Setting up a service for the licensing server

Set up a service to automatically start the Unity Licensing Server on startup.

Read time 5 minutes

Last updated a day ago

This task is part of the end-to-end process for setting up the Unity Licensing Server. After you have tested the licensing server, you can set up a service to automatically start the licensing server on startup. You can also manually pause, stop, and restart the process. Although optional, setting up a service to run the licensing server process is a recommended best practice. After you set up this service, be sure to back up the licensing server configuration. Refer to Backing up and restoring.

Creating a service

Important

For version 2.x, use an account that's a member of the

unity-licensing-server

group, even if your account is an administrator or root user account. The server setup creates the

unity-licensing-server

group the first time it runs.

Important

For version 1.x, use the same service account that you used to set up the server and import the license archive file.

Before you begin, if you're creating a service for Licensing Server 2.x, you need to decide which of the following account types will run your service:

NetworkService Account runs the service with limited privileges on the local system.
User Account runs the service as a specified local or domain user.

To create a service for stopping and starting the licensing server, follow the instructions based on your operating system:

Linux
Windows

Creating a service on Linux

The

create-service

command does the following:

Creates a
```
systemd
```
service unit called
```
unity.licensing.server.service
```
.
Configures the service to run under the current non-root user account.
Configures the service to start automatically on startup.
Starts the service.

Note

If the port you choose is already used by another application and the server fails to launch, run the

setup

command again from the beginning and select a different port.The

create-service

command requires administrator privileges. Make sure to run this command with elevated privileges by entering

sudo

in the Terminal.

To create the service, go to the Licensing Server program files directory and run the following command:


sudo -H ./Unity.Licensing.Server create-service

Output similar to the following displays (based on a version 2.0 server):


- - - -Welcome to Unity Licensing Server create service command line interface.This command line interface will assist you in creating the Unity.Licensing.Server service.- - - -Creating service for user 'adminuser' ...Setting permissions on service file ... DoneEnabling service to start automatically after (re)boot ... DoneStarting service ... Doneunity.licensing.server.service has been successfully created and running.

To check the status of the service, run the following command:
```
sudo -H systemctl status unity.licensing.server.service
```
Look for
```
Active: active running
```
in the output in the Terminal:
Console output showing 'Active: active running'

Creating a service on Windows

The

create-service

command requires administrator privileges. Before you start, make sure you start the PowerShell window with elevated privileges. For Licensing Server version 1.x, the account's password must not be blank.

Give the user the right to log on as a service. To assign this right:
- Search for
```
Local Security Policy
```
  in Windows Search and open the policy editor.
- In the left menu, navigate to Security Settings > Local Policies > User Rights Assignment and select Log on as service.
- Click Add User or Group.
- Type the user name in the text box and click Check Names > OK.
- Click OK.
To create the service, start the PowerShell window with elevated privileges (Run as administrator), go to the Licensing Server program files directory, and run the following command:


.\Unity.Licensing.Server.exe create-service

Enter the password for the account that will be used to run the service. For Licensing Server 2.x, providing a password is necessary only if you choose the
```
[2] User Account
```
option. The
```
create-service
```
command returns output similar to the following (based on a version 2.0 server):


- - - -Welcome to the Unity Licensing Server create service command-line interface.This command-line interface will assist you in creating the Unity.Licensing.Server service.- - - - Choose the Service Account Type for Installation:- [1] Network Service Account - Runs the service with limited privileges       on the local system.- [2] User Account - Runs the service as a specified local or domain user.  Select an option: [1]Windows service installation successful!Service Name = Unity.Licensing.ServerDescription = The Unity Licensing Server is a secure web server to               host and manage Unity licenses on your local network.

To check the status of the service, run the following command:


sc.exe query Unity.Licensing.Server

Look for the

STATE

information in the output in the PowerShell window:


SERVICE_NAME: Unity.Licensing.Server        TYPE               : 10  WIN32_OWN_PROCESS        STATE              : 4  RUNNING                                (STOPPABLE, NOT_PAUSABLE, ACCEPTS_SHUTDOWN)        WIN32_EXIT_CODE    : 0  (0x0)        SERVICE_EXIT_CODE  : 0  (0x0)        CHECKPOINT         : 0x0        WAIT_HINT          : 0x0

If the

STATE

value shows anything other than

4 RUNNING

, open Windows Services and look for the

Unity.Licensing.Server

service to manage it.

Stopping the service

You can stop the licensing server service using standard operating system commands.

Stopping the service on Linux

Open a Terminal window.
Run the following command:


sudo -H systemctl stop unity.licensing.server.service

Stopping the service on Windows

Open the Windows PowerShell with elevated privileges (Run as administrator).
Run the following command:


sc.exe stop Unity.Licensing.Server

Restarting the service

You can restart the licensing server service using standard operating system commands.

Note

If the port you choose is already used by another application and the server fails to launch, run the

setup

command again from the beginning and select a different port. This operation interrupts the licensing server's availability. Make sure you perform this operation when traffic is typically low or during your organization's maintenance period.

Follow the instructions based on your operating system:

Linux
Windows

Restarting the service on Linux

Run the following command to start or restart the licensing server service:


sudo -H systemctl restart unity.licensing.server.service

Run the following command to verify that the service is running:


sudo -H systemctl status unity.licensing.server.service | grep Active

If the service is running, the output from the previous command is similar to the following:


Active: active (running) since Fri 2020-02-14 16:44:59 EST; 2s ago

Restarting the service on Windows

Run the following command to start or restart the licensing server service:


sc.exe query Unity.Licensing.Server | findstr /i State

If the output lists
```
STATE: 4 RUNNING
```
, run the following command to stop the service:


sc.exe stop Unity.Licensing.Server

If the output lists
```
STATE: 1 STOPPED
```
, run the following command to restart the service:


sc.exe start Unity.Licensing.Server

To check the state of the service again, run the following command:


sc.exe query Unity.Licensing.Server | findstr /i State

When the output shows

STATE: 4 RUNNING

, you have successfully restarted the service.

Deleting the service

If you need to delete the licensing server service, follow the instructions based on your operating system:

Linux
Windows

Deleting the service on Linux

To delete the licensing server service:

Run the following command to stop the service:


sudo -H systemctl stop unity.licensing.server.service

Run the following command to disable the service and prevent it from running on the next startup:


sudo -H systemctl disable unity.licensing.server.service

Run the following command to verify that you disabled the service:


sudo -H systemctl status unity.licensing.server.service | grep Loaded

If the service is disabled, the output from the previous command is similar to the following:


Loaded: loaded (/etc/systemd/system/unity.licensing.server.service; **disabled**; vendor preset: enabled)

Run the following command to delete the service unit:


sudo -H rm -rf /etc/systemd/system/unity.licensing.server.service

Run the following command to reflect the change:


sudo -H systemctl daemon-reload

Deleting the service on Windows

To delete the licensing server service:

Run the following command to stop the service:


sc.exe stop Unity.Licensing.Server

Run the following command to check the server status:


sc.exe query Unity.Licensing.Server | findstr /i State

If the output lists
```
STATE: 1 STOPPED
```
, run the following command to delete the service:
```
sc.exe delete Unity.Licensing.Server
```
The following message displays after you delete the service:
```
[SC] DeleteService SUCCESS
```

Next steps

Proceed to backing up and restoring to continue setting up your licensing server.

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