SolusVM allows to manage virtual servers easily. And, it requires a license.

But, the choice of SolusVM license depends largely on the server setup. Unfortunately, it can be often confusing to new users.

At Bobcares, we get requests from customers to choose the right type of SolusVM License as part of our Infrastructure Management Services.

Today, we’ll see how our Dedicated Engineers help customers choose the right SolusVM license and fix common errors.

Factors affecting SolusVM License

SolusVM is a product that comes with License. For making it work, we need to purchase and install a License for the product. And, the correct license depends on configuration of the server.

We’ll now see the factors that our Support Engineers check before recommending a SolusVM License to customers.

1. Type of Server

The type of server matters much when choosing the SolusVM license. Basically, SolusVM offers two types of Licenses, Master and Slave.

Usually, Master license allows to host virtual servers based on OpenVZ technology. With a SolusVM Master license, it is possible to add any number of Slaves. Thus, our Support Engineers recommend it as an option for customers who need different Virtualization types. As a result, they can can a Slave with KVM technology, another one with Xen technology.

Again, the Master License comes at a higher cost than other licenses. The exact figures come around $10/month.

Similarly, Slave only Master licenses only allow to manage VPS that are hosted on your Slaves. This allows you to run a master server without any virtualization of its own. In other words, it do not allow to run OpenVZ on your SolusVM Master.

Basically, Slave licenses are ideal for a dedicated or standalone virtual server. Thus, it comes will lesser costs that start from as low as $2.50/month.

2. Number of guests

Another factor that decides the SolusVM license is the number of servers that we are planing to build. Again, it depends whether you need unlimited guests on a single server or servers that supports only few guests.

For instance, when a customer plans to host unlimited number of VPS on a single Master, our Dedicated Engineers recommend them to use the Master License. Or, if they need to have unlimited amount of VPS on the slave node they can go ahead with Unlimited Slave license too.

Other available options include Micro slave that supports 2 guests on a node, Mini slave that can host up to 5 guests in a node.

Luckily, SolusVM allows to increase or decrease the number of slaves for production servers too. The upgrade or downgrade can be easily done from the Client Area.

3. Costs

Just like any other product, run time costs also become an important factor while purchasing the license. But again, this further relate to the business scope too. For a customer who can sell unlimited virtual servers, an initial investment for SolusVM license will be negligible in the longer run.

However, for newbies, our Support Engineers recommend to start with a Slave only license. This gives them enough room for all testing and trials without spending too much.

4. Virtualization

Luckily, the license choice is free from the type of virtualization on the server. There is no need for a different license to use any specific virtualization type. As a result, customer can choose between a KVM virtualization or Xen virtualization even after the purchase of license.

In simple words, SolusVM Licenses support all types of virtualization.

How to install SolusVM License?

So far, we saw the top factors that play a role in deciding the type of SolusVM License.

Now, its time to see how our Dedicated Engineers setup SolusVM License on the server.

To activate the license, we first login to the SolusVM Admin Panel.

Then, we click on the “Configuration” option in the top menu. We select the “License” link within the drop down menu.
Under the “New Key” section, we add the new SolusVM license key. The license key details will be provided by the SolusVM team. Finally, we click “Update Key” to apply.

The successfully working SolusVM License will have an Active status.

Later, to update the License, we just need to click on the “Update Key” option to retrieve the changes.

Common SolusVM License errors and fixes

Though, SolusVM License setup appears pretty straight forward, customer often see license errors. Let’s see the top errors and how we fix them.

1. License mismatch error

Recently, one of our customers reported that his SolusVM was not responding. He was not able to do any operation on the panel. The error said:

Warning!
A slave license mismatch has occured. One or more of your slaves have an incorrect license type.

On checking, we found problems with SolusVM license on the server. It was not matching the actual license type on the slave nodes.

To fix the error, our Dedicated Engineers set the correct License Type parameter according to the number of VPSes on the node. As there were 5 guests in the slave node, we had to set the type as Mini slave.

2. Using KVM

Yet another real time challenge happens when you need to use a specific virtualization technology called KVM (Kernel based Virtual Machine). There is no possible way to set up a server with Master SolusVM license and then have KVM virtualization on it.

Here, our Support Engineers make it working with the help of 2 servers. We setup the first server without virtualization and use it as SolusVM Master. It will have the Slave only Master license on it.

Secondly, we set up SolusVM Slave with KVM virtualization on another server. On the second server, we choose the slave license as per the number of guests. Finally, we add the slave to master.

[Need help in choosing the correct license for your SolusVM? Our experts can help you.]

Conclusion

In short, the choice of SolusVM License depends on many factors and can be confusing to newbies. Today, we saw the factors that affect the license choice and how our Support Engineers fix typical SolusVM license problems.