtual group.
‣ Remove an entitlement from a virtual group and return it to the organization.

An organization administrator can manage other contacts in the organization as follows:

‣ Invite a contact currently not within the organization to register at the organization level.
‣ Add users and administrators to a virtual group when creating the virtual group.
‣ Delete any administrator or user at either the organization level or the virtual group level
except the last virtual group administrator in a virtual group.
‣ Manage the role of any organization-level contact.
An organization administrator also has all the capabilities of an organization user.

4.8.1.2. Organization User

An organization user has restricted visibility within an organization and can access only
items that are at the organization level and that have not been assigned to a virtual group. An
organization user is a contact that has been added to the organization as a base user.
An organization can have no organization users, only one organization user, or multiple
organization users.
An organization user can see the following items for the organization on the NVIDIA Licensing
Portal:

‣ All organization administrators

‣ All other organization users
‣ All organization-level entitlements
‣ All license servers provisioned from organization-level entitlements

An organization user can mange entitlements that have not been assigned to a virtual group as
follows:

‣ Create a license server.

‣ Delete a license server.
‣ Add licensed products to a license server.
‣ Remove licensed products from a license server.

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‣ Download a license file.

‣ Download software.
An organization user cannot manage other contacts.

4.8.1.3. Virtual Group Administrator

A virtual group administrator has restricted visibility within an organization and can access
items and manage contacts only in the virtual group to which the virtual group administrator is
assigned. A virtual group administrator is a contact that has been added to the virtual group as
an admin user.
Each virtual group must have at least one virtual group administrator. Multiple virtual
group administrators in a virtual group are allowed. To prevent the absence of a single
user from denying you access to a virtual group, consider adding at least two virtual group
administrators to each virtual group in your organization.
A virtual group administrator can see the following items on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal:

‣ All organization administrators

‣ All other contacts in the virtual group
‣ All entitlements assigned to the virtual group
‣ All license servers provisioned from entitlements assigned to the virtual group

A virtual group administrator can manage other contacts in the virtual group as follows:

‣ Add an exiting contact within the organization who is not an organization administrator to
the virtual group.
‣ Invite a contact currently not within the organization to register and join the virtual group.
‣ Remove any other contact in the virtual group, regardless of the contact's role.
Virtual group administrators cannot remove themselves from a virtual group.
‣ Manage the role of any other contact in the virtual group.
Virtual group administrators cannot manage their own roles.
A virtual group administrator also has all the capabilities of a virtual group user.

4.8.1.4. Virtual Group User

A virtual group user has no visibility within an organization and can view and access items only
in a virtual group. A virtual group user is a contact that has been added to the virtual group as
a base user.
A virtual group can have no virtual group users, only one virtual group user, or multiple virtual
group users.
A virtual group user can see the following items for the virtual group on the NVIDIA Licensing
Portal:

‣ All other contacts in the virtual group

‣ All entitlements assigned to the virtual group

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‣ All license servers provisioned from entitlements assigned to the virtual group
A virtual group user can mange entitlements within a virtual group as follows:

‣ Create a license server.

‣ Delete a license server.
‣ Add licensed products to a license server.
‣ Remove licensed products from a license server.
‣ Download a license file.
‣ Download software.

A virtual group user cannot manage other contacts.

4.8.2. Adding a Contact on the NVIDIA Licensing

Portal
The role that this task requires depends on whether the contact is being added to an
organization or a virtual group:

‣ For an organization, this task requires the Organization Administrator role.

‣ For a virtual group, this task requires the Virtual Group Administrator role.
1. In the NVIDIA Licensing Portal, navigate to the organization or virtual group to which you
want to add a contact.
a). If you are not already logged in, log in to the NVIDIA Enterprise Application Hub and
click NVIDIA LICENSING PORTAL to go to the NVIDIA Licensing Portal.
b). Optional: If your assigned roles give you access to multiple virtual groups, select the
virtual group to which you are adding a contact from the list of virtual groups at the top
right of the page.
2. In the left navigation pane of the NVIDIA Licensing Portal dashboard, click USER
MANAGEMENT.

3. In the USER MANAGEMENT page that opens, click INVITE USER.

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4. In the Invite User pop-up window that opens, provide the e-mail address and the name of
the contact, select the contact's role, and click SEND INVITATION.

The role to select depends on whether you are adding the contact to an organization or a
virtual group.

‣ For an organization, select one of the following roles:

ORG ADMIN
Assigns the contact the Organization Administrator role.
ORG USER
Assigns the contact the Organization User role.
‣ For a virtual group, select one of the following roles:
VIRTUAL GROUP ADMIN
Assigns the contact the Virtual Group Administrator role.
VIRTUAL GROUP USER
Assigns the contact the Virtual Group User role.

‣ If you added a contact who is already registered to a virtual group, the contact will be able
the select the virtual group after next logging in.
‣ If the contact is a new contact, an e-mail is sent to the contact at the e-mail address that
you provided.

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Note:

The link to the NVIDIA Enterprise Support Portal in this e-mail provides information about
how to contact NVIDIA Enterprise Support.

If the contact that you added is a new contact, tell the contact to follow the directions in the e-
mail to create an NVIDIA Enterprise Account as explained in Virtual GPU Software Quick Start
Guide.

4.8.3. Removing a Contact on the NVIDIA Licensing

Portal
The role that this task requires depends on whether the contact is being removed from an
organization or a virtual group:

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‣ For an organization, this task requires the Organization Administrator role.

‣ For a virtual group, this task requires the Virtual Group Administrator role.
1. In the NVIDIA Licensing Portal, navigate to the organization or virtual group from which
you want to remove a contact.
a). If you are not already logged in, log in to the NVIDIA Enterprise Application Hub and
click NVIDIA LICENSING PORTAL to go to the NVIDIA Licensing Portal.
b). Optional: If your assigned roles give you access to multiple virtual groups, select the
virtual group from which you are removing a contact from the list of virtual groups at
the top right of the page.
2. In the left navigation pane of the NVIDIA Licensing Portal dashboard, click USER
MANAGEMENT.

3. In the list of contacts in the User Management page that opens, follow the link to remove
the contact.

‣ If you are removing the contact from an organization, follow the Delete link.
‣ If you are removing the contact from a virtual group, follow the Remove link.

Note: You cannot remove the only virtual group administrator from a virtual group. The
Remove link for that contact is inactive and dimmed.

4. When prompted, confirm that you want to remove the contact.

The contact is removed from the list of contacts on the USER MANAGEMENT page.

‣ A contact that is removed from an organization is removed from the list of registered
contacts for the organization.
‣ A contact that was a member of multiple virtual groups when removed from a virtual group
remains a member of the other virtual groups.
‣ A contact that was a member of only the virtual group from which you removed the contact
is returned to the organization with the organization user role.

