Setting Up

This section explains the procedure to setup up Flint for developing RAPIDSEA projects.

Prerequisites

Flint is a lightweight plug-in running on top of the Eclipse platform. The software to be installed before starting the installation are

• 64-bit PC with at least 4GB RAM and 1 GB free hard disk space.

• 64-bit Java 11 or newer JRE/JDK is required. LTS releases are preferred. Currently, Java versions up to 17.0 are compatible with Flint.

• For Linux, users can install the jdk11 version using the command “sudo apt install openjdk-11-jre-headless”.

Installing Flint

This section describes in detail the steps involved in installing the Flint IDE.

To begin with, the Flint is provided as a compressed archive – Flint_xxx.zip file, whereas xxx is the version number of the Flint IDE. Extract the same with your preferred tool. For example, when using WinRAR, right click the Flint.zip file and select Extract to Flint as shown below

Extracting Flint.zip

This extracted folder can be moved to any preferred location. To run Flint, after unzipping, select eclipse folder and double click on Flint.exe file.

Flint.exe

Flint needs to be provided with a workspace location to keep the project. By default, it is located where the Flint.exe file resides. Choose any folder you want.

Workspace location

Flint tool is now launched, and it looks like:

Flint tool

Licensing Flint

For Flint to build projects, it is essential to obtain a license. For that, open the menu Flint->License. If the License is not obtained, it will show “Valid License not found”.

Request for a License

Click on the ‘Request License’ button. Provide details in all mandatory fields.

Providing details for a License

Select ‘To Clipboard’ option which will copy the filled contents to your clipboard. After that, paste it to your Email client and share the details with license@embien.com.

Embien’s Licensing team will validate the same and respond with a license.lic file. Simply place the license.lic file obtained in the same folder as Flint.exe to enable it.

Placing license.lic file

The license will now be enabled, and its validity can be viewed in the license window.

Valid License Information

Licensing Flint with USB Dongle

Installing WinUSB Driver for USB Dongle License

Follow these steps to install the WinUSB Driver for USB Dongle License:

• Click the link https://embien.com/download/libusb-win32-devel-filter-1.2.7.3.exe and download the ‘libusb-win32-devel-filter-1.2.7.3.exe’ driver.

• Double-click the ‘libusb-win32-devel-filter-1.2.7.3.exe’

  

  Set-up LibUSB-Win32

• A dialog box will appear:

• Select ‘I accept the agreement’ and ‘click Next’

• Click ‘Next’ again.

  

  Set-up LibUSB-Win32-1

• Choose the installation path and click ‘Next’.

  

  Set-up LibUSB-Win32-2

• Click ‘Next’ and then ‘Install’

  

  Set-up LibUSB-Win32-3

• Finally, click ‘Finish’.

  

  Set-up LibUSB-Win32-4

• The LibUSB Win32 is installed.

• Now, insert the USB Dongle.In Device manager check whether the device is shown in the list.

  

  Device Manager

• Select Install a device filter and Click ‘Next’( If this option does not appear automatically , then Click ‘Start’ and find the LibUSB-WIN32 folder and open Filter Wizard.)

  

  Set-up LibUSB-Win32-5

• Select ‘vid:4701 pid:0291 rev:0200’ in the Device selection and Click Install.

  

  Set-up LibUSB-Win32-6

Once the Filter is applied successfully, close the dialog.

Set-up LibUSB-Win32-7

To confirm a successful installation, navigate to the Device Manager, access the properties of Embien USB, and select “Driver Details.”

Device Manager

Upon completing the installation successfully, click on the “Request License” button and fill in all the required fields.

License Error

Request for a License

Providing details for a License

Opt for the “To Clipboard” option, which will copy the filled details to your clipboard. Send the copied contents to license@embien.com. Embien’s Licensing team will validate the information and provide a license.lic file in response.

Simply place the obtained license.lic file in the same folder as Flint.exe to activate it.You can place multiple USB license files if needed.

Placing license file

Valid License Information

Note: Dongle LED Indications

• Slow Blink - License Invalid / Not Found

• Fast Blink - License Valid.

Licensing Flint with Floating License Server

Prerequisite

Download and install .Net 8.0. from https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download

Flint Floating License Server Installation:

• Download and unzip the Flint_Floating_License_Server_Vx.x.x.zip file.

  

  Unpacking the Flint Floating License Server

• Run the Setup Window Installer Package. The Welcome wizard will open. Click ‘Next’.

