How the Microstation V8 License Works

Clarifying, that this is not a course of cracking, is only answering a question from someone who asked how the license of Microstation V8 is controlled.

The license server

This is the corporate way as licensing is controlled by a license server, which is an application for Bentley Select users prior to v8.9 (XM), which allows leaving a computer where the licenses are managed; the XM versions already include select server included. This license server is a good option, since you can check out a license, in case you go to work offline or on a laptop, the checkout can be one month for example after that time it is required to reconnect to renew the license. 

In this case, the license file of each machine only points to a url of the computer that has the license server installed.

It is also advantageous to have a license server as it can be managed in a floating way, such that if a license is not in use, it is available; the server manages how many are active and alerts when they are finished. An example of this is to have a single license (or few) of an application that is not widely used, but is available to anyone on the network; which will not allow concurrent users.

Of course, I remember that one night, we had to generate maps that were produced by a vba application that took a while, we opened several many Microstation times on each machine, we left the processes working and left to sleep to karaoke. Until then we realized that each open application was a new license, in the morning those who got up early in other offices found that there were no licenses available. hehe, good way to show you that we stay up until 3 am… and more after the Coronas.

The license file

For equipment that is not connected to a license server, Microstation until the 8.5 versions Bentley solved the license server through a local simulation. 

Within the Bentley file structure is:

C: / Program files / bentley / licensing

And there are the license files that are text documents with an .lic extension, inside what they have is the activation key for that machine, a number like 138 characters. 

For each program there is a different file, for example for Microstation is Msv8.lic, For Geographics Msgeo.lic , For geopack Geopack.lic and so for everyone else.

This method is very old, if you remember for Microstation J it was called Msj.lic Microstation SE was called Ustation.lic, for Microstation 95 Ms95.lic although in those times that same license administered several applications, only had more numeritos as the licenses of ArcView if they allow me to mix chicha with lemonade.

When Microstation is installed, legal version without a license server, it requests an activation key and is saved as a license path in a file of just 276 kb called Licnsmgr.dll which is in:

c: / Program Files / bentley / program / microstation

This file serves as a license server, which is why Bentley was still pirated because the sinful mara was only going to replace those two files by those who walk there surfing the Internet and already did.

For the XM versions it was made Another way of license activation, we discussed another day there.