License Finder Box when running more than one License Manager

[TravisNave]

Problem:  When you try to launch your Autodesk software, you receive the FLEXnet License Finder box.  This happens even when you have set the ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE and the FLEXLM_TIMEOUT system environment variables, have also checked that the ports for lmgrd.exe and adskflex.exe are open using the Internet Explorer check, and have verified that it is not an IPv6 connectivity issue.   You also have another license vendor (VMWare, PTC, Solidworks, MiniTab, etc.)  running on the same server as the Autodesk Network License Manager.

Possible Reason:  It is not uncommon for other vendor products to use the Flexera FLEXnet manager.  In most cases, these product licenses can be combined or use the same license manager.  But in some cases, they are not compatible and cannot see each other.  This is often due to CPU architecture, when one license manager is running the older 32-bit (x86) license manager and another is running the 64-bit (x64) version. 

You can verify this by launching each of the license manager LMTOOLS and looking for the installed services.  If you cannot see the service for the other vendor in each respective LMTOOLS, then you have this problem.

You only see this:

Instead of all the other product vendors:

When the client connects to the server, it is probably connecting to another session of LMGRD and is not finding the Autodesk vendor file and will continually pop up the FLEXnet License Finder box.

Solution:  To solve this dilemma, you need to combine license managers in a more specialized fashion.  Since the CPU architecture mismatch causes the issue and it is unknown of other vendors use or have a compatible x64 vendor daemon file, it is recommended that you use the 32-bit (x86) version of the FLEXnet License Manager for all vendors.  Decide which is the latest version of all product vendors and use that license manager as your base.  Keep in mind that Autodesk 2015/2016 products require version 11.12.x and Autodesk 2017 products require version 11.13.x and up.  Note:  These products also support version 11.7, but is not officially documented.

1.  Open the LMTOOLS that was installed for the Autodesk Network License Manager and stop the Autodesk service (default:  FlexLM Service 1) from the Stop/Start/Restart tab and then Remove the service from the Config Services tab.  You will reconfigure it again in later steps.

2.   Copy the 32-bit (x86) version of adskflex.exe and your Autodesk .LIC file and copy them to the location of the other product vendor license manager.  For more detailed information, follow my process for multiple vendor licenses here. 

3.  Open the LMTOOLS provided by the alternate vendor license manager.  Note:  If the vendor doesn't supply LMTOOLS, such as Solidworks, then copy the LMTOOLS from the Autodesk license manager files.  You should be able to see the existing vendor service already listed.  You will need to configure the Autodesk license now from the Config Services tab in the next steps. 

4.  On the Config Services tab, locate the existing vendor service in the pulldown box.  You use this pulldown to configure a new service, but there is no visible way to accomplish this.  All you need to do is start typing a new service name in the box and when you deselect, it will clear the three boxes below for a new service.  Configure the FlexLM Service 1 service for Autodesk using the path for the other vendor's lmgrd.exe and the copied .LIC location that you completed in Step 2.  DO NOT configure the service using the old Autodesk Network License Manager file location.  For detailed information, follow my quickstart guide here, but be sure to use the other vendor folders for the path to lmgrd.exe and create a separately named debug log file.

5.  Start the Autodesk FlexLM Service 1 service and verify that it is running on the Server Status tab by clicking Perform Status Enquiry.  You can also verify that the other vendors are still running. 

6.  Once all license managers are running the same 32-bit (x86) version and are all verified to be running, launch your Autodesk software.  It should now launch without any license errors.

Conclusion:  I never recommend running more than one license manager on a network.  You should always try to run all of your product vendors using one lmgrd.exe.  The 64-bit version can run 32-bit vendor daemon files, but the 32-bit version cannot run 64-bit vendor daemon files.  Therefore, for maximum compatibility across all products, you should consider using the 32-bit (x86) version.  All versions of lmgrd.exe are backwards compatible to version 9.2 so you should be able to successfully run all of your products with one license manager, so long as all of the vendor daemon files are located in the same folder as the lmgrd.exe file (or are able to be pathed in the license files, for some vendors.)

[TravisNave · Accepted solution]

Though you can probably get away with uninstalling your 64-bit Autodesk Network License Manager and installing the 32-bit one instead, I highly recommend only running one license manager on your server and network.  It will make it much easier to manage.

For more details on how to do this, please follow my guide on combining license managers here.

Good Luck!

[Otto]

Hello TravisNave

It looks like you are unable to obtain a license from the server. The following article(s) should help you resolve the problem:

Can't obtain a license from the server

How to specify license servers using the ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE environment variable

Troubleshooting FLEXnet Licensing Errors

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[TravisNave]

I just ran into this problem today with a customer and thought... well... I better write a guide on what I did to resolve it since I haven't seen this one before. 

Also, @philip.s check this out.  Otto answered after I already marked a solution.  What now?