IBM Rational License Key Server 8.1.6 has been made generally available and contains new features as well as fixes for customer-reported and internally found defects.
Table of Contents
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Description |
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The Change history section provides an overview on what is new in this release with a description of any new functions or enhancements when applicable.
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The How critical is this fix section provides information related to the impact of this release to allow you to assess how your environment may be affected.
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The Prerequisites section provides important information to review prior to the installation of this release.
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The Download package section provides the direct link to obtain the download package for installation in your environment.
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The Installation instructions section provides the installation instructions necessary to apply this release into your environment.
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The Known side effects section contains a link to the known problems (open defects) identified at the time of this release.
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Supporting Documentation
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Description |
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Click to review the detailed system requirements information for a complete list of hardware requirements, supported operating systems, prerequisites and optional supported software, with component-level details and operating system restrictions.
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IBM Knowledge Center provides an entry point to product documentation. You can view, browse, and search online information related to the product.
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Click to review a complete list of the defects (APARs) resolved in this release including a list of resolved defects for the entire version family.
For fixes for security vulnerabilities, see Security Bulletin.
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Attention: Rational License Key Server Administration and Reporting Tool (ART) and IBM Rational License Key Server Administration Agent MUST BE CONFIGURED according to the following hardware and software specifications. Otherwise, failure may occur during license administration and usage reporting.
Prerequisites include:
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Version of IBM Installation Manager required: IBM Installation Manager 1.8.9.
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Additional notes: Upgrade the agent and ART to version 8.1.6 to obtain the RFE and improvements that are included in this release.
Important: If you are upgrading ART from version 8.1.5 or higher version to 8.1.6, you must upgrade the ART component first, before you upgrade the agent. You can upgrade to version 8.1.6 using the IBM Installation Manager Update option.
If the 8.1.5 agent is configured with ART, when you upgrade to 8.1.6, the tool shows the reporting status as Not Running. When you select Start reporting for the first time, the log file conversion process begins. Depending on the size of your server log file, the process can take awhile for the initial conversion of the data. The system must convert the data in the entire log to the required format.
Hardware requirements
Rational License Key Server Administration and Reporting Tool
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Disk space: 100 GB
Rational License Key Server Administration Agent
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Disk space: 50 GB
Software requirements
Web browser requirement for Rational License Key Server Administration and Reporting Tool
- Mozilla Firefox: 10 ESR and future fix packs
- Microsoft Internet Explorer version 11 and above Important: Switch to Standard View by clicking Tools > Developer tools to work with ART. Internet Explorer does not render ART properly in Compatibility View.
Rational License Key Server
- Operating systems: ONLY 64-BIT ARCHITECTURE OF AIX, LINUX AND WINDOWS OPERATING SYSTEMS ARE SUPPORTED.
Rational License Key Server Administration and Reporting Tool
- Operating systems: ONLY 64-BIT OPERATING SYSTEMS ARE SUPPORTED.
Rational License Key Server Administration Agent
- Installation prerequisite: The Server Administration Agent MUST BE COLLOCATED with the license server.
- Operating Systems: All operating systems supported by Rational License Key Server (version 8.1.6).
Other
Special characters supported by reports
- For a list of special characters that are supported by reports in ART, see the technical document.
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Before you proceed with the installation of the Rational License Key Server for 8.1.6, ensure that you have met all prerequisites.
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Instructions for installing the Rational License Key Server Agent
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- Download the IBM_RLKS_Administration_And_Reporting_Agent_816.zip media file from the IBM Fix Central.
- Create a temporary directory (for example, ../agent-installer/816/) and extract the downloaded zip file into this directory.
- Complete one of these steps:
- Install the Installation Manager Version 1.8.6 or later if it is not installed.
- Update the Installation Manager if the installed version is Installation Manager V1.8.5 or earlier.
The Installation Manager restarts after completing the installation process.
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Open the Installation Manager, add extracted location of downloaded media file, File > Preferences > Repositories, and click Ok.
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From the main Installation Manager window, click Install.
- In Install Packages window, select the Rational License Key Server Administration Agent > Version 8.1.6 package and click Next.
- Accept the license agreement and click Next.
- Select Create a new package group to create a package group to install the agent into and click Next.
The agent is supported on 32-bit and 64-bit computers. By default, the package is installed in this directory location:
- Windows: C:\Program Files\IBM\RCL\RLKSAdminAgent
- UNIX: /opt/IBM/RCL/RLKSAdminAgent
Note: Because multiple installations of the agent can be installed on one machine, the installer installs each agent with a profile name that reflects the order of its installation. For example, if two agents are installed on one machine, the profile name of the first agent installation is IBM RLKS Administration Agent. The profile name of the second agent installation is IBM RLKS Administration Agent_1.
- Select required languages to install the server administration agent package and click Next.
- Select IBM Rational License Key Server Administration Agent feature to proceed with agent installation and click Next.
Use the applicable table in Agent configuration to determine the server type, server location, license server log file, and license files.
