Plan your software license

Choose a license server model, select network servers, and check the system requirements for Network License Manager.

Overview of license types

Administrators manage three types of licenses, according to the subscription type. These license types are authenticated differently.

Named user licenses, based on the customer’s Autodesk Account, are automatically authenticated when the customer first runs a product after signing in to Autodesk Account.
Standalone licenses are tied to specific devices and use serial numbers. When customers first run the product, standalone licenses are authenticated either silently by Autodesk servers or when customers are prompted to enter a serial number.
Network licenses, managed with Network License Manager (NLM) software, are authenticated by pre-configured network license servers. Sometimes, customers may be asked to give license server information when they first run a product.

You can identify your license type for each product in the Products and Services section of Autodesk Account.

If you have a network license, choose one of these license server models:

Single server. All network licenses are installed on one server.
Distributed server. Network licenses are split up and installed across as many servers as you choose.
Redundant server. All network licenses are installed on three different servers, with one as active and the others as backup.

After you choose a network license server model, select one or more network servers from which to manage your licenses.

Servers must be accessible to all client machines and available whenever licenses are requested.
They must run on a supported operating system in a stable network that is not frequently restarted or shut down. Frequent restarts can interfere with license management.
Servers should communicate with ports 2080 and 27000-27009, the ports NLM uses. Although these ports are configurable, changing them may cause conflicts with other applications. Do not change the ports unless necessary.

Note: Your network can include Windows, macOS, and Linux servers in any combination.

Check the system requirements for NLM and make sure that your hardware and operating system are compatible with NLM.