Editing FlexNet Publisher (section)

{{Short description|Software license manager}}
{{Refimprove|date=January 2017}}
{{Redir|FlexNet|the Digital Research networking product for FlexOS|FlexNet (Novell)}}
{{Infobox software
| name                   = FlexNet Publisher
| screenshot             = 
| caption                = 
| collapsible            = 
| author                 = GLOBEtrotter and Highland
| developer              = [[Flexera Software]]
| released               = {{Start date and age|1988}}
| latest release version = 2024 R2 SP1 (11.19.7.1)
| latest release date    = {{Start date and age|2025|01|30}}<ref>{{cite web|title=FlexNet Publisher End-of-Life Policy and Notices - Revenera|url=https://docs.revenera.com/eol/flexnet-publisher.html|website=[[Revenera]]|accessdate=2025-02-17}}</ref>
| latest preview version = 
| latest preview date    = 
| programming language   = [[C (programming language)|C]]/[[C++]], [[Java (programming language)|Java]]
| operating system       = [[Windows]], [[macOS]], [[Linux]], and various [[UNIX]]es
| platform               = [[Cross-platform]]
| size                   = 
| language               = English
| genre                  = [[Software license]] management
| license                = Proprietary
}}
'''FlexNet Publisher''' (formerly known as FLEXlm) is a software [[license manager]] from [[Flexera Software]] which implements [[copy protection|license management]] and is intended to be used in corporate environments to provide [[Floating licensing|floating licenses]] to multiple end users of computer software.{{Citation needed|date=January 2017}}

Computer software can be licensed in a variety of ways. A license to use a piece of software may be associated with a specific machine (''node-locked''), permitting it to only run on that machine (node in a [[Computer network|network]]); alternatively, a company may buy a pool of ''floating'' licenses and these licenses may be allocated dynamically to machines, a license being ''checked-out'' when a user begins using the software on any given machine and ''checked-in'' when the user finishes using the software. In this way, for example, a company might buy a pool of 50 licenses but support a user community of hundreds of occasional users of the software (so long as no more than 50 users ever want to use the software simultaneously).{{Original research inline|date=January 2017}}