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Quickstart

This page contains everything necessary to make use of the license server. The license server should be easy to use, even if you have no CLI experience. All options are controlled by graphical menu's with simple arrow keys, enter for accepting and spacebar for selecting.

Environment variable on clients

Be sure to set the VINKVFXLS environment variable on all clients that are going to use licenses from this server.

The value should be set according to this format: IP@PORT

A valid value would be for example: 

VINKVFXLS=192.168.1.10@5082

Firewall rules

Be sure to have appropriate firewall rules that make it possible for client machines to connect to the license server. It needs to have the license port (by default 5082) open for TCP connections.

Here are some examples listed for port forwarding the specific ports on your server:

RHEL

sudo firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-port=5082/tcp --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-port=5083/tcp --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Windows

netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="vinkvfxls licenses 5082" dir=in action=allow protocol=TCP localport=5082
netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="vinkvfxls API 5083" dir=in action=allow protocol=TCP localport=5083

Internet connection

For automatic subscription updating, the license server needs to be able to reach these two addresses:

  • https://api.vinkvfx.com/
  • https://api.keygen.sh/

Offline activation

While you can install licenses offline, it is recommended to install it automatically. If you are using a monthly subscription you would otherwise have to manually install the license each month.

It is recommended to let the server have an internet connection, due to automatic updating of licenses. The server itself does not need to reach any of the local network. The server can for example be placed within an IoT VLAN that has internet access.

License management

This menu is called using vinkvfxls -m. 

vinkvfxls -m
2024-09-12T15:02:52.559462Z  INFO Starting license management utility...    
? What do you want to do?  
> Install license (recommended, internet required)
  Install license (offline)
  Deactivate license (internet required)
  Reset all license data
[↑↓ to move, enter to select, type to filter]

License installation

License installation (using offline methods)

To use the offline activation, choose the offline installation option in the management menu: 

vinkvfxls -m

Steps to take

  1. Create license request file. This is done on the license server using the management option.
  2. Once created, don't close the application. Keep it open until you've finished activation.
  3. Transfer the created request file to another machine that is able to use the internet.
  4. Visit activation.vinkvfx.com. Enter your license key and upload the request file. (Be aware this might take a while to connect initially as the server is dynamically scaled based on activity.)
  5. Transfer the retrieved activation file to the license server.
  6. Enter the path to the activation file.
  7. Activation is completed!

The video shows the entire process in around 30 seconds. However, be sure to have one machine available with internet. You can transfer the request file using an usb-stick for example to the machine with internet, and activate it there. Once you got the file

Info

If you have an active internet connection, use the other method as that will do everything automatically for you.

License deactivation

Whenever you want to transfer the licenses to another machine, be sure to deactivate it using the machine that has the license installed. This can be done using the deactivation option. You can select here which license you want to deactivate.

Resetting of data

If, for whatever reason, there seems to be an unrecoverable error with the installed licenses, you can use this option. It will remove all license files locally. After this, you can re-install the licenses using the installation license options.

Configure settings

The settings of the license server can be altered using the configuration panel. You can retrieve this panel using this command: 

vinkvfxls -c

Settings that can be changed are:

  • Port for serving licenses (this should be the port that is also set in the VINKVFXLS environment variable)
  • Port for the REST API
  • Log to file
  • Path to write log file

Starting the server

The server can be started by running the vinkvfxls command without any arguments. If licenses are installed it should take a few seconds for the server to be able to serve licenses.

Once started, you can visit its IP address and the REST API port, to verify it is working. Success

Troubleshooting

If there has been an issue with the configuration which makes the license server unable to boot, run vinkvfxls -r to reset all configuration data.