System startup

When an instance starts the online log file will contain some messages indicating the current state of the licensing system. Consider an instance configured with a VPCLASS parameter set for num=2 CPU VPs. When the instance starts, assuming that there are 2 licenses available, then the following messages will be seen in the message log.

08:24:56  License Server configuration succeeded.
18:25:00  Server is holding 2 license(s).

The first message indicates that the license server has been successfully contacted. If the license server cannot be contacted, or there are insufficient licenses available, then IDS will not start. You will see the following messages in the log.

10:08:07  License Server configuration failed.  Cannot acquire licenses. Server must shut down.
          HCL Informix Dynamic Server needs licenses for the CPU/TENANT VP
          resources to operate and it should be able to acquire them from
          the License Server.
          Server will shut down during startup if there are not enough
          licenses for the number of CPU VPs set in the ONCONFIG file.
          Please make sure there are licenses available.
10:08:07  HCL Informix Dynamic Server Stopped.

Dynamic CPU allocation

Every 10 seconds the IDS instance will check the number of CPU VPs and adjust licenses up or down as required. If you start the instance with 3 CPU VPs and dynamically add another, then you will see the licenses adjusted.

09:50:06  License Server configuration succeeded.
09:50:08  Server is holding 3 license(s).
09:50:08  Defragmenter cleaner thread now running.
09:50:08  Defragmenter cleaner thread cleaned:0 partitions
09:50:30  Dynamically added 1 cpu VP.
09:50:38  Server is holding 4 license(s).

If there are not enough licenses to fulfill the request for additional CPU VP resources then the VPs will be adjusted back down. If it is not possible to drop the VPs then the server willprint the following message.

10:00:52  Not enough licenses. VP resources were adjusted.
         HCL Informix Dynamic Server requires licenses for the CPU/TENANT
         VP resources to operate and it should be able to acquire them
         from the License Server.
         You are receiving this warning because there were not enough
         licenses available for the number of CPU/TENANT VPs. Informix
         server tried to adjust the VP resources for the available number
         of licenses.
         Please make sure there are licenses available.
10:00:54 Warning: Only 1 out of 3 requested cpu VPs can be dropped
10:00:54 Dynamically dropped 1 cpu VP
10:00:54 Server is holding 1 license(s).

This instance is now in the state of having more CPU VPs allocated than licenses available and will be shutdown if the licenses are not made available.

Returning licenses

When CPU VPs are dropped or the instance is shutdown, the licenses will be returned to the FlexNet server. These licenses can then be claimed by another instance or by the same instance when it restarts.

In case of an abnormal shutdown, it may be impossible for the IDS instance to return the licenses and they will remain allocated to the instance even though it is not running. When the IDS instance is restarted, a verification check is performed that allows the previously allocated licenses to be reclaimed.

Note: When Informix server is configured for multitenancy, it is possible to have the session threads run on tenant VPs instead of CPU VPs. The tenant VPs are treated like CPU VPs and licensing is applicable.

If it is not possible to restart the instance in a timely manner then the onclean utility can be used to return the licenses. Running onclean must be done from the context of the machine that hosted the original instance. You will see the licenses being returned:

$ onclean -yk
onclean: Cleaning up processes and resources for 'ol_informix1210_2'...
- Looking for the master daemon process: 13904
Connected to License Server:
https://hclsoftware.compliance.flexnetoperations.com/instances/5BYD9U9NF7P2/request
2 license(s) returned successfully.

If the problem causing the abnormal termination has also made the physical IDS installation inaccessible, then recovery of the licenses will require the assistance of HCL Technical Support.