Cannot obtain a license from the server

[Neptune48]

I have tried for two days now.  On line chat twice, even waited THREE HOURS on the phone (while being drive slowly insane by that horrible "rock" music) and no one has been able to help.  They have given me online links which have solved NOTHING! I need a human being to walk me through this nightmare.  The user's laptop gets a message that it cannot find the server IP address.

I tried using the product license listed in the Manager, with a key given to me by the chat help, and that failed, too.

I obtained a license file for both my renewed subscription and the new one in a single file, and it apparently is being read by the server, but the client machine cannot find the server to obtain a license.  So far I have several thousand dollars worth of vaporware.

[Neptune48]

You are already on that server, can you copy the license file on your hard to shared location that the server hosting the license manager can see?

I am not sure what you mean by "that server."  I have little experience with servers.  I work at a corporation with more that 14,000 employees.   IT has clamped down hard on all users.  Our group has a share on the server, but I don't think the license server is on that share.  I tried various mappings to the license virtual server, but it never connected.

I nearly had to beg to get Admin rights to my own machine.  I am the license Administrator for AutoCAD, according to what Autodesk sent me when we got these contracts.  I have to enter my credentials even to change the label on my desktop icons!

When that message appears that it can't stop the service, then you have to go to normal Window services and stop if there.    You can't use the license manager to stop it.

I presume that does not mean the Windows Task Manager.

Are you a administrator of the servers or do you rely on someone else do to that work?

No.  I can put in a ticket and wait a day or so for a response from IT.

[Anonymous]

It all sounds like a headache to be honest, either get your IT to give you full admin rights and access to the server so that you can resolve this or ask them to take over this "privilege" (read: offload the job to them), otherwise you can potentially spend days and days on this and get really frustrated.

I would start with a clean slate... generate an up to date license file from your Autodesk account (you might have already done this). Stop the current licensing service from LMTools (if it does not want to stop, do it from Services.msc -> go to Windows search bar, type in "Services.msc", find the Autodesk license service on the list [by default it's called "Flexml Service 1"]). Then go back to LMTools -> "Config Services" tab and hit the "Remove Service" button. Next, go to Control Panel > Programs and features > uninstall Autodesk Network License Manager. Download the latest version from here and install. Set up the license service as per the instructions here. Run the status to check if it's now working correctly (If you get any errors, please post a screenshot or copy and paste what the error states). Try to open an Autodesk application on one of the client PCs. It might be necessary to open up relevant ports in Windows firewall (both on the server as well as the client PC).

[Neptune48]

Pola_S,

Thank you for helping.  I agree with your first paragraph especially...I'm about to dump this on IT.  However, just before your message arrived, I decided to see if I can isolate the problem futher.  At the moment I am installing AutoCAD 2020 on a different laptop.  If it runs, then we can suspect the problem is with the original laptop.

As soon as that fails (note my eternal optimism), I will apply your solution.  I'll let you know as soon as possible.

Thanks again,

Bruce

[Neptune48]

I would start with a clean slate... generate an up to date license file from your Autodesk account (you might have already done this).
Three or four times yesterday alone.

Stop the current licensing service from LMTools (if it does not want to stop, do it from Services.msc -> go to Windows search bar, type in "Services.msc", find the Autodesk license service on the list [by default it's called "Flexml Service 1"]).

Done.  Stopped the program.

Then go back to LMTools -> "Config Services" tab and hit the "Remove Service" button.


Next, go to Control Panel > Programs and features > uninstall Autodesk Network License Manager.

Done

Download the latest version from here and install.

Done.

Set up the license service as per the instructions here. Run the status to check if it's now working correctly (If you get any errors, please post a screenshot or copy and paste what the error states).

Try to open an Autodesk application on one of the client PCs. It might be necessary to open up relevant ports in Windows firewall (both on the server as well as the client PC).

I opened the firewall per the linked instructions.  Nothing on my screen matched what the instructions said would be there—is no "Inbound Rules" to select.

[Neptune48]

Oh wait...I found Inbound Rules under Advanced Settings, just like the instructions said (D'oh!)

Back in a minute...

Thanks,

Bruce

[Neptune48]

Okay, I went through all the steps, until I came to one that I don't understand:

Attention:

Please set all rules in the Client ports to All ports and the Server ports to  2080, 27000-27009, as the license tool on the client will use also other ports.

The server will always use b Default the ports 2080,27000-27009 unless you change the ports in the license file.

I simply have no clue what that means.

Thanks,

Bruce

[Anonymous]

@Neptune48 

You may not need to do anything with the firewall..

Is the license manager running and issuing licenses?   Check via service status tab and perform inquiry..

[Neptune48]

Is the license manager running and issuing licenses?   Check via service status tab and perform inquiry

Apparently not.  It's been doing this all along, and I never have found LM_LICENSE_FILE.

I think it's time to dump this nightmare onto IT and let those guys stand on the roof ledge for awhile.

Thanks,

Bruce

[Neptune48]

This is interesting...

I launched the year-old subscription of AutoCAD 2019, the one we just renewed for a year when we bought the second subscription, and checked the license information.  I does not see the renewed contract, only the original, which will expire end of October.

My Colorado operator just reported she has the same expiration date when she ran the program.  According to Autodesk's Account Manager Webpage, that contract actually expires September 30, 2020.

So no one is seeing the new license file, the on I have generated about 9 times since Friday.

Off to lunch, now, the over to IT this afternoon.

Thanks to all of you who have spent so much time and energy.  Your efforts are much appreciated.

Regards,

Bruce

[Anonymous]

Can you check your license file in the parser, does the expiry date match the one shown in the software?

Is your license manager definitely running the latest license file and not an earlier one?

Good luck to your IT... 🙂

[Neptune48]

Is your license manager definitely running the latest license file and not an earlier one?

The license manager is definitely NOT running the latest license file.  The year-old subscription AutoCAD 2019 still runs and says it will expire next month.

Apparently LMTools has not had any effect on anything these last five days.  It just thinks it does.

Good luck to your IT

Thanks.  I can't seem to make them understand how powerless the "license administrator" is.  The keep asking me to check things I cannot access.

[Neptune48 · Accepted solution]

First, allow me to thank all those who pitched in with good advice and ideas.

Ultimately one of our employees from another division helped out.  He manages several licenses for other software, and after going around in circles on day five, he decided to blow off the Microsoft-based license server and build a new Linux-based server along with all his others.

Of course, by then we had used up our allocation of license file generations, and had to jump through more hoops with Autodesk to persuade them to issue another one for the Linux address.

Yesterday, day six, our guy got us up and running.

Autodesk "help" was virtually useless, and the reseller never even answered their phone.  This situation was so bad, that after 31 years of being both an avid user and an instructor, I'm not sure I can recommend AutoCAD again—not because of the product, which I still hold in the highest esteem—but because the company that publishes it has disappointed me to this extent. This forum was orders of magnitude better, given the limitations under which you all struggled to help solve our issue.

So I thank you all once again for your efforts.  The issue has been solved.