Next-Generation Licensing FAQ

NV5 Geospatial has adopted a new licensing technology for all future releases of our ENVI, IDL and SARscape products beginning with ENVI 5.7, IDL8.9 and SARscape 5.7. This technology is known as Next-Generation Licensing System (NG or NGLS), and it has been designed from the ground up with performance, simplicity, and stability in mind.

The following article covers the most Frequently Asked Questions you may have as a user of this licensing system.

This is currently the only supported licensing system for our products.

How to upgrade to the latest versions of ENVI, IDL or SARscape ?
What is my License Activation Code for the latest versions of ENVI, IDL or SARscape?
When are my activation codes delivered to me?
How to download a product with the Next-Generation licensing system?
What are the requirements of the Next-Generation licensing system?
How to license a product with the Next-Generation licensing system?
Does Next-Generation licensing support prior ENVI/IDL/SARscape versions?
What is the ENVI-IDL License Administrator tool and how to use it?
How to setup a Next-Generation license server?
How to connect a client machine to a Next-Generation license server?
How to check which products are licensed on my machine?
What to do if my machine is not connected to the internet or if I am working in a secured environment?
Can we borrow a license in the Next-Generation licensing system?
Can we create an option file for a license server in the Next-Generation licensing system?
How do I manage my contracts & licenses as a License administrator in the Next-Generation licensing system?
How can I migrate to the Next-Generation licensing system?
What happens if my maintenance is not renewed or expired?
Will the previous FlexNet licensing system still be available?
Do I need to upgrade my active license for each new product version release?
Who should I contact if I need help with the Next-Generation licensing system?

1. How to upgrade to the latest versions of ENVI, IDL or SARscape?

The easiest way to upgrade to the latest versions of ENVI, IDL or SARscape is to download the new product installers:

How to download a product with the Next-Generation licensing system?

Then follow the procedure described in the link below to upgrade the licenses:

How to Upgrade licenses to ENVI 6.x / IDL 9.x

Note SARscape is only supported in floating/server license mode. See link below to install the latest version of ENVI and SARscape:

How to install and license ENVI 6.1 and SARscape 6.1

NG activation codes continue to be backward compatible with older versions of ENVI, IDL and SARscape products up to versions ENVI 5.4, IDL 8.6 and SARscape 5.4.

To properly use NG licensing with the following product versions, ENVI 5.4-5.6.3, IDL 8.6-8.8.3 and SARscape 5.4-5.6, you must apply the NG license compatibility patch, available from our download page.

See also links below:

Does Next-Generation licensing support prior ENVI/IDL/SARscape versions?

Do I need to upgrade my active license for each new product version release ?

2. What is my License Activation Code for the latest versions of ENVI, IDL or SARscape?

Your activation code remains the same for the new versions of the products. Assuming your contracts are under maintenance, your existing activation code will automatically support the latest version of the products. You would just need to apply the upgrade procedure to take advantage of the latest versions of our products.

How to upgrade to the latest versions of ENVI, IDL or SARscape

For example, if your ENVI 5.7 or ENVI 6.0 license activation code was AAAA-BBBB-1111-2222, then your ENVI 6.1 code would also be AAAA-BBBB-1111-2222.

3. When are my activation codes delivered to me?

Beginning with ENVI 5.7 / IDL 8.9 / SARscape 5.7:

New purchases of ENVI/IDL/SARscape products will receive an email with their Activation Code.

The Activation codes are NOT resent when renewing the maintenance of perpetual licenses: the code remains the same and no action is required on your system for maintenance renewal of a perpetual license, assuming you will continue to use the products on the same systems.

When a new product version is released, and if your licenses are eligible for a version upgrade, you will NOT receive a new email with your existing Activation Codes. Your activation code does not change, and you would just need to apply the Upgrade procedure:

How to upgrade to the latest versions of ENVI, IDL or SARscape

4. How to download a product with the Next-Generation licensing system?

The software can be downloaded from our web download portal:

https://portal.nv5geospatialsoftware.com/

If you did not register on this portal after April 2024, and even if you had a previous login/password for the legacy portals, please use the Register button to create your new account. The login credentials for the legacy portals are no longer working on this new download portal.

