Introduction to Mastercam Network Licensing with the NetHASP for Mastercam version 9

September 30, 2011 The concept behind network licensing is that a group of Mastercam users who are all connected to the same network can run Mastercam from any station on that network without moving any software protection device between computers. Instead of requiring one HASP on each computer that will be used to run Mastercam, one NetHASP will be installed on any station on the network. That station will be referred to as the NetHASP server. It is not necessarily the network server. Customer requirements: 1. A full-time network administrator must be available. The network administrator must be able to recover from a network crash in a reasonable amount of time, since network licensing depends on a stable network. 2. The network administrator must be able to configure the network as required by this document and the nethasp.txt document. 3. The network administrator must be proficient with a text editor. 4. The network administrator must be able to understand and edit command line parameters. 5. The network administrator needs to learn enough about Mastercam to understand which licenses are checked out when each of the Mastercam products starts up. 6. The network administrator needs to learn the Mastercam nhasp9.exe utility. 7. The network administrator must agree to install Mastercam on every computer on which the customer wants to run Mastercam. Although this may seem blindingly obvious, the point is that attempting to run Mastercam from a common directory on a network drive will not work. 8. The network administrator must be familiar with the NetHASP, a small red device that is plugged into the NetHASP servers parallel port. Although the NetHASP is similar in appearance to the HASP (a small white device), it is functionally very different than the HASP. The HASP and NetHASP are not interchangeable. 9. It is recommended that the NetHASP device be kept in a physically safe place. It should be obvious that all Mastercam users on the network are vulnerable to the loss of the NetHASP device. 10. The customer must have e-mail and the ability to accept attachments. The most practical way to update a customers NetHASP is to e-mail the update code file as an attachment. It is not as simple as updating the (single user) HASP. Network requirements: Although NetHASP supports most networks, we have only tested it with Windows 32-bit operating systems within a TCP/IP network environment. The IPX, TCP/IP and NetBIOS network communications protocols are supported. See nethasp.txt for more information.

Setting up the NetHASP server for Windows 95 / 98 / NT / 2000: 1. Select a computer that will be the NetHASP server. 2. Connect the NetHASP (a small red device) to the computers parallel port. 3. Start the Mastercam installation procedure. Select Install NetHASP server from the installation menu. It is not necessary to install any Mastercam products on the NetHASP server. 4. From the NetHASP server directory (usually c:\NetHaspServer), run hinstall i. This installs NetHASP drivers, allowing nhasp9.exe to recognize the NetHASP. 5. Optionally, configure the license manager with the nhsrv.ini file. The nhsrv.ini file allows the network administrator to specify which workstations are served by the NetHASP server. 6. For Windows NT / 2000, it is recommended that the License Manager be installed as a service. To do this, run lmsetup.exe. Administrator privileges may be required to add a service. 7. If the License Manager has not been installed as a service, run the Aladdin NetHASP License Manager for Win 32 utility (nhsrvw32.exe). This utility can be added to Windows Startup, so it will be loaded automatically when Windows is started. Unlike with Windows NT/2000 services, you will need to login for this to run on startup within Windows 9x. 8. Check available licenses with the Mastercam nhasp9.exe utility. Note: although the NetHASP server must be connected to the network, in Windows NT/2000 the account that runs the NetHASP license manager does not need to be logged into the network. Setting up Mastercam for the NetHASP: 1. 2. 3. 4. Install Mastercam version 9. Install the appropriate network protocol such as TCP/IP if not already installed. Run the nhasp9.exe utility and set the SIM type to NetHASP. Copy the nethasp.ini file to the main Mastercam directory (e.g., c:\mcam9). Edit nethasp.ini to use the appropriate network protocol and to limit searching to the computer(s) that are being used as the NetHASP server(s). If this step is omitted, when Mastercam starts up and checks for network licenses, it may take an unreasonably long time (30 seconds or more) for Mastercam to find a NetHASP server. It may take an especially long time in the event that all licenses have been checked out by other Mastercam users on that network. Configuring nethasp.ini to look for the NetHASP server at a specific address will drastically reduce this delay.

