Tekla Structures

FLEXnet Licensing User Guide

1.14
December 2009

© 2010 Tekla Corporation

© 2010 Tekla Corporation and its licensors. All rights reserved.
This Software Manual has been developed for use with the referenced Software. Use of the Software, and use of this
Software Manual are governed by a License Agreement. Among other provisions, the License Agreement sets certain
warranties for the Software and this Manual, disclaims other warranties, limits recoverable damages, defines
permitted uses of the Software, and determines whether you are an authorized user of the Software. All information
set forth in this manual is provided with the warranty set forth in the License Agreement. Please refer to the License
Agreement for important obligations and applicable limitations and restrictions on your rights. Tekla does not
guarantee that the text is free of technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Tekla reserves the right to make
changes and additions to this manual due to changes in the software or otherwise.
In addition, this Software Manual is protected by copyright law and by international treaties. Unauthorized
reproduction, display, modification, or distribution of this Manual, or any portion of it, may result in severe civil and
criminal penalties, and will be prosecuted to the full extent permitted by law.
Tekla, Tekla Structures, Xcity, Xengineer, Xpipe, Xroad, Xpower, Xsteel, and Xstreet are either registered trademarks
or trademarks of Tekla Corporation in the European Union, the United States, and/or other countries. Other product
and company names mentioned in this Manual are or may be trademarks of their respective owners. By referring to a
third-party product or brand, Tekla does not intend to suggest an affiliation with or endorsement by such third party
and disclaims any such affiliation or endorsement, except where otherwise expressly stated.
Portions of this software:
D-Cubed 2D DCM © 2008 Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software III (GB) Ltd. All rights reserved.
EPM toolkit © 1995-2004 EPM Technology a.s., Oslo, Norway. All rights reserved.
XML parser © 1999 The Apache Software Foundation. All rights reserved.
Project Data Control Library © 2006 - 2007 DlhSoft. All rights reserved.
DWGdirect, DGNdirect and OpenDWG Toolkit/Viewkit libraries © 1998-2005 Open Design Alliance. All rights
reserved.
FlexNet Copyright © 2006 Flexera Software Limited. All Rights Reserved. This product contains proprietary and
confidential technology provided by and owned by Flexera Software Limited Of Schaumburg, IL, USA. Any use,
copying, publication, distribution, display, modification, or transmission of such technology in whole or in part in any
form or by any means without the prior express written permission of Flexera Software Limited is strictly prohibited.
Except where expressly provided by Flexera Software Limited in writing, possession of this technology shall not be
construed to confer any license or rights under any of Flexera Software´s intellectual property rights, whether by
estoppel, implication, or otherwise.
The software is protected by U.S. Patent 7,302,368. Also elements of the software described in this Manual may be
the subject of pending patent applications in the European Union and/or other countries including U.S. patent
applications 2004031231, 2004267695, 2005285881, 2006000484 and 200613639.
Conventions used in this guide
Typographical The following typographical conventions are used in this guide:
conventions

Font Usage
Bold Any text that you see in the user interface appears in bold. This font
is used, for example, for window and dialog box titles, box and
button names, and list items.
Italic bold New terms are in italic bold when they appear in the current context
for the first time.
Monospace Extracts of program code, HTML, or other material that you would
normally edit in a text editor, appear in monospaced font.
This font is also used for file names and folder paths, and for any
text that you should type yourself.

Noteboxes The following types of noteboxes are used in this guide:

A tip might introduce a shortcut, or suggest alternative ways of doing

things.

A note draws attention to details that you might easily overlook. It can
also point you to other information in this guide that you might find
useful.

You should always read very important notes and warnings, like this
one. They will help you avoid making serious mistakes, or wasting your
time.

This symbol indicates advanced or highly technical information that

is usually of interest only to advanced or technically-oriented readers.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 3
Contents

Conventions used in this guide ........................................................................................................................... 3

1 Introduction................................................................................................ 7
1.1 FLEXnet licensing system ...................................................................................................................... 7
1.2 Prerequisites for using FLEXnet licensing .............................................................................................. 8
Items provided by Tekla ..................................................................................................................... 8
IT resources check list ....................................................................................................................... 8
Running applications with administrator rights .................................................................................. 9
License server administrator .............................................................................................................. 9

2 Installing the Tekla Structures license server ...................................... 11

2.1 Installing Tekla Structures license server to a new computer............................................................... 11
Manually installing Tekla Structures licensing service ..................................................................... 13
Modifying existing Tekla Structures license server installation ........................................................ 15
2.2 Modifying the license file....................................................................................................................... 15
Setting the TCP/IP port manually..................................................................................................... 16
2.3 Saving the entitlement certificate.......................................................................................................... 16
2.4 Starting Tekla Structures License Administration Tool ......................................................................... 17
Manually notifying the license server about license changes .......................................................... 18
Selecting language........................................................................................................................... 18
Accessing online help ...................................................................................................................... 18
2.5 Activating licenses ................................................................................................................................ 18

3 Starting Tekla Structures with FLEXnet licensing ............................... 21

4 Starting Tekla Structures 12 and 13 with FLEXnet licensing .............. 23

4.1 Switching from hardware lock licensing to FLEXnet licensing.............................................................. 23
4.2 Limitation to usage of configurations .................................................................................................... 24

5 Checking the license server status and license information .............. 25

5.1 License server status on LMTOOLS..................................................................................................... 25
5.2 License information on Tekla Structures License Administration Tool ................................................. 26

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 4
6 License deactivation ............................................................................... 29
6.1 Stopping the license server .................................................................................................................. 30
6.2 Deactivating licenses ............................................................................................................................ 30

7 License borrowing................................................................................... 33
7.1 Product ID file ....................................................................................................................................... 33
Using the default product ID file ....................................................................................................... 33
Exporting the product ID file............................................................................................................. 34
7.2 Starting Tekla Structures License Borrow Tool .................................................................................... 34
Selecting language........................................................................................................................... 35
Accessing online help ...................................................................................................................... 36
7.3 Opening the product ID file ................................................................................................................... 36
7.4 Borrowing a license from the license server ......................................................................................... 37
7.5 License information on Tekla Structures License Borrow Tool............................................................. 37
7.6 Returning a borrowed license ............................................................................................................... 38

8 Usage of LMTOOLS with Tekla Structures licenses ............................ 41

8.1 Service/License File tab........................................................................................................................ 42
8.2 System Settings tab.............................................................................................................................. 43
8.3 Utilities tab ............................................................................................................................................ 44
8.4 Start/Stop/Reread tab ........................................................................................................................... 46
8.5 Server Status tab .................................................................................................................................. 48
Information on license server ........................................................................................................... 49
Information on licenses .................................................................................................................... 50
8.6 Server Diags tab ................................................................................................................................... 51
8.7 Config Services tab............................................................................................................................... 53
8.8 Borrowing tab........................................................................................................................................ 54

