AutoCAD 2013 - Network Licensing Setup / NLM Already in place.

[inverted_2000]

Hi everyone,

I've got a setup with a new AutoCAD client that needs to talk to the NLM that is already in place and that has already provided licenses for the old servers...and in old I mean the old VMWare farm, not a different version of AutoCAD.

How do i enable the client to point to the NLM and authenticate for my client?

Was it during setup and I missed it...and if so...can I change it from the client side???

Thank you all!

[asburyj · Accepted solution]

When installing the product you need to select the network license option and then you will be prompted for the name of your license server. If your products are arlready installed but pointing to an incorrect license server there are two options for pointing the clients to the new license server.

Option 1: Update Licpath.lic files

This is the file that tells the product where to find the license server. Typicaly that file is found in every autodesk program's root folder (ex. C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Civil 3D 2013\). Open the Licpath.lic file in notepad and you will see what server the software is trying to pull the license from. The formatting will be something like "Server        Servername        XXXXXXXXXXXX"

You can update the "Servername" part to the correct server to the correct server name and save the file. You can then copy that file to any other effected machines/programs and they will point to the correct server. 

Options 2: Using the ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE environment variable.

Setting this environmental variable on a system will override the licpath.lic files and direct all Autodesk software on a system to a specified server. Instructions on how to do this can be found at the below link. 

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=8385605&linkID=9240617 

If you accidently installed AutoCAD as a Standalone license version or as a trial you can make a change in the registry to switch it to network version as described in the link below

http://upandready.typepad.com/up_and_ready/2012/04/autocad-family-2013-hacking-the-registry-to-chang...