How do I release or return a toolbox license key back to the pool of available keys without restarting the network license manager or exiting MATLAB?

I would like to know if it is possible to return the toolbox key back to the network license manager without closing/exiting the current MATLAB session.

I see the following message when I start MATLAB, or when I attempt to run a function from a toolbox even though no one else is using the license key:

ERROR: License Manager Error -4
Maximum number of users for "..." reached. Try again later.

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

Toolbox license keys cannot be returned without exiting MATLAB. The Toolbox license keys get checked back in when the main MATLAB session is ended. Each time MATLAB is launched, a MATLAB license key is checked out from the pool of available licenses. Likewise, if a function from a MATLAB toolbox is called, a license key for that toolbox is checked out.

If you are having an issue returning license keys after closing the MATLAB session, contact the Installation and Licensing Team by creating a Service Request here:

https://www.mathworks.com/support/contact_us.html

[Walter Roberson]

Timeouts can be enabled for concurrent licenses; see https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/98614-can-i-configure-my-license-server-to-return-idle-matlab-seats

https://www.mathworks.com/help/install/license/concurrent-licenses.html

The minimum timeout period is 4 hours.

[Walter Roberson]

The hypothesis is, if I understand correctly, that if it is too costly to you to have an admin look up who is using the license, and track them down and have them exit matlab to free up the license, then you ought to be purchasing more licences.

[Walter Roberson]

@Konrad Mcclure

MATLAB uses license technology from a company currently named Flexera, and the technology is currently named FlexNet; at the time Mathworks started using the technology, the technology was named flexlm .

This is the same license technology used by Wolfram Research (Mathematica); also by MathCAD; also by Adobe, and a number of other major pieces of software. (It is not, however, the same license technology used by Microsoft.)

Unfortunately, FlexNet (flexlm) does not support returning individual licenses to the license server, except by way of timeout or exiting the program.

Therefore, in order to support returning individual licenses, Mathworks would have two options:

1. Transition to a different license technology company; or
2. Buy Flexera so that it could change the technology to permit returning licenses. Flexera was most recently sold in December 2020 for $US2.85 billion. Mathworks is a privately held company, so it is difficult to get solid estimates of the net worth of Mathworks; the estimates I can find for Mathworks do not reach quite that high, so it is unlikely that Mathworks could afford to buy Flexera. (Or, for that matter, that Flexera could afford to buy Mathworks.)

I am having difficulty finding information about the capabilities of Microsoft's license manager. The impression that I am getting is that Microsoft's license manager supports "products" but not "features"; it is not clear to me at this point that it would support adding a toolbox within a license, as opposed to having a separate license for the toolbox. You would tend to think that Microsoft's licenses would support add-ons, but I am having difficulty finding evidence for that.

Answer 2

[Jonathan]

Perhaps there is very little incentive for the developers to "make efficient use of the resources available". The business preference would likely be for the end user to buy more licenses.

In this day and age, it sure would be nice to check licenses out directly from MathWorks servers and pay monthly on a per usage basis. Does such a business model exist?