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4.8.4. Changing the Role of a Contact on the NVIDIA

Licensing Portal
You can change the role of a contact on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal within the scope of
the contact's current role. For example, you can change the role from organization user to
organization administrator or from virtual group administrator to virtual group user. However,
you cannot change the scope of the contact's current role, for example, from organization
administrator to virtual group user.
The role that this task requires depends on whether the contact whose role is being changed
belongs to the organization or a virtual group:

‣ For the organization, this task requires the Organization Administrator role.
‣ For a virtual group, this task requires the Virtual Group Administrator role.

Note: You cannot change your own role.

1. In the NVIDIA Licensing Portal, navigate to the organization or virtual group to which the
contact belongs.
a). If you are not already logged in, log in to the NVIDIA Enterprise Application Hub and
click NVIDIA LICENSING PORTAL to go to the NVIDIA Licensing Portal.
b). Optional: If your assigned roles give you access to multiple virtual groups, select the
virtual group to which the contact belongs from the list of virtual groups at the top right
of the page.
2. In the left navigation pane of the NVIDIA Licensing Portal dashboard, click USER
MANAGEMENT.

3. In the list of contacts in the User Management page that opens, follow the View role link
for the contact.
You are shown the contact's current role and the role to which you can change it.
4. In the User Role window, click the button to change the contact's role.

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4.9. Managing Virtual Groups

Virtual groups provide the means for segmenting your organization's entitlements into
partitions. The virtual groups in an organization are isolated from each other and from the
organization. An entitlement cannot be partitioned and cannot be shared between partitions.
All licensed products in an entitlement are moved with the entitlement when the entitlement is
added to a virtual group or returned to the organization.
You are free to determine how many virtual groups among which to partition your entitlements
and what those virtual groups represent. For example, you might create virtual groups to
partition your entitlements by location, division, product, or some combination of factors.
Irrespective of how you choose to partition your entitlements among virtual groups, every
virtual group isolates the entitlements assigned to it from other virtual groups.
The following diagram shows the relationship between an organization, the virtual groups in
an organization, and the components of a virtual group.

4.9.1. Creating a Virtual Group

Ensure that the following prerequisites are met:

‣ Your organization contains at least one registered contact to whom you can assign the
virtual group administrator role.
‣ No licensed products in any of the entitlements that you want to add to the group have
been added to a license server.
This task requires the Organization Administrator role.

1. If you are not already logged in, log in to the NVIDIA Licensing Portal.
2. In the left navigation pane of the NVIDIA Licensing Portal dashboard, click VIRTUAL
GROUPS.

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3. In the Virtual Groups page that opens, click CREATE VIRTUAL GROUP.
The Create Virtual Group pop-up window opens.

4. In the Virtual Group Name field, enter your choice of name for the group.
5. In the Description field, enter a short text description of the group.
This description will be displayed for the group in the list of virtual groups on the Virtual
Groups page.
6. Add the entitlements that you want to assign to the virtual group.
For each entitlement that you want to add, select the entitlement from the Entitlements
drop-down list and click ADD.
You must add at least one entitlement. You cannot create a virtual group with no
entitlements.
Each entitlement that you select is added to the Added Entitlements list.
7. Add the users that you want to be members of the virtual group.
Add each user as follows:
a). From the drop-down list of users, select the user.
b). Follow the link to add the user with the role that you want for the user.

‣ To add the user with the Virtual Group Administrator role, follow the Add as Admin
link.
‣ To add the user with the Virtual Group User role, follow the Add as User link.

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The user is added to the box under the drop-down list of users.

Note: Any user with the Organization Administrator role loses that role and gains the
role that you assign when added to the virtual group.

You must add at least one virtual group administrator to the group. You cannot create a
virtual group with no administrators.

Tip: To prevent the absence of a single user from denying you access to the virtual group,
consider adding at least two virtual group administrators to the virtual group.

8. Click CREATE VIRTUAL GROUP in the Create Virtual Group pop-up window.

After you create a virtual group, you can perform only the following operations on the virtual
group:

‣ Deleting the virtual group

‣ Assigning an entitlement at the organization level to the virtual group
‣ Removing an entitlement from the virtual group and returning it to the organization
Other operations on the virtual group require the virtual group administrator or virtual group
user role.

4.9.2. Deleting a Virtual Group

Delete a virtual group if it is no longer needed. When the group is deleted, all entitlements
assigned to the group and any contacts who are members only of this group are returned to
the organization. Contacts who are returned to the organization are assigned the organization
user role.
This task requires the Organization Administrator role.

1. If you are not already logged in, log in to the NVIDIA Licensing Portal.
2. In the left navigation pane of the NVIDIA Licensing Portal dashboard, click VIRTUAL
GROUPS.

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3. In the list of virtual groups on the Virtual Groups page, follow the Delete link for the virtual
group that you want to delete.
4. When asked to confirm that you want to delete the virtual group, click DELETE VIRTUAL
GROUP.

4.9.3. Moving an Entitlement from your

Organization to a Virtual Group
Ensure that the following prerequisites are met:

‣ The entitlements that you want to add belong to the organization and not to a virtual group.
‣ No licensed products in any of the entitlements that you want to add to the group have
been added to a license server.
This task requires the Organization Administrator role.

1. If you are not already logged in, log in to the NVIDIA Licensing Portal.
2. In the left navigation pane of the NVIDIA Licensing Portal dashboard, click VIRTUAL
GROUPS.

3. Expand the list of entitlements in the organization by clicking the up arrow head adjacent
to the organization in the list of virtual groups.

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4. In the list of entitlements, follow the Move link for the entitlement.

Note: You cannot move an entitlement if any of its licensed products has been added to a
license server. The Move link for the entitlement is inactive and dimmed.

5. In the Move Entitlement window that opens, select the virtual group where you want to
move the entitlement and click MOVE ENTITLEMENT.
The entitlement is removed from the list of entitlements in the organization and added to
the list of entitlements in the virtual group.

4.9.4. Removing an Entitlement from a Virtual

Group
Remove an entitlement from a virtual group to return it to the organization either to make it
available to users at the organization level or to transfer it to a different virtual group.
Ensure that no licensed products in the entitlement that you want to remove have been added
to a license server.
This task requires the Organization Administrator role.

1. If you are not already logged in, log in to the NVIDIA Licensing Portal.
2. In the left navigation pane of the NVIDIA Licensing Portal dashboard, click VIRTUAL
GROUPS.

3. Expand the list of entitlements in the virtual group that contains the entitlement that you
want to remove by clicking the up arrow head adjacent to the group.

