Working with Time Zones

Time zone functionality enables publishers to bind license usage to a specified geographic location by identifying the time zone of that region. This makes it possible for the publisher to vary license model pricing based on the geographic location in which the software is used.

At run time, when a license checkout is requested, the time and time zone of the client machine is read and compared to the time zone specified in the license file. If the time zone read from the client machine matches the time zone in the license file, the checkout proceeds as usual. If, however, there is a mismatch between the time zone read from the client machine and the time zone specified in the license file, the checkout request is denied.

The time zone is expressed in a license file using the TZ keyword to define a region within which license usage is permitted. The SERVERTZ time zone setting is preloaded in FlexNet Operations and binds served license usage to the time zone of the license server. However, before Producer Portal users can select any other time zone settings for a license model (served or nodelocked certificate licenses only), those settings must be configured by manually adding time zones in the Producer Portal (menu Administer > Time Zones). In the Producer Portal, time zone settings are displayed in a single-select drop-down list.

Only users assigned a role with the View and Manage Configurations permission can add time zones.

Important:Time zone licensing is intended for use with customers with whom you have a trusted relationship. There is no secure programmatic restriction with time zone licensing functionality: If an end user manually changes the time zone to match the time zone specified in the license certificate, a license can be consumed.

Supported License Types

Time zone-based licensing is supported for licenses used by applications built with FlexNet Publisher version 11.7 or later, and applies to the following certificate-based licenses: floating counted, floating uncounted, and nodelocked counted. Licenses that contain the TZ keyword must be generated by a version 12.7 Vendor Certificate Generator (VCG) that has its version configured as 12.7 in its license generator configuration.

Time zone-based licensing is not available for nodelocked uncounted licenses (because limiting licenses based on their geographic location is not required if an unlimited number of licenses is available).

FlexNet Publisher supports a time zone range from GMT -12:00 to GMT +12:00 (or GMT -12:00 to GMT +14:00 if using FlexNet Publisher 11.15.1 or later).

Supported License Models

Time zone-based licensing is supported for served and unserved license models. When you add a time zone in the Producer Portal, you need to specify (in the FNP Time Zone Type drop-down list) whether the time zone can be used in served, unserved, or served and unserved license models. The following examples illustrate the three options.

Selecting a License Model for Time Zone-based Licensing
FNP Time Zone Type	License Model	Example
Server	Served	Time zone (GMT -6.0) Central America, Central Time (Server: true, Client: false) Features can be used only by clients that are residing in the time zone GMT -6:00.
Client	Unserved	Time zone (GMT +9.0) Japan, Korea Standard Time (GMT +9.5) Australian Northern Territory Time, South Australia Time (Server: false, Client: true) Features can be used only by clients that reside in the time zone GMT +9:00 or GMT +9.5.
Both	Served and unserved	Time zone (GMT -7.0) Mountain Standard Time, Mountain Daylight Time (Server: true, Client: true) Features can be used only by clients that reside in the time zone GMT -7:00.

Adding Time Zones

In the Producer Portal on the Add FNP License Time Zone page, time zone settings are displayed in a drop-down list. Each time zone is specified as a value relative to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). After you add a time zone, this time zone is available for selection when you create a license model for software products that use the FlexNet Publisher toolkit.

Note that during license model creation, you select a time zone from a single-select drop-down list. Therefore, if you want to bind license usage to multiple time zones or a range of time zones, you need to select all the desired time zones (using CTRL+click or Shift+click) when adding them to the FNP Existing Time Zones table.

To add a time zone

Click Administer > Time Zones. This link opens the Add FNP License Time Zone page.

In the Select FNP Time Zone list, select the time zone you want to add. To combine multiple time zones or a range of time zones in a single entry, use CTRL+click or Shift+click, respectively.

For FNP Time Zone Type, select one of the following (see the table Selecting a License Model for Time Zone-based Licensing for examples):

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Server—Select for served license models.

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Client—Select for unserved license models.

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Both—Select for served and unserved license models.

Click Save. The selected time zone is added to the FNP Existing Time Zones table, which lists the time zones that are available for license model creation.