A validation code will be delivered by email at the end of the registration process. After entering this code in the interface, you will need to wait for a second email which will confirm the approval of your account. This second email may take a few hours to be delivered.

If you need to reset your password, please use the Forgot Password function on our website: https://portal.nv5geospatialsoftware.com/auth/sign-in

Please contact Technical Support or your local distributor if there are any issues creating and accessing your account, or resetting your password:

https://www.nv5geospatialsoftware.com/Company/Contact-Us

5. What are the requirements of the Next-Generation licensing system?

License activation is an online process that requires an internet connection.

Offline activation procedures are also available for customers without internet connection or with a secured connection, which is preventing online activation. See link below:

What to do if my machine is not connected to the internet or if I am working in a secured environment

Administrator permissions are required to install and license a product

Below is a link to the current supported platforms and features for our products:

Platform and Feature Support for Current and Previous Versions

Below are links to the current supported platforms for the Next-Generation License Server package.

Windows: https://www.nv5geospatialsoftware.com/docs/install-windows.html

Linux: https://www.nv5geospatialsoftware.com/docs/install-linux.html

The License Server is configured to listen to ports 4080 (HTTP) and 40443 (HTTPS) concurrently by default. If a firewall is deployed on the License Server or local network, it will be necessary to configure the firewall to allow external listening connections by the License Server computer on TCP ports 4080 and 40443.

6. How to license a product with the Next-Generation licensing system?

As a License Administrator:

Software can be downloaded from your account on our download portal on our website.

How to download a product with the Next-Generation licensing system.

You will receive an email that includes the Activation Code(s) corresponding to your purchased licenses. This Activation Code is required to activate the software after installation.

When are my activation codes delivered to me

Use the Activation Codes you received by email to activate the licenses locally on each local system. The Administrator will need to run the activation process from each end-user machine, with an internet connection. Note SARscape is not eligible to local activation.

ENVI: https://www.nv5geospatialsoftware.com/docs/envi-install.html#Online

IDL : https://www.nv5geospatialsoftware.com/docs/idl-install.html#Online

You can also share the Activation Codes with the end-users so they can run the activation by themselves, from their machine with an internet connection (recommended)

Or use the Activation Codes to activate the licenses on a license server. Each end-user machine can connect afterwards to the existing license server.

Windows: https://www.nv5geospatialsoftware.com/docs/install-windows.html

Linux: https://www.nv5geospatialsoftware.com/docs/install-linux.html

ENVI 5.4 to ENVI 5.6.x and IDL 8.6 to IDL 8.8.x will need to be patched with the Next-Generation License Patch to use Next-Generation licensing.

Does Next-Generation licensing support prior ENVI/IDL/SARscape versions

As a License User:

Software can be downloaded from your account on our download portal on our website.

How to download a product with the Next-Generation licensing system.

Contact your License Administrator to obtain the Activation Codes for your product(s), to activate the license locally on your machine, or to obtain the server name or IP address of the license server system, in order to use the already active licenses on your network.

7. Does Next-Generation licensing support prior ENVI/IDL/SARscape versions?

ENVI 5.7 / IDL 8.9 / SARscape 5.7 and newer versions support the NG licensing system out of the box.

ENVI 5.6.3 / IDL 8.8.3 and older versions (until ENVI 5.4 / IDL 8.6), which were previously licensed with the Flexnet licensing system, will work with the NG licensing system, after installing an additional NG License Compatibility Patch. This Patch will allow older ENVI/IDL versions:

to activate local (node-locked) licenses via the NG system

or

to connect to a NG License Server.

The Patch can be downloaded from our download portal and is available for Windows, Linux and Mac.

How to download a product with the Next-Generation licensing system

ENVI 5.3.2 / IDL 8.5.2 and older versions utilize the old FlexLM licensing system and cannot be adapted to support our NG licensing system.

