Installing the FLEXnet License Administrator

[TravisNave]

Installing and Configuring the Flexera FLEXnet® License Administrator

In addition to the Autodesk Network License Manager, Autodesk products can be configured to use the 3rd party Flexera FLEXnet License Administrator service to manage licenses for the Autodesk network applications.  Other vendors may also use the FLEXnet service.  Therefore, it is important to recognize that if other vendors are using the FlexLM (LMTOOLS) then you should not run the web-interface FLEXnet in conjunction with it.  Only one license manager type should be used for all products. 

For new installations of FLEXnet, please use the following procedure:

1. FLEXnet License Administrator is not supplied by Autodesk.  To obtain the installation files for this application, you need to download the license administrator files (lmadmin*.exe) from the following website:
   
   http://www.globes.com/support/fnp_utilities_download.htm
    
2. Once the installation has been uncompressed you will be presented with the installation screen.  On the Introduction, click Next.
   
   
   
   
3. Choose the install folder. Default is C:\Program Files\FLEXnet Publisher License Server Manager.  Click Next to continue.  
    
   
   
   
   Note:  You cannot upgrade an existing license manager.  If you receive the following error, either rename the existing folder (recommended) or choose a new location for installation. 
   
   
   
   
4. Regardless of any pre-existing license manager, do not choose to import any settings. Click Next to continue.
   
   
   
    
5. On the Pre-Installation Summary, review the settings and click Install. 
    
   
   
6. If there is any important information listed for a prerequisite install, please follow the recommendations listed on this screen and click Next to continue.
   
    
   
   
   
7. Choose the default setting for launch configuration unless there is a port conflict on an existing web service on 8080.  The License Server port number will default to 27000 ~ 27009.  Click Next to continue.
   
   
   
   
   
8. On the Service Configuration, be sure to check the box that reads, Run as a service to ensure that the lmadmin service is created and configured properly. Note:  If you do not configure FLEXnet to run as a service, you will have to manually start the service on each restart/login.  Click Next to continue.
   
    
   
   
9. When prompted to launch the License Server Manager, check the box that reads Start server now and click Next to continue.
   
   
   
   
   
10. Click Done to complete the install process. 
    
    
    
    
    
11. Your browser should now automatically open to the FLEXnet License Administrator Dashboard and display the demo vendor daemon information.
    
    
    
    The default location for the web-interface can be accessed by the following URL(s):
    
    http://localhost:8080  - Access locally on the license manager
    http://servername:8080 – Access across the network or Internet.
    
    
    
12. To configure the FLEXnet License Administrator Dashboard, click Administration in the upper right-hand corner.  You will be required to login as admin on the initial login.
    
    Username: admin
    Password: admin
    
    Upon a successful login, you will immediately be asked to change your admin password. Please choose a secure password that can be easily remembered.  Later you can add additional users either created locally or from your Domain Controller. 
    
    
    
    Click Submit and Save the new admin password to continue.
    
    On the User Configuration screen, you can add additional administrators as local users or from your Domain Controller. 
    
    
13. Before you can configure the adskflex vendor daemon for your Autodesk product, you will first be required to delete the existing demo setup. Choose Vendor Daemon Configuration from the left-side navigation. 
    
    Locate the vendor daemon listed as demo and choose Delete.
    
    
    
    
    When the confirmation dialog box appears, click OK to delete. 
    
    
    
    
14. The FLEXnet License Administrator is now ready to be configured with the Autodesk *.lic file.  You should use your existing license file provided by Autodesk or the Reseller.  If you do not have a license file, you can obtain one by calling Autodesk Activations at 1-800-551-1490 or by visiting this URL:
    
    http://register.autodesk.com
    
    The license file should be placed in the following folder location:
    
    C:\Program Files\ FLEXnet Publisher License Server Manager\licenses\adskflex
    
    You will have to create the necessary folder structure before placing the file. You can also place any adskflex.opt options files here as well, if applicable. 
    
    
15. While still on the Vendor Daemon Configuration screen, click Browse… to navigate to the location where you saved the license file in the previous step. Select the file and then click Import License to continue.  
    
    
    
    
    
16. Once the license file has been imported, you should receive warning that service is unable to start because the adskflex.exe vendor file required by this license is missing.
    
    The warning will provide the location where it expects the adskflex.exe vendor file to be placed. 
    
    
    
    Obtain the adskflex.exe vendor file from the Autodesk Network License Manager (LMTOOLS) installation folder - or attached to this post - and place it in the directory specified by the warning:
    
    C:\Program Files\FLEXnet Publisher License Server Manager\adskflex
    
    Note:  This location is not the same folder as the license file.  
     
    Click OK to accept the warnings and to continue to the next step.
    
    
17. On the Vendor Daemon Configuration screen, locate the adskflex vendor daemon and click Administer to make changes to the configuration.
    
    In the box labeled Vendor Daemon Location:, place the relative path to the adskflex.exe vendor file.  The path should now read:
    
    adskflex\adskflex.exe
    
    Click Save.  The status should change to: Successfully updated the vendor daemon configuration. 
    
    
    
    
    You can now click Start on the vendor daemon to start the FLEXnet License Administrator.
    
    
18. The status of the adskflex vendor daemon should now be listed as RUNNING and using port 2080.  The status may be pending, but will eventually show as running if configured properly and refreshed. 
    
    
    
    
    
19. Once running, click Dashboard on the upper-right corner and choose Concurrent to display your network licenses.
     
    
    
    You can clear any errors or warnings listed in the alerts from initial setup and configuration.  Alerts can be modified from the Alert Configuration screen under Administration.  Additionally, you can set the Dashboard to only display Concurrent license models by selecting the Concurrent radio button on the User Interface section of the Server Configuration screen under Administration.  Note:  All other options should remain defaults unless you have specific reason to change them due to preference or conflict.
    
