Automatic server discovery is a software licensing feature that allows client applications to find
license servers automatically on the
network
Network, networking and networked may refer to:
Science and technology
* Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects
* Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks
Mathematics
...
, thus eliminating the need for end users to manually configure server information and allowing system administrators to perform their tasks more easily and efficiently. If you have, for example, over 70 machines then the configuration process will take a long time if it is done manually.
Automatic server discovery often uses
Multicast
In computer networking, multicast is group communication where data transmission is addressed to a group of destination computers simultaneously. Multicast can be one-to-many or many-to-many distribution. Multicast should not be confused with ...
UDP to send broadcasts, to which available license servers respond with information about their network location. When a licensed server is discovered, the information is locally cached on the client machine, so automatic server discovery does not have to be performed at each application startup.
The newest version of
NTP also supports Automatic server discovery. There are three schemes provided by NTPv4:
*
Broadcast
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...
/
Multicast
In computer networking, multicast is group communication where data transmission is addressed to a group of destination computers simultaneously. Multicast can be one-to-many or many-to-many distribution. Multicast should not be confused with ...
* Manycast
* Server pool
Automatic server discovery typically works only on local networks, and will not work on
WAN or
VPN
A virtual private network (VPN) extends a private network across a public network and enables users to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if their computing devices were directly connected to the private network. The be ...
connections.
See also
*
License manager
A software license manager is a software management tool used by Independent software vendors or by end-user organizations to control where and how software products are able to run. License managers protect software vendors from losses due to ...
*
Floating licensing
Floating licensing, also known as concurrent licensing or network licensing, is a software licensing approach in which a limited number of licenses for a software application are shared among a larger number of users over time. When an authorized ...
References
External links
ISA Server and Automatic Server Discovery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Automatic Server Discovery
System administration
Software licenses
Internet broadcasting