FAQ

NVIDIA License System FAQ

NVIDIA License System frequently asked questions (FAQ).

Q: What is NVIDIA License System (NLS)?

NVIDIA License System is a new system developed by NVIDIA for serving licenses to licensed NVIDIA enterprise software products, including NVIDIA vGPU software. Like the legacy NVIDIA vGPU software license server, it serves licenses from a pool of floating licenses that are obtained from the NVIDIA Licensing Portal. It is designed to replace the legacy NVIDIA vGPU software license server, which is approaching end of life.

Q: When will the legacy NVIDIA vGPU software license server reach end of life?

July 31, 2023.

Q: How do I migrate my licenses from the legacy NVIDIA vGPU software license server to NLS?

Refer to Migrating Licenses from a Legacy NVIDIA vGPU Software License Server in the NLS documentation, which provides checklists with links to detailed instructions.

Q: Why should I migrate to NLS?

You should migrate to NLS because the legacy NVIDIA vGPU software license server is approaching end of life.

The legacy NVIDIA vGPU software license server was deprecated in NVIDIA vGPU software 14.0 because release branch 14 is the last NVIDIA vGPU software release branch to support it. As a result, support for the legacy NVIDIA vGPU software license server might be removed in a future NVIDIA vGPU software release before the EOL date.

Q: What will happen after the EOL date if I do not migrate my licenses?

Refer to NVIDIA Virtual GPU Software License Server End of Life Notice for details.

Q: What should I do if my release of NVIDIA vGPU software doesn't support NLS?

Upgrade to a release of NVIDIA vGPU software that supports NLS. The EOL date of the legacy NVIDIA vGPU software license server was chosen to coincide with the EOL date of NVIDIA vGPU software release branch 11. This release branch is the last release branch that supports only the legacy NVIDIA vGPU software license server to reach EOL.

Q: What factors affect the choice between using a Cloud License Service (CLS) instance and a Delegated License Service (DLS) instance?

Because a CLS instance is set up in the cloud on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal, you don’t need dedicated resources and the process for configuring a CLS instance is much simpler than installing and configuring a DLS instance on a hypervisor host in your data center. If your IT department’s policies allow you to host licenses in the cloud on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal, consider using a CLS instance. If your IT department’s policies require that your licenses be hosted in your own data center, use a DLS instance.

Q: What are the connectivity requirements between a licensed client VM in a customer’s data center and a service instance? For example, are there any specific requirements for ports, URLs, or proxy configuration? Is the client traffic just HTTPS traffic or does a service instance require port 7070 to be open?

All traffic between a CLS or DLS instance and a licensed client is HTTPS traffic.

To enable communication between a licensed client and a CLS or DLS instance, the ports that must be open in your firewall or proxy depend on whether the service instance is a CLS instance or a DLS instance:

  • For a CLS instance, ports 443 and 80 must be open.
  • For DLS 1.0, ports 443, 80, 8081, and 8082 must be open.
  • For DLS 1.1 and later releases, ports 443 and 80 must be open.

If you are using an HA cluster of DLS instances with a firewall or proxy server between the DLS instances, the following ports must also be open in the firewall or proxy server:

Port Containerized Instance VM-Based Instance Protocol Egress/Ingress Protocol/Service From To
443 - TLS, TCP Both Licensing Services Primary DLS Secondary DLS
4369 EPMD (peer discovery) Both RabbitMQ, Erlang Primary DLS Secondary DLS
5671 AMQP, TLS Both RabbitMQ Primary DLS Secondary DLS
8080 HTTPS Both Licensing Services Primary DLS Secondary DLS
8081 HTTPS Both Licensing Services Primary DLS Secondary DLS
8082 HTTPS Both Licensing Services Primary DLS Secondary DLS
8083 HTTPS Both Licensing Services Primary DLS Secondary DLS
8084 HTTPS Both Licensing Services Primary DLS Secondary DLS
8085 HTTPS Both Licensing Services Primary DLS Secondary DLS

✔ Port is used.

- Port is not used.

The following ports that were required to be open in earlier releases are no longer used:

  • 22
  • 1883
  • 5672
  • 8883
  • 15672
  • 25671
  • 25672
  • 61613
  • 61614

The following ports must be available in the container orchestrator to allow the DLS appliance container to bind to them:

Port Service
8080, 18080 Administration Service
8081, 18081 Authorization Service
8082, 18082 Licensing Services
8083, 18083 File Installation
8084, 18084 Service Instance
8085 Virtual Appliance Service
9001 Process Manager (supervisord)
25672 RabbitMQ


After the client configuration token is generated and copied to the licensed client, the client uses information in the token to locate the service instance when requesting a license from the instance.