    

Optional:  To modify the startup behavior of the service, see the Startup type under Windows Services in Administrative Tools (services.msc)

You should now be able to access the FLEXnet License Administrator via the web browser and using the credentials created in Administration. 

At the time of this post, the latestion version is 11.10.0.2.  Special thanks to Darin.Green for requesting that I write an installation and configuration guide for this license manager. 

The necessary adskflex.exe 32-bit version is attached to this post for your convenience.  Good Luck!

[Darin.Green]

Great Post! Thanks for the shout-out.

[TravisNave · Accepted solution]

KNOWN ISSUES

The following are known issues with the FLEXnet License Administrator:

1.  The FLEXnet is available only in 32-bit versions.  It will be installed as a 32-bit web application on 64-bit servers.  Therefore it is only necessary to use the 32-bit version of the adskflex.exe vendor daemon

2.  There does not appear to be any logging of currently borrowed licenses.  The Dashboard will show the hosts that have licenses checked out, but there does not appear to be any notification (linger) as in the Autodesk Network License Manager (LMTOOLS)

3.  One user has made claims that the license count for a Suite of products is being incorrectly identified.  I have not reproduced this issue. 

4.  The status of the Vendor Daemon screen does not appear to update unless you refresh or navigate away and come back.  I have made note of this in my installation steps above. 

5.  This license manager is not approved for use by Autodesk and will not be supported in production environments.  It is suggested that this be used for testing purposes only.  Please use at your own discretion. 

For information on the Autodesk Network License Manager (LMTOOLS) please see my original signature post here:

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/Installation-Licensing/Autodesk-Network-License-Manager-2012/m-p/29627...

[Dazzman]

Hopefully you should see from the attached file that the license count for the 2010 products doubles the available licenses I think it could be a bug?

[DarrenP]

does the license parser utility show it correctly?

[TravisNave]

True, does the parser show the correct seating? Are you certain there isn't other combining going on with compatible products? My 2010 seats are not doubled. I'd be interested in seing your actual LIC file if you want to PM the contents to me privately.

[TravisNave · Accepted solution]

Okay, for an update on the conversation between us off record, I have determined that the issue of license doubling is simply a graphical anomoly. 

I have run the actual LIC file thru the license parser and it came back with the correct amount of seats. 

When I ran the BDSPRM in the FLEXnet, however, it did show 2x licensing for the same 2010 products as in your screen capture.  As it turns out, this is only a graphical error as the working of the license manager are still as expected.  When I reserved a seat of ARCHDESK_2010, it doubled the reservations as well.  Once I reached the maximum amount of seats owned, the licenses were exhausted by error in the Alert field, as expected.  I was unable to reserve more than the maximum amount of seats owned regardless of the number shown on the Dashboard.  Combining your 5 seat and 1 seat yielded 12 seats for 2010 but only 6 work total.  This tells me that there is a interpretation issue with your PACKAGE Feature Code and not the INCREMENT line.  See image below:

Spoiler

When I tested an identical BDSPRM 4 seat license file from another client, I received the expected (4) seats and no doubling whatsoever (see image below.)  Therefore, this issue does not exist within the product code and is not reproducible.  There is simply an issue with your particular LIC file, but the integrity of the file itself is not problematic.  I see no reason to regenerate this file if you plan on using the FLEXnet Administrator. 

Spoiler

Thanks for pointing this issue out.  There's definitely a minor bug, but it doesn't seem to affect the integrity of network licensing.  Again, this license manager is not yet supported by Autodesk but I suspect at some point Flexera will be moving away from the old daemon and into this one. 

[GTVic]

I was considering this on our new server but our Autodesk dealer says their internal testing result is that LMADMIN doesn't work with the 2016 products. Possibly there is a new version but no downloads are publically available.

[TravisNave]

I will check on this for 2016. It may be an adskflex.exe issue more than
anything else. I will try with the new version and 11.7.

Thanks.

[lionel.kai]

The download link no longer works (it says to contact your vendor), but Autodesk's download link just installs lmgrd (even though the "LicenseAdministration" PDF discusses lmadmin). Is there another way to get the installer (for 2019 products)?

[TravisNave]

Let me find out early next week.

[Darin.Green]

@lionel.kai

You can find the download here: https://www.techniatranscat.com/support/downloads/flexnet-publisher

[DPCadAcc]

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@Darin.Green wrote:

@lionel.kai

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@Darin.Green wrote:

@lionel.kai

You can find the download here: https://www.techniatranscat.com/support/downloads/flexnet-publisher

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Hi, I am also looking for lmadmin / FlexNet Publisher.  However, the 64bit version of lmadmin in the link is actually 32bit.  Is there a link for the 64bit version?

Thanks!

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[grsadmin]

Been using 11.12 since around 2014 but could never get a newer copy after the globes site took it off. None of the resallers, techs or anyone could help me update (as if this thing never existed). I never had a problem even using Autodesk 2016 products.

I got laid off for over a year but called back and found that they went back to the old console version due to "incompatible" with 2016. Tried on a test server and it worked but since I was going to do this all over I was determined to find the newest copies as Flexera only releases to their subscribed customers and its up to them to distribute support files.  After scouring the net I found 11.16.2.1 unaltered by the vendor which works with the latest adskflex.

Though its said its not supported in production, I have been using this for over 5 years in production with about 50 licenses without issue, even with 11.12 and adskflex version 11.16 it has been working (even though guide says lmadmin must be higher version than the daemon)

I wanted to contribute to this thread since it was the one that helped me initially get rid of managers and users calling me on license status all the time.

DOWNLOAD BEFORE ITS GONE!

https://www.hex-rays.com/products/ida/support/flexlm/#downloads