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4. In the list of entitlements, follow the Remove link for the entitlement.

Note: You cannot remove an entitlement if any of its licensed products has been added
to a license server or if it is the only entitlement in a group. The Remove link for the
entitlement is inactive and dimmed.

5. When asked to confirm that you want to remove the entitlement, click REMOVE
ENTITLEMENT.
The entitlement is removed from the list of entitlements in the virtual group and added to
the list of entitlements in the organization.

You can now move the entitlement that you removed to transfer it to a different virtual group
as explained in Moving an Entitlement from your Organization to a Virtual Group.

4.9.5. Sample Business Scenario for Virtual Groups

A common business scenario for virtual groups is a multinational corporation with
subsidiaries in which licenses are managed centrally.

Organization Administrators
The organization administrators are responsible for setting up virtual groups and managing
entitlements for the entire organization. The individuals chosen to be organization
administrators must understand the organization structure and purchasing process, so that
they are capable of routing newly purchased entitlements appropriately.
To ensure that someone is always available to move newly purchased entitlements into the
correct virtual group, consider designating at least three organization administrators.

Virtual Groups
To simplify the allocation entitlements to the entity for which they were purchased, consider
creating a virtual group for every subsidiary or geographic region, as appropriate.

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Virtual Group Contacts

To ensure redundancy at every level in your organization, designate at least two virtual group
administrators for each virtual group.
After a virtual group is created, its virtual group administrators are free to add contacts who
are not organization administrator as required.

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Chapter 5. Managing Licenses on
your Local NVIDIA vGPU
Software License Server

Managing licenses on your local NVIDIA vGPU software license server involves installing
licenses on the license server and controlling and monitoring the usage of installed licenses.
You manage the license server in a web browser through the license server management
interface.
You can also manage the license server from the command line.

5.1. Installing a License

NVIDIA vGPU software licenses are distributed as .bin files for download from the NVIDIA
Licensing Portal.

Note: If you have configured high availability for the license server, you must install the license
both on the primary license server and on the secondary license server.

Before installing a license, ensure that you have downloaded the license file from the NVIDIA
Licensing Portal.

1. In the license server management interface, select License Management.

2. On the License Management page that opens, click Choose File.

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Figure 17. Selecting a License File

3. In the file browser that opens, select the .bin file and click Open.
4. Back on the License Management page, click Upload to install the license file on the
license server.
The license server should confirm successful installation of the license file.

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Figure 18. Successful Upload of a License File

5. If you have configured high availability for the license server, restart the license server
service on the secondary license server.

‣ On Windows, use the Service Manager, which is accessible from Task Manager, to
restart the FNLS-nvidia service.
‣ On Linux, as root, restart the flexnetls-nvidia service.
[nvidia@localhost ~]$ sudo systemctl restart flexnetls-nvidia

5.2. Verifying High Availability Setup of

the License Server
Messages in the license server log file about synchronization requests indicate the failover
role of the given license server and its synchronization status. The primary server receives
synchronization requests that the secondary server has initiated.
For the location of the log file on your platform, refer to Log File Locations and Types.
In the license server log file, search for the string that indicates whether the server has
received or initiated a synchronization request. The line that contains the string and the lines
that follow it indicate the role and status of the server.

‣ For the primary server, search for the string Received sync request from the backup
server.
22:46:30,085 INFO [request sync-session=480THG8NMUHJ] Received sync request from
the backup server
22:46:30,977 INFO [request] POST:/fne/bin/capability
22:46:30,977 INFO [request sync-session=480THG8NMUHJ] Received sync request from
the backup server
22:46:51,034 INFO [request] POST:/request

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‣ For the secondary server, search for the string Starting sync: backup requests main
-> backup.
22:46:29,648 INFO [sync-session=480THG8NMUHJ] Starting sync: backup requests
main -> backup.
22:46:31,438 INFO [sync-session=480THG8NMUHJ] Successfully completed sync from
main server

Tip: When a client acquires a license from the primary server, the number of available licensed
features is reduced by 1 on both the primary and the secondary servers. When the license
server is operating, you can verify its high availability setup by confirming that the count of
available licenses on the primary and the secondary servers changes as expected as clients
acquire licenses from the server.

5.3. Viewing Information About Installed

Licenses
From the license server management interface, you can find out which licenses are installed
on the server, view detailed information about individual licenses, and see how licensed clients
are using the installed licenses.

5.3.1. Viewing the Properties of All Installed

Licensed Features
By viewing licensed feature properties, you can see the licenses that are installed on the
server and get detailed information about each installed license feature.
In the license server management interface, select Licensed Feature Usage.
The Licensed Feature Usage page that opens lists all licensed features installed on the
license server.

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Figure 19. Viewing Licensed Feature Properties

For each licensed feature, the properties in the following table are displayed.

Table 1. Licensed Feature Properties

Property Description
Feature An abbreviated name for the feature.
Version The version number associated with the feature.
Count The number of licenses for the feature that are currently installed on the
license server. Each concurrent user of a feature normally consumes one
license.
Available The number of licenses for the feature that are currently available to borrow
from the server. This number decreases as users borrow licenses from the
server, and increases as licenses are returned.
Expiry The date on which the right to use the licensed feature expires. If the
licenses are perpetual use licenses, they have no expiration date. Perpetual
licenses are indicated by permanent in place of an expiration date.
Start Date The date on which the right to use the licensed feature starts.

5.3.2. Viewing the Details of a Single Licensed

Feature
For each installed license feature, you can view detailed information about the feature.

1. In the license server management interface, select Licensed Feature Usage.

2. On the Licensed Feature Usage page that opens, click the individual licensed feature
about which you want detailed information.

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The Licensed Feature Details page that opens shows information about the feature.

Figure 20. Licensed Feature Usage Details

5.3.3. Viewing Information About All Borrowed

Licenses
By viewing information about all borrowed licenses, you can find out which licenses have been
borrowed from the license server and are in use by a licensed client.
In the license server management interface, select Licensed Clients.
The Licensed Clients page that opens lists the NVIDIA vGPU software client virtual machines
are using licensed features.
The example in Figure 21 shows that one NVIDIA vGPU software client virtual machine is using
a license.

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Figure 21. Viewing License Usage

5.3.4. Viewing the Details of a Single Licensed

Client
1. In the license server management interface, select Licensed Clients.
2. On the Licensed Clients page that opens, click the Client ID of the licensed client about
which you want detailed information.
The Client Details page opens to show detailed information about the licensed client.

Figure 22. Licensed Client Details

5.3.5. About the License Borrow Period

At the end of the borrow period, typically multiple days, a borrowed license is automatically
freed by the license server for use by other clients, and becomes unavailable on the licensed
client that previously held it. While active, a licensed client renews its license periodically to

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ensure the borrow period does not expire, if it continues to use the license and has ongoing
network connectivity to the license server.

