How do these options interact with VM usage?

This page applies to Harlequin v13.1r0 and later; both Harlequin Core and Harlequin MultiRIP.

It is possible to set up the LDK Server on one computer and run one or more RIPs on additional computers, using network licenses (see “Do all RIPs need to be on the same computer?").

You must define the choice of a soft lock or a VM lock for the operating system on which the RIPs are running (not the LDK Server itself). An LDK Server on a bare-metal OS serving license across the network to enable RIPs running on VMs must therefore use a VM lock.

If an attempt is made to activate a soft lock inside a VM, it fails. But it is not possible to check if remote computers that might later obtain their licenses from the activation of a floating soft lock are running VMs or not. There is, therefore, no safeguard against a soft lock being activated and RIPs in remote VMs then not having access to a suitable license.

You can use this approach to support RIPs in VMs in a cluster environment that moves them dynamically from one physical host to another, or that changes their MAC addresses. You may also use it to enable some number of RIP instances to run at any one time on a network without locking down which computers those RIPs run on.

Conversely, it also means that:

• There is a single point of failure for multiple RIPs—the LDK Server.
• The use of a VM lock for the remote server means that it cannot be re-hosted
• A fault in network access between RIPs and the LDK Server prevents the RIPs from running.

A hybrid solution with more than one LDK Server, each providing licenses for multiple RIPs, is often the optimal solution.