Keysight license servers and the Software Manager are the infrastructure through which Keysight licences are issued, installed and checked out. Keysight’s administrator documentation describes the pieces: licence client software built into each licensed product, licence files that unlock the products, licence management tools, and, for floating and counted licences, the FlexNet licence server manager lmgrd plus one or more Keysight vendor daemons.[2] The vendor daemon agileesofd is Keysight’s; lmgrd starts it, and some other Keysight products use the similarly named agilent daemon instead.[1] For historical reasons, licensing uses either or both of the two daemons depending on the products and licence types in use.[2]
Keysight Software Manager
The Keysight Software Manager (KSM) is a Keysight website used to register licences and subscriptions, assign licences to a host ID and remove licences.[7] The user requests licence files from KSM using the order number and certificate number from the entitlement certificate, and KSM emails the licence file or makes it available for download.[1] First-time users create a KSM account.[1] A licence’s time-bound aspects, both perpetual support and subscription terms, start when the licence is added to the user’s KSM profile.[3]
For transportable licences KSM is also the transport mechanism: the utility and the website together move a licence from one PC to another.[7] For floating licences that need an administrative change of server or host ID, KSM is where the customer makes it; the 89600 VSA help states that its floating licences are renewed every 550 days through the KSM profile so the server or host ID can be changed.[9]
Host IDs
The host ID submitted to KSM identifies the licence’s host. The Keysight Software Manager Utility recommends an Ethernet MAC address and offers alternatives under “Show More”; Keysight advises avoiding Ethernet addresses tied to docking stations or removable and USB network adapters.[1] For a licence server, the host ID can be read with lmutil lmhostid, on Windows from the physical address shown by getmac /v /fo list, and on Linux from the hardware address of the Ethernet interface with the colons removed.[1] On an instrument the host ID combines the instrument model number and serial number; on a PC the default model number is PCSERNO.[7]
Licence manager utilities
The Quick Start Guide lists the licence managers still in circulation and says the right one depends on the product:[1]
| Tool | Role |
|---|---|
| Keysight Software Manager Utility (KSM-U), formerly PathWave License Manager | Manages many licence types for many software products and instruments, displays licences installed by the other managers, launches Keysight License Manager 5 when needed, and has replaced Keysight License Manager 6 |
| Keysight License Manager 6 (KLM6) | Functionally replaced by KSM-U; it installed an older version of the licence server files, so installing it after a newer manager is not advisable |
| Keysight License Manager 5 | Manages primarily node-locked and transportable licences, needed to install and transport them for products such as the original BenchVue software and some instruments |
| Keysight Floating License Manager for Design Software Products | Manages licences primarily for EDA products and some others |
When a new product installs a newer licence manager, the old manager should not be removed because it may be needed for older licences; removing a manager does not remove its licences.[1] Licences stored in user-specific locations such as a user’s desktop may not be accessible to the licence service that KSM-U creates and should be reinstalled in a generally accessible location.[1]
Easy Activation
For products whose entitlement certificate title shows Easy Activation, KSM-U can activate licences from an activation code or entitlement code without the user downloading a licence file. Activation needs an internet-connected machine and supports node-locked, transportable, USB portable and floating licences.[1] KSM-U lists the products available to activate and lets the user choose the licence quantity; if a floating licence is shown greyed out, a switch enables KSM-U as the floating licence server for it, and the machine then serves that licence to its own software and to remote clients.[1] Remote clients point to the server using the port@host format, with the port typically 27009, through the Edit Servers option in their own KSM-U.[1]
Setting up a floating licence server
The Quick Start Guide describes a dedicated-server procedure using the Keysight License Server download:[1]
- Choose a licence server machine that matches the purchased licence types, noting that floating licences may be single-site, single-region or worldwide as stated in the licence file; supported operating systems are listed on the Keysight License Server page.
- Install the Keysight License Server for the platform.
- Obtain a licence file from KSM using the server’s host ID.
