When using shared licensing, although a single license is shared between multiple applications, only one application can actively use the license at a time. For example, with just a single license, you cannot do anything in the Ansys CFD-Post session if iterations are being performed in the Polyflow session. Note that it is possible to keep a Polydata application open and then launch another session of Polydata, a Polyflow calculation, or an Ansys CFD-Post session. When the window(s) of the application (not the current one) is inactive, the license used by Polydata is released enabling another application to use this released license.

If you open an application, it will first check to see if it can use a license that is already checked out. If it can, and that license is available, it will use that license. If the license is not available because it is being used by another application, you will be informed that the required license is not available. You will not be able to use the new application until that license becomes available. If there is not a license checked out that is compatible with the new application, the new application will check out an additional license. If Polydata is open, the license will not be released unless the window(s) of the application is inactive. If one application window becomes inactive, another application will be active, and thus will take the license. When Polydata is active again, other applications release their licenses. Polydata will request for a license. If one is available, Polydata will take it and you can continue working in Polydata. If no license is available, the following warning will be displayed on the screen:

Communication problem.
Shared license cannot be reacquired. 
Do you want to save and close your session? 
Answer ‘No’ to request license again. 

In shared mode, you can only have one license of each type of shareable license checked out at a time. For example, you can have 1 acfd license and 1 acfd_polyflow license checked out at the same time but you cannot have 2 acfd licenses checked out at the same time.

Polyflow in Workbench can operate in shared and non-shared mode. In shared mode, a single Polyflow license is shared between the applications in a single session. In non-shared mode, each application will check out an individual license as it is opened. Hence you can only open as many applications as there are licenses. Parallel (HPC) licenses cannot be shared by applications, in both shared and non-shared modes.

For more information about licensing and shared license mode, see the Workbench online documentation.