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Hasp vs. NetHasp?


Oscar R.
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I've recently been told that we're going to NetHasp with MC and need to hear from people out there with experience on this.

Although I haven't work with it in a few years, I've have worked on system in the past that use NetHasp. In IMO it's not worth the hassle of dropped connections and potential sever related issues effecting our productivity.

Have things changed any in the last couple of years?

 

Do you use it?

How does it work for you?

What, if any issues, should I look out for?

 

TIA

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Set up properly you wont even notice a difference.

Theres a several guys here that use it without a hitch.

 

I think ive heard less over the last few years about having to reboot

the server to let go of licenses, with was an issue 10-12 years back

when i first set one up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PEACE :D

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Our NetHasp is setup on a server in our North Carolina facility.

 

There are problems but are minimal. Worst is when IT messes with the server we get a "NetHasp has been disconected, do you want to save?" Maybe it IT..... or weather. Who knows. Restart Mastercam and it comes back usually right away.

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There are many advantages to a net hasp.

You modules are split up so one guy can be using Lathe while another guy uses mill,

something not possible on a USB hasp.

 

We've added 2 seats of mill L3 recently but did not add multiaxis

We have 3 seats of multiaxis on the nethasp and that is enough to support 5

programmers....If we were running USB we'd have had to buy 2 full seats

With Nethasp, you just buy what you need.... so that saved us the price

of 2 seats of multiaxis... plus the related annual maintance..

 

The downside is... if you have an unreliable network, you're going

to have problems....

but with the state of today's networking technology, there is zero excuse for

your network to be unreliable.

 

Another great advantage to a nethasp is that you can remote in from home

and use all the network licenses.

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There are many advantages to a net hasp.

You modules are split up so one guy can be using Lathe while another guy uses mill,

something not possible on a USB hasp.

 

We've added 2 seats of mill L3 recently but did not add multiaxis

We have 3 seats of multiaxis on the nethasp and that is enough to support 5

programmers....If we were running USB we'd have had to buy 2 full seats

With Nethasp, you just buy what you need.... so that saved us the price

of 2 seats of multiaxis... plus the related annual maintance..

 

The downside is... if you have an unreliable network, you're going

to have problems....

but with the state of today's networking technology, there is zero excuse for

your network to be unreliable.

 

Another great advantage to a nethasp is that you can remote in from home

and use all the network licenses.

 

Thanks for the responses guys.

Gcode, I do like the fact that we can split up our products and that I can log on from offsite computers.

I guess I'm more concerned about everything being on our server, being as we don't have a "true" IT person here on site(long story).

Like I said in the OP, I have worked on a NetHasp before, and I remember constant dropped sims and apperantly when ever our server would back itself up we would loose our connection and couldn't even open MC at that point. Where on a USB hasp, it's basically a stand alone.

 

Would a local server be something to look into? It's been suggested by someone here.

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we don't have a "true" IT person here

 

We don't either. we have a contract with a remote IT company

They have a call center that is manned 24/7/365 and send a tech in 2 or three times a month as needed.

Reasonable prices, extremely competent and totally professional..

 

They set me up with a VPN tunnel to my home that runs just like I'm sitting in the office. :thumbsup:

 

If you're interested, I'll PM their contact info.

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have not used nethasp option but have other software that works on the same theory. May I suggest a dedicated license server? something very solid, doesnt have to be fast but needs to be reliable with UPS (uninteruptable power supply). seperate from any sql, mail, or MRP server. this would allow maintenance on those systems without interuption to programming. virtual machines have a place but tend to criple company wide when they go down.

 

Doug

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We don't either. we have a contract with a remote IT company

They have a call center that is manned 24/7/365 and send a tech in 2 or three times a month as needed.

Reasonable prices, extremely competent and totally professional..

 

They set me up with a VPN tunnel to my home that runs just like I'm sitting in the office.

 

If you're interested, I'll PM their contact info.

 

We have a contract IT company as well, and they're pretty competent in what we've had for them here so far. I'll have to check with them to see if they're comfortable attempting this setup.

 

If I see them blink I'll probably need that info. you offered.

 

May I suggest a dedicated license server?

Yes, this is a definate maybe.

 

virtual machines have a place but tend to criple company wide when they go down.

