Interfacing EPLAN with OpenLM Broker – KB814

This document describes the steps required to interface OpenLM with the EPLAN License Manager Professional server in order to monitor license usage and obtain license statistics. This guide is based on the EPLAN implementation integrated with OpenLM Broker v4.8.8. If you’re using an older version of Broker that relies on the EventLog Monitor tool, please consult this document instead.

1. Requirements #

To query the EPLAN license manager, the following components must be installed:

1. EPLAN License Manager Professional installed on the license server (EPLAN License Manager Basic does not have a reporting interface and cannot be queried by OpenLM)
2. OpenLM Server v4.3 or higher installed on a machine in your organization
3. OpenLM Broker v4.8.8 or higher installed on the same machine as the EPLAN license manager

2. Monitoring capabilities and features #

The monitoring capabilities available for the EPLAN license manager through the OpenLM Broker are as follows:

Additionally, using the Broker component allows for buffered communication in case of network interruptions.

3. OpenLM Broker configuration #

Diagram of how OpenLM interfaces with the EPLAN license manager

The mechanism on how OpenLM Broker interfaces the EPLAN license manager is as follows:

1. Broker runs the ElmMonitor.exe tool at certain intervals to generate portions of the log file.
2. These fragments are compiled into one log file which is then converted into an XML file of the OpenLM Generic format.
3. All gathered license usage information is then sent to OpenLM Server for processing. This data is then accessible through the EasyAdmin interface.

Please note that OpenLM Broker must already be installed and configured to report to an OpenLM Server before proceeding any further.

3.1. Locating ElmMonitor.exe for logging functionality #

In order to obtain license usage data from the EPLAN license manager, Broker must run the ELM Monitor application. The default location is the EPLAN directory (“C:/Program Files/EPLAN/ELM/ElmMonitor.exe”). If you cannot locate it, you must install the License Tools add-on, which can be found on your EPLAN installation media at ELMLicense Tools (x64)setup.exe or obtained from the EPLAN website.

For more information, please consult the “Installing the EPLAN License Manager Monitor” section in the EPLAN installation guide.

3.2. OpenLM Broker configuration tool settings #

To set up Broker to monitor the EPLAN license server, in the OpenLM Broker configuration tool:

1. Click Add Port.
2. Enter any port number (since Broker interfaces EPLAN using only the log file, any value will do. E.g. 27001).
3. Select EPLAN from the “License Manager Type” drop-down menu. Click Apply.
4. Select the Commands node. Click […] next to the right of the “Update path for commands” field and browse to the location of ElmMonitor.exe. Click Update then Apply.
5. If you wish to change the default name and location of the log generated by Broker, go to Log Files → ElmMonitor output. Either type in a new path or click […] and browse to an empty text file. Click Apply.
6. In a text editor, open the EPLAN@PORT.properties file that has been created in the OpenLM Broker folder (typically “C:Program FilesOpenLMOpenLM Broker”).
7. Adjust the values as described in the “EPLAN.properties” section below. When done, save and close the file.
8. Click Restart Broker.
9. Follow the steps in the next section (“4. OpenLM Server configuration”).

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3.3. EPLAN.properties configuration #

The relevant values for the EPLAN@PORT.properties file should be configured as follows:

• monitored.log.next – used to specify which log file Broker should read: newest (default) means that if you have multiple files, the latest one will be chosen; newer is good for testing purposes and if you want OpenLM Broker to read historical data from multiple files, one-by-one. However with newer, it is not guaranteed that all data will be loaded.
• eplan.log.encoding – the encoding to be used for the generated EPLAN log file. We recommend leaving the default setting as is (default: UTF-16LE)
• eplan.elmmonitor.path – the path to ElmMonitor.exe. Set it here if you have not configured it in step 4 of the configuration tool settings. Since ELM Monitor is a GUI tool, it is recommended to add /Silent at the end of the path to avoid possible process leaks.
• eplan.elmmonitor.xml – Leave empty to load the default eplan_openlm.xml file, or enter the full path if you need to customize output
• eplan.elmmonitor.datetime.format – Format applied to /From and /To parameters in the generated log file (default: dd.MM.yyyy HH:mm:ss)
• eplan.delete.elm.files – by default it is set to true in order to cleanup the generated log files. Set to false for debugging purposes.
• eplan.bundles.path – Change if it doesn’t match your system’s EPLAN bundles path (default: C:\Users\Public\EPLAN\ELM\Bundles.4elm)

4. OpenLM Server configuration #

Automatic OpenLM Server configuration through EasyAdmin

If you have followed the steps in the sections above, OpenLM Broker should now be transmitting data to OpenLM Server. The final step is to approve the configuration in EasyAdmin:

1. Open the EasyAdmin interface either by accessing http://<OpenLM Server IP>:7019/EasyAdmin2/ in your browser or through Windows Start → OpenLM → OpenLM EasyAdmin User Interface
2. In the License Servers window, hover over the red row that contains the details of the newly added EPLAN server entry and click Approve.

At this point, the EPLAN license manager has been automatically added to OpenLM Server and configuration is complete.

Manual OpenLM Server configuration

If EasyAdmin does not display the “Approve/Clear” message for the configured EPLAN license server, you must manually configure OpenLM Server to connect to the OpenLM Broker installation located on the EPLAN license manager machine.

Adding an EPLAN server

1. Select the License Servers tab.
2. Click Add.
3. From the Type drop-down menu, select OpenLM Generic.
4. Insert a description in the Description text box (e.g. “EPLAN license manager”)
5. Set the Time Zone to where the EPLAN license server physically resides.
6. Enter the Hostname and Port number of the machine where the EPLAN license manager is installed. They must be exactly as configured for OpenLM Broker.
7. Is Triad Configuration box: unchecked.
8. Use Broker box: checked.
9. Click Apply and close the OpenLM Server configuration tool.

OpenLM Server is now configured to monitor incoming data from OpenLM Broker.

5. How to verify your EPLAN license manager configuration #

To check if the EPLAN license manager is being monitored correctly:

1. Open the EasyAdmin web application (access http://<OpenLM Server hostname>/EasyAdmin2/index.html in your browser)
2. Click EasyAdmin Start → Widgets → License Servers. Verify that the configured license manager(s) appears in the server list. A green circle node indicates an active connection to the license server.

Please note that sometimes it may take up to 3 minutes for the status indicator to change if this is a new connection.