Server daemons are backward-compatible, but NOT forward-compatible.
Historically, crackers have focused on emulating older, reverse-engineered license servers (e.g., the infamous "lmgrd v9.2" crack). By forcing clients to update their libflexlm to match the server version, software vendors can require a server version that uses newer, unbroken cryptography. If a user tries to use a cracked old server with a legitimate new client, the version mismatch blocks the crack. flexnet licensing version of client newer than server
Or simply:
VENDOR ansyslmd /opt/flexnet/bin/ansyslmd If a user tries to use a cracked
Crucially, a mixed environment where some clients are old and some are new is impossible without running two separate license servers on different ports—one for the old version, one for the new. The version asymmetry ensures that a single server cannot serve a heterogeneous client population across a protocol-breaking boundary. Server daemons are backward-compatible