The Infograph licensing landscape: The “state of the union”
As structural engineering projects grow in complexity, managing Infograph software—specifically the InfoCAD suite—becomes a critical balance of providing engineers with powerful tools while controlling expensive overhead. Infograph environments typically feature a mix of proprietary network licensing and legacy hardware locks.
The complexity gap
Infograph uses a proprietary license manager (often utilizing the InfoNetKey service) to administer entitlements. This system handles both network (floating) licenses and single-user licenses secured via hardware dongles like Sentinel or HASP. For IT administrators, this hybrid environment creates a visibility gap: it is often impossible to track which engineer has physical possession of a dongle versus who is occupying a network seat.
The “hidden cost” of FEM analysis
Structural analysis often follows a “burst” pattern. Engineers may spend hours building a complex model (a low-resource task) and only minutes running the high-value Finite Element Method (FEM) analysis. However, a license is often consumed for the entire duration of the session. Without granular Infograph software license monitoring, you pay for hours of “idle” modeling time at the same rate as the intensive calculation phase, leading to significant budget leaks.
Quick summary: OpenLM for Infograph
OpenLM empowers engineering firms to optimize their InfoCAD investments by transforming raw license data into actionable business strategy.
- Track real-time usage: Monitor check-outs and check-ins for InfoCAD across your global servers via port 888.
- Identify idle sessions: Detect when a license is being held by a user who is modeling rather than calculating, or who has left the application open.
- Dongle and network synchronization: Gain a unified view of hardware-locked and network-managed licenses in a single dashboard.
- Eliminate “license jams”: Prevent project delays during peak demand periods (such as pre-design reviews) with data-driven license distribution.
- Predictive forecasting: Use historical heatmaps to determine exactly when you need more seats and when you can delay expensive purchases.
Comprehensive solution framework
OpenLM provides a three-layered approach to managing your Infograph environment with workstation-level precision.
The visibility layer (global monitoring)
Get full transparency into your Infograph license server. See exactly which engineer is running an analysis, which machine they are using, and for how long. This layer eliminates the guesswork of who is holding a seat during critical deadlines.
The automation layer (active management)
Move beyond passive monitoring. OpenLM’s active harvesting can detect idleness in Infograph applications. By identifying sessions that have been inactive for hours—often because a user forgot to close the software after a calculation finished—OpenLM can reclaim that seat for the rest of the team.
The intelligence layer (strategic foresight)
Use advanced analytics to determine your “high water mark.” By analyzing denial rates, you can measure the true cost of license scarcity. High denials indicate a need for more seats; zero denials often suggest you are over-spending on maintenance for “shelfware.”
How OpenLM monitors Infograph
OpenLM uses a multi-faceted technical approach to capture every detail of your InfoGraph GmbH environment.
Real-time usage and feature-level tracking
- Proprietary support: OpenLM officially supports the Infograph License Manager, communicating with the server to pull real-time statistics.
- Log-based parsing: By reading the lgraph.xml or associated log files, OpenLM provides a detailed history of every check-out and check-in.
- Process-level intelligence: Our agent distinguishes between background tasks and active user interaction, providing the most accurate “Actual Usage” data available.
Advanced reporting and analytics
- Heatmaps: Visualize usage over time to identify peak analysis hours. Use this data to move intensive calculations to off-peak times.
- Denial tracking: Log every time an engineer is denied access. Use this evidence to justify the purchase of additional FEM licenses.
Feature maturity matrix: Infograph specifics
| License model | OpenLM monitoring | OpenLM control and optimization |
| Network (Floating) | Full check-in and check-out tracking. | Automated license harvesting. |
| Dongle (Sentinel/HASP) | Real-time possession tracking. | Inventory management and alerts. |
| Node-locked | Login and application-level idleness. | Usage efficiency auditing. |
| Trial/Term licenses | Expiration tracking and alerts. | Access control and compliance. |
Strategic ROI and business value
Organizations leveraging OpenLM for Infograph license optimization often see significant reductions in annual software spend.
- Procurement support: Use “actual usage” data—not just total seat count—to negotiate your next agreement.
- Delay expensive capital spend: By optimizing current seats through harvesting, firms can often delay the purchase of high-cost structural analysis licenses.
- Chargeback transparency: Automatically calculate and export billing data based on specific projects or structural engineering teams for internal accountability.
Technical architecture (the admin’s corner)
The broker’s role
The OpenLM Broker is a lightweight component installed on the machine running the Infograph License Manager. It interfaces directly with the InfoNetKey service to query logs and status. Once configured to the lgraph.xml path, it sends compiled data to your OpenLM server.
Agent capabilities
The workstation agent monitors the “heartbeat” of the InfoCAD process. It can distinguish between a user who is actively building a model and a session that is simply sitting idle, allowing for precise reporting and manual or automatic license retrieval.
