Network Read-Only Setup

The built-in DADiSP license manager requires that all clients have read/write access to the license file DADISP.LIC. Because DADISP.LIC normally resides in the DADiSP installation folder on the server, the most direct configuration is to ensure all clients have read/write access to the DADiSP installation folder.

However, if installation folder read/write access is not possible or desirable, the DADISP.LIC file itself can be moved to a read/write location and the remaining DADiSP installation folders and files can be set to read-only.

Semaphore Files

To monitor license usage, DADiSP creates small semaphore files named dspXn.net for each user where n is the instance number of DADiSP. For example, if three users have DADiSP open, the files:

dspX1.net, dspX2.net and dspX3.net

are created in the same folder where DADISP.LIC resides.

A network administrator can determine which user and client machine has a currently open DADiSP session by tracking the ownership of these semaphore files.

However, if a user does not have write permission to create a file in this folder, that user will not be able to open DADiSP.

Read-Only Network Configuration

Because DADiSP semaphore files are created in the same folder where DADISP.LIC resides, the DADISP.LIC file itself can be moved to a read/write location while all remaining DADiSP folders and files can be set to read-only.

The LICENSE_PATH configuration file parameter in the DADISP.CNF configuration file specifies the location of DADISP.LIC.

If DADISP.LIC is moved from the installation folder on the server to a different read/write folder, the LICENSE_PATH parameter in DADISP.CNF must be added or modified with the full UNC path to this folder.

Configuration File

DADISP.CNF is a text file that specifies the default values of various configuration parameters. This file resides in the installation folder on the server and is automatically loaded each time DADiSP starts. A separate DADISP.CNF file resides on each registered client to provide client specific customization. The client version, if any, is loaded after the server version.

The parameters in DADISP.CNF follow a KEYWORD KEYVALUE format. To set a particular parameter, simply specify the desired KEYVALUE for the appropriate KEYWORD.

The ! character is the single line comment character. All text following a ! is ignored. Most of the settings in the original version of DADISP.CNF are commented out such that the internal default values are used.

Example

Consider a setup where the DADiSP installation folder on the server is:

  \\TOOLS\APPS\DADISP

After the standard Network Install procedure has been completed, use the following steps to produce a read-only configuration:

Create a new sub-folder named:
\\TOOLS\APPS\DADISP\LICENSE
This is the license folder that will contain DADISP.LIC. The license folder can be located anywhere on the server that is reachable by the clients, but in this example, we create the license folder inside the DADiSP installation folder.

Move DADISP.LIC from:

  \\TOOLS\APPS\DADISP

to:

  \\TOOLS\APPS\DADISP\LICENSE

Modify the server based DADISP.CNF file located in \\TOOLS\APPS\DADISP as follows:

  LICENSE_PATH "\\\\TOOLS\\APPS\\DADISP\\LICENSE"

Because \ is an escape character in DADISP.CNF, each \ becomes \\.

LICENSE_PATH specifies a string parameter, so the UNC path must be enclosed in quotes (").

The ! character indicates a comment, so the LICENSE_PATH line has no leading !

If not already present, LICENSE_PATH can be added anywhere within DADISP.CNF, but it is common to add it after the OS_AUTOCONFIG parameter.

In context, the DADISP.CNF modification might appear as:

  ! OS_AUTOCONFIG   1      ! configure for OS, sets labbook_path,
                           ! session_dir, spl_opl_dir and
                           ! spill_file_mode all to 1
                           ! 0:no, 1:only if >= Vista, 2:always

  ! UNC path to DADISP.LIC license file - must be read/write
  LICENSE_PATH "\\\\TOOLS\\APPS\\DADISP\\LICENSE"

Set \\TOOLS\APPS\DADISP to read-only.
Set \\TOOLS\APPS\DADISP\LICENSE to read/write. This is the only folder within \\TOOLS\APPS\DADISP that must be read/write enabled.

The read-only configuration for the network version of DADiSP installed in \\TOOLS\APPS\DADISP is now complete. The entire installation folder is read-only with the exception of \\TOOLS\APPS\DADISP\LICENSE.

Network administrators can monitor the semaphore files created in \\TOOLS\APPS\DADISP\LICENSE to determine the user and machine with a running instance of DADiSP.

Network Troubleshooting

If you experience problems after modifying your own installation, see Network Troubleshoot for information on troubleshooting a network installation.

Technical Support