9 Managing license access rights............................................................. 55

9.1 Modifying the options file ...................................................................................................................... 55
Basic rules for modifying the options file.......................................................................................... 56
Keyword list...................................................................................................................................... 56
Configuration list .............................................................................................................................. 57
9.2 Examples of options file definitions....................................................................................................... 58

10 Management of license usage................................................................ 59

10.1 Basic ways of distributing licenses ....................................................................................................... 59

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 5
 Licenses activated on each user’s computer ................................................................................... 59
Licenses activated on a common server .......................................................................................... 60
10.2 Examples of managing licenses............................................................................................................ 60
Single user using Tekla Structures................................................................................................... 60
Three users using Tekla Structures ................................................................................................. 61
Ten users using Tekla Structures..................................................................................................... 62
Fifty users using Tekla Structures .................................................................................................... 63

11 Troubleshooting ...................................................................................... 65
11.1 Common problems................................................................................................................................ 65
License server installation ................................................................................................................ 66
License activation............................................................................................................................. 66
License borrowing ............................................................................................................................ 69
License deactivation......................................................................................................................... 72
License general usage ..................................................................................................................... 73
LMTOOLS usage ............................................................................................................................. 74
Starting Tekla Structures.................................................................................................................. 76
Options file usage............................................................................................................................. 78
11.2 Configuring Tekla Structures license server manually .......................................................................... 78
11.3 Allowing Tekla Structures license server to operate through firewall.................................................... 81
Allowing exceptions for lmgrd.exe and tekla.exe ............................................................................. 81
Allowing traffic in fixed TCP/IP ports ................................................................................................ 87
11.4 License repairing................................................................................................................................... 92
Repairing the license........................................................................................................................ 93

12 Glossary ................................................................................................... 95

6 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
 1 Introduction

This is the Tekla Structures FLEXnet Licensing User Guide. This guide gives information
on the activation based licensing system that Tekla Structures uses and explains how to install
and set up a license server and manage licenses.

1.1 FLEXnet licensing system

Tekla Structures uses FLEXnet Publisher License Management (further FLEXnet) licensing
system. FLEXnet is an activation-based licensing system provided by a company called
Flexera Software.
In an activation-based licensing system you need to:
• install and set up a license server on a computer
• activate your licenses
• point each client computer with Tekla Structures to the license server.
The main benefits of the FLEXnet licensing system are:
• You do not need hardware locks and password files.
• You can update and renew licenses more easily.
• You can create user groups with different access rights for different Tekla Structures
configurations.
• You have multiple options for managing licenses. You do not have to activate all of your
licenses on the same license server. You can activate some of your licenses on a common
server and the rest locally on each user’s laptop, for example. You can easily change the
location of the licenses by deactivating them on one license server and activating on
another server.
• You can handle licenses efficiently. You can activate licenses on a license server in a local
area network. When you start Tekla Structures, a license is checked out from the license
server. When you close Tekla Structures, the license is checked in and it is available for
another user.
• You can borrow licenses for offline usage.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 7
Introduction
1.2 Prerequisites for using FLEXnet licensing
There are several things you need to take into account before you start using FLEXnet
licensing.

Items provided by Tekla

To get started with the FLEXnet licensing, you need to have the following items provided by
Tekla:
• Entitlement certificate
Tekla has sent you an entitlement certificate via e-mail. The entitlement certificate lists all
the Tekla Structures licenses you are entitled to use and includes the activation IDs for
those licenses. For entitlement requests, contact your local Tekla Structures reseller.
• Tekla Structures license server installation package
The Tekla Structures license server installation package is available on the Tekla Structures
installation DVD and on Tekla Extranet. The updated versions that are released after the
release of the DVD are available only on Tekla Extranet. The installation package contains
the license server files and Tekla Structures License Administration Tool.
• User guides
Tekla Structures FLEXnet Licensing User Guide contains specific instructions on how
to install and manage the Tekla Structures license server.
FLEXnet License Administration Guide by Flexera Software is a general guide that
contains, for example, instructions on how to create user groups and manage access rights.
FAQ is available on Tekla Extranet.

IT resources check list

You need to take the following things about IT resources into account:
• Supported operating system
The FLEXnet licensing system for Tekla Structures supports Windows as operating
system. Windows 7, Windows Vista (Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate), XP and
Windows Server are supported. FLEXnet licensing system works also on WMvare ESX
Server.
• Windows user account with administrator rights
You need to have administrator rights to install and manage the license server. For more
information, see Running applications with administrator rights (p. 9).
Your Windows login user name should not contain any special characters.
• Free TCP/IP port for license server
You can run the Tekla Structures license server on the same computer with other software
license servers or the Tekla Structures multi-user server but you need to dedicate one TCP/
IP port for the Tekla Structures license server. The system automatically searches for
available TCP/IP ports and uses the first available port by deafult. You can also set the
TCP/IP port manually.
• Local area network
The license server and the client computers need to be in the same local area network. The
clients need to be able to contact the license server. If there is no local area network in your
company, we recommend that you install the license server on each computer with Tekla
Structures and activate one license on each computer.

8 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Introduction
 The internal firewall of your company (for example, Windows Firewall) must allow the
communication between the server computer and the computers with Tekla Structures. You
must allow the applications tekla.exe and lmgrd.exe to operate through the
firewall. The applications are located in the
..\TeklaStructures\License\Server folder.
• Direct communication to the Internet
Direct communication from the server computer to the Internet needs to be allowed while
the license server at your company contacts the activation server at Tekla. The activation
communication is done using SOAP over HTTP on the TCP/IP port 80. Your firewall
should not block any incoming or outgoing information during the activation. If you need
to know the address of the activation server at Tekla for your firewall settings, you can
check the address in the lat.ini file in the
..\TeklaStructures\License\Server folder.
• System backup settings
If you have an automatic backup and restore system in your company, configure your
system in a way that it does not overwrite your actual Trusted Storage with the backup
copy. Trusted Storage is the place where the licensing info is stored on your server
computer, and it is located in C:\Documents and Settings\All
Users\Application Data\FLEXnet or C:\ProgramData\FLEXnet\,
depending on the operating system.

Running applications with administrator rights

You need to have administrator rights to install and manage the license server. Some
applications also need to be run as administrator separately. That procedure depends on the
Windows version you are using.
• In Windows XP you need to log in as administrator.
• In Windows Vista and Windows 7 you need to log in as administrator, and in some cases,
you need to run applications as administrator. To do this, go to the folder containing the
application, right-click the application and select Run as administrator from the pop-up
menu.
• In Windows Server you need to log in as administrator, and in some cases, you need to
run applications with unrestricted rights. To do this, right-click the application, select Run
as.. from the pop-up menu, and clear the Run this program with restricted access
checkbox.

