FlexLM and system date problem

[sej7278]

Has anyone used a FlexLM node-locked license in a VirtualBox guest, i.e. the text file .lic type, not the license server or USB dongle?

I keep getting an error message about the system date being set back, the funny thing is it works sometimes!

This is a 64-Bit Fedora10 host running 3.0.2 or 3.0.4 with 64-Bit Fedora11 guest (3.0.2 guest additions) and 32-Bit CentOS 5.3 guest (3.0.2 or 3.0.4 GA's).

According to the tech support, the RTC clock has to be the same time as the Linux time and have the "correct" timezone, whatever that means. I know the VBox service syncs guest and host clocks and both guest and host use NTP.

[Perryg]

I had a problem with time regression on a VBox Linux server. Dovecot would get bent out of shape if the time changed a second to the past and stop. I killed the NTP on the server and have not had a problem since. I know this has nothing to do with the program that you are using but thought it might give you something to look at. As for the time zone that needs to be the same on both is what I am getting. Here again I have had programs that I had to shut down the Daylight Savings conversion because they would tork out when the time switched. Again maybe not the problem but maybe something to look at.

[sej7278]

Thanks for the reply. Your problems seem to be Linux-based, but I think mine are down to something weird in the way the host and guest clocks are synced perhaps, or how the system time is read from the emulated BIOS.

I've given up on NTP - its manually done with ntpdate, not via the ntpd service anyway.

I don't understand the timezone problem, CEST is CEST surely?

Mind you I do sometimes get a warning on booting the guest that some inode date stamp is in the future or something, I think that's when I boot after a kernel upgrade before the GA's have been updated.

[Perryg]

I think that what I am getting at here is every program and even VBox must get its original time from bios. Where I see time issues are when I use NTP, or anything that changes the system time on a guest other than by polling the "main" bios. My servers do not have Guest Additions installed so no time sync, and they stay spot on as far as the clock is concerned.

I keep getting an error message about the system date being set back

What I think (and I could be off here) is you program sees a time shift and it can not deal with it. I would proceed with stopping all time and date sync and see if you still get the error. Kill the pid for time sync and set the TZ to UTC then run for a while and see if it stays up.