Introduction
If your organization uses ANSYS products across multiple workstations, a network (floating/concurrent) license setup is often the most efficient way to get maximum value. This blog explains how to configure the ANSYS License Manager to serve licenses over your internal network, so client machines can check out licenses from the server, share them, and you avoid “one-machine per license” lockdown.
Note: While we'll guide you through the License Manager Setup, it's not within our scope to configure your VPN, firewall rules, subnets or LAN connectivity. These are network-infrastructure tasks that your IT or network provider must handle. Without proper internal connectivity between clients and license server, the network licensing model cannot function.
Step-by-Step Guide: Setting Up a Network License Server
1. Choose and prepare your license server machine
- Select a dedicated machine (Windows or Linux) that will host the License Manager.
- Ensure it has a fixed hostname or IP address that client machines will reference.
- Make sure you have administrator (Windows) or root (Linux) access.
- Ensure the server has access to the license file once generated and can host the licensing service. The license files format are *.lic. If you have not received a license and you have active entitlements, you can follow step 3.
2. Download & install the ANSYS License Manager
- On the server, download the “ANSYS License Manager” installer from the ANSYS Customer Portal / licensing site customer.ansys.com or at www.agi.com/download
- On Windows: Run the Setup, follow installation wizard.
- On Linux: Extract the installer, run ./INSTALL, or for silent install use -silent -LM etc.
- Ansys Linux Install Guide
- After installation, you’ll have the License Management Center UI (web interface) to manage the license manager. Ansys License Management Guide
3. (If you have a License, skip this) Generate the license file
- Log into your ANSYS Licensing Portal and activate the entitlement for your HostID (server’s MAC address or Disk Serial) to generate the license file. Ansys Optics
- Download the resulting license file (.lic or similar).
- In the License Management Center on your server choose “Add a license file” and install it.
4. Configure the License Manager for shared access (network)
- Within the License Manager, configure static ports or ensure the default port is open (1055 for ANSYS FlexNet) so clients can connect.
- Ensure the server is set to “shared access” so that licenses may be checked out by multiple client machines.
- If you plan redundancy, triad servers or fallback, you can configure multiple servers in client settings.
5. Configure network / firewall / client access
- Ensure client systems can reliably communicate with the license server—whether through proper firewall configuration, VPN, or routed network setup—so they can resolve the server and access the required license ports (e.g., TCP 1055).
- To verify, a simple test is a good first check to confirm network connectivity between the client and the license server. Here’s a simple verification step you can include:From the client machine, open a PowerShell and run:Windows PowerShell:Test-NetConnection <ServerName or IP> -Port 1055
- If that command returns TcpTestSucceeded : True, then the client can reach the license service itself.
- As noted above: support cannot configure your network infrastructure (VPN, firewall, LAN segmentation) — that is up to your network provider/IT team.
6. Configure client machines
- On each client workstation, launch the ANSYS Client Licensing Settings utility (or equivalent) and:
- Enable Client Licensing.
- Enter the port and hostname of the license server (e.g., 1055 and licenseserver.domain.com ).
- Click “Test” to verify connectivity. (Green check is present to verify the connection)
- Save settings and start STK/ODTK products.
- If you have multiple license servers/fallback, you can list more than one in client settings.
7. Verify license server status & usage
- On the license server, open the License Management Center → Diagnostics → “Display FlexNet License Status” to view current checked-out features.
- Verify that clients can open ANSYS products and check out licenses.
- Monitor usage and ensure license availability meets your concurrency needs.
Useful Resources & Official Documentation
- ANSYS License Manager installation guide (Windows) — [Installation guide Windows] Ansys Optics
- ANSYS License Manager installation guide (Linux) — [Installation guide Linux] Ansys Optics
- Configuring the license manager for shared access – [Shared access article] Ansys Optics
- Client licensing settings utility – [Client settings guide] Ansys Optics+1
- FlexNet licensing overview & system requirements – [FlexNet overview] SimuTech
- ANSYS licensing portal & resources – [Licensing resources] Ansys
Why a License Server Needs More Than "Internet Connected"
- A machine simply being connected to the Internet does not guarantee it can act as a network license server. The client workstations must be able to directly reach the server machine (by hostname or IP) on the correct port(s). Ansys Optics+3SimuTech+3Ansys Optics+3
- The product manager (FlexNet/ANSYS) checks out licenses from the server and expects network-visibility—not just “internet access.” SimuTech
- Therefore, you must ensure internal connectivity (same LAN or routed subnet/VPN) and open relevant ports. External support (e.g., cloud/Internet only) may not suffice unless configured as a dedicated network license cloud service.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: Can client machines just connect via the Internet to the license server?
A: No — simply being Internet-connected is not enough. The client must be able to reach the server on the internal network (or VPN) with the correct port and hostname. Without that internal network visibility, the license checkout will fail.
Q: What is the default port number for ANSYS License Manager?
A: The default port is 1055 for the ANSYS license server vendor daemon. If you did not change it during setup, use 1055. Ansys Optics+1
Q: What if I don’t want a license server — can I license each workstation individually?
A: Yes — ANSYS supports node-locked or individual licenses for single machines. But in that case, each workstation uses its own license and you lose the benefit of sharing and concurrency.
Q: Can the license server run in the cloud or on remote machines?
A: Yes, technically it can. But you must ensure network connectivity (routing/firewall/VPN) so that client machines can reliably reach the server. Also performance and licensing policies may apply. For many organisations, staying on the internal LAN is simpler.
Q: Who sets up the VPN/firewall/subnet so clients can see the server?
A: That falls under your organization’s network/IT administration. External support (like software vendor support) will not set up your VPN, firewall rules or LAN segmentation. Make sure your network infrastructure is configured appropriately.
Q: How many concurrent users can I have?
A: That depends on how many licenses (increments) you purchased and how you configured the license file. On the server you can monitor how many are checked out and adjust your policy.
Q: What happens if the license server goes down?
A: Client workstations will not be able to check out new licenses. Some clients support borrowing licenses temporarily (where allowed) to minimize the risk of downtime. Other use a backup server to maintain 100% availability. The license server does not need to be a powerful machine but needs to have minimal downtime to maintain license availability.
Q: Can I restrict which users or machines can use certain features?
A: Yes — using an 'options file' you can define INCLUDE/EXCLUDE rules, reserve licenses, limit borrow hours, etc. Ansys Optics
Final Note
Setting up a network license server for ANSYS software is a powerful way to maximize usage and share resources. It requires coordinated efforts between your licensing/team, server setup, client configuration and your internal network infrastructure. Remember: While this guide covers the License Manager setup and client configuration, you must involve your network/IT team to ensure firewall rules, VPN/subnet connectivity and hostname resolution are in place — without that, the shared license model will not work.
If you follow the steps above, verify connectivity and monitor usage, you should be ready to deploy network licensing with confidence.