Introduction
Many software vendors offer cloud services at reasonable rates. The benefits are that the customer can pick and choose which services they want to use, based on their business requirements. Customers do not have to maintain expensive IT infrastructure, which reduces the number of IT staff needed and the cost of the firm. Given the benefits, many firms are moving all of their IT services to the cloud.
We are now starting to receive increased queries regarding running Intella products in a cloud environment. A cloud server is just another computer. Intella products should run fine on these systems, provided that the system's hardware/software meets, or is better than, the recommended specifications.
The issues with running Intella in the cloud are that:
1) Many Intella products use dongle-based licensing.
A physical license dongle (a network-enabled dongle, or "network dongle") needs to be plugged into the system running the Intella software. The issue is that the Intella cloud server is normally vast distances away (e.g., overseas) from the end user. There is no way to walk a network dongle 'down the road' to the cloud vendor.
Even if the vendor is located just 'down the road', they are likely to have policies in place which restrict physical devices (such as a network dongle) from being plugged into the host system.
2) For dongle-less "Software License" (SL) based licensing, we recommend that the SL key be installed onto a separate, dedicated machine.
This means that the software license must be retrieved across a network. Since SL keys have no physical form, they can be installed into a virtual machine (VM) or physical machine. In either case, the machine hosting the SL key must have network capability to provide the license to Intella. The reason why you wouldn't put the SL key directly on the Intella machine is because SL keys are hardware locked, and will become invalid if the underlying specs of the machine changes, incurring a fee for replacement. For example, say you have an Intella Connect system with an SL key installed directly on it. Over time you find that your system's specs should be upgraded to accommodate higher caseload, so you want to scale up the hardware for it. However, in changing the specs, the license becomes invalidated, resulting in lost time for reviewers, lost time to troubleshoot, and incurring a fee and extra time to replace the SL key.
This post discusses using a cloud system to run Intella, and to be able to obtain a license located on another machine (such as an SL key located on a dedicated license machine, or a physical network dongle which is not plugged into the cloud).
Physical Layout
Network dongles and SL keys are designed so that Intella applications can obtain a license over a network (within or across subnets).
For network dongles:
If you're running Intella in the cloud, the network dongle would need to be plugged into a physical machine that has network connectivity. The Intella system in the cloud and the system hosting the network dongle will need to be able to communicate over the network. The Intella system is then configured to obtain a license from the network dongle located in the local physical system.
For SL keys:
The SL key can be installed into a physical machine or onto a VM. The Intella system in the cloud and the system hosting the SL license will need to be able to communicate over the network. The Intella
system is then configured to obtain a license from the network dongle
located in the local physical system.
Prerequisites
Before you begin with configuration, there are some things to check:
- You have a valid and activated SL key or network dongle. You would have been walked through an activation of an SL key and network dongle. If not, contact your sales representative for details. Also note that network dongles are red coloured. Green or purple dongles will not work, since they are not network-capable.
- Make sure that Port 1947 (over TCP and UDP) is not blocked by any firewall (or other security software), since the Intella license manager ("Sentinel LDK License Manager") uses it for communication.
- Make sure that the server and client machines can ping each other.
- You may need technical help from your IT and network administrators during this setup. Make sure that they are available to assist you should they be required.
License System Configuration
The license system that holds the network dongle or SL key needs to have the Sentinel LDK License Manager installed and running on it. This is as simple as installing an Intella product on the local system. The necessary drivers and applications for the License Manager will be installed automatically during the Intella installation.
- Install any Intella product on the local system (Intella Pro, Investigator, Connect, etc.). This does not need to be the Intella product that you'll be installing and running. It is simply to install the proper drivers for the license.
- Ensure that the Intella software simply installed and is not running. This is especially important if you've installed Intella Investigator or Connect as a Windows Service - ensure the service is not running. Ensuring the software is not running is important because the license system will take the license for itself if Intella is running, causing your intended Intella machine to be blocked from retrieving a license.
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Next, we'll be making some changes in the Sentinel Admin Control Center (SACC). If you've already made some changes, ensure that you reset them to their defaults by using the "Set Defaults" button and then the "Save" button at the bottom of each page. For example, your "Basic Settings" page (http://localhost:1947/_int_/config.html) should look like this:
- Navigate to the "Access from Remote Clients" tab (http://localhost:1947/_int_/config_from.html). Make sure that the setting for 'Allow Access from Remote Clients' setting is set to "All licenses are accessible without need of identity". Click Submit if you have made changes.You can optionally apply "Access Restrictions", but it is recommended to do so only after you've confirmed the machines can communicate.
- Continue to the next section.
Intella System Configuration
When the settings on the license system are complete, you can go ahead and configure the Intella system. The steps are similar to the above, except that we'll be configuring access to the remote license manager.
- Install your desired Intella product on the Intella system.
- You now need to configure the ACC so that the Intella system can access the license system to obtain a license. Like in Step 3 above, ensure that the default configuration is in place. If you've made any changes, use the "Set Defaults" button, then the "Submit" button, to reset and save your changes.
- Navigate to the "Access to Remove License Managers" (http://localhost:1947/_int_/config_to.html).
(i) Check the setting for 'Allow Access to Remote Licenses'.
(ii) Check the setting for 'Broadcast Search for Remote Licenses'.
(iii) Enter the IP address for the local system in the 'Remote License Search Parameters' field. Once done, click Submit. - To test the communication between the Intella system and the license system, open a browser on the Intella system, and type the following in the address bar: http://localhost:1947/_int_/devices.html. Verify that you can view the network dongle that is plugged into the license system, or the SL license that is installed onto the license system. If you can see the network dongle or SL key, then this verifies that the cloud system is able to communicate with local system at a license level.
- When the Intella product is opened on the Intella system, a license will be obtained from the license system. This will allow the application to run.
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If you encounter any licensing issues, review the perquisites section of this article (e.g. open port 1947 for TCP and UDP), and troubleshoot these issues with the information in this article: https://support.vound-software.com/help/en-us/6-licensing/4-troubleshooting-hasp-dongle-and-licensing-issues