FlexNet Publisher Versions for Cross-Version Signature Support
This topic applies to the product creation and suite creation process only for FLEXenabled applications that use a certificate license model administered via a license server. For such applications, it may be necessary to select one or more FlexNet Publisher Versions for cross-version signature support when you are creating the product or suite in FlexNet Operations.
Who Needs Cross-Version Signature Support?
The purpose of a cross-version signature is to allow developers to use newer license keywords (such as SUPERSEDE_SIGN or TZ) without breaking the license for older versions of their product, when the older and newer versions of the product must use the same license.
Normally, an application built with a particular version of the FlexNet Publisher Licensing Toolkit cannot authenticate a license that includes keywords introduced in a newer version of FlexNet Publisher. Cross-version licenses enable you to issue license files containing new licensing keywords to customers who will continue to use older versions of your FLEXenabled application alongside newer versions of your application.
When a FLEXenabled application checks out a feature from a license server, it authenticates the information in the feature line against the signature. Typically, it must recognize all keywords present in the feature line in order to authenticate this information. Cross-version signatures allow the older application to ignore the newer keywords. When an older FLEXenabled application authenticates the feature line, it ignores the newer keyword and uses the FlexNet Publisher version-specific signature.
Determining which FNP Version Values are Required
The table, below, cross-references the keyword with the version of the FlexNet Publisher Licensing Toolkit client libraries your FLEXenabled application uses. Where a cross-version signature can be used, the table shows the correct FlexNet Publisher Version value. (Empty cells mean no cross-version signature is necessary.) For example, to use the VM_PLATFORMS keyword with a FlexEnabled application that uses toolkit version 11.0, use 11.4 for the FlexNet Publisher Version value.
|
Keyword |
Toolkit Version in the FlexEnabled Application |
||||||
|
7.1-7.2 |
8.0 |
8.1-8.3 |
8.4 |
9.0-10.8.n |
11.0-11.4.1 |
11.5-11.6.1 |
|
|
BORROW |
7.1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
COMPOSITE |
7.1 |
8.0 |
8.1 |
|
|
|
|
|
FLOAT_OK |
7.1 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SUITE_RESERVED |
7.1 |
8.0 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
SUPERSEDE_SIGN |
7.1 |
8.0 |
8.1 |
8.4 |
10.8 |
11.4 |
|
|
TZ |
7.1 |
8.0 |
8.1 |
8.4 |
10.8 |
11.4 |
11.6 |
|
VM_PLATFORMS |
7.1 |
8.0 |
8.1 |
8.4 |
10.8 |
11.4 |
11.6 |
Keyword Support in Deployed License Servers
When publishers choose to support the newer keywords with the same license and within the same environments used by prior versions of the same product or suite, they must also ship updated license servers (or vendor daemons) to their customers. License servers built with toolkit versions prior to the version in which a keyword was introduced cannot understand the keyword. (Product binaries are not required to be changed. The older products are still able to check-out/check-in licenses from a FlexNet Publisher license server.)
See Also