ZEMAX licenses are available in two versions: standalone and network. A standalone (single user) license requires one USB or parallel hardware key per computer that runs ZEMAX. The standalone key must be physically moved between machines in order to run ZEMAX on a given machine.

The network license is a single USB hardware key that allows ZEMAX to run on multiple computers simultaneously. Network keys are available in 5, 10 and 25 user versions. Any number of users up to the maximum licenses may run ZEMAX at the same time, without moving the key around.

Installation of the network key is very simple. The same ZEMAX installation package and key driver are used as are used for the standalone key installation. The only differences are:

1. The key driver and ZEMAX software are installed on different machines, and
2. ZEMAX must be told where to 'look' to find the computer with the key.

If you have a standalone key, follow the installation instructions for the standalone key.
 

In order to install the network version, you must have the following:

1. A basic understanding of IP addresses. If you do not know what an IP address is, get someone who does to perform the installation! In most cases we recommend the network administrator perform, or at least supervise, the installation. The basic installation is simple, but only to someone who understands networking.

2. A working network. ZEMAX Development Corporation can not provide assistance in making a network operate correctly.
 

Before installing the software, there are some simple concepts you must understand. The network key is installed on a machine called the keyserver. This machine hosts the key and the software that makes the key visible over your local area network (LAN).

The keyserver can be any machine on the network. It does not need to run a server operating system, like Windows Server 2003. It simply needs to run some version of Windows, and be visible on the network to all the machines that will want to use network licenses.

Client machines are the machines that will run ZEMAX and use the network license. The keyserver machine may also operate as a ZEMAX workstation. The client machines must be able to ping the keyserver in order for network operation to work.

The network software uses ports 7001 and 7002 for communication. These port numbers were chosen because they are not normally used for any other purpose. If these ports are being used for some other purpose on your network, you can use other ports. Please email support@zemax.com for guidance in this case.

Please note that the network key is worth the full value of the software. We recommend that you insure the network key for its full replacement value, and that the keyserver machine be kept in a secure room. If the key is lost or stolen, it will not be replaced without payment of the full purchase price.

In the following pages, we describe setting up the network key on a LAN that uses the 10.0.0.x IP address space. The keyserver machine has the address 10.0.0.1. You should use whatever IP address space and numbering your network uses.
 

The keyserver machine provides network licening services to all ZEMAX clients on the network. The keyserver may itself run ZEMAX, but it does not have to. There is very little computational load placed on the keyserver machine by the keyserving software, but the machine should not be working at close to 100% CPU usage, otherwise it may fail to provide an adequate level of service to the clients. For this reason, if you do run ZEMAX on the keyserver machine, it should not be used for computationally intensive tasks like global optimization, physical optics propagation or non-sequential ray-tracing.

Download the key driver from the Downloads page. Do not plug your ZEMAX hardware key in at this time. Also, if you have protection keys for any other software installed, temporarily remove these keys during the installation (replace them once installation is complete).Run the key driver software on the keyserver machine. You must be logged on with Administrator privileges to do so.

During installation, you will see a screen like so:

Select the Complete option. If you are running XP or Windows Server 2003, you will then see:

You must select YES in order for other machines on the network to be able to see the network key. If you are running any other firewall software, consult its documentation and make ports 7001 and 7002 open to machines on your LAN.

Once installation is complete, plug your ZEMAX network key into a USB port on the keyserver machine. After a few seconds, Windows' USB sub-system will detect the key. The green LED on the key will illuminate. This is an important test: the green LED means not only that the key is getting power, but that the driver software is correctly configured and recognizes the key.

Then start Internet Explorer. Type the following into the address bar:

http://127.0.0.1:7002

The address 127.0.0.1 is the "loopback" address, and means "use this machine". This link will therefore only work when run from the keyserver. You will see:

It is possible that Internet Explorer will have to download Java 1.5 from Sun MicroSystems in order for this display to be seen. 

When you see this screen you know that the keyserver is working correctly and that the client machine can see it. The number under "Hard Limit" should correspond to the number of network licenses you have purchased. Licenses-In-Use is the current number of licenses being used, and is zero when the server sofware is first installed.

