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Licensing 3forge Enterprise

3forge Enterprise adds a standalone license server for centralized management of individual or company-wide licenses.

Create and Install a Standalone License

  1. Log in to the 3forge portal and navigate to "Enterprise Keys".
  2. Create a Standalone License for your host.
  3. Copy the key into the license file, f1license.txt, in the root or config/ directory of your 3forge installation.

The startup script searches for the license file in order:

  1. $HOME/f1license.txt
  2. the installation root
  3. config/f1license.txt

Without a license: demo mode

An instance with no license runs in demo mode and shuts down after 2 hours. Install a valid key before relying on the instance.

Using a License Server

Where a license server is used instead of a static key, point the instance at it in one of two ways:

  1. with the F1_LICENSOR_HOSTS environment variable (recommended)
  2. setting the JVM system property -Df1.licensor.hosts in amicore.vmoptions on Windows or amicore_linux.vmoptions on Linux. Both files are in the installation's root directory.

This enables a more centralized approach to managing licenses across a fleet, rather than distributing static keys per host.

When the License Is Rejected

If the startup script prints STARTUP FAILED and standard error contains F1 LICENSE ERR, the instance found a license and refused it. Check the following:

  • The host does not match. The key is issued for a specific host. Compare the host in the key against the host reported in the licensing warning.
  • The key is for a different application. A key issued for another 3forge application does not start this instance.
  • The key has expired. Keys carry a start and end date, and one outside its window is rejected.

For other startup failures, see Troubleshooting.