- Specify the port number that the agent will run on. You must install an agent for each license server on the computer. If you select a port number that is already in use, Installation Manager alerts you with an error message. If you receive this error, select another port number.
- Select the license server type:
- Rational License Key Server
- CLM server - Floating licenses
- CLM server - Authorized user licenses
- Perform one of the following actions:
- Windows with License server type selected as RLKS:Select a Windows service name from the list of the Rational License Key Server license server services that are installed on the machine. Selecting a service displays the corresponding location of RLKS, location of the lmgrd.log file, and location of license files as read only information. If you do not want to use this service, or if you want to manually provide user input, from the list, select --Configure manually--.
- For platforms other than Windows, with License server type selected as RLKS:Select a Rational License Key Server installation location from the list of servers that are installed on the machine. Selecting an installation location populates these corresponding input fields: Location of RLKS, Location of the lmgrd.log file, and location of license files.
- If you are not using the pre-populated values, you must enter the location of the Rational License Key Server (lmgrd application) that you want to administer with the Rational License Key Server Administration and Reporting Tool. You can either browse for the license server location or enter the location. By default, Rational License Key Server is installed in one of these directories:
- Windows: C:\Program Files\IBM\RationalRLKS\common
- Linux:/opt/IBM/RationalRLKS/bin
- If you are not using the pre-populated values, you must enter the location of the license server log file. The agent uses the log file to gather license usage data. The reporting tool uses the log files to generate reports. You can either browse for the license server log file or enter the location.
- Specify the license key file that is configured with the selected Rational License Key Server. You can select multiple files. For Windows operating systems, separate multiple license files with semicolons (;). For Linux operating systems, separate the names with colons (:).
- Click Next.
- Review the installation summary and then click Install. A summary list of installed packages displays.
- Once installation process completes, click Finish to close the Installation Manager.
- Select IBM Rational License Key Server Administration Agent to start the application. The agent is installed by default as a Windows service and can be configured as a service on UNIX platforms. If you select None in this step, you can start the application manually as a Windows or UNIX service. See Starting Rational License Key Server Administration and Reporting Tool on system startup.
Instructions for upgrading the Rational License Key Server Agent
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- From IBM Fix Central, download the IBM_RLKS_Administration_And_Reporting_Agent_816.zip media files.
- Create a temporary directory (for example, ../816) and extract the downloaded zip into this directory.
- Launch Installation Manager in wizard.
- In Installation Manager, click File->Preferences->Repositories and add location of the 816\RLKS_ADMIN_AGENT\disk1\diskTag.inf file in the extracted directory of downloaded media file.
- Click Apply and OK.
- From the main Installation Manager window, Click Update.
- Select the package group Rational License Key Server Administration Agent that you want to update.
- Click Next.
- Select the refresh pack Version 8.1.6 that you want to update and click Next.
- Accept the license agreement, and proceed further to complete the update.
Instructions for installing the Rational License Key Server Administration and Reporting Tool
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The Installation Manager restarts after completing the installation process.
- Download the IBM_RLKS_Administration_And_Reporting_Tool_816.zip media file from the IBM Fix Central.
- Create a temporary directory (for example, ../ART-installer/816/) and extract the downloaded zip file into this directory.
- Complete one of these steps:
- Install the Installation Manager Version 1.8.6 or later if it is not installed.
- Update the Installation Manager if the installed version is Installation Manager V1.8.5 or earlier.
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Open the Installation Manager, add extracted location of downloaded media file, File > Preferences > Repositories, and click Ok.
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From the main Installation Manager window, click Install.
- In Install Packages window, select the Rational License Key Server Administration and Reporting Tool > Version 8.1.6 package and click Next.
- Accept the license agreement and click Next.
- Select Create a new package group to create a package group to install the reporting tool into and click Next.
The reporting tool is supported on 64-bit computers. By default, the package is installed in this directory location:
- Windows: C:\Program Files\IBM\RCL\RLKSAdmin
- UNIX: /opt/IBM/RCL/RLKSAdmin
Note: Rational License Key Server Administration and Reporting Tool and IBM Rational License Key Server Administration Agent cannot be installed in the same directory.
- Select required languages to install the server administration reporting tool package and click Next.
- Select Rational License Key Server Administration and Reporting Tool feature to proceed with reporting tool installation and click Next.
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Review the installation summary and then click Install. A summary list of installed packages displays.
- Once installation process completes, click Finish to close the Installation Manager.
- Select Rational License Key Server Administration and Reporting Tool to start the application. The reporting tool is installed by default as a Windows service and can be configured as a service on UNIX platforms. If you select None in this step, you can start the application manually as a Windows or UNIX service. See Starting Rational License Key Server Administration and Reporting Tool on system startup.
Instructions for upgrading the Rational License Key Server Administration and Reporting Tool
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- From IBM Fix Central, download the IBM_RLKS_Administration_And_Reporting_Tool_816.zip media files.