And this is why we're considering it as an option if all else fails.

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If they are a professional outfit, they should have no trouble with setting up

your nethasp.

 

Yes, they are pros.

 

Now that I think of it, they did set up SolidWorks license on the server.

 

Well, thanks for easing my anxiety about the hole thing. I hope it works out as well for us as it did for you guys.

 

And now it's miller time, LOL. :beer:

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coughing up an extra ***** just to have one key instead of 8

 

 

 

you are not coughing up anything.. just returning the bundling discount you recieved when you purchased a USB Hasp

8 mill/lathe USB HASPs can support 8 programmers. The same licenses on a Net HAS can support 16

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  • 4 months later...

Just a quick follow up on this for anyone interested.

 

We've finally got around to finishing up our NetHasp install. Been running it going on three months now and for the most part things have gone well.

A few things we had to get updated along with our new install.

 

1. Custom posts that had been locked to our old license and to be reconfigured.

2. Custom setup sheets, same as above.

 

We've had a couple of "SIM has been disconnected" events so far. Not sure what they were due to.

Also, it seems that anytime MC crashes, stalls, or has to be "force closed" the server will retain the license for the module that was being used. According to our MC local dealer the server must be rebooted to release the modual.

Note sure if I translated that that one right. Might just be an MC srevice re-start.

 

Another thing is that we've had to enforce around here is getting all the users to close out their sessions if they walk away for a long period of time or at the end of the day, so that someone else can use it if needed (We have a less modules than programmers). :whip: Gotta break out the ol whip every now and again.

 

Also, there's been a slightly noticable lag in performance in working ver the network. Probably due to our slow servers, but had to mention it for consideration.

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When I do an install for a NetHASP for a customer, I always create a 'Custom.ini' file so it looks specifically for that IP address and or token name of the server. I usually also increase the 'timeout' setting in the ini file to help eliminate dropouts on the license. If the server has the Nethasp Monitor installed, you can easily stop and restart the service without having to re-boot the server which isn't always convenient

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We have a pretty robust network here, one more license than programmer and have almost zero problems with our nethasp.

The only time I get a dropped license is if I have X6 and V9 open at the same time.

If I close V9, X6 will come back and say the license has been discontected and give me one chance to save my work.

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I usually also increase the 'timeout' setting in the ini file to help eliminate dropouts on the license.

 

I'm going to have to talk to our IT guy about this one. Not sure how the timeout is set right now.

Good thing is we now have a full-time IT person that can handle these issues at a moments notice, which was not always the case before.

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This is what I use as a nethasp.ini, and it works fine. Just change the ip addresses to match your network. As Todd mentioned increasing the timeout helps

 

[NH_COMMON]
NH_TCPIP = Enabled ;;or Disabled ; Use the TCP/IP protocol
[NH_IPX]
[NH_NETBIOS]
[NH_TCPIP]
NH_SERVER_ADDR = 123.123.123.123, 192.168.1.1 ;external, internal
NH_TCPIP_METHOD = TCP
NH_USE_BROADCAST = Disabled	 ; Default: UDP
NH_SESSION = 15
NH_SEND_RCV = 30

 

According to our MC local dealer the server must be rebooted to release the modual

 

Just run this batch file on the server to reboot the nethasp easily without having to go into services.

 

NET STOP "HASP Loader"
ping -n 15 127.0.0.1
NET START "HASP Loader"
pause

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  • 4 months later...

I have a question about using the network HASP.

If my programmers open up mulltiple instances of mastercam on the same computer , does this use a license for each instance of MCX on their computer?

For instance, they are working on a project and someone needs work on another part.

 

Thanks in advance.

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I have a question about using the network HASP.

If my programmers open up mulltiple instances of mastercam on the same computer , does this use a license for each instance of MCX on their computer?

For instance, they are working on a project and someone needs work on another part.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

No you can open as many instances as you like on one machine.. and it will use one license.

The exception to this is V9...

V9 will run on a Win7x64 machine via nethasp.. but lauching V9 sometimes forces you to close

any copies of X5 6 or 7 you may be running

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THanks,

I spoke with MCX reseller, They will tell you it is not supported, However Net Hasp only looks at IP address when you check out a license.

After that it does not check IP 's so you can open multiple instances.

If you have problems though they will not offer support!

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