Deploying a Local Network Floating License (Semaphore-Based)

A local network floating license lets several workstations share a pool of concurrent seats by pointing at a shared license file and semaphore (sema) folder on your network. The most common support issue is accidentally consuming extra seats during deployment. This guide shows the correct way to roll it out.

How it works: the license is activated once, and concurrent seat usage is tracked in the shared license and semaphore files. Every workstation points at those same shared files and draws from one seat pool. (This is the on-network, offline-capable model. For seats managed over the internet or across non-Windows platforms, see Cloud-Controlled Network Floating Licensing below.)

Steps

1. Activate once, on a shared location

Activate the network floating license a single time, and place the license and alias (.lfx) files in a shared server folder that every workstation can reach. See Network Floating via Semaphores (PLUSNative).

2. Point each workstation at the shared path - do NOT re-activate

On every other workstation, configure only the License default path to the shared files (File / File default path / License default path), ideally using the UNC path to the share. Do not run the activation/unlock step again on each machine. The unlock is only needed for the first network license; re-activating per machine consumes a seat per PC, which is the usual cause of over-activation.

3. Make the shared folder read/write

The shared folder must be read/write for every workstation, not read-only. The floating mechanism tracks concurrent seat usage by writing to those shared files.

4. Persist the configured path across restarts

Your application must save the configured license path so it survives restarts. If it does not, a workstation loses its pointer on the next launch, falls back to prompting for its own activation, and silently consumes extra seats.

Once every client reliably references the same persistent shared path, they all draw from the one shared seat pool.

Relocating the license and sema folder to a UNC share

You can install the application locally on each PC and keep only the license file and semaphore folder on a dedicated writable UNC share (passed to the app as a configuration parameter). With local network floating, copy protection binds to the UNC path of the license/sema location, not to where the application is installed. So as long as every PC points to the same UNC path, it works, and you minimize what has to live in a writable shared folder.

Local vs Cloud-Controlled

If you need floating licensing over the internet or on non-Windows platforms, use Cloud-Controlled Network Floating Licensing (CCNFL) instead, which manages seats through SOLO Server (requires an internet connection). The local semaphore model described here is Windows-only.