  

  Run the Setup

• Choose the installation location and click ‘Next’.

  

  Browse Installation Directory

• Confirm the installation by clicking ‘Next’.

  

  Confirm Installation

• The installation process for ETLicenseServer will commence.

  

  Installation in Progress

• Once the installation is completed, click ‘Close’.

  

  Installation Completed

• After installation, please check the ET License server status in the Services section to confirm it is running.

  

  ET License Server status

• An ETLicenseServer shortcut will be created on the Desktop.

  

  Shortcut for ETLicenseServer

• Double click the shortcut to open the Flint Floating License Server.

  

  Launch ETLicenseServer

• Once the splash screen appears, click the arrow to expand the icon tray in the taskbar, then double-click the FLS icon.

  

  Launch ETLicenseServer

  

  Launched ETLicenseServer

Installing License:

After Installation, Place the license.lic file in the installation folder (The path given in Flint Floating License Server Installation section ) containing the ETLicenseServer.exe and launch ETLicenseServer from desktop.

Installing License

Note - Refer to the Licensing Flint section to request for a license file in case license is not available.

• If any Windows Security pop-up appears, select ‘Allow’ to enable public and private network access for the app. Otherwise, refer to the section ‘Explicitly adding Firewall Inbound Rule’.

  

  Network Access permission

Explicitly adding Firewall Inbound Rule:

Sometimes, the network access permission popup is not shown automatically. In such cases, Firewall Inbound Rule can be added manually by following these steps.

• Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog.

• Type wf.msc and press Enter to open the Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security window.

  

  Run Windows Firewall

• In the left panel, click on “Inbound Rules” to display existing rules.

  

  Inbound Rules

• Click on “New Rule…” in the right panel to launch the New Inbound Rule Wizard.

  

  Add New Rule

• Select “Program” under Rule Type and click “Next.”

  

  Configure Rule Type

• Choose ‘This program path’ and browse to the directory containing the executable file (e.g., ETLicenseService.exe).

• Select the executable file and click “Next.”

  

  Select Program Path

  

  Selected Program Path

• Choose “Allow the connection” under the Action section and click “Next.”

  

  Action

• Select all three network profiles: “Domain,” “Private,” and “Public,” then click “Next.”

  

  Configure Profiles

• Name the rule as “ETLicenseServer” and optionally provide a description.

  

  Configure Name

• Click “Finish” to finalize the creation of the new inbound rule.

• Once the rule is successfully created, it will be visible in the list of inbound rules within Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security.

  

  Configure Profiles

Using Flint Floating License Server:

• Start/Stop Server: Located at the top right corner, allows starting and stopping the License Server.

• License Tab: Displays License Details including License Type, Issue Date, Expiry Date, and Number of Licenses.

• Supported Targets: Shows Targets supported by Flint with their license status.

• Supported Features: Shows Features supported by Flint with their license status.

  

  License Tab

• Clients Tab: Displays the Active users Table showing Active users and their logged-in time.

• Logs: Provides logs of client connections and session details.

  

  Clients Tab

Flint Configuration:

• Locate the file named ‘ip_credentials.txt’ in Flint’s directory.

  

  IP Credentials file in Flint Directory

• In Server PC where Flint Floating License Server is installed, check the IP address by typing ‘ipconfig’ in Command prompt. Note the IPV4 Address.

  

  Ipconfig command

• Replace the address 192.168.123.123 with the server IP address noted(do not change the port).

  

  IP Credentials file

• Launch Flint.

• Navigate to Flint > License in the menu bar (required for the first launch).

  

  Launching Flint

• The connected Flint client IP address will appear in the Active users Table of the Flint Floating License Server.

  

  Active User Table

• The number of connected Flint clients cannot exceed the provided number of licenses.

• When a Flint Client is closed, its IP is removed from the Active user’s table.

  

  Closing Flint

• To remove a client and add a new one, right-click the client IP in the Active users Table and select ‘Remove’.

  

  Remove User

• Connect the new client within 2 minutes. otherwise, the old client will retain the session.

Note:

• On unexpected Flint closure or client-side network disconnection, it may take upto 5 minutes to remove the Client session. Manually remove the User from the Active user table in such cases to free up slots for new users quickly.

• The Flint Floating License server requires an active Internet connection to start the server.

• Flint Floating License Server will be installed as an auto startup application which automatically starts on windows bootup.

• Do not change the content or remove ‘license.lic’ from installation path.

Updating Flint

Checkout with Embien or subscribe to our Newsletter to know more about version updates.