Update or Modify Network License Files
About Network Licenses
Network licenses contain the encrypted passcodes for each product that your organization is licensed to install and run.
In general, you do not need to modify the network license file on the server or on the client computers. However, in some situations, you must edit the license file:
When you change the license server name (for example, if the license is now being hosted on a new server). See Update Network License.
When you change the port number (for example, if the port address for the server has changed). The following support article contains instructions for migrating MATLAB client installations: Migrate MATLAB Client Installations to New License Server.
When you update the network installation with a new license file. See Answer How Do I Update the License File Used By the License Manager?
Inside the Network License File
The network license file is a specially formatted ASCII text file that contains encrypted product passcodes for each product you are licensed to run. Each product passcode identifies the number of keys available for that product. The network license manager grants or denies access to a product depending on the availability of the license keys associated with each product.
Each
INCREMENT
line identifies a product, the number of keys available for the product, and other information. (TheINCREMENT
lines in your license file might not include every element shown in the example.)The backslash (
\
) character indicates that the line continues onto the next line.The lines that begin with a pound sign (#) are comments. The MathWorks® installer uses the information in these comment lines such as license server host ID or Internet address when it processes the license file during installation.
# BEGIN---------------BEGIN---------------BEGIN # MATLAB license passcode file. # LicenseNo: 123456 HostID: 6C4B905F446E # # R2021b # INCREMENT MATLAB MLM 46 30-jan-2025 13 FDC7243F4976 \ VENDOR_STRING=vi=0:at=200:ae=1:lu=300:lo=CN:ei=1234567:lr=1:2p=0: \ DUP_GROUP=UH asset_info=123456 ISSUED=21-Nov-2021 BORROW=720 \ NOTICE=product=MATLAB SN=123456 SIGN="00C8 0547 EFDF 50D7 B9CE \ 4C9D 3348 561B E9E3 6CCA 7986 C2F6 38C8 794F EE84" INCREMENT SIMULINK MLM 46 30-jan-2025 1 7DE4D05FF067 \ VENDOR_STRING=vi=0:at=200:ae=1:lu=300:lo=CN:ei=1234567:lr=1:2p=0: \ DUP_GROUP=UH asset_info=123456 ISSUED=21-Nov-2021 BORROW=720 \ NOTICE=product=SIMULINK SN=123456 SIGN="00BE C534 0A32 1821 \ AFCE D040 2085 3E00 9005 4983 7EFB 875F E4A7 FEE6 9548"
License Processing During MATLAB Installation
When you install MATLAB® software, the installer processes the network license file:
On the server, the installer:
Makes a copy of the network license file named
license.dat
, and puts this copy in the/etc
folder of the MATLAB installation folder.Adds a
SERVER
line and aDAEMON
line to the file. TheSERVER
line identifies the server host and port number. TheDAEMON
line identifies the name of the network license manager daemon.Stores the processed license file in
, wherematlabroot
/etcmatlabroot
is the MATLAB installation folder.For Network Named User licenses, when the installer creates an options file during installation, it also adds the
Options=
syntax to theDAEMON
line in your license file. This syntax specifies the path name of the options file.For example, if your server is named
thunderball
and its IP address is 144.212.111.103, theSERVER
andDAEMON
lines in your license file would look like this:SERVER thunderball INTERNET=144.212.111.103 27000 DAEMON MLM "C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2022b\etc\win64\MLM.exe" \ options="C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2022b\etc\mlm.opt"
On the client computer, the installer:
Creates a copy of the license file you specify named
network.lic
, and puts the file in the\licenses
folder in the MATLAB client installation folder.Deletes all the
INCREMENT
lines and theDAEMON
line in the license file, leaving theSERVER
line. It also adds the statementUSE_SERVER
to the file. This line points the client to the network license file on the server, which contains all the passcodes for the products.
MATLAB License Search Path
MATLAB reads the license file at startup to check for product licensing. MATLAB searches for the license file in the following locations, in the specified order:
The license file specified on MATLAB startup command line using the -c option. The -c option overrides the entire search order and uses only what was specified on the command line. This is the only path MATLAB searches.
Environment variables
MLM_LICENSE_FILE
andLM_LICENSE_FILE
.The profile folder of the person starting the program
The
\licenses
folder in the MATLAB installation for files namedlicense.dat
or any file with the extension.lic
.
After it finds a MathWorks license file, MATLAB stops searching.
Set MATLAB License Search Path
By default, MATLAB installs the license file on the client computer in the
\licenses
folder in the MATLAB client installation folder. However, you can override that location in
one of either of the following ways:
Specify the path to the license file on the command line during MATLAB startup using the
-c
option.The -c option overrides the entire search order, including environment variables, and uses only what was specified on the command line. This is the only path MATLAB searches.
You can specify a list of paths to search. When using the
-c
option, keep in mind the following:If the path to your license file contains a space, enclose the path name in quotation marks.
If you are specifying more than one license file, make sure to enclose the entire list of license files in quotation marks.
Set environment variables.
MLM_LICENSE_FILE
— Specifies the location of the license file, but only for MathWorks products. (Recommended, because it affects only MathWorks products.) MATLAB searches for this environment variable first.LM_LICENSE_FILE
— Specifies the location of the license file for all applications using the network license manager on this server. It is not recommended that you use this environment variable, as if affects all Flex-enabled products.
You can use one option or the other, but not both.
Update Network License
When you receive a new license from MathWorks because the products or seat counts have changed, plan to update the license file on the network server at a time when users are least likely to be accessing a MATLAB license. This procedure requires you to stop and start the network license manager (do not perform a re-read as it can interfere with certain licenses).
This procedure assumes you are not updating the license manager software at this time. If you are, also see Update Network License Manager Software.
Note
Do not follow this procedure to upgrade to a new release of MATLAB. To upgrade to a later release, see Get New MATLAB Release.
You must be a license administrator to perform a license file update.
To update the license file on the server:
Go to the License Center on the MathWorks website and sign in to your account.
Select the licenses you want to update.
Click Install and Activate.
Get the license file for the server you are updating.
Stop the network license manager.
Open both the existing license on the server and the new license in an editor. You are going to copy most of the new license into the old license with these instructions:
In the existing license, delete all content except the SERVER and DAEMON lines at the top of the file.
In the new license, copy all content starting from below the SERVER and DAEMON lines to the end.
Paste the copied content into the existing license below the SERVER and DAEMON lines.
Save the existing license. You can store the new license as a backup, remembering that the SERVER and DAEMON lines must be replaced with those specific to your organization.
If you have an options file, depending on how it is configured, you may have to update it. If you do not have an options file, skip this step.
Start the network license manager.
You can perform a status inquiry to confirm that the license file has been updated. The following support article contains instructions for performing a status inquiry: "Monitor the Usage of Licenses or Keys".