Getting Started With NI VLM: Obtaining a License File for the Server

This article is part of the Getting Started with VLM  series. This is a brief guide on how to obtain your Server's first License File.

To generate a license file, it is necessary to obtain the hostname and the computer ID of the server machine, as these two elements make up the license file. VLM makes it easy to retrieve this information; we simply need to follow the steps below:

For VLM 3.0 and later:

1. Launch Volume License Manager (VLM) and click Next from the NI VLM Getting Started Wizard window.  
2. Select the I do not have an agreement license file for this computer option and click Next.  
3. You can either choose to send an email to NI or save the request to a text file to send later.    
4. The computer ID and Computer Name will show up on the email or text file (depending on your choosing).
5. Alternatively, use the Command Prompt with the following commands. To open the Command Prompt click Start, type cmd and press Enter. This will bring up your Command Prompt. 
   1. To obtain the License Server Computer Name: Type hostname and press Enter.
   2. To obtain the MAC Address: Type ipconfig/all and press Enter. Look for the heading: Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection. Under that heading you will find the MAC address listed as the physical address.

For VLM 2.1.1 and earlier:

To obtain your License Server Computer Name and Computer ID:

1. Open NI Volume License Manager
2. Select Options >> Display Computer Information
3. Next, send the Server Name and the Computer ID or MAC address to a NI at services@ni.com to obtain your volume license file.
4. Next Step: Installing the License File

Key considerations:

• You can only manage one volume license file in NI VLM at a time. To merge multiple Volume License Agreements, email services@ni.com  to get a single volume license file.
• You can only use the volume license file and run VLM on the computer from which the computer ID was generated. Using the computer ID as a key ensures that your volume license file cannot be copied and used on another server.