5.4. Reserving Licenses

Licenses are normally distributed to clients on a first-come, first-served basis. Reservations
allow licenses to be set aside for specific clients, ensuring that those clients can always obtain
a license.

5.4.1. Creating License Reservations

The license server management interface enables you to set up several new reservations and
submit them to the license server in a single group.

Note: After creating a group of license reservations, you cannot use the management UI to
delete individual reservations in the group or to add new reservations to the group. If you try to
use the management UI to delete a single entry from the Reservation page, all entries on the
page are deleted. For more information about this issue and its workaround, see Virtual GPU
License Server Release Notes.

Note: In an HA configuration, create identical license reservations on the primary license

server and the secondary license server. To ensure that the license reservations are identical
on both servers, you can export reservations from one server and import them into the other
server as explained in Exporting and Importing License Reservations.

1. In the license server management interface, select Reservations.

The License Reservations page opens.
2. Add each reservation that you want to create to the list of pending reservations.

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Figure 23. Adding a License Reservation

a). On the License Reservations page, click Add.

b). On the Add Reservation page that opens, provide the details of the client for which you
are creating the reservation and click Add.
Group Name
(Optional) Enter the name you want to assign to this reservation group.
Client ID
Enter the client’s Ethernet MAC address without spaces.
Feature Name
Enter the licensed feature name as listed on the Licensed Feature Usage page,
which is shown in Viewing the Properties of All Installed Licensed Features.
Version
Enter the version number listed for the feature listed on the Licensed Feature
Usage page.
Count
Set to the number of licenses that you want to reserve for the client.
3. After adding all reservations that you want to create, click Submit to commit the pending
reservations to the license server.

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Figure 24. Submitting a Pending Reservation

After the reservations are submitted, the License Reservations page shows a list of currently
stored reservations on the server.

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Figure 25. Listing Reservations

Note: If GRID Virtual Workstation licenses and licenses are available on the same license
server, GRID Virtual Workstation licenses are assigned first, even to clients that have reserved
licenses.

5.4.2. Deleting License Reservations

If a client no longer requires a license that is reserved for it, delete the reservation to release
the license for distribution to other clients.

1. In the license server management interface, select Reservations.

2. On the License Reservations page that opens, select the reservations that you want to
delete and click Edit.
The License Reservations page is updated to replace the existing buttons on the page with
the Delete button.
3. On the updated License Reservations page, click Delete.

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Figure 26. Deleting a Reservation

4. In the confirmation dialog box that opens, click OK.

5.4.3. Exporting and Importing License

Reservations
Exporting license reservations downloads the current reservation list as an XML file through
your web browser. Importing license reservations from an XML file replaces the license
server’s current reservation list with the contents of the file.

Note: Because importing license reservations from a file replaces the license server’s current
reservation list, any reservations on the server that are not in the file are lost.

1. In the license server management interface, select Reservations.

2. On the License Reservations page that opens, do one of the following:

‣ To export license reservations, click Export.

‣ To import license reservations, click Import, browse to the XML file that contains the
reservations, and click Upload.

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Figure 27. Exporting and Importing License Reservations

5.5. Converting an Evaluation License

Server to a Permanent License
Server
If you purchase NVIDIA vGPU software licenses after evaluating the software, you can use the
same license server that you created for your evaluation licenses to serve your permanent
licenses.

1. Log in to the NVIDIA Licensing Portal with the account that you created for getting your
evaluation licenses.
2. Get the NVIDIA vGPU software for the licenses that you purchased.
For instructions, refer to Virtual GPU Software Quick Start Guide.
3. Add the licenses that you purchased to your license server on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal
as explained in Adding Licensed Products to a License Server.
4. Download your new license file as explained in Downloading a License File.

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Chapter 6. Troubleshooting the NVIDIA
vGPU Software License
Server

You can troubleshoot some common issues with the license server yourself without the need
to obtain help from NVIDIA.

Note: Before troubleshooting, review Virtual GPU License Server Release Notes for information
about known issues and potential workarounds.

6.1. Obtaining Diagnostic Information

from the License Server Log Files
The license server log files contain diagnostic information to help with troubleshooting. If
necessary, you can increase the amount of information in the log files by changing the log
level of the license server. You can also set the time zone in the timestamps in license server
log files.

6.1.1. Log File Locations and Types

Log files from the installer and license server are in the locations in the following table.

Table 2. Log File Locations

Host
OS Log Location
Windows Installer %SystemDrive%:\NVIDIA\LicenseServer\Logs
License %SystemDrive%:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\NetworkService\flexnetls
server \nvidia\logs
Linux Installer /opt/flexnetls/nvidia/Logs/
License /var/opt/flexnetls/nvidia/logs
server

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To confirm the location of the license server log files, use the license server management
interface: Select Configuration and click the Properties tab.
The location of the log files is displayed on the License Server Configuration page in the
Logging Directory field.

The license server generates these types of runtime log files:

‣ Management interface accesses are recorded in access_*.request.log files.

‣ License server activity is recorded in flexnetls_*.log files.

6.1.2. Changing the License Server Log Level

The default log level of the license server is ERROR.
To adjust the amount of information in the log files, set the log level to a different level.

1. In the license server management interface, select Configuration and click the Properties
tab.
2. On the License Server Configuration page, in the Logging Threshold field, enter a new log
level, for example WARN or ERROR, and click Save.

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Figure 28. Changing the License Server Log Level

All messages at or below the level you set are recorded in the log file. For example, if you set
the log level to WARN, fatal-event, error, and warning messages are recorded.

6.1.3. Setting the Time Zone of Log File Time

Stamps
By default, the time zone of the timestamps in license server log files is the local time zone.
You can change this time zone to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
This task requires system administrator privileges.

1. Open the file local-configuration.yaml in a plain text editor.

The path to the local-configuration.yaml file depends on the operating system on
which the license server is running.

‣ On Windows, the path is license-server-installation-folder\server\local-

configuration.yaml.
license-server-installation-folder
The folder in which the license server software is installed. The default license
server installation folder is %SystemDrive%:\NVIDIA\LicenseServer.
‣ On Linux, the path is /opt/flexnetls/nvidia/local-configuration.yaml.
2. Add the loggingStyle attribute to set the time zone.
loggingStyle: style
style
One of the following values:
CONTINUOUS_UTC
Sets the time zone to UTC.

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CONTINUOUS
Sets the time zone to the local time zone. This value is the default if the
loggingStyle attribute is not set.
This example sets the time zone of the timestamps in license server log files to UTC.
loggingStyle: CONTINUOUS_UTC
3. Save your changes and quit the editor.
4. Restart the license server service.

