MATLAB: How to migrate the MATLAB clients to a new license server when the license server changes

MATLAB

I need to change the machine where my license server is located. Once I install the new license server, I would like to move the clients to the new server. How do I point MATLAB to the new license server?

Best Answer

To update MATLAB to point to a new license server, you simply need to replace the existing license file on the MATLAB client with a new file that has the information for the new server. If the new license server is not in production, you can create a 2nd license file for the MATLAB client. In this scenario, MATLAB will draw licenses from the original server. Once the original server is taken down, the clients will then fail over to the second server specified in the second license.
NOTE: If you are utilizing redundant licenses servers, you should not use the license file. Instead, you should point MATLAB to the redundant servers using the MLM_LICENSE_FILE variable. More information on setting up redundant license servers can be found here:
What are redundant servers and how do I create and configure a redundant server license file for MATLAB and associated products?
http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/92975
As of MATLAB R2008a, MATLAB utilizes a "network.lic" file to point to the license server. This file is located in the licenses subfolder of MATLAB and has the following format:
SERVER server_name hostid port#
USE_SERVER
For example:
SERVER license-server-1 001122334455 27000
USE_SERVER
To migrate the clients to the new server, you can simply update the information in the network.lic file for the new license server. You can also create a "network2.lic" file if the new server is not yet in production (as mentioned above). In this case, MATLAB will use the server specified in the network.lic file until that server is taken down.
For MATLAB releases prior to R2008a, the same process can be taken. The only difference is the license file location and the name of the license file. For releases prior to R2008a, the license file will be located in either:
$MATLAB\bin\{win32|win64} for Windows
$MATLAB/etc for UNIX/Linux/Mac
Where $MATLAB is the installation folder for MATLAB. The default license file will be a license.dat. You can either update that license file so that it is the same format as above, or utilize a 2nd file such as network2.lic (MATLAB looks for license.dat or any file with a .lic extension) that has the second server information.
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