Ansys Licensing Troubleshooting

So, you’ve finally gotten your hands on the powerful Ansys Systems Tool Kit^® (STK^®) software. Your installation support engineer has been kind enough to email you specific, detailed download and installation instructions. You launch the application and get this message:

What could have gone wrong?!

If you’ve done the tried and true "turn it off and on again" and can’t get it to work, here are some things to check:

1.  Incorrect server information
2.  All licenses in use
3.  Unable to connect 
4.  License server not running
5.  Check your system clock
6.  License server only partially running
7.  STK application version 12.8 requires Ansys License Manager 2024 R1
8.  Ansys.com login appears with the "A current STK license could not be found" message.
9.  'localhost' vs '127.0.0.1'
10.  Clear cached file on the client
11.  FlexNet Debug Log
 

1. Incorrect server information 
Go ahead an open the Ansys Client Licenses Setting tool. Did you enter the correct information? If your licenses are shared on a network, contact your License Administrator for the correct values; Ansys support cannot provide these values. If the Ansys License Manager is running locally, then try using port 1055 (the default) and localhost as the Server1 name.

NOTE: You need to 'Run as administrator' for the Ansys Licensing Client Settings tool; otherwise, you will not be able to save your port and server settings.


 

2. All licenses in use
 

Perhaps all the licenses are in use. From the client tool, under FlexNet Publisher, click "Features in use." Make sure that there are licenses available for you to check out.

You can see the same report from the Ansys License Manager.

For the STK application, with the hierarchal nature of the licenses, at a minimum you will need stk_mission_level1. All configurations of STK (Pro, Premium, and Enterprise) require this license.

3. Unable to connect 
 

If the Ansys License Manager and a valid license have been installed, and it appears that the server is running, but you keep receiving a connection error, try rebooting. Possible causes for this error include:

a. Firewall exceptions: If the server's firewall is enabled, you may need to tweak firewall settings on the server to allow the following through as exceptions:

Server (lmgrd) - TCP/IP 1055 (unless it was changed in the license file)
Vendor/daemon - ansyslmd.exe or port if entered into the license file
Interconnect - TCP/IP 2325 (fixed, needed if using the Ansys License Manager)

You can modify the server and daemon ports in the license file as follows:

SERVER Servername ServerHostID 1055
VENDOR ansyslmd port=12345

After editing the license file, you need to stop and then restart the license service for the changes to take effect.
 

b. Incorrect port or server: Perhaps an incorrect port or server name was entered into the client utility, or the required values have changed. Contact your license administrator to obtain the correct input values.

c. ANSYSLMD_LICENSE_FILE: Check to see if you have this environment variable set (this is not common). If so, the value should be port@servername. Make sure that this information is correct.
 

d. The installed license files have expired: Check with your license administrator to see if your licenses are still valid.

e. Incorrect host name file or incorrect host ID in the license file: Do not manually edit the host ID information in the license file. Please contact your installation support engineer with the correct information to have the file reissued.

4. License server not running

Sometimes the Ansys License Manager may be stopped. To run licensed products, the Ansys License Manager must be running on the license server with a valid license file. A valid license file must be installed prior to launching the license manager. For more information, see How to Set Up the Ansys License Manager.

To start the manager:
1. Open the Ansys License Management Center.
2. Click the green Start button on the right side of the page.
3. Check the Ansys License Manager -> Diagnostics -> Display FlexNet License Status to verify that licenses are available for checking out.

5. Check your system clock: If you are running with temp/eval/lease licenses, there is a security feature built into FlexNet that may be causing your license check out to fail. This may be evident by checking the Ansys License Manager -> Log Files -> View FlexNet Debug Log. If you see that licenses are checked out, then immediately checked in, this is a clue that either your system clock is off or that FlexNet is finding files dated in the future. For example:
 

To verify that this is caused by a system clock error:

1. Go to this directory: C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Temp\.ansys.
2. Look for one of these files: ansyscl.xxxxxxxxxxxx.log or licdebug.xxxxxxxxxxxx.STK12.###.out
3. Open these files and search for "System Clock". If you see something similar to this,
   
   then it's a system clock error.

To fix this, try fixing your system clock. If that does not work, or your clock is already correct, then you need to search your computer for any files dated in the future and fix them. This may not be easy; you need to look at all three file dates (created/last accessed/modified). It may be easier just to find a different computer to run the STK application.

6. License server only partially running

You find that the license server is only partially running.
 

Licensing Interconnect: running
Licensing Interconnect Monitor: running
FlexNet Licensing: not running

It's not clear why this happens, but here's the fix:

1. Open the Task Manager (Run as Administrator).
2. From the Task Manager Details tab, locate all lmgrd.exe process and "End task."

7. STK application version 12.8 and higher requires Ansys License Manager 2024 R1 (or higher).

For STK application version 12.8 (and higher) to be able to check out licenses, you need to be running Ansys License Manager 2024 R1 or higher or at least FlexNet version 11.19.4.2 or higher. 

8. Ansys.com login appears with the "A current STK license could not be found" message.
 

Open Ansys Licensing Client Settings tool (run as administrator), go to the Web Licensing > Products page, and verify that the Enabled slider is off.
 

The STK application doesn't currently use Web Licensing, so if this is enabled, the STK application won't start. If you see any errors on this page about connections, close them and turn Off the Enabled slider. There is no save on this page, but upon closing the Ansys Licensing Client Settings tool your change will be saved and the STK application should start.  

A second way to check if Web Licensing is enabled is to look at the destination file of the License Client Settings tool, which by default is "C:\Program Files\AGI\STK 12\Shared Files\Licensing\ansyslmd.ini". If you are not an administrator, editing this file is prohibited. Editing a copy on your Desktop and then overwriting this file is best way to make a change. You can either delete the 'ANSYS_LICENSING_SHARED_WEB=1' line from the file or change the value to 0.
 

9. 'localhost' vs '127.0.0.1'

If you are pointing to a local machine with 'localhost' as the server name and cannot check out licenses, try replacing 'localhost' with '127.0.0.1' (the loopback address). Both of these values identify the local machine but can be used differently depending on how your IT group has them defined.

10. Clear cached file on the client

Follow the steps below to remove the cached files on the client. This can resolve quirky issues:
 

11. FlexNet Debug Log

If all else fails, send a copy of your Ansys License Manager -> Log Files -> View FlexNet Debug Log to your installation support engineer.