8. What is the ENVI-IDL License Administrator tool and how to use it?

The ENVI-IDL License Administrator tool is a GUI

To activate or deactivate a local license online
To create the required file for offline activation
To connect a client system to a license server
To view the licenses available for your system

To open the ENVI-IDL License Administrator tool, use one of the following:

Windows: from the Start menu, select ENVI-IDL License Administrator under the shortcut group for your product installation. Administrator privileges are required.
Linux: from a terminal window, launch the envi_idl_license_admin command from the INSTALL_DIR/envixx/idlxx/bin directory. Sudo or root permissions are required.
Mac: From a Finder window, double-click the LicenseAdminstrator.app icon located under the INSTALL_DIR/envixx/idlxx directory. Administrator privileges are required.

NOTE: The ENVI-IDL License Administrator GUI is not relevant for license activation on a license server utility. If you wish to activate a license on a license server, please use the license server GUI instead. See links below for instructions:

Windows: https://www.nv5geospatialsoftware.com/docs/install-windows.html#AdminGUI

Linux: https://www.nv5geospatialsoftware.com/docs/install-linux.html#AdminGUI

9. How to setup a Next-Generation license server?

To use floating/server licensing, this requires a separate download and installation of the license server binaries. The license server installer can also be found in your web account on our download portal:

How to download a product with the Next-Generation licensing system

The links below points to the license server Installation and licensing instructions for Windows and Linux:

Windows: https://www.nv5geospatialsoftware.com/docs/install-windows.html

Linux: https://www.nv5geospatialsoftware.com/docs/install-linux.html

10. How to connect a client machine to a Next-Generation license server?

The License Server is configured to listen to ports 4080 (HTTP) and 40443 (HTTPS) concurrently by default. If a firewall is deployed on the License Server or local network, it will be necessary to configure the firewall to allow external listening connections by the License Server computer on TCP ports 4080 and 40443

The configuration of the client machine to point to a license server is described in the links below:

Windows: https://www.nv5geospatialsoftware.com/docs/install-windows.html#Client

Linux: https://www.nv5geospatialsoftware.com/docs/install-linux.html#Client

11. How to check which products are licensed on my machine?

Users can easily check the list of available licenses from the ENVI-IDL License Administrator tool using the View Licenses option. See the link below to start the ENVI-IDL License administrator.

What is the ENVI-IDL License Administrator tool and how to use it?

A) If a license has been activated locally, the display will list the license number, licensee, feature name, version and expiration date of your active license.

B) If your machine is connected to a license server with active licenses, the ENVI-IDL License Administrator will detect that and output additional information in the View Licenses tab. Click on “Show Dashboard” to view the active licenses on your license server in a web browser.

If you click Show Dashboard and the message HTTP 404 Not Found is returned, contact your License Administrator.

Note that you can use both licenses activated locally and those activated on a license server. When combined, the software will first attempt to use a license from your local machine, then it will connect to the License Server if your local license does not contain the requested feature.

If you are administrating a license server, please use the license server dashboard to check the usage of licenses. You can access the dashboard in a web browser, from the license server, using the http address below:

http://localhost:4080/dashboard/

12. What to do if my machine is not connected to the internet or if I am working in a secured environment?

If you do not have internet access at all, or if you are working on a secured network preventing online activation, please follow instructions below for offline activation and contact Technical Support

A/ Offline activation of a local /node locked license

Follow the instructions below to generate the machine_information.dat file including the system bindings

ENVI: https://www.nv5geospatialsoftware.com/docs/envi-install.html#Offline

IDL : https://www.nv5geospatialsoftware.com/docs/idl-install.html#Offline

Provide the activation code of each product you want to activate locally on the system

Send all details to NV5 Technical Support or to your local distributor

https://www.nv5geospatialsoftware.com/Company/Contact-Us

You will receive a license.dat file and instructions to install it from NV5 Technical Support or from your local distributor

B/ Offline activation of a floating/server license

Get the bindings.txt file from the following location on the license server system – adjust the path to your installation directory if needed:

Windows: C:\Program Files\NV5\license_server

Linux: /usr/local/nv5/license_server

Provide the activation code of each product you want to activate on the license server system, as well as the quantity of each product to be activated.

