Configure license with FLM for docker on macOS host

If you are working with Genero products installed in Docker instance on a macOS™ system that also hosts the Four Js License Manager (FLM) server, there is a specific configuration to provide licensing for docker instances if the network changes.

Before you begin:

This configuration procedure applies to macOS only. It is assumed the Four Js License Manager (FLM) is installed on the same macOS host where the docker instance is running.

About this task:

Typically, in production environments a docker instance needs to access an external FLM service for Genero licensing. The flm.server resource needs to specify the server, and this needs to be set in the FGLPROFILE file before building the docker image.

However, situations in development are common where a macOS host may contain both the FLM and the docker instance. While providing the IP address in /etc/hosts works for the local network, you may encounter situations where the IP address of the host changes; for example switching between networks - or even where there is no network access - that will cause the FLM to fail to resolve license requests from docker instances.

Therefore, it is recommended to configure a mapping to the localhost using a special DNS name which resolves to the internal IP address used by the host; regardless of changes in the network. For more information see the Docker docs site.

  1. Edit the FLM configuration file, $FLMDIR/etc/lmprofile:
    If the hostname is "serverA", for example set the resource:
    flm.server="serverA.local" 
  2. Configure the Genero product's DVM configuration file (for example, the FGLPROFILE included in the docker's FGLGWS installation):
    For example, set the flm.server resource:
    flm.server="host.docker.internal"
    Where host.docker.internal is the special DNS name provided by Docker.

    Now even if you remove the network connection of the macOS docker host, the FLM server is found.

What to do next:

For more information on FLM configuration, see License Manager configuration.