When you start an Autodesk product, the product determines the server from which it should try to obtain a license. The product then requests a license through the TCP/IP network protocol to the license server.

If the number of available licenses has not been exceeded on the license server, the Network License Manager assigns a license to the workstation. A product session then starts on the workstation, and the number of available licenses on the license server is reduced by one.

Likewise, when you exit a product, the Network License Manager frees a license for another user. If you run multiple sessions of an Autodesk product on an individual workstation, only one license is used. When the last session is closed, the license is freed.

The following three processes manage the distribution and availability of licenses:

• License manager daemon (lmgrd.exe). Handles the original contact with the application, and then passes the connection to the vendor daemon. The lmgrd.exe daemon is used to communicate with the vendor daemon only; lmgrd.exe does not authenticate or dispense licenses, but rather passes user requests to the vendor daemon. By using this approach, a single lmgrd.exe daemon can be used by multiple software vendors to provide license authentication. The lmgrd.exe daemon starts and restarts the vendor daemons as needed.
• Autodesk vendor daemon (adskflex.exe). Tracks the licenses that are checked out and the workstations that are using them. Each software vendor has a unique vendor daemon to manage vendor-specific licensing. As its name implies, the adskflex.exe vendor daemon is specific to Autodesk products.

• License file. A text file that has vendor-specific license information.