The license server can generate a usage log file. The name and location of the usage file is set by the license server startup options. The license server records all license requests and returns in this file. Usage reports can be generated using lsusage.
Sentinel RMS writes records to the log file until it reaches its maximum size. The default value for maximum size is 1 megabyte but this can be changed using the -z option in the LSERVOPTS environment variable or at command-line. Once the maximum size is reached, the contents of the current log file will be saved into a backup file unless the no-backup -x option has been used in the LSERVOPTS environment variable or at command line. If -x has been selected, the license server will simply stop logging when the maximum size is reached. For information on the license server -x and -z options and for more detail on how log file backups are created, see License Server - Commonly Used Variables.
Recommended settings (each of these can be set in the LSERVOPTS environment variable or by using the specified option on the command line):
For a site with a 2 megabyte log file limit and no other license server options, LSERVOPTS would just be set to -z 2m.
As part of your payment arrangement with your vendor, your vendor may request that you do not use the -x option to stop log file backups.
If the Sentinel RMS log file contains characters that are not 7-bit ASCII (for example, if a user name contains multi-byte characters such as Japanese Kanji characters), those characters will not be viewable when looking directly at the log file. However, if you use the lsusage -c option to create CSV-format output from the log file, you will be able to view the multibyte characters if you view the CSV-format file with an appropriate text editor on an operating system that displays the multi-byte language. You can also create Microsoft Access reports from the CSV-format file that can be viewed on a computer using the appropriate multi-byte operating system. (For information on creating reports from log file CSV-format output, see Creating License Server Use Reports)
For security reasons, the network administrator may wish to encrypt part or all of a license transaction record in the license server log file. To set the encryption level, use the -lfe license server startup option and specify a number from 1 to 4, where:
| Encryption Level | Description |
|---|---|
|
1 |
No encryption. Transaction data will be readable and tampering with or deleting an entry will not be detected by lsusage. |
|
2 |
No encryption. Transaction data will be readable, but tampering with or deleting an entry will be detected by lsusage. This is the default encryption level if you do not specify one (and if your vendor has not set an encryption level for your license codes). |
|
3 |
Encrypt usage only. Transaction data will be readable except for license usage data. Such entries will not be displayed by lsusage. |
|
4 |
Encrypt entire record. All transaction data for the license code will be encrypted. Such entries will not be displayed by lsusage. |
Note: For a specific license code, your application vendor can specify a particular encryption level; all entries for that license code will be encrypted to that level regardless of your encryption level settings. You may only set the encryption level of transaction records for license codes for which your vendor has allowed user-defined encryption.
To learn more about lsusage, we recommend you to read through lsusage - Display the Usage Log File.