Network Installation

License Agreement

For network installations, Stat-Ease requires that you limit the number of concurrent users to the number of seats you have purchased. We provide a license server for that purpose.

System Requirements

Minimum hardware and operating system requirements:

Component	Minimum
Hard Drive	100 MB free space
Operating System	Windows Server 2008 or newer Linux x86 (64 or 32-bit)

May be installed on a virtual server that is assigned a static ethernet MAC address.

License Server Installation

The steps for network installation are:

1. Copy the files in the Network Bundle to a folder on the license server.

2. Activate your licenses by running dex_activate.exe.

3. Install RLM as service.

4. Install Stat-Ease on the client machines.

Network Bundle

The license server, Reprise License Manager (RLM), handles license requests from client machines. If you do not already have a version of RLM running on your network you will need to install the license server. This can be done by downloading the latest Network Bundle from the Downloads & Updates page and extracting it in a folder of your choosing. If you already have a version of RLM running, you should download the files to a separate directory, stop the RLM service, and copy the files statease.set and rlm.exe to your existing RLM directory, to update. Then restart RLM.

Activate

A command-line utility, dex_activate.exe, has been provided to aid in activating the license server. If the server that the license server has been installed on has an internet connection, simply run the utility and enter the serial number for the license when prompted. The Stat-Ease activation server will be contacted and your license will be downloaded to a file named dex.lic in the same directory.

For potential solutions to problems with activation see the Troubleshooting section below.

Install RLM as a service

To install RLM as a service, at the command prompt, navigate to the directory rlm.exe resides in and run:

rlm.exe -dlog +C:\Path\to\log\server.log -install_service

replacing \Path\to\log\ with the directory you will store the logfile that debug information is written out to. You will then need to start the service which can be done by entering the following at the command prompt:

sc start rlm

For details, see the Operation section of Network Installation Notes below.

Install Stat-Ease on client machines

To install Stat-Ease, download and run the latest installer from our Downloads & Updates page. See the Client Install section below for details.

Workstation Setup

In many cases, all the client will need to do is install DX23.1. On startup, the program will broadcast to find the license server and request a license. If the client machine has trouble connecting with the license server, it may be necessary to provide a HOST-line-only license file (see Other Considerations below).

You can generate a HOST-line-only license file by switching to a network license on the License Options dialog (if you see the Use network license option on the dialog) then entering the server name in the entry field and clicking OK. If the license server is using a different port number than the default 5053, you can specify that by entering the name in the format server_name:port_number.

Roaming Licenses

If permitted by the license server, floating licenses can be allowed to roam away from the network. The license is checked out from the server using the roaming option on a computer which will then be able to run the program for a limited time disconnected from the network. While the license is roaming, it will use up one seat of the network license for the number of days specified when it is checked out. The roaming license can be returned early if it is no longer needed.

To roam a license on a client machine, start the program normally while connected to the network and choose Roaming Options… under the Help menu. Enter the number of days the license is to be roamed up to the maximum roaming days allowed by the server (the default is 30 but may be less at the discretion of the License Administrator). The program can now be run disconnected from the network for that number of days.

For example, if 1 is entered for days to roam, the roaming license will be good until midnight of the following day. Clicking on the early check-in checkbox in the same dialog while the computer is connected to the network will return the license early.

Refer to the RLM License Administration Manual for more details.

Providing a HOST-Line-Only License

Note that if a different port than the default 5053 is specified for the server, the client’s machine may also need a HOST-line-only license file that specifies the correct port. Otherwise, the client may not be able to check in roaming licenses early. This file should have the format:

HOST server_name ANY port_number

It should be named host.lic and placed in the client’s common application data folder which will typically be C:\ProgramData\Stat-Ease\Stat-Ease 23.1\.

This file can be generated on the client machine by running Stat-Ease. See the Workstation Setup section above for details.

License Agreement

Once launched, the installation program loads and displays the license agreement shown above. Read the agreement. If you accept the terms, check the box labeled “I Accept…” and press Next to continue. If the terms are not acceptable to you, choose Cancel to abort the installation.

Installation Steps

Should you accept, a Custom Setup dialog box appears offering you the choice to customize your installation and to choose the destination folder.

Consider registering the software online. You will be given an opportunity to do so the first time you launch the activated program.

How to Uninstall the Program

To uninstall Stat-Ease, use the Programs and Features utility found in your Windows Control Panel. Select Stat-Ease 23.1 from the list and follow the instructions to remove the program.