6.2. Management Interface Connection

Errors
The management interface at http://hostname:8080/licserver might be unreachable
because the license server host’s firewall disallows remote access to server TCP port 8080 or
because the Apache Tomcat service is not running on the server.

1. If you are trying to access the management interface from a remote machine, try
accessing the interface locally from the license server host.
To access the interface locally, open a web browser on the license server host and connect
to the URL http://localhost:8080/licserver.
2. If you can access the management interface locally, ensure that the license server host’s
firewall is configured to allow remote access to server TCP port 8080.
3. If you cannot access the management interface locally, verify that the Apache Tomcat
service is running on the license server host.

‣ On Windows, use the Services application to restart the service if it is not running.

Figure 29. Apache Tomcat Status in the Windows Services

Application

‣ On Linux, check the status of the tomcat service.

[nvidia@localhost ~]$ systemctl status tomcat.service
tomcat.service - Apache Tomcat Web Application Container
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/tomcat.service; enabled)

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Active: active (running) since Fri 2019-04-19 07:39:11 PDT; 9h ago

Main PID: 1373 (java)
CGroup: /system.slice/tomcat.service
└─1373 java -classpath /usr/share/tomcat/bin/bootstrap.jar:/usr/
sh...

6.3. License Server Connection Errors

If the license server’s management interface cannot establish a connection to the license
server, the management interface displays an error message.

Figure 30. License Server Connection Error

1. Verify that the license service is running.

‣ On Windows, use the Services application to restart the service if it is not running.

Figure 31. License Server Status in the Windows Services

Application

‣ On Linux, check the status of the flexnetls-nvidia service.

[nvidia@localhost ~]$ systemctl status flexnetls-nvidia.service
flexnetls-nvidia.service - LSB: start and stop FlexNet License Server
Loaded: loaded (/etc/rc.d/init.d/flexnetls-nvidia)
Active: active (running) since Fri 2019-04-19 14:44:34 PDT; 2h 49min ago

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Process: 4502 ExecStart=/etc/rc.d/init.d/flexnetls-nvidia start

(code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
CGroup: /system.slice/flexnetls-nvidia.service
├─4567 java -Dbase.dir=/var/opt/flexnetls/nvidia -jar /opt/
flexnet...
└─4609 java -Dbase.dir=/var/opt/flexnetls/nvidia -jar /opt/
flexnet...
2. Inspect the license server log files, which are described in Log File Locations and Types.

6.4. License Upload Failures

Errors may occur during an attempt to upload a license file to the license server.

6.4.1. License Response Fails Trust Criteria

The license server reports a trust failure if it attempts to reload a license file that’s already
loaded.
Verify that the license file being uploaded is not already active on the server.

6.4.2. Capability Response Rejected - Response

Time Too Old
The license server reports this error if the license file you are attempting to upload has
expired. Licenses generated on the NVIDIA licensing portal must be installed onto your license
server within 24 hours of generation.
Generate a new license file on the licensing portal and promptly upload the new file to your
license server.

6.4.3. Capability Response Rejected – Update Time

Invalid
The license server reports this error if the license server is already configured with a license
file that is newer than the license file you are attempting to upload.
You cannot roll back an active license to an older license file.

6.4.4. Capability Response Rejected - Response

Enterprise ID Does Not Match the Server
The license server reports this error if you are trying to download a license file to a license
server on which licenses from a different customer account are installed.
To resolve this issue:
1. Stop the license server.
2. Delete the license server's trusted storage database.
3. Restart the license server.

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4. Download and install the new license.

6.5. Trusted Storage Database Errors

Errors in the trusted storage database, such as corruption of the database, can prevent the
license server from reading the database. If it cannot read the database, the license server
cannot start.
You can correct errors in the trusted storage database in one of the following ways:

‣ Restoring the database from a backup

‣ Deleting the database and then reinstalling licenses on the license server

6.5.1. Restoring the Trusted Storage Database from

a Backup
The license server automatically backs up the database after every 1,000 license checkouts
or after every five-minute interval in which a change has taken place, whichever event occurs
first. If no change to the database occurs during a five-minute interval, the database is not
backed up. Backups are triggered by changes such as the checkout, renewal, or release of a
license.

6.5.1.1. Restoring the Trusted Storage Database from a

Backup on Windows
Before restoring the trusted storage database from a backup, ensure that the following
prerequisites are met:

‣ The JAVA_HOME environment variable is set to the folder where the Java runtime
environment is installed on the license server host.
‣ The TRUSTED_STORAGE_DIR environment variable is set to %SystemDrive%:\Windows
\ServiceProfiles\NetworkService\flexnetls\nvidia, which is the folder that
contains the trusted storage database files.

1. Open a Command Prompt window and change to the license-server-installation-

folder\server folder.
license-server-installation-folder
The folder in which the license server software is installed. The default license server
installation folder is %SystemDrive%:\NVIDIA\LicenseServer.
For example:
C:\>cd C:\NVIDIA\LicenseServer\server
C:\NVIDIA\LicenseServer\server>
2. In the Command Prompt window, run the command to restore the database.
C:\NVIDIA\LicenseServer\server>flexnetls.bat -restore-database

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The database is restored to the location defined in the TRUSTED_STORAGE_DIR environment

variable.

6.5.1.2. Restoring the Trusted Storage Database from a

Backup on Linux
Before restoring the trusted storage database from a backup, ensure that the following
prerequisites are met:

‣ The JAVA_HOME environment variable is set to the directory where the Java runtime
environment is installed on the license server host.
‣ The TRUSTED_STORAGE_DIR environment variable is set to /var/opt/flexnetls/
nvidia/, which is the directory that contains the trusted storage database files.

1. Change to the license-server-installation-dir/server directory.

license-server-installation-dir
The directory in which the license server software is installed. The default license
server installation directory is /opt/flexnetls/nvidia.
For example:
$ cd /opt/flexnetls/nvidia/server
2. Run the command to restore the database.
$ flexnetls --restore-database

The database is restored to the location defined in the TRUSTED_STORAGE_DIR environment

variable.

6.5.2. Deleting the Trusted Storage Database

Deleting the trusted storage database clears all information about license assignments and
allocations.
After deleting the trusted storage database, reinstall your licenses on the license server as
explained in Installing a License.

6.5.2.1. Deleting the Trusted Storage Database on

Windows
1. Close any web browser windows that are accessing the license server.
2. Stop the FlexNet License Server - nvidia service.
a). Start Task Manager and in the Windows Task Manager window that opens, click the
Services button.
b). In the Services window that opens, context-click FlexNet License Server - nvidia and
from the menu that pops up, choose Stop.
3. Delete all files in the %SystemDrive%:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\NetworkService
\flexnetls\nvidia folder, which contains the trusted storage database files.
4. Start the FlexNet License Server - nvidia service.