Send all details to NV5 Technical Support or to your local distributor

https://www.nv5geospatialsoftware.com/Company/Contact-Us

You will receive a license.dat file and instructions to install it from NV5 Technical Support or from your local distributor.

13. Can we borrow a license in the Next-Generation licensing system?

There is no functionality to borrow licenses from a license server in the NG licensing system.
If you need to borrow a license on a client machine, the only solution is to deactivate a license seat from the license server pool and activate it on your local machine afterwards.

14. Can we create an option file for a license server in the Next-Generation licensing system?

There is no functionality to reserve specific license features or counts for a certain client machine or group of users.
It is suggested to use multiple license servers for standard and reserve users, or to instead implement node-locked/local licenses for users which require reserved license access.

15. How do I manage my contracts & licenses as a License Administrator in the Next-Generation licensing system?

Please contact Technical Support or your local distributor if you need help finding out the activation codes of your licenses or where your licenses are currently used.

https://www.nv5geospatialsoftware.com/Company/Contact-Us

16. How can I migrate to the Next-Generation licensing system?

If you did not yet migrate to the NG licensing system and still use the FlexNet legacy licensing system, we invite you to follow the steps below:

Download the latest versions of ENVI, IDL or SARscape from the download portal

How to download a product with the Next-Generation licensing system

Download the NG License Server utility from the download portal if you plan to use floating/server licenses

Install the software using instructions available on the download portal

Deactivate manually your licenses from the Flexnet system – see link below

How to manually uninstall Flexnet local or a server license

Activate the licenses in the NG licensing system

How to license a product with the Next-Generation licensing system?

See links below for more details about this transition:

Transition to the Next Generation Licensing System

Does Next-Generation licensing support prior ENVI/IDL/SARscape versions?

If you are still using legacy ENVI 5.3/IDL8.5 versions of our products, please read the article below:

End-of-Life Policy Enforcement for ENVI 5.3 / IDL 8.5 and Earlier Versions

17. What happens if my maintenance is not renewed/expired?

As long as your web account is verified on our website, you can download our latest products at any time. However, when the software Maintenance of your license expires, you will no longer have access to any software upgrades, and thus your license will remain on the corresponding version when the Maintenance expires. You will not be able to license newer versions nor to benefit Technical Support.

18. Will the previous FlexNet licensing system still be available?

As of June, 1^st 2023, the FlexNet licensing system is no longer available.

You can still use your current active licenses and the corresponding ENVI/IDL/SARscape versions on your machine. However, if you now need to activate, reactivate or transfer any license regardless of which product version, the NG licensing system needs to be used.

Therefore, we now recommend migrating to the new NG licensing system.

How can I migrate to the Next-Generation licensing system?

19. Do I need to upgrade my active license for each new product version release?

Product versions are defined as follows:

Major version
Minor version
Patched version

For example, ENVI 5.6.3 is MAJOR version 5, MINOR version 6, PATCHED version 3.

NV5 Geospatial products are licensed for major and minor version releases. For example, ENVI 6.1 require v6.1 licensing.

Patched versions do not require a new license. For example, ENVI Deep Learning 3.0.1 uses ENVI Deep Learning v3.0 licensing.

20. Who should I contact if I need help with the Next-Generation licensing system?

You can contact Technical Support for any questions related to downloading and licensing your product. Please click here for more information.

Otherwise, you can write Technical Support directly via email. Please briefly describe the details of your request and let us know which license number is involved.

North America: geospatialsupport@nv5.com

Europe: supporteu@nv5.com

If you are based in a country covered by one of our local distributors, please contact directly your local distributor for technical support. See link below:

https://www.nv5geospatialsoftware.com/Company/Contact-Us#distributor

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major revision on 1/16/2025 by BC, reviewed by whole TS team

created by MT on 4/28/2023 / modified by MT on 7/13/2023 / modified by JU on 10/4/2023/ modified by BC on 10/18/2024

reviewed by BC on 5/1/2023 / reviewed by MT on 10/18/2024

edited and reviewed by MM on 22/4/2024, JU 11/8/2024

ERROR when activating a license: The size of provided data is incorrect Platform Support for ENVI 5.7 and IDL 8.9