The Altair License Management System is the software that enforces Altair licences and reports their use. According to Altair’s guide, it has three components. The Altair License Server (ALS) is an LM-X license server built and distributed by Altair. The Usage Reporting Tool (URT) sends logs back to Altair. The Altair Application Server (AAS) is the Altair-hosted server that receives those logs.[1] The server is based on X-Formation’s LM-X license server.[1] As an alternative, Altair runs a cloud-based license server called Managed Altair Licensing. Customers can use a traditional on-premises server, an Altair server managed through the Altair One customer portal, or both.[2] What the license manager counts, and how leveling and decay work, is covered in Altair Units and unit draw.
Editions
There are three ways to deliver an Altair licence.
| Delivery | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| On-premises license server | Altair License Manager on a customer server, with a license file bound to the server’s HostID[1] | Default port 6200[1] |
| Managed Altair Licensing | Cloud license server operated through Altair One; units can be used from any machine with internet access, without a VPN[2] | Required for Named User licensing[5] |
| Node-locked license file | A license file without a COUNT field, installed locally[1] | Not available for Altair Units[5] |
Managed licensing replaced the earlier Hosted HyperWorks Units (HHWU). HHWU was added in HyperWorks 12.0 and managed through the Altair Connect portal.[8] Catalog: Managed Altair Licensing.
Metrics
A units-based checkout is a three-feature process. All three features must be checked out from the same license server.[1] The three are the GlobalZone feature for the zone where the client runs, the HyperWorks feature (license feature) that carries the units, and a tracking feature named after the application with an HW prefix.[1] Since release 13.0 the server performs the three as one “atomic checkout”. An application can therefore search several servers and is locked to one only if that server can satisfy the whole request.[1] The Named User metric applies only to managed licensing. Users are identified by their Altair One email credentials, and a company administrator manages them in the Altair One Managed Licensing portal.[5] Catalog: Three checkouts from the same server; Named User licensing covers selected products only.
Counting / floors
Global Zones
Altair defines three Global Zones by local time offset:[3]
| Zone | Feature | Coverage |
|---|---|---|
| American (AM) | GlobalZoneAM | Hawaii to Iceland, including North and South America; GMT-12 < local time < GMT |
| European (EU) | GlobalZoneEU | Europe, the Middle East and Africa; GMT ≤ local time < GMT+4 |
| Asia Pacific (AP) | GlobalZoneAP | Asia Pacific (India, China) and Australia; GMT+4 ≤ local time ≤ GMT+12 |
A license server can be anywhere in the world and serve any or all zones. When a client requests a license, the server must have enough GlobalZone features for the client’s location.[1] A client in New York that starts an application needing 21,000 features must first check out 21,000 GlobalZoneAM features.[1] The new GlobalZone features replace the older PartialGlobalLicense, FullGlobalLicense and GlobalGridWorks features.[3] Multi-zone licensing is only available to qualified customers.[3] The Simulation SLA prices multi-zone use at a premium, and it forbids installing the license file and LMS on a server outside the zones on the order.[6] OptiStruct, Radioss, Flux, Feko, AcuSolve, Altair Manufacturing Solver, MotionSolve and EDEM run in batch mode do not check out the GlobalZone feature.[3] Catalog: Usage is restricted to the licensed Global Zone; Batch solver runs skip the GlobalZone checkout.
Because the zone is set by the client’s local time offset, a user who travels, or a cluster whose clock is set to another zone, may check out a zone feature the licence does not include. The help pages do not say how mis-set clocks are treated.
Pools, redundancy and failover
A license pool is the set of features on one license server, or on one three-server high-availability setup. Customers can split their features into several pools on different servers, but leveling does not work across them.[1] A High Availability License (HAL) setup needs three server machines. It does not increase the number of licences or balance load; it only provides failover.[1] The primary server allows checkout and borrowing. The secondary allows checkout but denies borrowing while the primary is down. The tertiary denies all requests but is needed for the configuration.[1] The HAL license file must list all three HostIDs. Clients find servers through the ALTAIR_LICENSE_PATH variable, for example 6200@srv1;6200@srv2;6200@srv3 on Windows.[1] Catalog: Leveling happens only within one license pool on one server.
Borrowing
Client machines that connect to the network only some of the time can borrow licences. A user runs almutil -borrow <hours>, starts every application to be borrowed, and then stops almutil. Only the applications started during that session are borrowed.[1] Borrowed licences stay checked out, and unavailable to other clients, until the borrowing period expires or they are returned with almutil -return.[1] The server configuration file can allow or deny borrowing for specific hosts, IP addresses or features.[1] For effective licence position work, borrowed units count as in use for the whole borrow period. Catalog: Borrowed licenses stay checked out until expiry or return.
