FlexNet Manager Alternative
OpenLM is the only real alternative to Flexera’s “FlexNet Manager for engineering Applications” (FNMEA) for monitoring and controlling FlexLM licenses, which is both highly robust AND extremely cost-effective.
Can OpenLM provide all the required data without access to the FLEXlm report logs? Yes, we can!
Below is a comparison between the key capabilities offered by both systems for engineering software license management:
| Features | FlexNet Manager for Engineering Applications | The OpenLM Platform |
Notes |
| Highlights | |||
| Real-time Reporting and Management |
✘ |
✓ |
Flexnet doesn’t report in real time. It relies solely on periodic production of Report Logs on the license server side, and their propagation to the Flexnet Manager. OpenLM combines multiple sources of information to provide real-time or near real-time license reporting and management. |
| Central interface for license management throughout the organization |
✓ |
✓ |
|
| Supported license manager (LM) types |
✓FLEXlm, IBM LUM, Reprise RLM, Sentinel (RMS), DSLS |
✓✓ |
OpenLM supports an overwhelming list of LM types, including all those supported by FLEXlm |
| License usage analysis and reporting |
✓ |
✓ |
|
| Ensure compliance |
✓ |
✓ |
|
| Usage optimization |
✓ |
✓ |
|
| Configuration process |
✓ |
✓✓ |
Installing and configuring a full system of OpenLM is extremely quick and easy. |
| Real-time productivity features |
✘ |
✓ |
• OpenLM monitors and acts on idle licenses • OpenLM informs users of license availability • OpenLM enables end users to be proactive with the licenses they need |
| Transparency and clarity for both administrators and users |
✘ |
✓ |
OpenLM was designed with the concept of clarity in mind;Not only administrators, but all users in the organization benefit by having licensing information clearly available to them |
| Monitoring applications on end user workstations |
✘ |
✓ |
OpenLM can track application usage even when license managers are inaccessible or non existent |
| Automatic maintenance of FlexLM Options files |
✘ |
✓ |
OpenLM will automatically manage and maintain FLEXlm Options files, keeping them in sync with organizational unit structure and membership. |
| Reporting | FlexNet | OpenLM | |
| Raw data access |
✓ |
✓✓ |
This is the “License Activity” report. OpenLM has several advantages here: 1. Reporting according to multiple selection of Features, Products, Users, Groups, Projects and Workstations 2. Pivot – summary (“group by”) according to various categories. |
| Comprehensive built-in reporting |
✓ |
✓ |
|
| Custom Reporting and business inteligence (BI) |
✓Powered only by Cognos |
✓ |
OpenLM maintains a reporting database which customers can query using any reporting or BI Software, holding raw and aggregated usage. |
| APIs for creation of custom reports |
✘ |
✓ |
OpenLM exposes a comprehensive SOAP API, which allows for integrating OpenLM reports in any IT system. |
| Usage over time reports |
✓ |
✓✓ |
Heatmap reports depicting usage patterns of selected period. |
| Peak usage reports and high water mark reports |
✓ |
✓ |
|
| License utilization report |
✓ |
✓ |
Objectively identify the number of required licenses in the organization. |
| Denial reporting |
✓ |
✓ |
|
| “True Denials” reporting |
✓ |
✓ |
The “True Denials” mechanism is applicable to any license manager monitored by OpenLM. |
| Actual usage compared to license consumption time |
✘ |
✓ |
OpenLM provides the percentage of activity per session. |
| Inactive features and packages reporting |
✘ |
✓ |
OpenLM aggregates features and packages which are not being used. |
| Active users reporting. |
✘ |
✓ |
OpenLM lists users which have used monitored applicaitons. |
| Activatable and Detachable (“Borrowed”) Licenses support |
✓ |
✓ |
|
| Real-time license availability monitoring |
✓ |
✓ |
|
| Presentation | FlexNet | OpenLM | |
| User friendly web-based interface |
✓ |
✓ |
|
| At-a-glance summary view |
✓ |
✓ |
|
| Dashboard | • License Server Status • License Feature Usage • License Feature Denials • Excess License Usage by User |
• License Server Status • Top 10 denied Features • Top 10 denied users • Top 10 used Features • Top 10 users of most features • Top 10 current idle sessions • Top 10 current longest sessions |
Data of highest priority is easily accessible, and can be act upon by license administrators |
| Aggregate data to meet reporting needs |
✓ |
✓ |
Report in different time frames, User-entities, Features, Vensors, Servers may be aggregated to present single or multiple charts |
| Report scheduler |
✓ |
✓ |
Schedule pre-filtered reports to automatically be sent via email. |
| Share any report with users through URL |
✘ |
✓ |
|
| Stored and automatic filters |
✓ |
✓ |
Report filters can automatically be activated on startup, or selected from a ‘stored filters’ list. |