License server administrator

Your organization should assign a license server administrator. The license server
administrator's primary responsibilities are:
• Install and maintain the Tekla Structures license server
• Activate licenses on the server to make the licenses available for Tekla Structures users
• Inform users of the license server name and port number so that they can connect to the
server
• Inform users of the license usage policy of the company
• Manage license access rights by modifying an options file
• Monitor license usage
• Export a product ID file for borrowing and deliver it to users.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 9
Introduction
10 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Introduction
 2 Installing the Tekla
Structures license server

The Tekla Structures license server installation package contains the license server files, the
applications for license management and the user guides. To install the license server, run the
installation application available on the Tekla Structures installation DVD. You can also
download the license server installation package with the latest updates from Tekla Extranet.

If you are using other licensing services, you need to stop them before
you install the Tekla Structures license server. When you have completed
installing the Tekla Structures license server, you can restart the other
licensing services.

2.1 Installing Tekla Structures license server to a new

computer
To install Tekla Structures license server to a computer which does not have a previous version
of Tekla Structures license server:
1. Start the installation and select the installation language.
2. Select the licensing service installation type.
• Use the Automatic installation for normal setups.
• Use the Manual installation if you have some other FLEXnet licensing service or
license server administration tool, such as FLEXnet Manager, already running on
the computer. If you select the Manual option, you need to finalize the licensing
service installation manually.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 11
Installing the Tekla Structures license server
 3. Select the folder where the license server is installed.
4. Select the setup type.

• The Complete option installs the license server and the FLEXnet documentation in
all the available languages.
• The Custom option installs the license server and the FLEXnet documentation in
the selected languages.
5. Tekla Structures license server is installed.

See also Manually installing Tekla Structures licensing service (p. 13)

12 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Installing the Tekla Structures license server
Manually installing Tekla Structures licensing service
If you selected the Manual option for Tekla Structures licensing service installation, two
additional files are installed: installanchorservice.exe and
uninstallanchorservice.exe. You need the files when you manually install or
uninstall FLEXnet Licensing Service.
To finalize the manual licensing service installation:
1. Go to the Start menu and open Command Prompt as Administrator.
2. At the command prompt, enter the following commands.

If you have some other FLEXnet licensing service already running on

the server, stop it before entering the commands.

a cd \TeklaStructures\License\Server
b installanchorservice.exe
The licensing service is installed.

3. Open LMTOOLS and go to the Service/License File tab.

4. Select Configuration using Services.
5. Go to the Config Services tab.
a Click the Service Name field and enter the name of the service, for example,
Tekla Structures Licensing Service.
b Click the Browse buttons to locate the lmgrd.exe, tekla.lic and
tekla_debug.log files. By default, the lmgrd.exe and tekla.lic files
are installed in the C:\TeklaStructures\License\Server folder and
the tekla_debug.log in the
+C:\TeklaStructures\License\Server folder.
c Select the Use Services check box to run the licensing service as a Windows
service.
d Select the Start Server at Power Up check box to start the licensing service
automatically after powering up the computer.
e Click Save Service to save the settings.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 13
Installing the Tekla Structures license server
 6. Go to the Start/Stop/Reread tab and click Start Server to start the licensing service.

7. Go to the Server Status tab and click Perform Status Enquiry.

In the status list, the line License server status displays the TCP/IP port and
host name of the license server.

14 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Installing the Tekla Structures license server
Uninstalling the You may need to uninstall the licensing service manually if the automatic uninstallation cannot
licensing service be performed. To manually uninstall the licensing service, stop the Tekla Structures licensing
manually
service in LMTOOLS and run the uninstallanchorservice.exe at the command prompt.

Modifying existing Tekla Structures license server installation

If you want to modify, repair, or remove your existing Tekla Structures license server
installation, re-run the installation wizard.
• Modify: Select this option if you want to change the language of the documentation.
• Repair: Select this option if you want to, for example, repair corrupted files.
• Remove: Select this option if you want to remove your license server installation.

You cannot install an older version of the license server on top of a

newer version.

If you upgrade the license server to a newer version, the old license
server version is removed from the computer. Make sure before the
upgrade that all the necessary files from the old version are moved to a
new location so that they do not get lost during the upgrade.

2.2 Modifying the license file

You need to modify the tekla.lic license file if you run the license server and Tekla
Structures on separate computers. If you run the license server and Tekla Structures on the
same computer, you can skip this section.
To modify the license file:
1. Open the ..\TeklaStructures\License\Server folder on the server
computer.
2. Open the tekla.lic file with a text editor.
3. Replace text localhost on the line SERVER localhost ANY with the host name or IP
address of the license server.
You can check the host name of the license server on the System Settings tab in
LMTOOLS.

Do not delete texts SERVER and ANY when you enter the host name or IP
address of the license server.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 15
Installing the Tekla Structures license server
 4. Save the changes and close the text editor.

Setting the TCP/IP port manually

The licensing system automatically searches for the available TCP/IP port and uses the first
available port detected. If necessary, you can also set the TCP/IP port manually. To set the TCP/
IP port manually, do the following:
1. Open the ..\TeklaStructures\License\Server folder.
2. Open the tekla.lic file with a text editor.
3. Type the TCP/IP port number after text SERVER server_host_name ANY.

The port number can be any free port in the range of 1024 - 64000.
Flexera Software recommends using ports in the range of 27000 - 27009.

4. Save the changes and close the text editor.

2.3 Saving the entitlement certificate

You have been sent a Tekla Structures entitlement certificate in an e-mail. The entitlement
certificate states the configurations, quantities and activation IDs of your Tekla Structures
licenses. As a preliminary action for transferring license rights from Tekla to your license
server, you need to save the entitlement certificate. Then you can open the entitlement
certificate with Tekla Structures License Administration Tool and activate your licenses.
To save the entitlement certificate:
1. Open your e-mail application.
2. Open the entitlement certificate e-mail.
3. Save the attached EntitlementCertificate.html file in the
..\TeklaStructures\License\Server folder.

16 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Installing the Tekla Structures license server
 If you use a web-based e-mail service, open the e-mail service in Internet
Explorer to save the entitlement certificate. Other web browsers may
convert the EntitlementCertificate.html file into unusable
format.

2.4 Starting Tekla Structures License Administration

Tool
You need to activate the licenses on the license server to be able to use them. When you
activate the licenses, the license rights are transferred from the activation server at Tekla to the
license server at your company or, in the case of a single user, to your computer. Tekla
Structures License Administration Tool is the application used for activating licenses.
To run Tekla Structures License Administration Tool, click Start > All Programs > Tekla
Structures Licensing > Tekla Structures License Administration Tool.
The Tekla Structures License Administration Tool dialog box opens.