- Save the file in the server licence directory (on Windows
C:\ProgramData\Keysight\Licensing\Licenses\Server, on Linux/var/opt/keysight/licensing/licenses/server), ensuring that all files specify the same port in the 27000 to 27009 range or licensing fails. - Start
lmgrdmanually to verify, then automate startup, on Windows through a service named “EEsof EDA License Server” for compatibility with Keysight EDA products. - Reboot to test, then point clients to the server in KSM-U with Specify a Remote License Server.
The guide warns that a Windows service running as Local System cannot write to a log file in a non-writable location and will exit without an error message, so the log and licence directories must be accessible to all users.[1] A BenchVue-oriented procedure extracts lmgrd.exe, agileesofd.exe, lmtools.exe and lmutil.exe, runs the service from the lmtools interface and checks status with lmutil lmstat -a.[5] A client starts a request when the licensed application launches; the vendor daemon checks availability and returns a grant or deny message.[4]
Version compatibility
The licence server must run licensing software the same as or newer than that of any client requesting a floating licence.[1] The Keysight License Server must be version 2023.03 or later for clients using PathWave License Manager 7.0 to 7.5, and 2025.02 or later for clients using Keysight Software Manager Utility 7.6.0.[1] A KLM6-based server migrates to the Keysight License Server after all borrowed licences have been returned to it.[1]
Borrowing
Some floating licences carry a BORROW keyword in the licence file, which lets a user take the licence offline for a number of days.[2] In the sample file in the Administrator’s Guide a licence can be borrowed for up to 8760 hours (365 days).[2] The BenchVue help states a typical maximum of 365 days or until expiry, notes that no one else can use the borrowed count during that time, and says that the licence returns automatically on the chosen return date even if the computer is not connected.[3] A server administrator can restrict borrowing through an options file, including a “low water” level of licences that cannot be borrowed, users included or excluded and the maximum period.[2]
Redundancy, firewalls and virtual machines
Three-server redundancy lets licensed products keep working if one of three servers fails, requires licence files issued for three servers and operates on a quorum of two out of three. It is not compatible with licence borrowing, because borrowed-licence state persists only on the server that issued the licence.[2]
To reach a licence server through a firewall, fixed TCP ports must be set for lmgrd on the SERVER line and agileesofd on the VENDOR line, opened on both server and client firewalls, and given in the client’s server setting as 27009@myserver.myDomain; the default client timeout of three seconds can be raised with the FLEXLM_TIMEOUT variable.[2]
The 2020 Administrator’s Guide’s troubleshooting section states that virtual machines such as VMware are not supported for licence servers.[2] The guide predates the June 2025 Quick Start Guide, which sends readers to the Keysight License Server page for supported operating systems, so a current statement should be confirmed there before virtualizing a server.[1]
Device-locked and USB licences
PathWave License Manager, as documented for FlexDCA, supports device-locked licences embedded in DCA-M modules, floating licences and USB dongle licences. A dongle licence needs the dongle driver installed and the licence file installed on every PC or N1000A where it is used, with the key attached; the manager periodically checks a remote server to refresh the status of floating licences.[6]
Compliance relevance
The EULA says Keysight’s licence technology may include “security servers, security keys or modules, a hardware lock device, license administration software” that detect unlicensed copies and may transmit data about suspected unlicensed copies, and that circumvention is prohibited.[8] For an inventory, the licence server host, the lmgrd and agileesofd versions, the licence files by directory, the port and the borrowed-licence report are the main records a software asset manager can collect from the Keysight licensing tools described above.
Out of scope
This article does not cover the contents of the KSM-U help system (not retrieved), the Keysight License Server release notes, or licence terms (see Keysight license types and terms). Keysight’s docs.keysight.com knowledge base, which holds the current Administrator’s Guide, returned a bot challenge to a generic client and was not used; the Administrator’s Guide cited here is the August 2020 edition.