Release and license information: adding or updating
License by standard users
The
Perforce
versioning service is licensed according to how many standard users it
supports. There are three types of
Perforce
users: standard
users, operator
users, and
service
users.
-
A
standard
user is a traditional user of Perforce.Standard users are the default, and each standard user consumes one Perforce license.
-
An
operator
user is intended for human or automated system administrators.An
operator
user does not require a Perforce license. -
A
service
user is used for server-to-server authentication, whether in the context of remote depots (see Remote depots and multi-server development) or in distributed environments.Service users do not require licenses, but are restricted to automated inter-server communication processes in replicated and multi-server environments.
Limits for unlicensed use depend on the release
2019.2 patch 14, 2020.1 (patch 8), 2020.2 (patch 6), 2021.1 (patch 1), and later | 2016.1 and later | prior to 2016.1 |
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|
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Licensing for replica, edge and standby servers:
Replica servers that are not going to be used for failover and edge servers do not require their own license if they have Helix Core server (P4D) version 2013.2 or later.
Standby servers and replicas that might be required to take over from a master server do require their own license file. This can be obtained by filling out the form at https://www.perforce.com/support/duplicate-server-request.
License information
You can update an existing license file without stopping
Perforce
by using the p4 license
command. See
Adding or updating the license file.
- If the service is running, any user can use
p4 info
to view basic licensing information.
We recommend that you hide sensitive information from unauthorized users of p4 info
by setting the dm.info.hide configurable.
- Administrators
can use
p4 license -u
to obtain more detailed information about how many users and files are in use. - If the service is down, you can also obtain licensing information by
running
p4d -V
from the server root directory where thelicense
file resides, or by specifying the server root directory either on the command line (p4d -V -r
) or in theserver_root
P4ROOT
environment variable.
The server version is also displayed when you invoke p4d
-V
or p4 -V
.
Adding or updating the license file
When you receive your license file, its name might include the license host, an IP address or MAC address, or other identifying information.
Rename the new license file to license.txt
before you copy it into the P4ROOT directory.
If you are licensed for Helix Core version 2021.1 patch 1 or greater, Helix4Git licensing is included at no extra charge.
Otherwise, if you have purchased Helix4Git in addition to Helix Core, you will receive:
- The email for Helix4Git, which contains the license file that enables both Helix Core and Helix4Git. You will install this license file.
- The email for Helix Core, contains a license file that does NOT enable Helix4Git. Do NOT install this license file, but do keep it for your records.
To add or update the license file, use one of the following: | Valid for ... |
---|---|
Copy the license file to the P4ROOT directory. See License file in the P4ROOT directory |
|
Issue the p4 license command. See p4 license command |
Server |
Use P4Admin. See Helix Visual Client (P4V) Administration tool |
Server |
License file in the P4ROOT directory
- Copy the new license file over any existing license in the
P4ROOT
directory. - Determine whether you need to restart the server or not:
Stop and restart the server if ... | No server restart required if ... |
---|---|
Any of the following are true:
|
All of the following are true:
|
If you need to stop and restart the server ...
Windows |
Linux/UNIX/Mac |
|
---|---|---|
To stop the server |
p4 -u User -p Server:Port admin stop |
|
To restart the server |
Open an administrator command prompt and enter |
Run the server startup script you usually use. |
p4 license command
If a valid license file is already in the server root directory, as a super
user, you can update it.
-
Display your current license with
p4 license -o
. -
Install your new license with
cat license.txt | p4 license -i
orp4 license -i < license.txt
.TipIf the server IP address, MAC address, or port number has changed in the license file, the p4 license command will not work. For example, if the IP address/MAC address changed in the new license file, you will receive the following message: "
Server license IPaddress changed, cannot proceed.
" In this case, stop and restart the server as detailed above.If p4 info does not indicate a license file update, stop and restart the server, then check the log file.
TipWe recommend that you hide sensitive information from unauthorized users of
p4 info
by setting the dm.info.hide configurable.
Helix Visual Client (P4V) Administration tool
If the IP address or port number has not changed,
-
Launch P4V as a Helix server superuser.
-
Choose Tools > Administration.
-
On the Administration Home page, click Load new license file and browse to the license file on your local disk.
-
After successful installation, verify that the Administration tool Home page is updated with the new license information.
For more information, see the Support Knowledgebase article, "Moving a Helix Core Server".