IPv6 connection to license server

[Uffe]

Hello all,


On a 11.1 install, I'm trying to access a license server over IPv6. This doesn't seem to be working.

If I set the registry key SSKSAddress to a hostname or an IPv4 address, it works -- but if I specify an IPv6 address EA interprets this to mean a hostname.

So: has this been fixed in a more recent release?


UPDATE: I saw that IPv6 support had been added to the Cloud Service in one of the betas for v13. This is not mentioned in the official release notes. So: is IPv6 now supported for the Cloud Service? And crucially: is it supported for the license server?


/Uffe

[Eve]

Unfortunately, no. The keystore service (and the way EA connects to it) are not compatible with IPv6.

There was no change to explicitly add support for adding IPv6 support to to the cloud service. Any Windows update in the meantime? Are you using IIS integration on the server side?

[Uffe]

Hi Simon,


Thanks for your reply.

Regarding the cloud service, I was referring to a umlchannel.com blog post on one of the 13 betas which says "Cloud Service improved (IPv6 support, better performance)", but the EA13 leaflet actually only mentions IPv6 in the context of longer max SQL statements. So that's on Guillaume, I guess.

But the cloud service is not important. In this setup, it's only used for reusable assets and we can live without those.

The critical issue is IPv6 in the license server. The client uses MS Direct Access for remote users.
So if IPv6 support is not available, we'll have to revert to a license file.

Are there any plans to add IPv6 support to the license server?


/Uffe

[skiwi]

As of today has this situation changed?
Can the licence server now be accessed via IPV6?

[Eve]

You can when using Pro Cloud Server.

[rty]

More than 3 years later, is there any update on this issue?

Not being able to use a floating license server when having to connect via DirectAccess appears to be ... rather non-desirable for a not super-small IT company. 

[Eve]

A not super-small IT company is encouraged to use the Pro Cloud Server for their licenses.

[Uffe]

Hey readers,


To clarify: in my original question from 2016, the "license server" I'm referring to is the stand-alone version, aka the Keystore Service. The cloud server also has the ability to serve licenses; this is referred to as the Floating License Server.

From a careful reading of the thread, I deduce that

• The keystore still doesn't have IPv6 support (there's no meniton of it on the product page).
• The pro cloud server does have IPv6 support, and the EA client can fetch licenses from a pro cloud server over an IPv6 connection (although again, there's no mention on the product page).

But I haven't tested either of these conclusions.


/Uffe

[Eve]

Yes. The keystore service does not have IPv6 support. Given it was last updated in 2016, it's unlikely to be given that feature.

Yes. The Pro Cloud Server does support IPv6, including the acquisition of license keys.

[skiwi]

Yes. The keystore service does not have IPv6 support. Given it was last updated in 2016, it's unlikely to be given that feature.

Thats a shame, its so much easier to update a piece of software than introduce a new piece. For your large corporate and government customers you might like to consider this.

[skiwi]

And now this has come back to bite us. Having to work from home and being floating licence based, and the vendor's lack support for modern standards such as IPV6 is letting us down. Shame on you.

[Eve]

To be fair, you were warned that the product you were using wouldn't be updated and told the upgrade path.

It was your choice not to pursue that upgrade, not ours.

Realistically, even if we had released an update for the keystore service. Would you have actually done it?

[skiwi]

Thanks Eve,
it's true, you did warn us, that doesn't make the problem go away, or change the fact that Sparx could have looked at the real-world issue for its customers.

Yes we would have done the upgrade - we already had the pain - but not that many people were working from home, now that circumstance has changed.

In a large corporate environment it is considerably easier, and cheaper, to update an existing piece of software than it is to introduce a new piece of software.

Pro-Cloud server is on our roadmap, but it is complex to install, and has more functions than just licencing server, so the security and Risk accreditation, creation of new operating guides, finding the right server, etc have a real cost and effort

I'm pretty pleased I can keep our corporate version of Sparx EA up to date on an annual basis. (cf some contributors to this forum).

[Eve]

I feel your pain, and get that this a real world issue. Here and now. The legacy keystore service couldn't be easily updated to include IPv6. We did have a platform that supported IPv6 though, it was easier to add the keystore to that. It also makes things simpler on our end with supporting less things, and eventually on your end with not needing to manage as many.

Here's what I can do. We are currently working on getting a release of PCS out that includes the keystore service in all editions. Including "Unlicensed". Use this as notice to get approval to install a PCS to operate only the license server. It could run on the same machine that is currently running your license server. You'll also want an SSL certificate. It can be self-signed, signed by an internal CA.

Then you just need to migrate your keys and your users to specify https instead of ssks.

I'll be honest. We want you running PCS because of the reasons you have been reluctant to upgrade to it. Once you have it it's easier for you to decide to buy a couple of tokens to test WebEA, Prolaborate or the OSLC interface. Which could in turn lead to an Enterprise license.

[skiwi]

Great, thanks, I'll look forward to the notification of its release.
Also of updated documentation, or can I use the existing documentation for install, cert allocation etc.