| Organizational groups and projects | FlexNet | OpenLM | |
| Import LDAP organizational structure |
✓ |
✓ |
OpenLM imports users from selected nodes of the active directory and groups them according to criteria the administrator defines. |
| Organization structure management |
✓ |
✓ |
Group users manually, using options files or by using a file-based organizational structure. |
| Monitoring of license usage per Project |
✓ |
✓✓ |
Both facilitate tracking of license usage according to projects.Flexnet publisher only supports license attribution according to the LM_PROJECT environment variable.OpenLM interactively and dynamically switches between active projects:Users will be promted to attribute their usage time to specific projects they’re working on. |
| Intervention | FlexNet | OpenLM | |
| Proactive notifications |
✓ |
✓✓ |
Configure multiple conditions for dispatching specific notifications to groups and users, or for automatically running a command on the license manager. |
| Real-time license availability notifications |
✘ |
✓ |
OpenLM notifies end-users when a license they requested becomes available. |
| Remote license retrival. |
✘ |
✓ |
Administration can remove a license or remotely shut down an application on a remote desktop while saving user information |
| Idle license harvesting |
✘ |
✓ |
OpenLM provides 3 methods for harvesting idle licenses manually or automatically:• Suspending idle processes• Saving and shutting down idle applications• Custom scripting |
| Automatic session prevention |
✘ |
✓ |
Using the OpenLM App Manager, administration can prevent users from checking out certain licenses according to criteria they define, such as time zone, group, user, application version etc. |
| License quantity limitation |
✘ |
✓ |
OpenLM App Manager can deny licenses from being checked out if the license quantity has been reached. This helps to avoid extra costs in certain licensing models. |
| Custom scripting |
✘ |
✓ |
OpenLM can facilitate custom scripts activation on the end-user workstation when defined criteria are met. |
| Managebility | FlexNet | OpenLM | |
| Managing access roles and permissions |
✓ |
✓ |
OpenLM employs resource-based roles and permissions to conrol access to every aspect of the system |
| Database support |
✓ |
✓✓ |
OpenLM requires only one database, and supports SQL Server (all versions), MySQL and an embedded FireBird database. Flexera requires 2 databases, and supports only Oracle, SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2012 |
| Cross-platform support |
✓ |
✓ |
|
| Supported web browsers |
✓ |
✓✓ |
OpenLM supports Chrome, Firefox ,IE 11 and Edge. Flexnet supports only Firefox, IE 7 and IE8. |
| License files | FlexNet | OpenLM | |
| License file editor |
✓ |
✘ |
License file editing is coming to OpenLM soon |
| FLEXlm Options file management |
✘ |
✓ |
OpenLM will automatically manage and maintain FLEXlm Options files, keeping them in sync with organizational unit structure and membership. |
| Remote access to license server files |
✘ |
✓ |
OpenLM Interface provides remote access to all license servers files (license file, logs, Options files) |
| License Management | FlexNet | OpenLM | |
| Control license server remotely |
✓ |
✓✓ |
FlexNet manager is only able to Stop/Start/Reread FlexLM license managers.OpenLM is able to access and manage a much wider variety of LM types.Moreover – the OpenLM Broker provides a flexible platform for running all sorts of commands and scripts on target license servers |
| Upload license files remotely |
✘ |
✓ |
Administration can remotely upload new license files to the license server. |
| Monitor custom-made license managers |
✘ |
✓ |
OpenLM allows for monitoring of custom-made license managers using the “OpenLM Generic” output syntax. |
| Control users/groups access to any license server |
✘ |
✓ |
The OpenLM Router provides additional, standardized license access control for ALL license manager types |
| Apply license restriction according to time of day (“follow the sun”) |
✘ |
✓ |
Provided by the OpenLM Router |
| Enforce license compliance according to geolocation |
✘ |
✓ |
Provided by the OpenLM Router |
| Workstation license server configuration managed centrally |
✘ |
✓ |
The OpenLM Router facilitates the configuration of the licensing environment, and serves as a hub for all active workstations |
| Simple server redundancy configuration for any LM server type |
✘ |
✓ |
The OpenLM Router facilitates the deployment of instant multi-server redundancy constellations, for any LM type, and without a 3rd Server overkill – as implemented by the FlexLM Triad constellation |
Download and explore the full unlimited version of OpenLM for 30 days. During this time you will enjoy full support with no strings attached.