When you open Tekla Structures License Administration Tool, it detects expired and broken
licenses and asks if you want to repair or deactivate them. If you select Yes, an automatic
deactivation or repair is run.

Notifying the The license server is automatically notified when you activate, deactivate or repair licenses.
license server
You can enable the automatic notification functionality when you start Tekla Structures
License Administration Tool for the first time. You are asked whether you want to
automatically notify the license server about the license changes. To enable the automatic
notification functionality, select Yes.
If needed, you can later modify the notification settings in Actions > Notify Server.
If you do not want that the license server is automatically notified about the license changes,
you need to use LMTOOLS to manually notify the license server after license activations,
deactivations or repairs.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 17
Installing the Tekla Structures license server
 Do no use the automatic notification functionality if you are using some
other FLEXnet license and license server administration tool, such as
FLEXnet Manager.

Manually notifying the license server about license changes (p. 18)

Manually notifying the license server about license changes

To manually notify the license server about license activation, deactivation, or repair:
1. Click Start > All Programs > Tekla Structures Licensing > LMTOOLS.
The LMTOOLS dialog box opens.
2. Go to the Start/Stop/Reread tab.
3. Click ReRead License File.
The license server reads the license information.

Selecting language
You can select the language of the user interface.
To select the language:
1. Click Actions > Language....
2. Select the language in the Select Language dialog box and click OK.
3. Restart the application for the selection to take effect.

Accessing online help

Use the F1 key to access the online help. Use the following tabs to navigate the online help in
different ways:
• Contents - Online books
• Index - Alphabetical list of keywords
• Search - Use for searching topics
• Favorites - Use for adding topics to your list of favorites.
You do not need an Internet connection to use the online help.

2.5 Activating licenses

To activate licenses:
1. If you did not save the entitlement certificate in the
..\TeklaStructures\License\Server folder, you need to open the
entitlement certificate manually. To do so, click File > Open and select
EntitlementCertificate.html. Click Open.
The license information appears under the Entitled Licenses area.

18 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Installing the Tekla Structures license server
2. Select the number of licenses for activation from the Activate list box. You can also type
the number.

You do not need to activate all the licences at once. You can activate part
of the licenses now and part of the licenses later on some other
computer, for example. Different configurations and different versions
need to be selected for activation separately.

3. Click the Activate button.

Your license server contacts the activation server at Tekla.
4. After successful activation the License Activated Successfully dialog box opens. Click
OK.
The activated licenses are displayed under the Activated Licenses area.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 19
Installing the Tekla Structures license server
20 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Installing the Tekla Structures license server
3 Starting Tekla Structures
with FLEXnet licensing

The instructions provided in this chapter apply to Tekla Structures 14.0 and later versions.
If you installed Tekla Structures and the license server on the same computer, the system
automatically uses the license server on the computer when you start Tekla Structures.
If you installed Tekla Structures and the license server on separate computers, the system asks
you to define the license server that you want to use when you start Tekla Structures for the first
time.

To define the license server:

1. Type the host name of the license server in the Server address field.
You have several options for typing the host name of the license server. You can:
• type the host name of the server, for example, @server_host_name
• type the complete address of the host name, for example,
@server_host_name.mycompany.com
• type the TCP/IP port, for example,
27001@server_host_name.mycompany.com.
• define several license servers. The host names of the license servers are separated
with semicolons, for example,
@server_host_name1;@server_host_name2.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 21
Starting Tekla Structures with FLEXnet licensing
 The host name you enter here must correspond with the host name
entered in the tekla.lic file on the server computer.

2. If you want to check which licenses are available on the license server, click Check
licenses.
3. Click OK to start Tekla Structures.

You can redefine the license server you want to use by clicking Tools >
Change License Server... in Tekla Structures. The change comes into
effect the next time you start Tekla Structures.

22 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Starting Tekla Structures with FLEXnet licensing
 4 Starting Tekla Structures
12 and 13 with FLEXnet
licensing

Tekla Structures 14.0 and later versions use the FLEXnet licensing system, but previous
versions of Tekla Structures have used a licensing system which requires the usage of hardware
locks and password files. New service and progress releases enable the usage of the FLEXnet
licensing system also with Tekla Structures versions 12.0, 12.1, 13.0 and 13.1. The releases are
available on Tekla Extranet.

You do not need different entitlement certificates for the different

versions of Tekla Structures. For example, you can use the same
entitlement certificate with Tekla Structures 14.0 and Tekla Structures
13.1.

4.1 Switching from hardware lock licensing to FLEX-

net licensing
To set whether you use the hardware lock or the Flexnet licensing system with Tekla Structures
versions 12 and 13, do the following:
1. Open the folder containing the customization file. The path depends on the Tekla
Structures version.
• With Tekla Structures version 13.1, open the
..\TeklaStructures\13.1\nt\bin folder.
• With Tekla Structures versions 12.0, 12.1 and 13.0, open the
..\TeklaStructures\<version>\bat\user folder.
2. Modify the customization file. The file you need to modify depends on the Tekla
Structures version.
• With Tekla Structures version 13.1, open the user.ini file with a text editor.
• With Tekla Structures versions 12.0, 12.1 and 13.0, open the user.bat file with a
text editor.
3. Add or edit the set XS_LICENSE_SERVER_HOST=port@host variable.
• To use the FLEXnet licensing system, replace port with the TCP/IP port of the
license service and host with the host name of the server computer.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 23
Starting Tekla Structures 12 and 13 with FLEXnet licensing
 The host name must correspond with the host name entered in the tekla.lic file
on the server computer.
The following formats are valid for defining the license server:
• set XS_LICENSE_SERVER_HOST=@server_host_name
• set XS_LICENSE_SERVER_HOST=@server_host_name.mycompany.com
• set XS_LICENSE_SERVER_HOST=27001@server_host_name

• To use the hardware lock licensing system, type rem before the variable (rem set
XS_LICENSE_SERVER_HOST=port@host).
4. Save the changes and close the text editor.
The changes come into effect the next time you start Tekla Structures.

4.2 Limitation to usage of configurations

The following configurations are not supported by Tekla Structures 12 and 13 that use the
FLEXnet licensing system:
• Developer
• Educational.
To be able to use these configurations with Tekla Structures 12.0, 12.1, 13.0 or 13.1, you need
to use a hardware lock.
The Drafter configuration was introduced with Tekla Structures 13.0 and is available in Tekla
Structures 13.0 and later versions that use the FLEXnet licensing system.

24 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Starting Tekla Structures 12 and 13 with FLEXnet licensing
 5 Checking the license
server status and license
information

LMTOOLS is a useful application for checking the license server status and license
information. Tekla Structures License Administration Tool also displays information of
licenses.

