Name: Shadow Licensing Uncovered: Smart Control for Unmanaged Software
Start: 2026-02-04T10:00:00+00:00
End: 2026-02-04T17:00:00+00:00
Location: OpenLM

Sentinel RMS License Management with OpenLM

Sentinel RMS (Rights Management System), from Thales Group (formerly SafeNet/Gemalto), is a flexible, extensive, and robust license manager widely adopted by medium and large-scale enterprise software vendors. Second only to Flexera FlexNet in global adoption, RMS provides a strong, API-based platform for protecting intellectual property and ensuring compliance across various environments.

OpenLM provides a comprehensive Software License Management (SLM) solution that fully integrates with the Sentinel RMS license manager. OpenLM Sentinel RMS monitoring delivers the most granular real-time usage data, denial reports, and support for features like license borrowing, enabling you to optimize your high-value software investments and ensure compliance.

Understanding Sentinel RMS licensing: Flexibility and scalability

Sentinel RMS is designed for enterprise scalability, offering flexible licensing for applications deployed on-premise, in the cloud, or in hybrid environments.

What is Sentinel RMS?

Sentinel RMS is a centralized license enforcement and management system. The RMS License Manager runs as a system service (Windows) or background process (UNIX), coordinating the use of licensed applications by reading license terms from the license file. It communicates with clients primarily over port 5093 via UDP.

Sentinel RMS licensing schemas

RMS supports a wide variety of license models, often deployed by engineering and device vendors:

Concurrent (Floating) Use: Licenses are pooled and shared across the network, tracked by the License Manager.
Node-Locked Licenses: Licenses are bound to either an out-of-the-box machine fingerprint, a hardware key, or a custom lock code.
Feature-Based Licensing: Licenses can be set up per suite, per application, or down to the feature level. Licensed features can also be aggregated and deployed as packages.
Commuter (Borrowed) Licensing: RMS supports commuter licensing, where a user can temporarily check out a license for offline use for a defined period.
Cloud Licensing: RMS supports Cloud Served Licenses (leased licenses) and Cloud Connected Licenses for modern deployment and high availability.
Security & Reliability: RMS supports encryption (AES 128-bit or RSA-2048 signing), protection in Virtual Environments, and Grace Period Licensing to prevent disruption upon a brief loss of network connectivity.
Redundancy: RMS supports License Manager redundancy for up to 11 License Managers, though this excludes group reservations.

OpenLM Sentinel RMS license monitoring and optimization

OpenLM provides full monitoring capabilities for Sentinel RMS by utilizing its command-line utilities and log files. Installing the OpenLM Broker is highly recommended to unlock advanced features and ensure data stability.

OpenLM Capability	Value for Sentinel RMS Licenses	Supported
Real-time Usage Monitoring	Tracks usage activity with high-resolution reporting, available By second.	Yes
Denials Reporting	Provides advanced reporting on license denial events. Logs are required for denial monitoring.	Yes
Borrowed License Reporting	Provides tracking and reporting for licenses temporarily borrowed for offline work.	Yes
Expiration Date Reporting	Track when your Sentinel RMS licenses are due to expire, allowing for proactive renewal planning.	Yes
License Harvesting/Reclamation	Dedicated optimization tools are available to manage and reclaim idle RMS licenses.	Yes
Remote Administrative Actions	Broker enables remote start and stop of the License Manager service.	Yes
Multiple Server Redundancy Support	OpenLM does not currently support monitoring RMS’s multiple server redundancy schemes.	No

The OpenLM advantage for Sentinel RMS

OpenLM empowers IT and SAM teams to gain maximum value and control over their Sentinel RMS deployments, reducing administrative burden and maximizing ROI.

Full Visibility & Compliance: OpenLM provides real-time visibility into your Sentinel RMS deployments. Full functionality is supported, including managing active users, license billing, and detailed statistics and charts.
Strategic Optimization: Strategies to identify unused or underutilized licenses maximize your return on investment. Automated license management processes further streamline operations.
Data-Driven Procurement: Comprehensive tracking and reporting enable you to more accurately forecast renewal, upgrade, and budgeting figures.
Broker for Reliability: The OpenLM Broker ensures stable communication with the RMS server, providing accurate license statistics and enabling advanced features like denial reporting.
Unified SAM: Monitor Sentinel RMS alongside the other 100+ license managers supported by OpenLM, including FlexNet, IBM LUM, and RLM.

Sentinel RMS license configuration and implementation guide

Monitoring the Sentinel RMS License Manager is best done by installing the OpenLM Broker (v4.x or higher) on the RMS license server machine. The Broker is configured to query the server locally using the RMS command-line utilities and monitor the usage logs (which must be enabled in RMS with the -l <usage-log-filename> argument) for denial reporting.

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