Troubleshooting Floating Licenses

Below are some of the commonly encountered issues users may encounter when using a floating license.  Some of these errors may be encountered on the server side and be presented either in RLM or the DLOG file outputted by RLM, or the errors can occur on the client (MAPublisher/Geographic Imager) side.  If you don’t see the issue you are experiencing here, or the solution provided does not resolve the problem, please don’t hesitate to contact us at support@avenza.com or by using the support form provided at the side.

1. WARNING: No license file for this host (example-1). The hostname in the license file(s) may be incorrect

This warning message will display on the RLM utility on the server and may be presented in the DLOG.  In most cases, this error message can be ignored and is a common warning message during server startup, especially when the license file uses an IP address instead of a host/computer name.  What you should see following this warning message, is a further message identifying the name of the license file found followed by the port and ISV port startups.

If the warning persists, please ensure that your license file does contain the appropriate extension (.lic) and is located in the correct spot within the RLM folder on the server.

2. The license server does not support this product (Server-side). License is out of date (Client-side)

This error occurs when you are trying to use a newer version of MAPublisher than what the license on the server currently allows.  As a result, two different error messages will be presented - one on the server/DLOG, and the other on the client-side from within MAPublisher or Geographic Imager.  To resolve this:

1. Ensure that you are using the appropriate software version for the license file on the server (e.g if you have a license file for 10.2 and you are trying to access 10.3, this will not work).  License files will work for the version listed in the file, and versions preceding (e.g. a license file for 10.2 will work for 10.2 plus earlier versions)
2. If needed request a new license file using the form here - https://www.avenza.com/resources/activation/request-new-license/
3. If you recently received a new license file from our team, please ensure it is placed in the RLM directory on the server, and that it is the only license file located in that folder.  You can either delete old license files, or simply rename the extension to anything other than .lic (e.g. .txt)

3. CreateProcess failed on command line: <license file location> (Server-side)

This error generally means that the ISV server binary is not in the place that RLM and the software is expecting it to be. To resolve this please check the following:

1. Is the avenza.exe file located in the same location as rlm.exe?

1. If it’s in a different location, or is not named “avenza.exe”, please move the file to the correct location and rename it to ‘avenza.exe’ if it isn’t already
2. If you need to reinstall the RLM directories, please see the link here - http://download.avenza.com/Downloads/Licensing/Floating/Avenza_FloatingLicense_RLMv12.zip 

2. Ensure that RLM has access to the file and that the permissions are appropriate (read/write)
   

4. <No valid licenses found> (Server-side)

This error usually indicates an error with the license file itself.  To resolve this issue:

1. Ensure the license file is in the correct location within the RLM directory on the server
2. If you need to make any modifications to the license file, please ensure that you are only changing the computer name/IP address, or adding the host or isv port.  If you change anything else within the file (e.g. the machine ID, dates, etc.) the license will no longer be valid and will need to be re-issued by our Activation team.
   

5. Wrong Hostid - licenses may not be available (Server-side)

This error occurs if the host id of the computer does not match what is in the license file.  To resolve this issue:

1. When requesting a license file, ensure you are providing the correct details
2. Try changing the host id (computer name/IP address) on the license file to match the machine you are using
3. In some cases, the machine ID can be wrong, if this is the case, please double check the machine ID you provided our Activation team, and if it is different you will need to request a new license using the form found here - https://www.avenza.com/resources/activation/request-floating-license-file/ 
   

6. Port 5053 in use, waiting... (Server-side)

This error is caused if the port that RLM is trying to use (5053 by default) is being used by something else.  To resolve this issue:

1. Ensure that another software is not using port 5053 (this can be another instance of RLM or another software completely)

1. To check if another instance of RLM is running please use Activity Monitor on Mac, or Task Manager on PC

2. Ensure that firewall settings allow port 5053 to be used
3. If another software is using port 5053, or your firewall settings don’t allow its use, specify a different port in the license file.  The port can be any available and open port that your system allows.  To change the license file, please open the .lic in a text editor and change the first line to add the port at the end of the first line, as demonstrated below.  Be sure to save the license file, ensuring the extension remains as .lic

HOST <machine name/ip address> <machine ID > <port number>
E.g. HOST DemoMachineName 123456789asd 5252

 

7. Cannot bind Web Server port 5054, exiting (Server-side)

Port 5054 is the default web port for RLM, and allows administrators access to monitor license usage, server status, and server run time through a web portal.  If you are running into this error, please see the steps below to resolve the issue:

1. Ensure port 5054 (or the specified port) is free/open using the “netstat” command

1. If the port is not free close the other program using port 5054

2. Ensure there are no firewalls blocking port 5054

1. If this is the case, either adjust the firewall accordingly or specify a different port for the web portal during the RLM setup using the -ws #### command (replace #### with the desired port)
   

8. <No ISV servers to start> (Server-side)

This error means that the ISV line, or section of the line is missing from the license file.  The ISV line should read as follows:

ISV avenza avenza (sometimes there may just be a single avenza which is fine as well)

If this is missing, please let us know and we will assist further

9. avenza - lockfile problems (Server-side)

If this error occurs, it generally means that there is another instance of RLM running. To correct this:

1. Close all instances of RLM (including the newly started instance)
2. Restart RLM

Please note, that if you have RLM running as a service, you will need to stop the service and restart in order to get things running again.

10. avenza - communication (socket) problems (Server-side)

If you run into any errors that point to a socket connection or communication issue, this is often a corruption issue with the computer registry and is not caused by RLM or Avenza.  To fix this:

1. Open a command prompt window and type the command: $ netsh winsock reset

For more details on this error, please see the following link - http://www.reprisesoftware.com/blog/2012/10/windows-isv-server-fails-to-start-or-shuts-down-after-starting/ 

11. WARNING: Duplicate mapublisher license (or Geographic Imager) (Server-side)

If you encounter this warning, it means that there are multiple MAPublisher licenses in the RLM directly.  While these warning will not cause MAPublisher or Geographic Imager to stop working, it is possible that the wrong license file will be retrieved from RLM.  If the wrong license file is used, it could impact the version of software that you are trying to access.

To avoid this error, we recommend users only keep one license file in the RLM directory at a time.  If you wish to keep any old license files, please either change the extension to .txt or create a separate folder for old license files.  Please ensure that you are NOT removing the current and valid license file from the root of the RLM directory.

12. avenza executable path: avenza (Server-side)

This error can occur on Mac/Linux-based servers and is often a result of the avenza.exe binary not having the appropriate permissions required when running RLM.  To fix this:

1. Stop RLM
2. Assign the proper privileges for the avenza.exe binary

1. Use the command: chmod a+x avenza

For additional support for RLM, please see the following links/articles which may provide some more insight into common errors, setup methods, and additional techniques on configuring your server environment for use with RLM and Avenza products

1. RLM License Administrators Guide: http://www.reprisesoftware.com/RLM_License_Administration.pdf 
2. Avenza MAPublisher Licensing Help: https://www.avenza.com/help/mapublisher/10.3/index.html?floating_license.htm 
3. Avenza Geographic Imager Licensing Help: https://www.avenza.com/help/geographic-imager/5.3/index.html?floating_license.htm 
4. RLM End-User FAQ: https://www.reprisesoftware.com/support/faq.php