5.1 License server status on LMTOOLS

Run LMTOOLS to check the license server status and license usage information:
1. Click Start > All Programs > Tekla Structures Licensing > LMTOOLS.
2. Go to the Server Status tab.
3. Click Perform Status Enquiry.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 25
Checking the license server status and license information
 The status list displays the license server status and license usage information. The information
is not updated automatically, so you need to click Perform Status Enquiry to update the status.

There is a limit to the amount of text displayed in the status list. To clear
the list, click Edit > Clear Window.

5.2 License information on Tekla Structures License

Administration Tool
When you have loaded the entitlement certificate in Tekla Structures License Administration
Tool, the Entitled Licenses area displays information on the licenses:

26 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Checking the license server status and license information
 Column Description
Activate Used for activating licenses. Displays the number of licenses to be
activated.
Quantity The number of total licenses of the configuration.
Order ID The order ID of the license.
The order ID helps to identify which licenses are linked to each
other and which license needs to be deactivated before a new license
can be activated.
Activation ID The activation ID of the license.
Description The abbreviation of the configuration.
Configuration The name of the configuration.
Version The version number of the configuration.
Start Date The date when the license came into effect.
Expiration Date The date when the license expires. If the license is permanent, the
word permanent is shown instead of the expiration date.

The Activated Licenses area displays information on activated licenses:

Column Description
Deactivate Used for deactivating licenses.
Trust Status The Host (H), Time (T) and Restore (R) Trust Status. Green symbol
indicates that the information is trusted. Red symbol indicates that
the information is not trusted. If any of these are not trusted, the
license cannot be used.
Host indicates whether the server has been moved from one
computer to another or whether the computer hardware has radically
changed.
Time indicates whether the system clock has been tampered with.
Restore indicates whether the license is obtained from a backup
copy.
Quantity The number of activated licenses of the configuration.
Order ID The order ID of the license.
The order ID helps to identify which licenses are linked to each
other and which license needs to be deactivated before a new license
can be activated.
Activation ID The activation ID of the license.
Product ID The name and version number of the configuration.
Expiration Date The date when the license expires. If the license is permanent, the
word permanent is shown instead of the expiration date.
Borrowed The number of borrowed licenses.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 27
Checking the license server status and license information
 Column Description
Disabled Indicates whether the license is disabled. For example, a license may
be disabled if there is a disconnection during the activation or
deactivation. A disabled license cannot be used.
Details Indicates whether additional license information is available. Click

the button to open the License Details dialog box where

license borrow and expiry information is displayed.
Borrowed License Expiry Date is the expiry date of the borrowed
license.
Host Machine is the name of the computer to which the license has
been borrowed.

28 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Checking the license server status and license information
6 License deactivation

Subsequent Tekla Structures licenses are linked to each other. This means that you need to
deactivate the previous licenses in the chain before you can activate the subsequent licenses.
Linking works also the other way around: if you have activated a subsequent license, you
cannot activate the earlier license after that. You need to deactivate different types of temporary
licenses before activating succeeding licenses linked to them. For example, you have to
deactivate a temporary license before activating a permanent license. Also, when renewing the
annual maintenance, for example when you switch from Tekla Structures 14 licenses to Tekla
Structures 15 licenses, you need to deactivate the licenses from the previous year to be able to
activate the licenses for the following year.
You also need to deactivate licenses if you have activated a wrong configuration or too many
configurations. In addition, you need to deactivate licenses before rehosting the license server,
before changing hardware or the IP address on the license server, before reinstalling Windows
on your server computer, or before formatting your server computer. However, you do not need
to deactivate licenses before uninstalling and reinstalling the license server.
When you deactivate licenses, you need to deactivate all the licenses that are displayed on the
same row under the Activated Licenses area. After deactivation you can activate the licenses
on the same or some other server.

Do not repeatedly deactivate a license from a license server and activate

the same license on your home computer as a substitute for borrowing
the license or using a VPN connection. The number of deactivations of a
license within a given time period is limited due to technical and security
reasons and you may end up in being unable to deactivate a license.

Before you deactivate licenses, ensure that the licenses are not in use or
borrowed. The borrowed licenses must be returned before they can be
deactivated.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 29
License deactivation
6.1 Stopping the license server
Run LMTOOLS to check the license usage information and stop the license server. To stop the
license server:
1. With administrator rights, click Start > All Programs > Tekla Structures Licensing >
LMTOOLS.
2. Go to the Server Status tab.
3. Click Perform Status Enquiry to check the license server status and license usage
information. There should be zero licenses in use.

4. Go to the Start/Stop/Reread tab.

5. Click the Stop Server button.

6.2 Deactivating licenses

To deactivate licenses:
1. Click Start > All Programs > Tekla Structures Licensing > Tekla Structures License
Administration Tool.
Tekla Structures License Administration Tool opens. The Activated Licenses area
displays the activated licenses.

30 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
License deactivation
2. Select the Deactivate checkbox to select the license for deactivation.

If you activated more than one license of the same type in one go, you
cannot deactivate those licenses separately. You need to deactivate all of
those licenses in one go.

3. Click the Deactivate button.

The license server contacts the activation server at Tekla. After successful deactivation the
Tekla Structures License Administration Tool dialog box is updated.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 31
License deactivation
32 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
License deactivation
 7 License borrowing

You can borrow an activated license from the license server when you want to work offline.
The borrowed license is transferred from the license server to your computer, so it is not
available for other users during the borrowing. You do not need to borrow a license for offline
usage if you have installed a license server on your laptop.

7.1 Product ID file

A product ID file is needed for borrowing licenses. Usage of the product ID file depends on the
usage of the options file. You need to use the options file if you want to define users or user
groups with different license access rights. For more information on the usage of the options
file, see Managing license access rights (p. 55).
If you do not use the options file, you can
• use the default product ID file for borrowing licenses. For more information, see Using the
default product ID file (p. 33).
• export a product ID file in Tekla Structures License Administration Tool and use the
exported file for borrowing licenses. For more information, see Exporting the product ID
file (p. 34).
If you use the options file, you must export a product ID file in Tekla Structures License
Administration Tool and use the exported file for borrowing licenses.

Using the default product ID file

When you install Tekla Structures, the standard.tpi file is automatically installed in the
..\Tekla Structures\<version>\nt\license folder. The file contains all the
Tekla Structures configurations and their product IDs.
When you use the default product ID file for borrowing licenses, Tekla Structures License
Borrow Tool displays all the configurations. However, you can only borrow the licenses that
are activated on the license server.
If you want that Tekla Structures License Borrow Tool displays only the activated licenses,
export a product ID file in Tekla Structures License Administration Tool. For more
information, see Exporting the product ID file (p. 34).

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 33
License borrowing
 If you use the options file for managing license access rights, you must
export a product ID file to be able to borrow licenses.

