USB-Network adapter as "dongle"?

[Hirazi Blue]

On the Softimage Mailing List Thomas Helzle mentions using a USB-Network adapter as a make-shift dongle several times, the last time he describes this procedure AFAIK is in this post.
My question is three-fold: will this method still work with the current and near-future (2012) incarnation of the License Managing System Autodesk uses, does anyone else but Thomas Helzle himself actually use this method and are there any "hidden" pitfalls to using this method?

[xsisupport]

On the Softimage Mailing List Thomas Helzle mentions using a USB-Network adapter as a make-shift dongle several times, the last time he describes this procedure AFAIK is in this post.
My question is three-fold: will this method still work with the current and near-future (2012) incarnation of the License Managing System Autodesk uses, does anyone else but Thomas Helzle himself actually use this method and are there any "hidden" pitfalls to using this method?

1) Nothing has really changed about licensing. A network license is still bound to an Ethernet address.

2) I know of at least one other person who uses a USB network adapter this way.

3) Don't know.

[Hirazi Blue]

Thanks for the info...
One more question: is the method "supported" or do you lose all rights to complain about it, once you try?
;)

[xsisupport]

We don't test or do hardware certification on USB network adapters.
So, it is not officially supported, and I don't have first-hand experience using a USB network adapter for licensing.

However, you'd get the same support for licensing issues as any other customer.

You'd have to have a problem like LMTOOLS not being able to read your Ethernet address before we'd start looking at the adapter.

[Hirazi Blue]

Thanks again... ;)

[Hirazi Blue]

NOOB Alert...
Okay, I went out and bought myself an USB NIC.
One concern still nags me, however, when I do a "getmac" in a command prompt, it lists all of the network cards in my unconnected workstation. And so it also lists the new USB NIC, however with the additional info that the "device is disconnected". My other two built-in network cards do not seem to suffer from that (they return a "\Device\Tcpip_...")
My probably stupid question would be: does the "disconnected" nature of this USB NIC in anyway interfere with its intended use as a mere MAC address for licensing purposes?
I'd rather throw the USB NIC away than go to the hassle of licensing only to find it doesn't work...

[xsisupport]

NOOB Alert...
Okay, I went out and bought myself an USB NIC.
One concern still nags me, however, when I do a "getmac" in a command prompt, it lists all of the network cards in my unconnected workstation. And so it also lists the new USB NIC, however with the additional info that the "device is disconnected". My other two built-in network cards do not seem to suffer from that (they return a "\Device\Tcpip_...")
My probably stupid question would be: does the "disconnected" nature of this USB NIC in anyway interfere with its intended use as a mere MAC address for licensing purposes?
I'd rather throw the USB NIC away than go to the hassle of licensing only to find it doesn't work...

Does LMTOOLS show the Ethernet address of your USB adapter?
If not, then a license based on that Ethernet address won't work.

[Hirazi Blue]

It does show in the LMTools.
Thanks once again!
(Although "thanks" is just a word, that doesn't convey my gratitude in this and other matters sufficiently...)