Releasing License when Idle

NOTE: Applies to v4.31 and higher

By default, the Insight Analyzer will keep its licenses checked out, as long as the process 'userclient' is alive.

A command line startup flag, -licrelease, will change the default behavior: A timeout of 4 hours will be set.

In addition to the command line startup flag, there is also a script command 'runenv license licReleaseMinutes'. This can be used to set a number of minutes, from 1 to higher, for license timeout.

If the Insight Analyzer is loading a netlist, running a compiled plugin, or running a script plugin, it is considered Busy. While busy, the Analyzer will never release any licenses due to this timeout mechanism. If the Analyzer is not busy, it will check for license idle compared to the time of last check. If, for example, the license timeout interval is set to 4 hours, and an ERC plugin is run for 3 hours, then the licenses will be released 1 hour after the ERC run completes. With the same conditions, if the ERC plugin runs for 5 hours, then the licenses will be released immediately afterward.

When the licenses are released, the GUI will not show anything apparent until the user tries to do something with it. The Setup-License window will show released license buttons, and the Log window will show a License Lost message. The GUI will stay alive, and the user can re-obtain the licenses in the License Setup window.

The traditional FlexLM timeout commands are not directly supported, due to the nature of the ERC runs. Only the Analyzer knows when it's busy, and it's best to leave the license release up to the Analyzer. Previous attempts at controlling license timeout from the daemon side were not optimal.