[gpfsug-discuss] License designation

[Jan-Frode Myklebust]

When backed by capacity based license, I never bother assigning anything
else than server licences (mmchlicense server --accept -N all).

Otherwise, I don’t think the fact that you can run sshfs makes it a server.
Only explicitly mentioned file sharing protocols (NFS, SMB, S3 and hdfs)
makes it a server (and internal roles like manager, quorum, nsd-server..
maybe more). Running GPFS on a webserver (even editable with webdav), or
SMTP, or NFS server shouldn’t require server license — as I understand it.
But it does seem a bit unclear/borderline, and then I’m happy capacity
license makes this uncertainty moot.


  -jf

man. 24. aug. 2026 kl. 17:49 skrev Jonathan Buzzard via gpfsug-discuss <
gpfsug-discuss at gpfsug.org>:

>
> Some questions.
>
> First should a login node for an HPC cluster have a server or client
> license designation? My feeling is because you can transfer data off the
> node and by extension off GPFS using SSH via the likes of WinSCP or
> sshfs etc. then it is technically a server?
>
> Also if you can mount an external SMB drive onto the system and copy
> files off GPFS onto that does it counts as a server?
>
> Historically the mmchlicense explicitly mentioned SSH, but this seems to
> have be removed in the latest version.
>
> Also a couple of my nodes are showing as required license "server/fpo"
> when I run mmlslicense -L except that now fpo appears to be a
> discontinued license option?
>
> All that said it all feels a bit moot. Nothing is complaining about
> being incorrectly licensed and as our licensing is disk based there is
> as I understand it no cost implication of changing our login nodes to
> server licensing. To be honest I thought they were but apparently not.
>
>
>
> JAB.
>
> --
> Jonathan A. Buzzard                         Tel: +44141-5483420
> HPC System Administrator, ARCHIE-WeSt.
> University of Strathclyde, John Anderson Building, Glasgow. G4 0NG
>
>
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