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a). Start Task Manager and in the Windows Task Manager window that opens, click the
Services button.
b). In the Services window that opens, context-click FlexNet License Server - nvidia and
from the menu that pops up, choose Start.

6.5.2.2. Deleting the Trusted Storage Database on Linux

This task requires system administrator privileges.

1. Close any web browser windows that are accessing the license server.
2. Stop the flexnetls-nvidia service.
# sudo systemctl stop flexnetls-nvidia.service
3. Delete all files in the /var/opt/flexnetls/nvidia/ directory, which contains the trusted
storage database files.
# sudo \rm -rf /var/opt/flexnetls/nvidia/*
4. Start the flexnetls-nvidia service.
# sudo systemctl start flexnetls-nvidia.service

6.6. Issues when the License Server Is

Used with Security Software
When the license server is used with security software, such as a firewall or antivirus
software, issues may occur if the security software blocks certain applications or functionality.
The following issues are examples of the kinds of issues that may occur if security software
blocks certain applications or functionality:

‣ Failure of the license server to start

‣ Access violation exceptions
‣ Core dumps by the JRE
To determine whether security software is causing these issues, test your license server setup
with the security software disabled or removed. If disabling or removing the security software
resolves the issue, consider one of the following long-term fixes:

‣ If your organization's software security policies allow, add an exception rule for the license
server application.
‣ Otherwise, contact NVIDIA Enterprise Support for assistance in determining the root cause
of the issue. When you contact NVIDIA Enterprise Support, provide a detailed description
of the symptoms of the issue and the exact versions of any security software that you are
using on the license server host.

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6.7. FEATURE_NOT_STARTED Failure to

Handle a License Request
If a licensed client requests a license from a license server on which the only available
licenses have a start date in the future, the request fails and the client fails to acquire a
license.
When this issue occurs, the following error message is written to the flexnetls_*.log files
Unable to handle request for feature feature count=count.
Reason: FEATURE_NOT_STARTED

1. Add unexpired licenses with a start date in the past to your license server.
For instructions, see Adding Licensed Products to a License Server. To determine the start
date and expiration date of the licenses that you are adding, use the entitlement ID in the
Feature drop-down list to find the licenses on the Entitlements page.
2. Download the license file associated with your license server.
For instructions, see Downloading a License File.
3. Install the licenses in the license file that you downloaded in the previous step.
For instructions, see Installing a License.

6.8. License Server Failures after

Installation, Upgrade, or Migration of
the JRE on Windows
After initial installation, an upgrade from a 32-bit license server to a 64-bit license server, or
a migration from Oracle JRE to OpenJDK, the license server might refuse connections from
the management interface or fail to start. Some failures of the license server to start might be
accompanied by Windows error 1067.
Configuration errors during the installation or upgrade process are possible causes of these
failures.

6.8.1. The JAVA_HOME System Variable Was Set

Incorrectly
The path to which the JAVA_HOME system variable is set must not include any trailing
characters, such as a slash or a space. However, spaces within the path, such as in the name
of the Program Files folder, are acceptable.
Setting the JAVA_HOME system variable incorrectly might cause the license server to refuse
connections from the management interface.

1. Uninstall the license server software.

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For instructions, see Uninstalling the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server on Windows.
2. Set the JAVA_HOME system variable correctly.
For instructions, see Setting a Windows System Variable.
3. Reinstall the license server software.
For instructions, see:

‣ Installing the License Server Software on Windows in Graphical Mode

‣ Installing the License Server Software on Windows in Console Mode
4. Reboot the license server host.

6.8.2. A User Variable Instead of a System Variable

Was Set
To enable all license server processes to locate the jre folder of your JRE installation, the
JAVA_HOME system variable must be set, not the JAVA_HOME user variable.
Setting a user variable instead of a system variable might cause the license server to fail to
start.

1. Delete the user variable that was that was inadvertently set instead of a system variable.
For instructions, see Deleting a Windows User Variable.
2. Set the correct system variable.
For instructions, see Setting a Windows System Variable.

6.8.3. The Path to an Old Version of the JRE Was

Not Removed
After migration from Oracle JRE to OpenJDK JRE or from a 32-bit to a 64-bit JRE, the path to
an old version of the JRE might not be removed from the Path system variable after the old
version of the JRE is uninstalled.
Failing to remove the path to an old version of the JRE from the Path system variable might
cause the FlexNet license server service to fail to start with Windows error 1067.

1. Click the magnifying glass in the toolbar and in the search box type environment.
2. When Edit the system environment variables appears in the search results, click Open.
3. In the Advanced tab of the System Properties window that opens, click Environment
Variables.

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4. In the Environment Variables window that opens, under System variables, select Path and
click Edit.

Note: Ensure that you select Path and click Edit under System variables, not under User
variables.

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5. In the Edit environment variable window that opens, determine whether the path to an old
version of the JRE is listed, for example, C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.8.0_191\bin
for the path to the Oracle Java SE java.exe executable file.

‣ If the path to an old version of the JRE is listed, select the path and click Delete.
‣ If the path to an old version of the JRE is not listed, click OK.

6. In the Environment Variables window, click OK and then in the System Properties window,
click OK.

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6.8.4. The Path User Variable Instead of the Path

System Variable Was Modified
To enable all license server processes to locate the java.exe executable file, the path to
the java.exe executable file must be added to the Path system variable, not the Path user
variable.
Modifying the Path user variable instead of the Path system variable might cause the license
server to fail to start.

1. Delete the path to the java.exe executable from the Path user variable.
For instructions, see Removing a Path from the Path Windows User Variable.
2. Add the path to the java.exe executable to the Path system variable.
For instructions, see Adding a Path to the Path Windows System Variable.

6.9. HTTPS Connection Errors

Errors may occur as a result of incorrect configuration of HTTPS for connections between the
management interface and the license server.

6.9.1. Unable to Find Valid Certification Path

This error occurs if your SSL certificate for the license server is self signed or privately
signed and has not been imported into the truststore file. If the truststore file does not
contain your certificate, the JRE disallows connections to the license server because the JRE
cannot determine the CA that signed the certificate. The default truststore file contains only
certificates signed by a public CA.
When the connection to the license server is disallowed, the following error message appears
in the license server management interface:
PKIX path building failed:
sun.security.provider.certpath.SunCertPathBuilderException:
unable to find valid certification path to requested target

To resolve this issue, import the SSL certificate for the license server into the truststore file as
explained in Importing a Self-Signed or Privately Signed Certificate into the Truststore File.

