Fixing License Manager Firewall Issues

If the SIMetrix-SIMPLIS network license manager does not start correctly or does start correctly but does not check out licenses, then the most likely cause is that a firewall is blocking communication to it.

This page helps resolve these problems. The content of this page is targeted at Windows® user's but much is relevant to Linux® as well.

The Problem

1. Installation using lminstall gives error message:
   
   SIMetrix-SIMPLIS License Manager is now installed but an attempt to check out a test license failed. The most likely reason is that it has been blocked by a firewall.
2. When you try to run SIMetrix or SIMetrix/SIMPLIS on the local machine or/and on an end user's machine you get a license check out error. Typically this would be one of the following
   
   License server machine is down or not responding
   ...
   FLEXnet Licensing error:-96,nnn
   
   OR
   
   The license server manager (lmgrd) has not been started yet,
   the wrong port@host or license file is being used, or the
   port or hostname in the license file has been changed
   ...
   FLEXnet Licensing error:-15,nnn
   
   Be aware that the above errors are not exclusively caused by firewall problems. They can also be caused by precisely the reasons given by the error messages. That is the server machine is down or the license manager has not been started.

The Cause

These problems are nearly always caused by a firewall. Firewalls block communication in selective ways in order to protect you from malicious traffic. Unfortunately a firewall will also block legitimate applications unless instructed not to.

To Fix

To fix the this problem you will need configure your firewall to open the specific TCP ports that the license manager uses.

The license manager requires configuring because in its default setup, it uses default TCP ports that change when restarted. It is necessary therefore to tell the license manager to use fixed ports. These ports can then be opened in the firewall.

The procedure is as follows:

1. Locate the license file. This is always located in the folder where the license manager was installed. If you used lminstall to install it, this defaults to "C:\Program Files\SIMetrix-SIMPLIS LM" on an English language machine. Note that the install program (lminstall) copies the license file to this location and does not use your original copy.
2. Open the license file using a text editor such as notepad.
3. Look for the line starting "SERVER", e.g.:
   
   SERVER this_host 123456789012
   
   now add a port number to the end. E.g.:
   
   SERVER this_host 123456789012 27000
4. Look for the "VENDOR NEWTECH" line. Now add adifferent port number to this line. E.g.:
   
   VENDOR NEWTECH PORT=27005
5. If you have a SIMPLIS license you will also see a "VENDOR pdt" line. Perform a similar modification, e.g:
   
   VENDOR pdt PORT=27006
6. Save the file and exit
7. Open the two or three ports you specified in the license file in your firewall. These are 27000, 27005 and 27006 in the above example.
8. Now shut down and restart the license server. In windows control panel open "Administrative Tools" then "Services". Locate the service called "SIMetrix-SIMPLIS License Manager". Right click then select popup menu "Restart".

Note that other applications that use Flexnet publisher licensing may use the same ports. You should check for conflicts before choosing the ports that you use. The actual port numbers chosen are arbitrary.