The Network License Manager has a feature called TIMEOUT which automatically returns idle license seats after a specified amount of time has lapsed. TIMEOUT has the following limitations:
- The minimum duration for TIMEOUT is 14400 seconds, i.e. 4 hours.
- TIMEOUT only applies to MATLAB. Once MATLAB times out, toolboxes in use in that session of MATLAB will also be returned.
- To enact a TIMEOUT, MATLAB clients must be on R14SP3 or higher and the Network License Manager must be running version 9.2 or higher.
- For the purposes of TIMEOUT, a MATLAB session is considered idle if there has been no user interaction and no running jobs for the entirety of the specified TIMEOUT duration.
To enact a TIMEOUT, add the following line in your license manager options file:
TIMEOUT MATLAB 14400
This will set the TIMEOUT duration to 4 hours, however you can set the TIMEOUT duration higher if desired. The TIMEOUT duration must be specified in seconds. The network license manager must be stopped and started for the new TIMEOUT duration to take effect.
Experiencing a License Timeout
You may experience a license timeout when:
- Timeout is enabled, and
- You leave a MATLAB session inactive for an extended period of time.
Under these conditions, the network license key(s) are returned but MATLAB remains open.
The timeout is recorded in the network license manager log file, as follows:
Idle session. Returning keys for <user>@<machine>
To resume a MATLAB session that has timed out, start using MATLAB again. If a license key is available, MATLAB checks it out automatically. If a license key is not available, MATLAB issues a warning and tries again. MATLAB will make 10 attempts before exiting.
