This article describes the various steps users can take when facing issues with the software license.
Licensing setup
HASP License Troubleshooting
Introduction
arivis Vision4D, like many other software packages, uses a licensing system built on a solution provided by a third party and based on software and hardware keys. When starting the software and periodically through the use of it, the licensing system will check for the availability of licenses permitting its use. The license key, as it is called, can be rooted to the specifics of the computer using a so-called "soft" key, or located on a removable USB dongle (hard key). The ability of the software to run is limited by its ability to communicate with those keys. To enable this, certain conditions must be put in place, namely, the licensing system driver must be installed, and the communication ports it uses must be open. This holds whether we are talking about a local license or a network license.
Port configuration
The driver enables the software communication to the license. This communication is done via broadcast through a specific port (port 1947), which must be open all the way from the client to the server. In the case of local licenses, this is rarely an issue as this port will usually be opened during the driver installation, but in the case of network license and very restrictive IT environments, it may be necessary to set up exceptions to enable communications through that port for the licensing system on any firewall that might stand between the software and the license. Typically this is both a windows firewall as well as other software or hardware institutional firewalls. This is especially important if the clients reside on a different subnet from the server. The topic of port exceptions has been widely covered elsewhere and is usually managed by IT management teams. If you need to create or check these exceptions yourself, a good starting point can be found here. If you need to test whether or not port 1947 is open, you can do that using the method found here. Please also keep in mind that activations or updates of your license will require internet access. If none can be provided, then you will need to perform an offline activation.
Troubleshooting issues
The first step in troubleshooting licensing issues is to read the content of the error message when you are trying to open the software. There are four most likely scenarios:
- The license can be found but the number of users exceeds that allowed by the license
- No license can be found
- A license can be found but it is out of date
- Hardware changes have been detected and the license has been disabled.
License Count Exceeded
This is most likely in a scenario with a network license and multiple users. If your license permits up to 5 users, the sixth person who tries to log on will get this message. In this scenario you should wait for one of the other users to relinquish the license by closing the application. In extreme scenarios where a user fails to relinquish the license for whatever reason, their license can be revoked and the session terminated from the Sentinel Admin Control Center on the license server machine. Double check with all users of the software before taking this step as there may be a valid reason for a user to use a license for several days (e.g. running complicated analysis on a very large dataset).
No License Found
The license not being found can be the result of a variety of scenarios, but most likely one of the following:
- If you have a hard key (dongle), it may be plugged into a non-functioning port, or the key may be broken.
- In that case, first, try to find your key and make sure it is plugged into the machine. If the key is present but doesn't light up it could indicate one of two possible issues. Either the drivers are not installed or configured properly, or the key or port it is plugged into is broken. Try unplugging the key and plugging it into another port and wait a minute for the dongle to light up. If this doesn't work, try reinstalling the drivers by reinstalling the license tool. Your local IT support may also be able to assist in identifying issues with USB dongles. If none of the above work, log a support ticket using the link at the top of the page to arrange a replacement.
- You have a software key but the license was disabled from the system.
- The most common fix is a simple re-installation of the drivers (see above)
- The license can also be disabled in other circumstances (e.g. changes to a VM, license transfer). Please make a not of the exact error message and contact arivis support in such cases.
- You are using a Network license but the connection to the license server has been lost. In those cases, you should first check that the license is functioning correctly on the license server. Please see below.
License is Out of Date
If your license is Out Of Date it is most likely because you installed a newer version than you are licensed for. This can happen because you installed the current version as part of a trial or maybe because you reinstalled the software using the current installer for whatever reason. If so, please log a support ticket using the link above and a member of the support team will contact you to provide download links for the version your license is valid for. A member of our Sales team may also contact you to discuss upgrade options.
