docker-adlmflexnetserver

Unofficial container image for running the Autodesk Network License Manager (NLM) / FlexNet license daemon.

The repository provides a Docker-based deployment pattern for environments that operate Autodesk network licenses as managed infrastructure. License files stay outside the image and are mounted read-only at runtime.

This project is not affiliated with Autodesk or Flexera. It does not provide license entitlements. Before publishing derived images, verify whether your Autodesk terms allow redistribution of images that contain Autodesk binaries. Redistribution is treated as not allowed in this repository, so the CI workflow builds and validates images but does not publish them to GHCR.

Runtime Contract

Item	Value
License daemon	lmgrd
Default license path	/usr/local/flexlm/licenses/license.dat
Default log target	Docker stdout/stderr (docker compose logs)
Autodesk vendor port	2080/tcp
License manager ports	27000-27009/tcp
Runtime user	lmadmin
Default Compose command	-z -datestamp
Compose health check	lmutil lmstat -a -c /usr/local/flexlm/licenses/license.dat

The container hostname and MAC address must match the values used when the Autodesk license file was generated. If the license file pins different ports, publish those ports instead of the defaults above.

Quick Start

git clone https://github.com/symrex/docker-adlmflexnetserver.git
cd docker-adlmflexnetserver

cp example.env .env
cp /path/to/license.lic licenses/latest.lic
chmod 0444 licenses/latest.lic

Edit .env:

ADM_FLEXNET_HOSTNAME=name_registered_with_autodesk
ADM_FLEXNET_MAC_ADDRESS=XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX

Build and start:

docker compose up --build -d

Check status:

docker compose ps
docker compose logs --tail=100 admflexnet
docker compose exec admflexnet lmutil lmstat -a -c /usr/local/flexlm/licenses/license.dat

Configuration

The Compose file reads runtime values from .env.

Variable	Required	Purpose
ADM_FLEXNET_HOSTNAME	yes	Hostname used by the Autodesk license file.
ADM_FLEXNET_MAC_ADDRESS	yes	MAC address / host ID registered for the license server.
ADM_FLEXNET_NLM_URL	yes for builds	Autodesk NLM archive used during image build.
ADM_FLEXNET_IMAGE	optional	Local image tag used by Docker Compose.
ADM_FLEXNET_PLATFORM	optional	Build and runtime platform. Defaults to linux/amd64, matching Autodesk's Linux NLM archive.
ADM_FLEXNET_COMMAND	optional	Extra runtime arguments, if the optional command line in docker-compose.yml is enabled.

Treat license files and .env as sensitive operational material.

Build Targets

The Dockerfile uses a Debian builder stage to download and extract the Autodesk NLM archive. The final stage is selected with TARGET_TYPE; the GitHub Actions workflow currently builds a distroless final image.

Autodesk's Linux NLM archive contains x86_64 binaries, so local builds default to linux/amd64. This is required on ARM64 hosts such as Apple Silicon Macs.

Build the default image:

docker build \
  --platform linux/amd64 \
  --build-arg NLM_URL="$(sed -n 's/^ADM_FLEXNET_NLM_URL=//p' example.env)" \
  --build-arg TARGET_TYPE=gcr.io/distroless/base-debian12:nonroot \
  -t adlmflexnetserver:local .

For local debugging with more runtime tooling, override the final target:

docker build \
  --platform linux/amd64 \
  --build-arg NLM_URL="$(sed -n 's/^ADM_FLEXNET_NLM_URL=//p' example.env)" \
  --build-arg TARGET_TYPE=debian:bookworm-slim \
  -t adlmflexnetserver:debug .

Operations

Docker Compose enables init: true for the service. This lets Docker run a tiny init process as PID 1, forward signals, and reap child processes created by lmgrd or vendor daemons without adding an init binary to the distroless image.

Read Docker logs:

docker compose logs -f admflexnet

Validate the license service from inside the container:

docker compose exec admflexnet lmutil lmstat -a -c /usr/local/flexlm/licenses/license.dat

Apply an updated license file:

cp /path/to/new_adsk_server.lic licenses/latest.lic
chmod 0444 licenses/latest.lic
docker compose restart admflexnet

Legal Distribution Guard

Autodesk's current public Terms of Use grant use rights within the scope of an Autodesk subscription and prohibit making Autodesk offerings available to third parties unless expressly authorized. Because this image embeds Autodesk NLM binaries after build, redistribution through public registries such as GHCR is treated as not allowed for this repository.

The default workflow is configured accordingly:

• pull requests, pushes to main, monthly scheduled runs, and manual dispatch build and smoke-test the local image;
• no workflow step logs in to GHCR, pushes an image, signs a remote image, or attaches a registry attestation;
• each user or organization must build the image locally, or inside their own private CI/CD environment, from the official Autodesk download.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Checks
Container exits immediately	Inspect docker compose logs admflexnet and verify the license file mount.
Health check fails	Run lmutil lmstat manually and inspect docker compose logs admflexnet.
Clients cannot obtain licenses	Verify hostname, MAC address, firewall rules and license-file SERVER / VENDOR lines.
Port conflict	Change the host-side published ports or stop the conflicting service.
Build download fails	Validate ADM_FLEXNET_NLM_URL; Autodesk download URLs can change.

CI/CD

.github/workflows/build.yml is intentionally small. It runs hadolint, builds the distroless image locally, and runs lmutil lmhostid as a smoke test. It runs on pull requests, pushes to main, manual dispatch, and once per month as a prophylactic check.

License

This repository's source files are licensed under the MIT License. That license does not apply to Autodesk Network License Manager, FlexNet, Autodesk vendor daemon binaries, or Autodesk documentation downloaded during the Docker build.

Based on the original work by @haysclark.