Versions
On premises, Altair License Manager 2026 (and its updates) is required for Altair 2026. ALM 2026 serves HyperWorks releases from 9.1 to 2026.[4] Catalog: Altair 2026 needs Altair License Manager 2026.
Virtualization & partitioning
A license file is bound to a HostID of the server. Altair supports ETHERNET, DONGLE, HARDDISK, LONG, BIOS and WIN_INSTALL_ID, read with almutil -hostid.[1] For servers in public clouds, the ALM_CLOUD_HOSTID_ENABLED variable enables instance HostIDs for AWS, Azure, Google Compute Engine and Oracle Cloud.[1] USB dongles are supported on some platforms. Clients must set ALM_DONGLE_ENABLED=t to use a dongle.[1] The server’s error codes include denials for remote desktop (terminal server) clients and for virtual machines.[1] Catalog: License files are locked to a supported HostID. See virtualization and partitioning.
Cloud / BYOL
Managed Altair Licensing. To use it, a user needs an Altair One account, and the company account must have bought and enabled Altair Units.[2] Each machine must be authorized before client applications run. HyperWorks, the Inspire Suite, SimLab and SimSolid authorize through their License Setup dialog. Other applications use the Altair License Utility.[2] A user can authorize their own machine and login, or an administrator can authorize a whole machine for all users. Altair names compute clusters as the main use case for this system-wide authorization. Usage logs still record the username.[2] Catalog: System-wide authorization for compute clusters.
Order of precedence. If ALTAIR_LICENSE_FILE is set, or a local node-locked file is in the default location, the client uses it first. Only then does it try managed licensing. ALM_HHWU=T makes the client use managed licensing only, and ALM_HHWU=F makes it use LM-X only.[2] Mixed estates can therefore draw from a local server and the cloud pool at different times. Usage should be reconciled across both. Catalog: Local license files are tried before managed licensing.
Usage reporting
When a customer signs a new licence agreement, it agrees to provide certain software usage data to Altair.[1] The Simulation SLA requires a copy of the license log file to be made available to Altair automatically at least monthly.[6] On an on-premises server, the license server launches the URT once a week. The URT reads the anonymous logs, validates them and sends them to Altair over HTTP or HTTPS.[1] Usernames, hosts and share strings are one-way hashed. An optional detailed log keeps them readable, but it is stored locally and not sent.[1] Customers who disable automatic reporting must send logs manually, either by running the URT by hand or by email or web upload. The log files are digitally signed to prevent tampering.[1] Managed licensing sends usage data automatically. On-premises customers who use partner products must install and configure the URT.[5] Catalog: Usage data must be reported to Altair. For comparison, see Siemens Digital Industries Software audits and usage reporting.
The local detailed logs and the almutil status output are the customer’s own record of peak draw. The ALM_PROJECT variable adds a project string to each checkout for chargeback.[1]
HPC workload manager licensing
PBS Professional, Altair’s HPC workload manager, is licensed separately from the applications it schedules. As of version 2020.1 it uses only node licences (PBSProNodes) or socket licences (PBSProSockets), managed by the Altair License Manager.[7] A PBS complex uses one type or the other, not both, and one Altair license server cannot host both types. Several complexes can share one server.[7]
| Feature | Unit | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| PBSProNodes | One physical node with up to four devices (CPU sockets, GPUs, MICs, Xeon Phis, SX-Aurora)[7] | Stays with its node whether or not jobs run[7] |
| PBSProSockets | One physical socket or device[7] | If a host cannot be fully covered, no part of it is licensed[7] |
| PBSWorksUsers | Simultaneously logged-in user of Access or Control[7] | Stacks across products[7] |
| PBSWorksBurstNodeHours | Wall-clock hour of a node burst through Control for Cloud[7] | Declining balance, measured per minute[7] |
Nodes burst to the cloud with the PBS Cloud feature are licensed as if they were on premises. The customer needs enough licences for on-premises and cloud nodes together.[7] The PBS server keeps a local licence pool. The pbs_license_min, pbs_license_max and pbs_license_linger_time attributes control how many licences it holds and how long (by default one year).[7] Catalog: PBS Professional: node or socket licences, never both on one server; PBS Cloud nodes are licensed as on-premises nodes; PBSWorksUsers stack across Access and Control.
Programs
Managed Altair Licensing is the only programme-like construct here. Commercial programmes (units subscriptions, partner access, academic keys) are described in Altair licensing.
Out of scope
- LM-X internals beyond what the Altair guide documents; see the LM-X End User Guide referenced there.
- Altair products licensed outside the Altair License Manager, such as data analytics products using their own licence keys.
- PBS Professional releases after 2021.1, for which Altair has not published an open licensing guide.
- Siemens license servers used for Simcenter products that did not come from Altair.