Q: Are there any additional security considerations for using a CLS instance?

No.

Q: When a client loses connection to a CLS or DLS instance, is the behaviour the same as for a legacy NVIDIA vGPU software license server?

Yes. Refer to Software Enforcement of NVIDIA vGPU Software Licensing in Virtual GPU Client Licensing User Guide for more information.

Q: Is the general enforcement of NVIDIA vGPU software licenses by a CLS or DLS instance the same as for a legacy NVIDIA vGPU software license server?

Yes. Refer to How NVIDIA vGPU Software Licensing Is Enforced in Virtual GPU Client Licensing User Guide for more information.

Q: When a master VM image is updated periodically, must the client configuration token be regenerated each time the image is updated? No. If the client configuration token is valid when the image is updated, it does not need to be regenerated. The validity period of a client configuration token depends on the NLS release that was used to generate the token.

NLS Release Validity Period
Since NLS 1.1 12 years
NLS 1.0.1 only 6 months
NLS 1.0 only 30 days


However, the token must be copied to any VMs that will use the token while the token is still valid. Before creating a VM from a master VM image that contains a client configuration token, ensure that the token is still valid. If the client configuration token has expired, regenerate it and copy it to the master VM image before creating a VM from the master VM image.

Any VM created from the master image checks the validity of the token. After the token is validated, it remains valid throughout the lifetime of the VM, even if the VM is rebooted.

Q: Where should a client configuration token be stored when used with a single-image technology such as Citrix MCS or PVS? Can either the default location or a shared network drive be used on the master image?

Yes, you can store the client configuration token in a shared drive or modify your MCS or PVS steps to copy the token to the default location in the master image.

Q: How do I update a DLS virtual appliance when NVIDIA has added an updated DLS virtual appliance image file to the NVIDIA Licensing Portal?

This process is described in detail in Migrating a DLS Instance in NVIDIA License System User Guide.

Q: Can I mix DLS instances and CLS instances in a production system?

Yes. You can have one set of licensed clients connected to a DLS instance and another set of licensed clients connected to a CLS instance.

You must create two different license servers on the NVIDIA Licensing Portal: One license server must be installed on the CLS instance and the other license server must be downloaded and installed on the DLS instance.

You must also generate one client configuration token for the CLS instance and another client configuration token for the DLS instance, and deploy each token on the set of clients to be connected to the instance for which you generated the token.

Q: Does the DLS virtual appliance provide an API or CLI for viewing DLS instance statistics and usage?

The DLS virtual appliance reports when CPU usage, memory usage, or disk usage exceeds 60% of the total available. These statistics can be found in the file /var/log/nls-telemetry on the DLS virtual appliance.

For more information about the log files on a DLS virtual appliance and how to access them, refer to Log File Locations and Types for a DLS Virtual Appliance in NVIDIA License System User Guide.

Q: How are DLS virtual appliances protected, and if a vulnerability is found, how will NVIDIA address it?

If a security vulnerability in the DLS virtual appliance is reported, NVIDIA aims to release a security update within 90 days of the vulnerability being reported. For a zero-day vulnerability, NVIDIA aims to release a security update as soon as possible after the vulnerability is reported.

Q: Is a DLS virtual appliance preconfigured with any user accounts?

Yes. Each DLS software image is configured with a fixed set of user accounts. You cannot add other user accounts to the software image. Furthermore, modifications to the configured accounts are strictly controlled. Each account is provided for a specific purpose.

User Account Purpose
dls_admin DLS administrator account. This account provides access through a web-based management interface to the NVIDIA Licensing application on a DLS virtual appliance. The DLS administrator user name can be changed from the preset dls_admin name.
rsu_admin DLS sudo user account. This user account has the elevated privileges required to install updates to the DLS appliance software that NVIDIA releases periodically. To comply with the terms of the GPL/LGPL v3 license under which the GPL/LGPL v3 licensed Open Source Software (OSS) libraries within the DLS virtual appliance are released, this account also has the elevated privileges required to update and upgrade these libraries.


Q: As a customer, how much management of a CLS instance am I required to do? For example, can I reboot a CLS instance if I have an issue?

None. The CLS infrastructure is managed completely by NVIDIA. The NVIDIA Licensing Portal provides no interfaces for users to reboot a CLS instance.

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