Setting Up the FlexLM License Server

License Server Setup:

Be sure to follow all the ACTION ITEMs and remember to set up your Windows Firewall ports!

1. Set up the Autodesk License Manager

Ensure you have the latest version of the Autodesk License Manager (LMTools) installed.

Note: Please do not install the LMTools software on the end user machines. The license server is intended to be set up on ONE machine only, typically a network server. End user machines will then run the Ideate solutions, see Setting Up the Workstations for more info.

The Autodesk License Manager (LMTools) can work with both Autodesk and Ideate Software to manage licenses. The preferred solution is to set up both licensing services on the same server if the customer is using Network licensed (multi-user access) Revit, or Ideate Software licenses can be run on a separate server.

2. Obtain a license file

ACTION ITEM: Obtain a .lic file from Ideate.

Please email [email protected] the following information for each server that will host the FlexLM licenses for Ideate Software. This information can be found by checking the ‘system settings’ in LMTools on each server.

The server host ID
The MAC address (Ethernet address) of the wired card

Also include:

Your company name (and the client, if you are a reseller partner)
Your name

ACTION ITEM: Copy the file to the (correct) server.

We recommend that it is placed in the LMTools installation folder — by default it is “C:\Autodesk\Network License Manager”. Create a folder called “Licenses” for easier management and paste the license file in there.

NOTE: Graitec support will send you a complete license file for ALL your Ideate products. Do not combine an old license file with the new one, or an Ideate Software license file with a file from another vendor, including Autodesk.

3. Configure Ideate Licensing Service

For LMTools to work with Ideate licenses, the ideate.exe file (vendor daemon) must be copied into the License Manager installation folder.

ACTION ITEM: Download ideate.exe from here: Ideate Vendor Daemon

ACTION ITEM: Extract the contents and place both the ideate.exe (vendor daemon) and the ideate.log (log file) into the license manager installation folder (the one containing lmgrd.exe).

By default, this is C:\Autodesk\Network License Manager.

This video shows a typical license manager configuration:

For those that prefer screenshots and written instructions:

Autodesk Revit License Manager dialog

ACTION ITEM: Configure the license service:

Double-click lmtools.exe to launch LMTools.
Select the ‘Config Services’ tab.
Create a new service by entering a new name. We recommend that it is called Ideate Licensing.
Set the paths for the lmgrd.exe, license file, and debug log file.
Check ‘Use Services’ and ‘Start Server at Power Up’ as shown.
Save the Service
Ignore any errors referencing ‘access to trusted storage’ or similar
Proceed to the next step

Ideate Software for Revit License Dialog

4. Start the Service

ACTION ITEM:

Select the ‘Start/Stop/Reread’ tab
Verify that the new service is highlighted
Click ‘Start Server’, wait for a confirmation (You may see a message ‘VD is starting, check log...’, OK to proceed at that point)
Select ‘Re-read License File’, wait for a confirmation of success
Known issue — LMTools 11.19 or higher may display an error but the service may be working correctly. Verify by checking the log on ‘Config services’ tab.
Proceed to step 5

5. Verify Service is Running

ACTION ITEM: Confirm that the setup was successful:

Select the ‘Server Status’ tab.
If there is any content in the window, clear it by going to ‘Edit’ in the toolbar and selecting ‘Clear Window’
Click ‘Perform Status Enquiry’.
Verify that the license server and Ideate vendor daemon are up and that licenses are being issued.
Known issue — LMTools 11.19 or higher may display communication errors but the service may be working correctly. Verify by checking the log on ‘Config services’ tab.

If the ‘perform status inquiry’ results in errors, and/or you can see the licensing service is not starting as it should, please review troubleshooting steps here.

6. Manage Ports and Firewalls

ACTION ITEM: Configure Firewall(s)

If you have Windows Firewall or any other type of firewall enabled on the server side, workstations will not be able to access the licenses. You can either turn the firewall off, create a program exception, or specify and open a pair of TCP ports for the service to use. Please note that exceptions for Ideate licensing are by default separate from Autodesk (Revit) licensing exceptions.

Open your Windows Firewall with Advanced Security. If you see green check marks, it means the Firewall is ON.
Click on the ‘Inbound Rules’ link on the top left, then ‘New Rule’ on the top right
Select ‘Program Rule’ and click Next

Browse the program path to point at ‘ideate.exe’ in your license manager folder, then click Next
Keep the default ‘Allow the connection’ on the next page, leave the default settings on the following one
Give the rule a distinctive name so that you will remember
Create another rule using the same steps, but this time point the path to ‘lmgrd.exe’

Alternate Firewall Port rule setup:

If you are not happy with creating a program exception, you can specify a pair of ports (or one port and a range, just like for Autodesk licensing) and only open those specific ports.

open the license file for editing (in Notepad)
at the end of the first line of the license file, add a ‘space’ and your chosen port or port range (e.g. 27005, or 27000-27009)
edit the VENDOR line to look like this: “VENDOR ideate port=XXXXX” (substitute X for your chosen port number, no quotations, do not use port 2080)
save the license file, make sure Notepad did not change the extension to .txt!
perform Stop Server, Start Server, Reread License file in LMTools
make sure the ports you specified above are open for incoming connections

NOTE: We have found that ports from the 27000-27009 range work best, e.g. set 27005 in the SERVER line of the license file, and 27006 for the VENDOR port. Other ports may work for you as well, but if they do not, you would need to troubleshoot with your company IT. It is likely an internal configuration issue, possibly other applications already using those ports.

The server-side setup is now finished.

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