Recommended nethasp.ini for TCP/IP:

[NH_COMMON] ;; This NetHASP.INI file is configured for TCPIP. ;; Please note that you will have to enter the address of the ;; NetHASP key station: NH_TCPIP = Enabled ;Use the TCP/IP protocol [NH_TCPIP] NH_SERVER_ADDR = 192.168.176.1, ; ; ; ; ; ; ; NH_TCPIP_METHOD = TCP ;Send a TCP packet or UDP packet ; Default: UDP NH_USE_BROADCAST = Disabled ;Use TCPI/IP Broadcast mechanism. ; Default: Enabled 192.168.176.5 IP addresses of all the NetHASP License Managers you want to search. Unlimited addresses are possible. Possible address format examples: IP address: 192.114.176.65 Local Hostname: ftp.aladdin.com

5. Create or edit shortcuts for running Mastercam with command line switches as described below. Note: the installation procedure automatically run installs NetHASP drivers. If the installation procedure was not completed or if the NetHASP drivers were removed, Mastercam will not be able to recognize the NetHASP. To fix this problem, run hinstall i from the \mcam9\common directory.

Command line switches: The options that will be enabled for each Mastercam product are specified with command line switches. The switches are: Switch: /E /1 /2 /3 /C5 /ME /M1 /M2 /M3 /S Products: Allowed in:

Entry Mill and Lathe Level 1 Mill and Lathe Level 2 Mill Level 3 Mill Curve5ax / Drill5ax add-on from Mill level 1 or level 2 Mill entry Lathe Mill level 1 Lathe Mill level 2 Lathe Mill level 3 Lathe Solids Mill, Lathe, Wire, Design

To set command line options on a shortcut icon, select the icon with the right mouse button. Select Properties. Select the Shortcut tab. Add the command line option to the Target edit field. For example:
C:\mcam9\mill9.exe /E

causes Mastercam to request a Mill Entry license when it starts up. The following command line:
C:\mcam9\mill9.exe /3 /S

requests two licenses: Mill level 3 and Solids. The following command line:
C:\mcam9\lathe9.exe /1 /M1 /S

requests three licenses: Lathe level 1, mill level 1 and Solids. It is not a good idea to constantly edit command line options. Instead, set up icons for each product and level that will be used. For example, set up three icons labeled Design9 with Solids, Mill9 Entry and Mill9 level 3. Simply select the appropriate icon and avoid editing command line parameters every time a product is executed.

Note on using command line options with directory names that contain spaces: When the directory name contains spaces, quote marks must be used. The less obvious point is that command line options must be placed outside the quote marks. Ex:
c:\mastercam version 9\mill9.exe /3

Enabling Solids: The /S command line option must be used to enable Solids. There are numerous checks in Mastercam for a valid Solids license. Solids creation, analyze, Parasolids file conversion, STL file conversion, SAT file conversion, STEP file conversion and Xform will check for a Solids license. If you need to create, import, export or transform a Solid, you need to use the /S option. Adding licenses: The number of licenses for each product is stored in the NetHASP memory. The maximum number of licenses allowed for each product is further limited by the type of NetHASP. For example, the NetHASP-20 allows a maximum of 20 Mill Entry licenses, 20 Mill level 1 licenses, 20 Mill level 2 licenses, etc. Once the maximum number of licenses has been reached, there are two ways to proceed. In this example, the NetHASP20 could be exchanged for a NetHASP-50 or NetHASP-100. Another option is to allow the customer to keep the NetHASP-20 and send another NetHASP-20 or NetHASP-50 with additional licenses enabled on that device. In the latter scenario, the NetHASPs may not be daisy-chained. A separate NetHASP server would need to be set up for the second NetHASP. Error messages: When Mastercam starts up, it will attempt to get a license from the NetHASP server. There are many reasons that this step may fail. Here are the most common reasons:
Error checking out a [product name] license. No licenses have been purchased for this product.

This message is obvious. Contact your dealer and purchase the necessary options.
Active NetHASP server not found.

Indicates that the NetHASP license manager is not running.

All available licenses are in use.

Indicates that the maximum number of users that are allowed to license a product are using it at the current time.

Approximately once every five minutes, Mastercam verifies that the NetHASP server is still running and the NetHASP is attached to the server. If this test fails, due to the NetHASP server crashing, a network fault, loss of power or theft of the NetHASP, etc., the following message will be displayed from Mastercam:
The SIM has become disconnected. Mastercam will automatically shut down. You will get one chance to save your file.

This message should be taken very seriously. Monitoring NetHASP users: In the nhasp9.exe utility, there is a button labeled Active licenses. Set Mode to Network to enable this option. Click on Active licenses to show which products are licensed, the number of active users, the maximum number of users and the number of available licenses for each product. This function will run slowly if nethasp.ini is not present or is set up incorrectly. Please note that nhasp9 does not report the licenses that are checked out on the computer on which it is running. The Aladdin monitor.exe utility displays a list of users logged into the NetHASP server, but does not show which products they are using. To use this utility, double-click on the appropriate protocol such as TCP/IP. When a server is found, double-click on one of the servers. The list of users will then be displayed. Unfortunately, this utility tends to be very slow.

