Patent ID: 8726014

Claim:
A system for managing license files, comprising: a memory operable to store a socket module comprising software that facilitates two-way communication between two processes through a socket interface rather than a file interface; and a processor communicatively coupled to the memory and operable to: receive a command to open and update a license file associated with a software product, the license file comprising data defining the scope of one or more licenses to use the software product by the customer, wherein: the command is associated with a first user identifier; and the license file is stored in a first remote node and is associated with a second user identifier; compare the second user identifier with the first user identifier to determine whether to allow an update of the license file; and if the second user identifier matches the first user identifier: use the socket module to establish a socket connection via the socket interface between the processor and the first remote node to connect the processor to a network protocol; and use the socket connection to: open the license file; retrieve from the first remote node a file descriptor associated with the opened license file; prior to applying an update to the opened license file, convert the file descriptor to a stream-oriented file pointer; and apply the update to the opened license file at the first remote node, wherein the update is addressed according to the file descriptor; and if the second user identifier does not match the first user identifier, prevent the update of the license file.