Single Use License Management in Virtual Environment

[UshusHermanson]

Hello, I am new to ArcGIS. I have a virtualized environment where sometimes the "signature" of the machine changes. For example, the virtual instance may sometimes be allocated X amount of RAM and Y CPU cores. Also, sometimes the definition parameters become corrupted and must be reset. It appears that ArcGIS encodes these platform characteristics into the license file. When I recover the virtual machine or when the configuration changes, the license file is invalidated and I receive an error when I start an ArcGIS Desktop application. I followed a support article that allowed me to reset the files in FlexNet, but apparently, you are allowed to do that just a few times as now I receive an error that I have made too many activation requests.

How best can I manage my ArcGIS license in a virtualized environment that needs to be occasionally recovered or the platform characteristics change?

[curtvprice]

ArcMap or Pro? If you are using Pro a named user license avoids this problem as you simply log in to get a license on any machine with Pro installed. If you are using ArcMap this is a strong incentive to switch to Pro. Especially if you are new to ArcGIS as I think Pro is much easier to learn first!

[UshusHermanson]

I am a student at Northland College and I started with ArcGIS Pro. I agree and would prefer to use ArcGIS Pro. Initially, my professor indicated it could be used. Unfortunately, as the class progressed, it became evident the textbook and other course materials are geared to ArcMap. So, I need a solution that will work with ArcMap. Any advice on how to navigate this is appreciated. Thank you.

[AmnoyAm]

As you have pointed out, the Single Use license captures characteristics of the system's hardware and software configuration.  We used the term, "anchors".  If one or more of the "anchors" change, the license becomes invalid.  This is necessary to prevent users from creating multiple vm's from an existing image with a single license.  It also prevents users from copying it to other systems.  This is one of many reasons.  With that said, the Single Use licensing option is not for you based on your issues of changing components in your environment.  

The Named User licensing option is the best option for such an environment if you are using ArcGIS Pro.  For ArcGIS Desktop, you may want to consider using the Concurrent Use licensing option.  In such a case, the licenses are hosted on a license manager installed on a machine in the network.  ArcGIS Desktop will need to point to the license manager for the licenses.  

Hope that helps.