If this screen does not appear, and you are using XP or Server 2003, check the firewall settings: 



The Seninel Keys Server and Sentinel Protection Server must be allowed to connect over the network. If you have other firewall or port-blocking software installed, consult its documentation or technical support team. ZDC cannot provide support on firewall-related issues.

You have now completed the installation of the keyserver software on the keyserver machine.

Before installing ZEMAX on the client machine, repeat the last part of the server installation procedure to ensure that this machine can see the keyserver. Start Internet Explorer on the client,  but this time type the following into the address bar:

http://{IP address of keyserver}:7002

For example, if the keyserver is on 10.0.0.1 you would enter:

http://10.0.0.1:7002


 

If you cannot connect to the keyserver using the web browser, then the keyserver cannot be seen over the network by the client. Stop and resolve this problem before continuing.

It is possible that Internet Explorer will have to download Java 1.5 from Sun MicroSystems in order for this display to be see. The number under "Hard Limit" should correspond to the number of network licenses you have purchased. If you see a screen similar to this, the client machine can see the keyserver successfully.

Now download the latest ZEMAX version from our updates page, and install it. You do not need to install any key driver software, unless you intend to be able to run a standalone key as well as a network key.

Lastly, you must tell ZEMAX where to find the keyserver machine. Use Windows Explorer to open the /zemax installation folder, and rename the file sntlconfig.xml.bak to sntlconfig.xml. Then open it in Notepad or other text editor. You will see:

Within the highlighted region, add the IP address of the keyserver machine. In this example the keyserver is 10.0.0.1 and so you would make this file:

And save the file. This file MUST be in the same folder as zemax.exe. Note that any shortcuts to ZEMAX must be configured like so:

The 'start in:' entry must point to the folder where zemax.exe and sntlconfig.xml are both located, otherwise ZEMAX will not know where to look to find the key. ZEMAX should then start normally and take a network license from the keyserver machine. Shortcuts created by the ZEMAX installer do this automatically, but sometimes shortcuts that were created manually do not.

If ZEMAX cannot find the network key, but you can see it via the browser method above, then an application-level firewall running on the client computer is preventing access. Consult your firewall's documentation to see how to allow zemax.exe access to the local area network. We are unable to provide support on how to configure firewalls. However, here is how McAfee Personal Firewall was configured to allow ZEMAX to access the keyserver:

 

If you want to see who is currently using the ZEMAX licenses supported by your network key then start Internet Explorer on the client,  and type the following into the address bar:

http://{IP address of keyserver}:7002

For example, if the keyserver is on 10.0.0.1 you would enter:

This shows that currently 4 of my 10 licenses are in use. Who is using them? Just double-click on the key# of the key whose details you want to see. For the above screenshot, I double-clicked on "1" and got:

double-clicking on the key# again shows:

This shows the name of the machine that is using each license, the currently logged-in user on that machine, and when the license was first obtained. When a client machine closes ZEMAX it will disappear from this list. Only machines currently running ZEMAX account for a license.

A machine may be configured to use a standalone key and the network key. If you want to use a standalone key on a client machine, you should install the Sentinel key driver as described in the standalone installation procedure. ZEMAX first looks for standalone keys, and then looks for network keys.
 

Installing the network version is easy, despite the length of the instructions! Here is a summary of the steps to take. Please refer to the earlier pages for full details.

1. Write down the IP address of the machine that will act as the keyserver.
2. On the keyserver machine, install the keydriver software (download it here). Then plug the network key into a spare USB port. After a few seconds Windows will recognize the key, and its green LED will illuminate. This is important, as the green LED means not only that the key is getting power, but that the driver is correctly configured and can see it. Point a web browser to http://127.0.0.1:7002 to check that the correct number of network licenses are shown.
3. Move to a client machine, and point a web browser to http://{IP address of keyserver}:7002 and check that the key can be seen from the client machine. Install the latest version of ZEMAX. Download the file sntlconfig.xml from the link below, and edit it so that your keyserver's IP address is between the 'Contact Server' tags. Save the file in the same folder as the zemax.exe file, and run ZEMAX
4. If ZEMAX does not see the key, configure any firewall software on the client machine to allow zemax.exe to access the network.