- Create a temporary directory (for example, ../816) and extract the downloaded zip into this directory.
- Launch Installation Manager in wizard.
- In Installation Manager, click File->Preferences->Repositories and add location of the 816\RLKS_ADMIN\disk1\diskTag.inf file in the extracted directory of downloaded media file.
- Click Apply and OK.
- From the main Installation Manager window, Click Update.
- Select the package group Rational License Key Server Administration and Reporting Tool that you want to update.
- Click Next.
- Select the refresh pack Version 8.1.6 that you want to update and click Next.
- Accept the license agreement, and proceed further to complete the update.
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Back to top
The following sections provide detailed information related to this release.
Click the FC link below to obtain the release from Fix Central.
Impact Assessment
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Description |
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Corrective
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This release is a service release of Rational License Key Server. It contains new features as well as fixes for client-reported and internally found defects.
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Definitions
Regression: An error in the Maintenance Delivery Vehicle (MDV) that produces incorrect or unexpected behavior causing a supported feature to stop functioning as designed.
This includes:
- Coding errors that cause a regression
- Documentation or packaging problems that cause a regression
- Errors reported in a new function delivered in a MDV that cause a regression
Incomplete: An error in the MDV has not regressed, but does not work as designed.
This includes:
- Fixed APARs which did not solve the original problem but did not break anything new
- APARs reporting documentation errors, such as readme errors, that cause problems applying an MDV but do not lead to a regression
Notes:
- Regression and incomplete APARs are considered fix-in-error or MDV-in-error
- Definitions above apply only to valid APARs that result in product fixes (APARs returned as working-as-designed are not assessed for being fix-in-error)
- Issues in major releases due to new functionality do not apply in this definition
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There are no known regressions to report.
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Defects resolved
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Click the Fix List link in the table of contents above to review a list of the problems solved in this release.
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The following are known limitations in this release:
- On the Live Reports page, if a username contains multiple words, only the first word is displayed.
- On the Live Reports page, the CLM products usage records do not consider the Role information. The highest Token count among the Token counts for each Role of the respective products is displayed under the "Tokens per license" column.
- If there are more than a thousand check-outs at a license server and the Rational License Key Administration Agent is processing them as part of the Conversion cycle, the Live Reports page may not show any information. You can refresh the page after few minutes.
- If same license definitions are present in more than one license files and all these license files are being used by the license server, the quantity of license as shown in the License Details report may be more than the actual available quantity of license.
- When you start or stop the server from a redundant server triad and if the network connectivity is poor, the license server status and therefore the reporting operation might be incorrect.
- When you run a report after saving it on the create report definition page, the report definition name does not appear in the exported parameters file.
- In the Linux operating system, when you import the license and restart the license server, Rational License Key Server Administration and Reporting Tool displays the following error:
Could not start license server.
You must start the server manually after some time by clicking Actions > Start Server.
- For the scenarios with a charge back group where duplicate users have different cases. If you generate a group based charge back report with this group and the user name case sensitivity is Off, the information in the report for such duplicate users generates incorrectly.
- For "Rational Rhapsody Architect for Software" and "Rational Rhapsody Tool & Utilities" products, you may see a difference of token counts between the token value and the user based reports. Because of this difference the license hours in user based report cannot be matched with the product usage hours in the token value report.
- The data displayed in "License Hours" column for user based report and "Product Usage Hours" column for token value report for the same set of parameters may be inaccurate. This inaccuracy arises when the products are CLMs and a user has re-attempted the login after a web session timeout.
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Open defects
Review the following list of open defects for Rational License Key Server on the IBM Support Portal.
Review technote 1461170: Open APARs for Rational products available on the Web for information on how to configure your MyNotifications subscription account and subscribe to the APARs you are interested in following.
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What's new
- The FlexNet publisher used in IBM Rational License Key Server has been upgraded to V11.16.2. The upgrade has several improvements from the FlexNet publisher toolkit including fixes for Lingered licenses and security vulnerability.
- The server binaries are built using 64-bit architecture that has improved server performance.
- By default, the IBM Rational License Key Server Administration Agent uses log files rather than traditional server debug logs. The new log files are called Hook Logs and the vendor daemon generates and controls these logs directly. It has the following benefits:
- You can log license activities with much stronger control and monitoring.
- Reduced (almost zero) chances of missing check-in or check-out information due to reasons like high volume of activity, frequent server restarts.
- More accurate data conversion on such controlled and monitored log data that results in more accurate reports.
- The default display name for Rational License Key Server Windows Service has been changed to "IBM Rational License Key Server".
- The IBM Rational License Key Server Windows Service now has a description text explaining the purpose it serves.
- New products have been added to the coverage of SLM tags generation by IBM Rational License Key Server Administration and Reporting Tool.
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Here is a list of Knowledge Center topics created/updated for 8.1.6 version:
Deprecated items
- Only 64-bit architecture version of Windows, AIX, and Linux operating systems support IBM Rational License Key Server V8.1.6.
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On
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