Self-Hosted Floating License Server

Overview

A Self-Hosted Floating License Server (FLS) is intended for closed-network environments running multiple Chariot® MQTT Server instances that share a pool of concurrent license seats.

License validation stays entirely inside the deployed network. The Chariot instances and Floating License Server do not require inbound or outbound internet access for license validation.

What is a Floating License Server?

A Floating License Server (FLS) is a small server application that holds Chariot licenses and tracks how many Chariot instances are using those licenses at any given time.

Instead of binding a license to one specific Chariot server, the FLS allows multiple Chariot instances to share a pool of concurrent license seats.

When a Chariot instance starts, it requests a seat from the FLS. When the Chariot instance shuts down, it releases the seat back to the pool. As long as seats are available, additional Chariot instances can activate against the same FLS.

The FLS runs entirely inside the local network, with no inbound or outbound internet access from Chariot or the FLS required for license validation.

Use a Self-Hosted Floating License Server When

Self-Hosted Floating licensing is intended for environments where:

• Multiple Chariot instances are running inside a single closed network.
• Deployments are short-lived and should be based on concurrent seat count rather than per-server licenses.
• License validation must remain inside a secure network perimeter.
• Chariot and the FLS cannot have outbound internet access.

Hosting a Floating License Server

The FLS is provided by License4J as free software.

For installation, configuration, and administration instructions, see the License4J Floating License Server documentation.

Once the FLS is running, return to Purchasing and Activation to purchase and activate a Self-Hosted Floating license against it.

Activating Floating Licenses

Prerequisites

Before requesting a Self-Hosted Floating license, ensure that you have:

• A running License4J Floating License Server inside your network.
• Network connectivity from each Chariot host to the FLS on the FLS listening port.
• A purchased license from Cirrus Link Support that is ready to deploy to the Floating License Server.

The default FLS listening port is 16090.

Important: Purchase enough license seats to support the number of Chariot instances required under the system's highest load.

Request a License Usage

Send Cirrus Link Support the information from your FLS so that Support can issue a license usage keyed to the specific Floating License Server.

1. Log into the FLS admin UI.

   The default port is 16090.

   http://<fls-host>:16090

2. Open the Actions dropdown.

3. Select View Server Info.

4. Locate the Hostname and Fingerprint values.

5. Send Cirrus Link Support the following information:

   • FLS hostname
   • FLS fingerprint
   • Required seat count

6. Cirrus Link Support will generate the license and respond by email with the usage hash.

   Note: This process can take up to 24 hours.

Install the License on the FLS

1. Log into the FLS admin UI.

   The default port is 16090.

   http://<fls-host>:16090

2. Navigate to License Management → New License.

3. Paste the usage hash provided by Cirrus Link Support into the license field.

4. Save the license.

The license will appear in the FLS license grid. The FLS is now ready to serve license seats to Chariot instances.

Activate Chariot Against the FLS

Once the license has been installed on the FLS, configure each Chariot instance to use the FLS.

1. In the Chariot UI, navigate to the License page.

2. Select I have a license key and want to activate.

3. Select Floating and click Next.

4. Enter the Floating license activation details.

   Floating license server URL

   Enter the FLS hostname and port followed by the /fls path.

   Example:

   http://10.0.0.10:16090/fls

   License Features

   Select the feature set this Chariot instance will use. The selected features must match the features on the license installed on the FLS.

   Available feature sets include:

   • MQTT Server
   • IoT Bridge for Snowflake
   • Full product

5. Click Next.

6. On the Complete step, click Finished.

Chariot will contact the FLS, lease a license seat, and display a successful activation screen.

⚠️ The /fls path is required in the Floating license server URL.

⚠️ The License Features selected in Chariot must match the features on the license installed on the FLS. A mismatch will cause activation to fail.

7. Repeat the activation process for each Chariot instance that will use the FLS.

Add More Chariot Instances

Each running Chariot instance leases one seat from the FLS.

As long as there are available seats on the installed license, additional Chariot servers configured with the same FLS URL and matching License Features will activate automatically.

The number of concurrently running Chariot instances is limited by the number of seats purchased for the Floating license.

Floating License Deactivation

Deactivate a Floating license when a Chariot instance is no longer using its license seat.

1. Log into the Chariot MQTT Server Web UI and select License from the left-hand menu.

2. Select Deactivate.

   The license will be remotely deactivated and can potentially be activated on another Chariot MQTT Server instance.

   ⚠️ If the server is terminated, deleted, or destroyed without deactivating the active Chariot License, that activation will permanently lose one of its total number of activations.

3. Once deactivation is successfully completed, Chariot will return to the license activation wizard.

Note: It can take up to 10 minutes for a Floating license to deactivate.

Upgrade a Self-Hosted Floating License

When upgrading a Self-Hosted Floating license, such as when changing feature flags or adding seats, the previous license must be removed from the FLS before the new license is installed.

⚠️ If both the previous and new licenses are installed on the FLS at the same time, the FLS will reject the new license.

1. Contact Cirrus Link Support to request the upgrade.

   Provide:

   • Your existing license key.
   • The changes required for the license.

2. Cirrus Link Support will issue a new usage hash for the existing FLS hostname and fingerprint.

3. After receiving the new usage hash, log into the FLS admin UI.

4. Uninstall the previous license from the license grid.

5. Install the new license using the usage hash provided by Cirrus Link Support.

6. On each Chariot instance, click Reactivate on the License page.

   Reactivation applies the updated features without requiring Chariot to restart.