Exporting the product ID file

Tekla Structures License Borrow Tool uses the activation IDs of the licenses during
borrowing when the options file is used. When you export a product ID file in Tekla Structures
License Administration Tool, the activation IDs of the activated licenses are written in the file.
The activation IDs are encrypted, so no-one is able to see them.
You need to export the product ID file on the license server computer. To export the product ID
file:
1. Click Start > All Programs > Tekla Structures Licensing > Tekla Structures License
Administration Tool to open Tekla Structures License Administration Tool.
2. Click File > Export > Product ID file... The Save Product ID file As dialog box opens.
3. Type the name of the product ID file and select a folder where you want to save the file.
Click Save.
4. Send the product ID file to the Tekla Structures users who need to borrow licenses and
inform the users about the usage of the file.

If the name of the file is standard.tpi and the file is saved in the
..\Tekla Structures\<version>\nt\license folder on
the user’s computer, the file is opened automatically when the user starts
Tekla Structures License Borrow Tool.

Product ID files are not updated automatically. If you deactivate

borrowable licenses or activate new licenses for borrowing, you need to
export a new product ID file and send it to Tekla Structures users.

7.2 Starting Tekla Structures License Borrow Tool

Tekla Structures License Borrow Tool is the application that is used for license borrowing.
When you install Tekla Structures, Tekla Structures License Borrow Tool is installed
automatically in the ..\Tekla Structures\<version>\nt\license folder.

You can use the same Tekla Structures License Borrow Tool to borrow
licenses for different Tekla Structures versions.

To run Tekla Structures License Borrow Tool:

1. Click Start > All Programs > Tekla Structures > Tools > Tekla Structures License
Borrow Tool.
The Borrow from License Server dialog box opens.

34 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
License borrowing
 2. Type the host name of the license server in the Server field. You can also type the port
number with the host name. Click OK.

You need to type the same host name in the Connect to License Server
dialog box when you start Tekla Structures.

Tekla Structures License Borrow Tool opens.

Selecting language
You can select the language of the user interface.
To select the language:
1. Click Actions > Language....
2. Select the language in the Select Language dialog box and click OK.
3. Restart the application for the selection to take effect.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 35
License borrowing
Accessing online help
Use the F1 key to access the online help. Use the following tabs to navigate the online help in
different ways:
• Contents - Online books
• Index - Alphabetical list of keywords
• Search - Use for searching topics
• Favorites - Use for adding topics to your list of favorites.
You do not need an Internet connection to use the online help.

7.3 Opening the product ID file

When Tekla Structures License Borrow Tool starts, it automatically opens the
standard.tpi file that is in the ..\Tekla Structures\<version>\nt\license
folder. If your license server administrator has informed you to use a different product ID file
for borrowing licenses, you need to open the file to be able to use it.
To open the product ID file:
1. Click File > Open.... The Select Product ID file dialog box opens.
2. Select the product ID file to be opened.

3. Click Open to open the product ID file.

The Products area in Tekla Structures License Borrow Tool is updated.

36 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
License borrowing
7.4 Borrowing a license from the license server

You need to borrow a license on the computer that you will use offline.
Close Tekla Structures on the computer before you borrow the license.

To borrow a license:
1. Click the Borrow Until box and select the exipiration date of the borrowing from the
calendar.

The maximum borrowing period is one month.

2. Click the Borrow button to borrow the license.

After successful borrowing the Borrowed Licenses area displays the borrowed license.

Disconnect your computer from the license server and start Tekla
Structures with the borrowed license to ensure that the borrowing
succeeded.

7.5 License information on Tekla Structures License

Borrow Tool
The Products area displays information on licenses:

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 37
License borrowing
 Column Description
Borrow until Used for borrowing licenses.
Product ID The name and version number of the configuration.
Activation ID In Indicates whether the activation ID is used for borrowing. The box is
Use checked only if you are using an exported product ID file.

The Borrowed Licenses area displays information on borrowed licenses:

Column Description
Return Used for returning licenses.
Trust Status The Host (H), Time (T) and Restore (R) Trust Status. Green symbol
indicates that information is trusted. Red symbol indicates that
information is not trusted. If any of these are not trusted, the license
cannot be used.
• Host indicates whether the server has been moved from one
computer to another or the computer hardware has radically
changed.
• Time indicates whether the system clock has been tampered
with.
• Restore indicates whether the license is obtained from a backup
copy.
Product ID The name and version number of the configuration.
Expiration Date The date when the borrowing expires.
Disabled Indicates whether the license is disabled. For example, a license may
be disabled if there is a disconnection during the activation. A
disabled license cannot be used.
Borrowed From The license server from where the license is borrowed.

7.6 Returning a borrowed license

A borrowed license is automatically available on the license server on the day following the
expiration date. However, the Borrowed Licenses area in Tekla Structures License Borrow
Tool is not automatically cleared. You need to return the expired license to the license server to
update the Borrowed Licenses area. We recommend that you return the expired licenses to
avoid problems with deactivation of the licenses.
You can return a borrowed license back to the license server before the expiration date. To do
that, your computer needs to be connected to the license server.

38 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
License borrowing
 Before you return a borrowed license, you must close Tekla Structures
on your computer.

To return a license:
1. Select the Return checkbox in the Borrowed Licenses area to select the license for
returning.

2. Click the Return button to return the license.

After successful returning the Borrowed Licenses area is updated.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 39
License borrowing
40 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
License borrowing
8 Usage of LMTOOLS with
Tekla Structures licenses

This chapter provides information on managing Tekla Structures licenses with LMTOOLS, a
license and licensing service management tool provided by Flexera Software. In addition to
Tekla Structures licenses, you can also manage licenses of other software, if they are using
FLEXnet or FLEXlm. You can also run LMTOOLS on the client computers to check the status
of the license usage on the license server.

If you are using FLEXnet Manager by Flexera Software for managing

licenses, you should not use LMTOOLS.

When you install Tekla Structures, LMTOOLS is installed in the ..\Tekla

Structures\<version>\nt\license folder.
To start LMTOOLS, click Start > All Programs > Tekla Structures Licensing > LMTOOLS.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 41
Usage of LMTOOLS with Tekla Structures licenses
8.1 Service/License File tab

You must always have Configuration using Services and Tekla Structures Licensing
Service selected on the Service/License File tab when you manage Tekla Structures licenses.
These options are selected by default during the installation of the Tekla Structures license
server. If you need to configure the license server manually, see Configuring Tekla Structures
license server manually (p. 78).

42 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Usage of LMTOOLS with Tekla Structures licenses
8.2 System Settings tab

The System Settings tab displays common device and operating system information about the
computer on which you are running LMTOOLS. All the relevant information on licensing is
available. For example, you can check the host name of your server computer.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 43
Usage of LMTOOLS with Tekla Structures licenses
8.3 Utilities tab

You can affect on the information that is displayed in the status list in the Server Status tab by
defining values on the Utilities tab. By default, the status list displays information on all the
license servers you are connected to.
The List All Vendor Paths button lists all the licensing services that are displayed in more
detail in the status list on the Server Status tab.