6.9.2. Cannot Recover Key

This error occurs if the keystore password and the keypair password are different. A mismatch
between the keystore password and the keypair password prevents the license server from
starting. The keystore password controls access to the keystore in which a self-signed
certificate is created. The keypair password controls access to the keystore entry for the
certificate. These passwords are set when the self-signed certificate is created.
When this error occurs, the following error message is written to the license server log file:
java.security.UnrecoverableKeyException: Cannot recover key

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To resolve this issue, change either the keystore password or the keypair password to ensure
that both passwords match.

Changing the Keystore Password to Match the Keypair Password

In a Windows Command Prompt window or a Linux shell window, run the following command:
keytool -storepasswd -new keypair-password -keystore keystore-file -storepass current-
keystore-password
keypair-password
The keypair password, to which you are changing the keystore password.
keystore-file
The full path to the keystore file.
current-keystore-password
The current keystore password.

Changing the Keypair Password to Match the Keystore Password

Perform this task in a Windows Command Prompt window or a Linux shell window.
1. Obtain the alias name for accessing the keystore entry for the keypair password you are
changing.
keytool -keystore keystore-file -list -v
keystore-file
The full path to the keystore file.
2. Change the keypair password of the keystore entry whose alias you obtained in the
previous step.
keytool -keypasswd -alias alias -keypass current-keypair-password -new keystore-password
-keystore keystore-file
alias
The alias name that you obtained in the previous step.
current-keypair-password
The current keypair password.
keystore-password
The keystore password, to which you are changing the keypair password.
keystore-file
The full path to the keystore file.

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Chapter 7. Uninstalling the NVIDIA
vGPU Software License
Server

You can uninstall the NVIDIA vGPU software License Server when it is no longer required.

7.1. Uninstalling the NVIDIA vGPU

Software License Server on Windows
1. Start the license server uninstaller.
You can start the license server uninstaller from Windows Control Panel, Windows
Explorer, or a Command Prompt window.
If you start the license server uninstaller from Windows Control Panel or Windows
Explorer, how it runs depends on the mode in which license server software was installed.
If the license server software was installed in console mode, the uninstaller runs in silent
mode. Otherwise, the Configure License Server dialog box opens.
To avoid the possibility of running the license server installer in silent mode, start it from a
Command Prompt window.

‣ In Windows Control Panel, open the Programs and Features pane, select License
Server from the publisher NVIDIA, and click Uninstall/Change.

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Figure 32. Starting the Uninstaller from Windows Control Panel

‣ In Windows Explorer, open the license server installation directory and double-click
the Change License Server Installation application.
The default license server installation folder is %SystemDrive%:\NVIDIA
\LicenseServer.
‣ In a Command Prompt window, change to the license server installation directory and
start the license server installer in interactive console mode.
The default license server installation folder is %SystemDrive%:\NVIDIA
\LicenseServer.
C:\NVIDIA\LicenseServer>"Change License Server Installation.exe" -i console
2. If the Configure License Server dialog box opens, ensure that the Uninstall Product option
is selected and click Next.

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Figure 33. Running the License Server Uninstaller on Windows

3. When prompted, confirm that you want to uninstall the license server and specify whether
you want to uninstall Apache Tomcat.

7.2. Uninstalling the NVIDIA vGPU

Software License Server on Linux
1. Start the license server uninstaller.
a). Change to the license server installation directory.
The default license server installation directory is /opt/flexnetls/nvidia.
[nvidia@localhost ~]$ cd /opt/flexnetls/nvidia
b). As root, run the Change License Server Installation command.
[nvidia@localhost ~]$ sudo ./Change\ License\ Server\ Installation
If the license server software was installed in console mode, the uninstaller runs in
console mode. Otherwise, the Configure License Server window opens.
2. If the Configure License Server window opens, ensure that the Uninstall Product option is
selected and click Next.

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Figure 34. Running the License Server Uninstaller on Linux

3. When prompted, confirm that you want to uninstall the license server.

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Appendix A. Administering the License
Server from the Command
Line

The nvidialsadmin utility provides options for administering the license server from the
command line.
Options are available for the following administrative operations:

‣ Maintaining the license server

‣ Managing administrative security
‣ Viewing features installed on the license server
‣ Monitoring license distribution to clients

A.1. Running the nvidialsadmin Utility

The nvidialsadmin utility is distributed as the nvidialsadmin.bat batch file on Windows
and as the nvidialsadmin.sh shell script on Linux.
Before attempting to run the nvidialsadmin utility, ensure that the JAVA_HOME environment
variable is set to the folder where the Java runtime environment is installed on the license
server host.
Run the nvidialsadmin utility in a Windows or Linux command shell from the folder that
contains the nvidialsadmin.bat batch file or the nvidialsadmin.sh shell script.
The nvidialsadmin utility is contained in the folder license-server-installation-
folder/enterprise.
license-server-installation-folder
The folder in which the license server software is installed.
The default folders for the Windows and Linux platforms are as follows:

‣ Windows: %SystemDrive%:\NVIDIA\LicenseServer\enterprise

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‣ Linux: /opt/flexnetls/nvidia/enterprise

Note:

You must run the nvidialsadmin utility from the folder that contains the
nvidialsadmin.bat batch file or the nvidialsadmin.sh shell script. If you try to run the
utility from another folder by specifying the path to the utility either in the PATH variable or on
the command line, the attempt fails and the following error message is displayed:
Error: Unable to access jarfile nvidialsadmin.jar

A.2. Setting the License Server Base URL

for the nvidialsadmin Utility
All nvidialsadmin commands require the base URL of the license server.
The format of the base URL of the license server is as follows:
scheme://address:port/api/version/instances/~
scheme
The URL scheme, which is either http or https.
address
The address of the license server, which can be a fully-qualified domain name such as
gridlicense1.example.com, or an IP address such as 10.31.20.45.
port
The port number through which the nvidialsadmin utility accesses the licence server. The
default depends on whether scheme is http or https.

‣ For http, the default is 7070.

‣ For https, the default is 443.
version
The API version of the license server, for example, 1.0.
The following examples show the different ways of specifying the address of the license server
in the base URL:

‣ Fully-qualified domain name:

‣ http://gridlicense1.example.com:7070/api/1.0/instances/~
‣ https://gridlicense1.example.com:443/api/1.0/instances/~
‣ IP address:
‣ http://10.31.20.45:7070/api/1.0/instances/~
‣ https://10.31.20.45:443/api/1.0/instances/~

Set the license server base URL for the nvidialsadmin utility in one of the following ways:

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‣ Globally for all nvidialsadmin commands by specifying the FLEXNETLS_BASEURL

environment variable
‣ Individually in each nvidialsadmin command by setting the -server option

A.3. Getting Help for the nvidialsadmin

Utility
For details about the nvidialsadmin utility and its options, get help information for the utility
by entering the following command in a command shell on the license server host:
nvidialsadmin -help

A.4. Authenticating with the License

Server
When administrative security is enabled for the license server, the -authorize option with
your credentials must be the first option that you specify in any nvidialsadmin command.

