Licensed Software

Many software packages provided by the College of Engineering are licensed as floating node licenses.  If a software package has 25 or 100 licenses, this means that while you can install the software on as many computers as you want, it can only run on 25 or 100 systems simultaneously.  We try buy enough floating licenses to cover the expected usage.  If you have trouble obtaining a license for one of these applications, please contact admin@eng.auburn.edu.

When the software application starts, it contacts the appropriate Engineering license server to check out a license.  This means that the computer you are using must be online when you use the software so that it can contact the license server to check the license out and in.  There is a further restriction that you must be on the College of Engineering network.  The Engineering License Servers are not available outside of the Engineering network.

There is a technique that allows you to create a secure tunnel to the College of Engineering License Servers so that you can check licenses out and in.  You must install SecureCRT on your PC.  Before starting your application, you start SecureCRT and log in to the College of Engineering network (you must have an Engineering username/password - which all students, faculty and staff will have).  The SecureCRT session must also tunnel certain ports from your PC to the Engineering License Servers.

Example: To tunnel to the Matlab license server:
Initial, one-time setup

  • Install SecureCRT
  • Launch it
  • In the "Connect" window, click the third button - New Session
  • Name (anything) - euclid - Matlab

    Protocol - SSH2
    Hostname gate.eng.auburn.edu
    Port: 22
    Username: your username

  • On left column, choose Connection - Port Forwarding (don't click Remote or X11, click the word Port Forwarding). Add the following two forwards:

    Name - euclid 1712
    Local - Port = 1712
    Remote - [x] Destination Host is different from the SSH Server
    Hostname = euclid.eng.auburn.edu
    Port = 1712

    Name - euclid 32891
    Local - Port = 32891
    Remote - [x] Destination Host is different from the SSH Server
    Hostname = euclid.eng.auburn.edu
    Port = 32891

  • Modify the HOSTS file on your PC so that references to euclid are redirected to localhost:

    Use Notepad to edit the file

    c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts
    This line:
    127.0.0.1 localhost

    Should be changed to this:
    127.0.0.1 localhost euclid euclid.eng.auburn.edu

    You should reboot your computer after making this change.

Establish Connection before launching Matlab each time

  • Launch SecureCRT.
  • Double-click the session you created above.
  • Enter your Auburn username and password.
  • If you log in, you should see

Please enter the name of an Engineering host <anywhere>:

  • Press Enter.
  • Minimize the SecureCRT window but leave it connected.
  • Start Matlab