44 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Usage of LMTOOLS with Tekla Structures licenses
To add a licensing service to be listed in the status list, type the vendor information in the
Vendor Name and Path text boxes and click Add Vendor Path.

The vendor name that is used for Tekla Structures license server is
tekla (all letters lowercase).

If you want the status list to display information only on certain license servers, type the vendor
information in the Vendor Name and Path text boxes and then click Override Path to replace
the existing license servers displayed in the status list.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 45
Usage of LMTOOLS with Tekla Structures licenses
8.4 Start/Stop/Reread tab

The Start/Stop/Reread tab contains the buttons for stopping and starting the license server.

46 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Usage of LMTOOLS with Tekla Structures licenses
 When you perform actions concerning the Tekla Structures license
server, Tekla Structures Licensing Service must be active in FLEXnet
license services installed on this computer list. You can select Tekla
Structures Licensing Service from the Service Name list on the
Config Services tab.

Button Description
Start Server Starts the license server selected in the FLEXnet license services
installed on this computer list.
Stop Server Stops the license server. When you click the button, the status bar
displays the message Stopping the Server, and it takes a couple of
seconds to stop the license server. The message does not change
when the server is stopped.
ReRead License Updates the license server without stopping and starting it.
File

Advanced When you click Advanced settings, three advanced options are displayed.
settings

Option Description
Restrict lmdown to When this option is selected, you can stop the server only on
work only from node the server computer. No-one can accidentally stop the license
where lmgrd is running. server on a client computer.
We recommend that you use this option.
Disable lmdown utility, When this option is selected, you cannot stop the server in
use task manager. LMTOOLS. The server can only be stopped in Windows Task
Manager.
Disable ’lmremove’ of This option is not in use in activation-based licensing.
license file.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 47
Usage of LMTOOLS with Tekla Structures licenses
8.5 Server Status tab

The Server Status tab displays the status of the license server and the licenses. Here you can
check how many licenses are in use or borrowed.
To see the status of the license server and the licenses, click Perform Status Enquiry.

If you want to check the status of the Tekla Structures licenses only, type
tekla in the Individual Daemon text box.

The status list displays the following information:

48 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Usage of LMTOOLS with Tekla Structures licenses
Information on license server

The license server port@host.

The license server is up and running.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 49
Usage of LMTOOLS with Tekla Structures licenses
 License server with Tekla Corporation identity is up and running.

A default value for TeklaServer displayed in every status check.

Information on licenses

On which configuration the information of licenses is displayed. In

this case, Full Detailing.

The number of activated licenses on the license server.

The number of the licenses in use; checked out from the license
server or borrowed.

A borrowed license.

On which computer the license was borrowed.

Tekla Structures license version.

Time when the license was borrowed.

Licenses checked out from the license server.

On which computer and display the user has checked the license out.
In this case, the user is haka, the computer and display are haka1.

The license server from where the license is checked out.

Time when the Tekla Structures session was started.

Usage of licenses of other configurations. In this case, Precast

Concrete Detailing.

50 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Usage of LMTOOLS with Tekla Structures licenses
8.6 Server Diags tab

On the Server Diags tab, you can see same kind of information as in Tekla Structures License
Administration Tool. For more details on the license information displayed in Tekla
Structures License Administration Tool, see License information on Tekla Structures
License Administration Tool (p. 26).
Click Perform Diagnostics to display the diagnostics.
The server diagnostics displays the following information:

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 51
Usage of LMTOOLS with Tekla Structures licenses
 The license server port@host.

Common information for all Tekla Structures license server

installations.
On which configuration the information is displayed. In this case,
Viewer.

Tekla Structures license version.

The license server host.

The expiration date of the license. In this case, the license is

permanent.

52 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Usage of LMTOOLS with Tekla Structures licenses
8.7 Config Services tab

The values on the Config Services tab are entered automatically during the installation of the
Tekla Structures license server. However, if you encounter problems during the installation and
the license server does not start automatically, you need to configure the settings manually. For
more information, see Configuring Tekla Structures license server manually (p. 78).

Whenever you make modifications or perform any actions in LMTOOLS

concerning the Tekla Structures license server, you need to have Tekla
Structures Licensing Service selected in the Service Name list box.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 53
Usage of LMTOOLS with Tekla Structures licenses
8.8 Borrowing tab

Use Tekla Structures License Borrow Tool for borrowing Tekla

Structures licenses. Do not use the Borrowing tab of LMTOOLS with
Tekla Structures licenses.

54 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Usage of LMTOOLS with Tekla Structures licenses
 9 Managing license access
rights

A license server administrator can define user groups with different access rights by modifying
the options file. For example, a license server administrator can allow or block certain
configurations for certain users and allow or deny the usage of license borrowing.

If you use the options file for managing license access rights, you must
export the product ID file to be able to borrow licenses. For more
information, see Exporting the product ID file (p. 34).

For more information on defining user groups with the options file, see the FLEXnet License
Administration Guide. To open the guide, click Start > All Programs > Tekla Structures
Licensing > License Administration Guide.

The FLEXnet License Administration Guide provides more information

on the usage of the options file for license file -based licensing systems
and activation-based licensing systems. The information that applies to
licenses held in the trusted storage is valid for the Tekla Structures
FLEXnet licensing system.

9.1 Modifying the options file

To define users and user groups with different access rights, you need to modify the options
file. The tekla.opt file is installed in the ..\TeklaStructures\License\Server
folder.
To modify the options file:
1. Open the ..\TeklaStructures\License\Server folder.
2. Open the tekla.opt file with a text editor.
3. Enter your definitions of license access rights and restrictions.
4. Save the changes and close the text editor.
5. Click Start > All Programs > Tekla Structures Licensing > LMTOOLS to open
LMTOOLS.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 55
Managing license access rights
 6. Go to the Start/Stop/Reread tab and click the ReRead License File button to update the
changes in the license file.

Basic rules for modifying the options file

The basic rules for modifying the options file are the following:
• Define user groups and host groups first, if needed. You need to use Windows user names
and host names or IP addresses of computers when you define the users, hosts and the
groups of hosts or users.
• Enter one definition per row. A definition consists of the following things:
• an options keyword that defines the actions. For more information on the options
keywords, see Keyword list (p. 56).
• a feature, such as a configuration, that is affected by the keyword.
• the type that is affected by the keyword. The options are: GROUP, HOST, HOST_GROUP,
and USER.
• the name of the user, user group, host, or host group that is affected by the keyword.

You can use the host names or IP addresses of the computers with the
HOST and HOST_GROUP keywords.

