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Altair FEKO

Using Your Altair Student License for FEKO on the HPC Cluster​

Before you start​

You will need:

  • An Altair student license activation key (format: XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX)
  • Access to the HPC cluster login node
  • Internet access from the login node (required for the one-time activation step)

Your activation key can be obtained from the Altair Student Edition page.

Step 1 — Activate your license (one-time only)​

Log in to the cluster and run the following command, replacing the key with your own:

/packages/apps/altair/licensing/15.5/altair/licensing/bin/altair_activate \
    -key XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX \
    -output ~/.altair/license.dat

This connects to Altair's servers, validates your key, and saves a license file to your home directory at ~/.altair/license.dat. You only need to do this once.

note

Do not share your activation key with others — it is tied to your personal Altair account.

Step 2 — Load the FEKO module​

module load altair/feko/2025.1

The module automatically points to your personal license file. No further configuration is needed.

Step 3 — Verify the installation​

feko --version

If you see version information, your license is working correctly.

Troubleshooting​

"License file not found" or similar error​

Your activation may not have completed. Re-run the activation command from Step 1 and check that the file ~/.altair/license.dat exists afterward:

ls -l ~/.altair/license.dat

Activation command fails / cannot connect​

The activation requires internet access from the node where you run it. Make sure you are on the login node, not a compute node, when activating. If the login node does not have internet access, contact HPC support.

License works on login node but not on compute nodes​

Student licenses are node-locked to the machine where they were activated. If your jobs fail with a license error on compute nodes, contact HPC support — this requires an admin to configure floating or cloud-based licensing.

Getting a student license key​

If you do not yet have a key, register for the Altair Student Edition at: https://web.altair.com/altair-student-edition