‣ To provide your password in the command, specify the credentials as follows:

nvidialsadmin -authorize username password

‣ To be prompted for your password and avoid typing the password in clear text in the
command, provide the -passwordConsoleInput option .
nvidialsadmin -authorize username -passwordConsoleInput

username
Your user name for authenticating with the license server.
password
Your password for authenticating with the license server.

Note: If you specify the wrong credentials more than three times, your license server user
account is blocked for 10 minutes and a message similar to the following example is displayed:
Too many failed logins for user admin on instance WX0EDD7ALYMN.
Logins will be blocked for 10 minutes

A.5. Checking the Status of the License

Server
You can perform a status check to confirm that the license server is running correctly.
This check tells you whether the license server is active and provides additional information,
such as:

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‣ Version information for the license server

‣ The URLs for the main license server and, if HA is configured for the license server, the
back-up license server
Perform this task in a command shell on the license server host.

Note: For clarity, required options for authenticating the administrator user and specifying the
license server URL are omitted from this example.

Run the nvidialsadmin utility with the -status option.

nvidialsadmin -status
Version : 2020.10.0
Build Version : 266004
Server : http://localhost:7070/api/1.0/instances/~/
State : Ready
Backup Server : Not Configured

A.6. Listing Features Installed on the

License Server
Perform this task in a command shell on the license server host.

Note: For clarity, required options for authenticating the administrator user and specifying the
license server URL are omitted from this example.

Run the nvidialsadmin utility with the -features option.

nvidialsadmin -features
=====================================================================================
Name Version Count Type Expiration Start Date
=====================================================================================
Quadro-Virtual-DWS 5.0 5 CONCURRENT permanent 2020-06-30

Total number of features : 1

A.7. Listing the Distribution of License

Server Features
Perform this task in a command shell on the license server host.

Note: For clarity, required options for authenticating the administrator user and specifying the
license server URL are omitted from this example.

Run the nvidialsadmin utility with the -licenses and -verbose options.
nvidialsadmin -licenses -verbose
=====================================================================================
Feature Name Version Count Used/Available Expiration Start Date

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=====================================================================================
Quadro-Virtual-DWS 5.0 5 1/4 permanent 2020-06-30

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Client Alias Feature / Used Counts
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ETHERNET/00059A3C7A00 vgpu-ls-1.example.com Quadro-Virtual-DWS/1

Total of all feature counts : 5

Number of installed features : 1
Number of "uncounted" features : 0
Total of used feature counts : 1

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Appendix B. Basic Windows OS
Administration Tasks

Some tasks for installing, configuring, and managing the NVIDIA vGPU software license server
involve basic Windows OS administration tasks such as setting system variables or adding a
path to the Path system variable.

B.1. Setting a Windows System Variable

The license server uses system variables for items such as the location of the JRE libraries
and executable files, the location of the trusted storage database, and the base URL for the
nvidialsadmin utility.
The tasks explained in the following topics involve setting a Windows system variable:

‣ Installing the Java Runtime Environment on Windows

‣ Upgrading the NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server and Migrating to OpenJDK on
Windows
‣ Restoring the Trusted Storage Database from a Backup on Windows
‣ Setting the License Server Base URL for the nvidialsadmin Utility
1. Click the magnifying glass in the toolbar and in the search box type environment.
2. When Edit the system environment variables appears in the search results, click Open.
3. In the Advanced tab of the System Properties window that opens, click Environment
Variables.

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4. In the Environment Variables window that opens, under System variables, click New.

Note: Ensure that you click New under System variables, not under User variables.

5. In the New System Variable window that opens, type name of the system variable in the
Variable name field and the value in the Variable value field and click OK.

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The following table shows names and sample values to type for setting the location of the
JRE libraries and executable files, the location of the trusted storage database, and the
base URL for the nvidialsadmin utility.
Item Variable name Variable value Example
The location of the JAVA_HOME C:\Program Files\ojdkbuild\java-1.8.0-
JRE libraries and openjdk-1.8.0.212-1\jre
executable files
The location of the TRUSTED_STORAGE_DIR C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles
trusted storage \NetworkService\flexnetls\nvidia
database
The base URL for FLEXNETLS_BASEURL http://gridlicense1.example.com:7070/
the nvidialsadmin api/1.0/instances/~
utility

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6. In the Environment Variables window, click OK and then in the System Properties window,
click OK.

B.2. Adding a Path to the Path Windows

System Variable
The Path system variable must contain the path to the executable file of any software that you
install on which the license server depends, for example, java.exe. The installer may have
already added this path for you.
The task explained in Installing the Java Runtime Environment on Windows involves adding a
path to the Path Windows system variable.

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4. In the Environment Variables window that opens, under System variables, select Path and
click Edit.

Note: Ensure that you select Path and click Edit under System variables, not under User
variables.

5. In the Edit environment variable window that opens, determine whether the path that you
want to add is already listed, for example, C:\Program Files\ojdkbuild\java-1.8.0-
openjdk-1.8.0.242-1\bin for the path to the java.exe executable file.

‣ If the path is listed, click OK.

‣ If the path is not listed, click New, type the path in the text field that is activated, and
click OK.

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6. In the Environment Variables window, click OK and then in the System Properties window,
click OK.

B.3. Deleting a Windows User Variable

During troubleshooting of a license server failure after installation, upgrade, or migration of
the JRE, you might need to delete a Windows user variable that was inadvertently set instead
of a system variable.

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4. In the Environment Variables window that opens, under User variables, select the variable
that you want to delete, and click Delete.

5. In the Environment Variables window, click OK and then in the System Properties window,
click OK.

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B.4. Removing a Path from the Path

Windows User Variable
During troubleshooting of a license server failure after installation, upgrade, or migration
of the JRE, you might need to remove a path that was inadvertently added to the Path user
variable instead of to the Path system variable.

4. In the Environment Variables window that opens, under User variables, select Path and
click Edit.
5. In the Edit environment variable window that opens, select the path to the java.exe
executable file, for example, C:\Program Files\ojdkbuild\java-1.8.0-
openjdk-1.8.0.201-1\bin, and click Delete.

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6. In the Environment Variables window, click OK and then in the System Properties window,
click OK.

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