The nhasp9.exe utility: The nhasp9.exe utility, provided by CNC Software, Inc., will be needed to administer Mastercam network licensing.

Sim type Select HASP or NetHASP. The SIM type is written to the registry. When Mastercam starts up, it reads the SIM type from the registry and decides whether to check the HASP or NetHASP. Mode Local reads the NetHASP from the local computer. Network reads the NetHASP that is connected to the NetHASP server, which may or may not be the local computer.

Update code file Selecting the Update code file button allows an update code file to be selected. The update code file name may be entered directly in the adjacent field. Note: please be sure to enter a file name in this field. The NetHASP contains much more licensing information than the HASP. Consequently, it is not practical to represent this information in a single code, as for the HASP. Product list (untitled) The list of products shows the number of stations authorized for each product followed by the product name. Read Displays the product list that is programmed in the NetHASP. The NetHASP is read from the local machine or NetHASP server according to the Mode setting. Update To update the NetHASP, it must be connected to the local computer. Mode must be set to Local. Before selecting Update, enter the update code file name. If the update code file is not found an error message will be displayed: <file name> not found. Active licenses Works only in network mode. Displays the number of licenses currently checked out, the number of licenses authorized, and the number of licenses that are currently available for each product. Note: none of the licenses that are checked out from the local computer are reported by Active licenses. Stop Only available when Active licenses is reporting licenses. User type This read-only field displays the user type: Industrial, Educational, etc. Serial number This read-only field displays the NetHASP serial number.

Start date, End Date These read-only fields display the first and last date for which the NetHASP licenses are valid or display Unlimited if the licenses are available permanently. Bundling Bundling does not exist with the NetHASP. This potentially makes the NetHASP much more valuable than the HASPs that it replaces. A common scenario is that a school has 20 HASPs each programmed for Mill level 3 and Lathe level 1. When the school trades in 20 HASPs for one NetHASP programmed for 20 seats of Mill level 3 and 20 seats of Lathe level 1, it is now possible for 40 stations to be running simultaneously, whereas only 20 simultaneous stations were possible with the HASPs. Maximum number of licenses for the NetHASP-20 and the NetHASP-50 Normally, either a NetHASP-20 or NetHASP-50 will be supplied to the customer. The NetHASP-20 allows up to 20 seats of each product to be used. The NetHASP-50 allows up to 50 stations of each product to be used. A total of 220 seats (simultaneous users) can be authorized with a NetHASP-20: 20 Mill Entry, 20 Mill level 1, 20 Mill level 2, 20 Mill level 3, 20 Lathe Entry, 20 Lathe level 1, 20 Wire, 20 Design, 20 Router Entry, 20 Router and 20 Router Pro seats. A maximum of 550 seats can be authorized with a NetHASP-50. There is no way to limit the total number of seats except by limiting the number of seats for each product. Handling different version numbers An important limitation to be aware of is that there is only version number for each product group. For example, if there is one seat of Mill Entry and one seat of Mill Level 3, the version number for both products must either be 8 or 9. A different version number may be assigned to each group of products. Mill group: Mill Entry, Mill level 1, Mill level 2, Mill level 3 Lathe group: Lathe Entry, Lathe level 1 Wire group: Wire Design group: Design Router group: Router Entry, Router, Router Pro For example, the following combination of products is possible: 1 Mill Entry v9 2 Mill level 3 v9 1 Lathe Entry v8 2 Lathe level 1 v8 This limitation is less restrictive than it may appear to be. In the example shown above, it is possible to use both mill8 and mill9. The mill8 executable, beginning with version 8.1, will run with either a version 8 or a version 9 license.
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Registry The nhasp9.exe utility reads and writes the SIM type (HASP or NetHASP) to the registry: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\CNC Software, Inc.\ Sim type The value of Sim Type is H for the HASP and N for the NetHASP. Each Mastercam user must have read and write permission to this part of the registry. The NetHASP mode is also written to the registry: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\CNC Software, Inc.\NetHASP mode The two possible values are Network and Local. Further information: This document only provides a brief introduction to setting up network licensing for Mastercam. See nethasp.txt for further information. Note: The nethasp.txt document was written by Aladdin Knowledge Systems. CNC Software has not contributed to or edited nethasp.txt and assumes no responsibility for its accuracy.

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