Troubleshooting Floating Network License

This article will help to resolve many of the common issues you are likely to encounter while activating a LAN-Based Floating Network License.

Testing the Network License Server Connection

This section shows you how to test the connection to the Network License Server.

Follow these steps:

1. Start up the software.
2. From the File ribbon menu, select the About option. This will display the About backstage page.
   
3. From the About backstage page, click the [License Manager] button.
   
   
   Alternatively, click the Licensing Selector option at the title bar of the application window.
   
4. The License Manager dialog box will be displayed.
   
5. Choose the Activate LAN-based floating network license option. Click the [Next>] button.
   
6. From the License Manager dialog box, make certain that the IP address and port of the Network License Server are properly entered. If the Server IP address has not yet been entered, see the section titled Determining the IP Address of Network License Server defined later in this knowledge base article. If the Port is not defined, check with your Network Administrator as this is defined in the Network License Server software. Then, click the [Test Connection] button.
   
7. If the following message box is displayed, then the software found the Network License Server. If necessary, click the [Next>] button to activate the network license for the current computer. Otherwise, you can close this dialog box by clicking the [Cancel] button.
   
8. If you get the following Validate Server Connection error in the License Manager dialog box, then try the solutions listed below or contact your network administrator.
   
9. If the software displays the following error message, then try the solutions listed below or contact your network administrator.
   

Determining the IP Address of Network License Server

If the software cannot find the Network License Server, we need to determine the IP address of the computer that is running the Network License Server.

Follow these steps:

1. From the computer on which the Network License Server is installed, click on the Windows Start button to display the Windows menu.
2. Enter CMD in the search field and then press the [Enter] key. A command window will be displayed.
   
3. Type IPCONFIG at the command prompt. The software will list out details on the current IP configuration for the computer. You may need to scroll up in the listed output. Look for the entry called IPv4 Address. Make a note of the listed IP address.
   
4. Close the command window. You now know the IP address for the computer that runs the Network License Server.

Validating the Connection to Network License Server

We can confirm the network connection with the computer that we are trying to run the software from and the computer that runs the Network License Server.

Follow these steps:

1. From the computer that you want to run the software from, click on the Windows Start button to display the Windows menu.
2. Enter CMD in the search field and then press the [Enter] key. A command window will be displayed.
   
3. Type PING and the IP address of the computer that the Network License Server is running from. Then, press the [Enter] key.
   
4. Wait for the PING command to finish displaying the packet replies. If the command does not finish returning the packet replies, press Ctrl+C to stop the command.
5. If the PING command failed to return packet replies, the current computer cannot see the computer on which the Network License Server is running. If some of the network packets were reported lost, that means the network connection between the two computers is unreliable, and data is being lost in the network traffic. If the PING command reports that the destination host is unreachable, it is possible that the two computers are not on the same local area network. Contact your network administrator to resolve this issue.

Checking the Network License Server

The next step is to check that the Network License Server is running and on what port it is listening.

To check that the Network License Server is running, follow these steps:

1. From the computer on which the Network License Server is installed, click on the Windows Start button to display the Windows menu.
2. Launch the CivilGEO License Server Configuration application.
3. The CivilGEO License Server Configuration application will start up.
   
4. Select the Display Installed Network Licenses option and then click the [Next>] button.
   
5. You should see the Floating License Server Status as running on a specific port. Make note of this port.
   
6. Click the [Close] button. You have confirmed that the Network License Server is running and the port on which it is listening. If you encounter a port conflict issue in which an application is listening for traffic on the same port that the Network License Server is using, refer to this article to resolve this issue.

Checking the Firewall Rules

After validating that you have specified the correct IP address and port in the Licensing Manager, it is likely that there is a firewall rule on the computer that is running the Network License Server that is blocking the port from listening.

To check if the port is being blocked, follow these steps:

1. From the computer that is running the Network License Server, click on the Windows Start button to display the Windows menu.
2. Enter CMD in the search field and then press the [Enter] key. A command window will be displayed.
   
3. Type NETSTAT -a -n and then press the [Enter] key.
4. Review the entries listed from running this command. You may need to scroll up through the listings to find the port that the Network License Server is listening on.
   
5. If you find that the associated port is blocked from listening, you can specify a change in the firewall rule as documented by this Microsoft Knowledge Base Article. Alternatively, watch the following video that thoroughly explains setting up and configuring the Windows Firewall.
   

This article should resolve any Floating Network License troubleshooting issues you encountered. If you are still having issues, contact our technical support. They will be glad to assist you further.