Hardware changes detected
Soft licenses are linked to the specific hardware of the computer on which they are activated. In most cases, the hardware configuration is fairly unlikely to change significantly and so it is a good way to make sure that the license is running on the computer it was activated on to limit unlicensed copying of the license. This article on activating licenses also covers how to transfer the license to another machine. So if you need to transfer your license to a new computer please follow the instructions there. However, it is also possible to activate a software license on a Virtual Machine. But VMs can be copied and transferred to another computer very easily, which is part of their appeal, but so could licenses attached to that machine, which is not allowed by the terms of the license agreement. Therefore, the licensing system has been designed to detect changes to virtual machines that could indicate the VM has been duplicated. If such changes are detected the license will be disabled and it is not possible to restore the license from that point. Please check this article for choosing license configurations if you intend to use Vision4D on virtual machines. If your license has been disabled that way, please log a support ticket using the link at the top of this page and a member of the support team will contact you to discuss options.
Unable to contact a network license server
If you have a network license but are unable to connect to it when starting the software there are a range of possible obstacles and solutions.
First, double-check the actual error. If you see one of the errors mentioned above with a network license, you will still need to resolve those issues as mentioned above first.
After that, there are a few things to check, both on the local client machine and on the remote license server.
You could start by opening Vision4D on the computer that runs the network license server to see if the license is running correctly. However, most network licenses are configured on systems where only the license server is installed, not the Vision4D application. On this kind of machine you should start by opening a web browser and going to HTTP://localhost:1947 to access the Sentinel Admin Control Center.
Clicking the Sentinel Keys tab on the left will show you all the licenses currently running on the machine and give you a lot more information about the status of these licenses.
Keys with vendor ID 66215 are licenses for arivis products. If you do not see a license with that vendor ID then no arivis license is running on this machine. The checks mentioned above regarding hard and soft keys are also relevant here.
If you see a license for that vendor ID, you can check what type of key this is. Network licenses running on USB dongles will show up with a red USB key icon to match the physical key on which the license is configured. If you see a USB dongle icon, but it is not red then it may be that you do not have the right type of key for network licenses and you should open a support ticket using the link at the top of this page. Soft licenses will be indicated by a Certificate icon in the Configuration column.
Clicking on the Features button next to the arivis license will show you if the license is valid. If the key is expired, please contact sales or support for more info.
Assuming everything on the Sentinel Keys page is OK, the most likely problem is going to be a network port configuration. Make sure your port is configured to enable communication on port 1947 for TCP/IP as mentioned above.
You should also check that no exceptions exist for access from clients under the Configuration tab.
If the network configurations and the license is OK on the server side, you should then double-check the settings on the client side.
First, as with the server, make sure that port 1947 is open for TCP/IP on the machine as mentioned above. If you need to find where it is blocked, run a trace route from the client to the server and inform your IT of the address it stops at.
Next, open the Sentinel Admin Control Center by opening your web browser and going to http://localhost:1947. In the Access to Remote License Managers, you can enter the IP address of the license server to force the system to check that specific address. this is especially useful if using a VPN. Please note, when clicking submit on the IP address field, you may only see a very brief flash indicating it has accepted the entry. To verify, click on a different menu and click back on the Access to Remote License Managers tab to see that the IP Address is still present.
If you are unable. to open the Sentinel Admin Control Center from your browser this usually indicates either that the sentinel drivers are not installed correctly or that the port is blocked. Check with your IT to re-install the driver with administrator privileges if necessary.
If all this fails, please contact arivis technical support who can try and diagnose any issues.
Licensing FAQ
This document includes the most common questions concerning the licensing usage and setup.
See also
Arivis License Tool - FAQ
What is a product key?
A product key is used to create a license key for a selected computer to run our software. This process is called product key activation and requires internet access. You can activate a product key on a computer directly online or use manual activation to create a license key for a different computer that has no internet access.
What is a license key?
A license key is what allows you to run our software. A license key is created for a specific computer using a finger print of the computer's hardware. A license key is bound to that hardware but can be transferred to a different computer if needed.
How do I activate my product key?
Select Online Activation in the arivis license tool, enter your product key and click Activate. This will create a license for your computer.