Operation

To run the license server, place the dex.lic license file (see Activation section above) in the same directory as rlm.exe and, from an elevated command prompt run

rlm.exe > OUTPUT_FILE

where OUTPUT_FILE is the name of a logfile. This is useful for testing but you will probably want to run the license server as a service instead. To do this, run

rlm.exe -dlog LOGFILE -install_service -service_name SNAME -ws PORT

where LOGFILE is a required logfile name, SNAME is an optional logfile name and service name (RLM, if the service_name flag is omitted), and PORT is the port the web interface will run on (5054 by default, if the -ws flag is omitted). You will then need to start the service which can be done with the following command:

sc start rlm

Note that you will need administrative privileges on the host machine to execute the above commands.

For more information see Running the RLM server as a service on Windows in the RLM License Administration Manual.

In addition to writing out a logfile, the license server can be monitored via the RLM embedded web server which is started automatically on port 5054 when rlm.exe is launched. To access this, simply point your browser to: http://ServerHostName:5054. You may also use this interface to set options and perform various maintenance tasks. See RLM License Administration Manual for details.

Virtual Server

You may run the license server on a virtual machine as long as the Ethernet MAC address is not dynamically allocated. RLM requires a static Host ID which on a virtual machine would typically be the Ethernet MAC address.

License File

The license file ends in .lic (by default is named dex.lic) and should be placed in the license server binary directory. If you wish to use a different location you must set the RLM_LICENSE environmental variable. See RLM License Administration Manual for details.

Note that the client does not need access to this license file, only to the license server. You may supply a HOST-line-only license file to the client that points the client to the license server. If license server is using the default port number, the file may have the format:

HOST server_name

If the port number is not the default, it should have the format:

HOST servername ANY port_number

It should be named host.lic and placed in the client’s common application data folder which will typically be C:\ProgramData\Stat-Ease\Stat-Ease 23.1\.

Activation Errors

Cannot connect to activation server

This error can be caused by the presence of a proxy server or simply the lack of an internet connection.

Proxy server

If you are using a proxy server you will need to set two environmental variables before running dex-activate.exe:

• HTTP_PROXY should be set to the host name. Use the form host_name:port_number if the port number used by the proxy is not the default 8080.

• HTTP_PROXY_CREDENTIALS should be set to the username and password (user_name:password). Note that only BASIC authentication type is supported.

No internet connection

If there is no internet connection, run the dex_activate utility with the argument /showhostid or run rlmhostid.exe in the utilities folder. This will display the host id. Copy this down and copy the dex_activate utility to a computer with an internet connection. Run it with the argument /hostid=HOSTID, where HOSTID is the previously reported host id for the license server machine. Enter the serial number when prompted and copy the dex.lic file to the license server executable directory.

Alternatively, send an email with the serial number, server name, and the host id information to support@statease.com and we will send an activated license file back. Place this file in the license server executable directory.

Unable to create/write license file

If the license file does not get saved properly when activating, you may be able to retrieve it from your account at the Stat-Ease web site. Go to Software Licenses under My Account and click on the Manual Activation button. Enter in the Host ID for the license server (see No internet connection above). The last fulfillment for this license will be displayed. Copy the text and paste into a text editor. Save this to a file named dex.lic and copy this to the license server executable directory.

Alternative activation method

The web interface built into RLM can also be used to activate a license. The downside to this method is that the serial number will not be written to license file so it will not be reported to the users. The procedure for this method is:

1. First run rlm.exe then point a browser to the server using port 5054 (e.g., if the server host name is LicServer, point the browser to LicServer:5054). This will bring up the RLM web interface)

2. Click on the Activate License button, then click Begin License Activation.

3. For the ISV activation website enter: activate.statease.com.

4. For the ISV enter: statease (all lowercase), for License activation key enter the serial including dashes.

5. Leave the License Server or Node-lock hostid: field as is but enter the number of network seats for License count.

6. Edit the filename portion of the license file path to be dex.lic.

7. Review Activation Request Data table and if all is in order, click REQUEST LICENSE.

Operation Issues

Product not supported error with license server

If the clients report this error, check that the following is true:

1. There is a dex.lic file and a statease.set file in the license server folder.

2. The license has not expired.

3. The product in the license matches the client program: designexpert for Design-Expert and se360 for Stat-Ease 360.

4. The version number in the license is not less than the version being run on the client.

5. The Host ID in the license matches the Host ID of the server.

The Host ID for the license can be found on the HOST line immediately following the server name. To find the Host ID of the server, at the command prompt, run dex_activate.exe /showhostid or, alternatively, run rlmhostid.exe in the utilities folder. The product name, version number, and expiration date can be found on the LICENSE line immediately following the ISV name (statease).

Communications error with license server

If the clients report this error, try the following steps:

1. Check that RLM is running on the server machine. If installed as a service, check that the service is started in Services (e.g., under Adminstrative Tools in the Control Panel).

2. Verify that RLM is reachable from the client machine by pointing the browser to the web interface (ServerHostName:5054).

3. Check that port 5053 is open and available on both the server and the client machine. If 5053 is not available, edit the port number in the dex.lic file on the server and the host.lic file on the client to an available port.