How do I activate a product key for a computer without internet access?
If your computer does not have internet access you can use Manual Activation:
- Start the arivis license tool on the computer for which you want to create a license
- Select Manual Activation and click Create Finger print
- Save the finger print to a file
- Start the arivis license tool on a secondary computer with internet access
- Select Manual Activation and click Request License Online
- Select the finger print file created in step 1
- Enter your product key and Click Request License
- Save to created license to a file
- Start the arivis license tool on the computer you used in step 1
- Select Manual Activation and click Install License
- Select the license file you created in step 2
This will create and install a license for the computer used in step 1 and 3.
Installing a license driver?
Installing a license key on a computer requires a license driver software to be installed. If the driver is not installed the arivis license tool will notify you and install the license driver.
To manually install the driver, start the arivis license tool, click on Show more and select Install Driver. This will install the required license driver.
Note: Windows User Account Control may ask for permission to install the software on your computer. You must allow the software to run in order to install the driver.
Choosing the right license type
This article explores the various considerations when choosing what type of license to purchase.
See also
Introduction
arivis software uses a licensing system provided by a third party to restrict and protect the use of the software and its distribution.
The license dictates:
- What tools you have access to (e.g. tracking, batch analysis, volume fusion)
- On what machine the software can be used
- How many users can use the software at any one time
Aside from what modules are included, the main distinction in license types is between Local/ Vs Floating and Soft Vs Hard keys
Soft vs Hard Licenses
- Soft licenses are linked to a specific computer. This is the default configuration. The license is configured at the time of installation by use of an activation key, which, once activated, locks the license to a specific machine.
- Hard licenses are attached to a hardware dongle.
|
Task |
Soft Key |
Hard Key |
|---|---|---|
|
Activation |
Activation key entered by user on destination machine |
Configured prior to shipping, no activation required |
|
Transfer |
Requires de-activation from initial PC then re-activation on destination PC |
Unplug USB key from initial PC, plug it in to the destination PC |
|
Upgrade/Update |
Managed through license tool |
Managed through license tool |
|
Conversion between floating/local |
Done in software through license tool |
Requires new USB key |
Local vs Floating Licenses
- Local licenses can only be used on the computer that the license is physically attached to. This includes RDP and VMs where the end user's computer essentially acts as an access point to the machine that does the processing and holds the license.
- Floating licenses are attached to a "License server" which distributes out the license to other computers on the same network. The license server need not run the software at all and just needs to be able to run the license utility and be on the same network as the clients (whether it is the same physical network or a VPN).
Typical Configurations
The scenarios below describe some common configurations of the licensing system. For hardware recommendations in each case, please check this article on choosing the right hardware for Vision4D.
Single user, one workstation
If you intend to have one image analysis computer and only ever use the license on that computer for the lifetime of the workstation, then a Soft Local license is generally the best option. A soft license can also be programmed to allow remote desktop access over RDP. The license and processing are both permanently fixed to this hardware unless the license is deactivated and transferred to another computer.
Single user, multiple workstations
If you intend to regularly use your license on different computers (maybe you have a desktop and laptop you regularly use), then a floating license is a better option as it will allow you to use any of your systems as long as they are on the same network. A Virtual Private Network can be used if the machines aren't on the same physical network. If using a VPN is not practical for you, purchasing an HL key may be a more convenient solution.
Multiple users, distributed workstation
If you intend for multiple users to use the license concurrently, you intend for them to use their own workstation or both, then a floating license is needed.
The license is activated on a computer designated as the license server and distributed out over the network. the license server does not need to be able to run Vision4D, only the license utility is required.
Each user must install the software on their workstation and those workstations must meet the minimum requirements for Vision4D and be on the same network as the license server.
If the networking requirements can't be met for whatever reason, you may also want to consider purchasing multiple HL keys which users can then physically borrow while they use the software. Note that in such cases the user is responsible for the safekeeping of those keys.