• Use the proper abbreviations of configurations when you define accesss rights or
limitations for the configurations. For more information on the abbreviations of the
configurations, see Configuration list (p. 57).
• To disable a row in the options file, type # in the beginning of the row.

The options file is case sensitive.

For more information on the definitions of the options file, see Examples of options file
definitions (p. 58). More examples are available in the FLEXnet Licensing End User Guide.

Keyword list
For examples of using the keywords, see Examples of options file definitions (p. 58).
The following table lists the most common keywords that are used for defining license access
rights and restrictions.

Keyword Description Usage information

EXCLUDE Deny access to a Tekla Use with the abbreviation of
Structures configuration. the configuration.
EXCLUDE_ENTITLEMENT Deny the right to borrow a Use with the activation ID of
license. the license.
EXCLUDEALL Deny access to all Tekla
Structures configurations.

56 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Managing license access rights
 Keyword Description Usage information
GROUP Define a user group for use Use with Windows user names
with any options. (separated with spaces).
HOST_GROUP Define a host group for use Use with computer host names
with any options. or IP addresses (separated with
spaces).
INCLUDE Allow a user to use a Tekla Use with the abbreviation of
Structures configuration. the configuration.
INCLUDE_ENTITLEMENT Allow a user to borrow a Use with the activation ID of
license. the license.
INCLUDEALL Allow a user to use all Tekla
Structures configurations.
MAX Limit the usage of a Use with the number of
configuration licenses and the abbreviation of
the configuration.
RESERVE Reserve licenses for a user or Use with the number of
a group of users/hosts. licenses and the abbreviation of
the configuration.

When somebody is allowed to use a configuration with the INCLUDE

keyword, other users are automatically denied the right to use the
configuration.
When somebody is denied to use a configuration with the EXCLUDE
keyword, other users are automatically allowed to use the configuration.
If no rules exist, everybody is allowed to use the configuration.

Configuration list
When you define access rights for different configurations, you need to use the proper
abbreviations of the configurations. The following table lists the abbreviations and the
configurations.

Abbreviation Configuration
CM-C Construction Management
DEV-C Developer
DFR-C Drafter
EDU-C Educational
FUD-C Full
PCD-C Precast Concrete Detailing
PRM-C Project Manager
RCD-C Reinforced Concrete Detailing
SDE-C Engineering
STD-C Steel Detailing
STDL-C Steel Detailing Limited
VIE-C Viewer

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 57
Managing license access rights
9.2 Examples of options file definitions
Examples of keywords usage are presented below:

INCLUDE PCD-C USER scarlett

Description: Only the user scarlett is allowed to use the Precast Concrete Detailing
configuration.

EXCLUDE FUD-C USER justin

Description: The user justin is not allowed to use the Full configuration. Other users are
allowed to use the Full configuration.

GROUP tsusers jessica joe neil

INCLUDEALL GROUP tsusers
Description: The users jessica, joe and neil belong to the group tsusers. Only the group
tsusers is allowed to use all configurations.

EXCLUDEALL HOST pcrobert

Description: No configuration is allowed to be used on the computer pcrobert.

INCLUDE_ENTITLEMENT qwer-1234-asdf-5678-zx USER gwen

Description: Only the user gwen is allowed to borrow a license whose activation ID is
qwer-1234-asdf-5678-zx.

EXCLUDE_ENTITLEMENT rtyu-9876-fghj-5432-cv USER matt

Description: The user matt is not allowed to borrow a license whose activation ID is
rtyu-9876-fghj-5432-cv.

GROUP students amy chloe andy dean

MAX 3 EDU-C GROUP students
Description: The users amy, chloe, andy, and dean belong to the group students. The
limit to the usage of the Educational configuration for the group students is three
licenses.

RESERVE 1 PRM-C USER vera

Description: One license of the Project Manager configuration is reserved for the user
vera.

58 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Managing license access rights
 10 Management of license
usage

The FLEXnet licensing system offers several options for managing licenses. This chapter
provides some examples and recommendations about the ways of managing licenses based on a
company size and the amount of Tekla Structures users. We recommend you to think what kind
of method of license management best suits your needs.

10.1 Basic ways of distributing licenses

There are two basic ways of distributing licenses to users:
• the licenses are available for multiple users in a common license server
• the licenses are activated on each user’s own computer.
You can also use a combination of license distribution methods. For example, you can activate
one license on a separate computer and activate the rest your licenses on a common license
server.

Licenses activated on each user’s computer

The following things are typical for management of licenses that are activated separately on
each user’s computer:
• No need for an assigned license server administrator
Each user manages the license server that is installed on the user’s own computer.
• No need to manage license access rights
Each user activates only the licenses that they need. As the licenses are activated
separately on the users’ own computers, there is no need to manage license access rights.
• Using Tekla Structures out of office
If a user’s license is activated on a laptop, license borrowing or a VPN connection is not
needed.
• Usage rate of licenses can be quite low

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 59
Management of license usage
 Users have access only to the licenses that are activated on their computers. If a user needs
a license that is activated on another computer, the user needs to use that computer.
Another option is to deactivate licenses on one computer and then activate the licenses on
another computer. Switching from using one license to another requires effort.

Licenses activated on a common server

The following things are typical for management of a common license server:
• Centralized maintaining and administration of licenses
A license server administrator is a person assigned to maintain the license server and to
manage license usage. Typically, there are a few Tekla Structures main users in a company.
The main users are good candidates for license server administrators, because they are
already familiar with Tekla Structures. For more information on the responsibilities of the
license server administrator, see License server administrator (p. 9).
• Managing license access rights
To manage the usage of licenses, the license server administrator can control access to
different configurations for different users. The license server administrator needs to
modify the options file to manage the license access rights. For more information on
managing license access rights, see Managing license access rights (p. 55).
• Rules of license usage
Tekla Structures users should accept common rules or an internal company policy. The
rules should contain regulations of managing the licenses, for example, who is allowed to
borrow licenses. Usage of common rules minimizes the amount of conflicts in license
management.
• Using Tekla Structures out of office
A user needs to borrow a license from the common license server or use a VPN connection
to the license server to use Tekla Structures out of office.
• Usage rate of the licenses can be high
When the licenses are activated on a common server, they are available for multiple users.
The licenses are checked out from the license server only when they are needed. When a
user does not need a license, the user closes Tekla Structures and the license becomes
available for another user. Switching from using one license to another is simple.

10.2 Examples of managing licenses

This chapter provides four examples of managing licenses. The purpose of the examples is to
provide guidelines for license management in different sized companies.

Single user using Tekla Structures

Only one user in the company uses Tekla Structures. The user installs Tekla Structures and the
license server on the same laptop.
• Installing the license server is straightforward. The user does not need to modify the
license server settings, because the user runs the license server and Tekla Structures on the
same computer. The default license server settings can be used.
• Because the user installs the license server on a laptop, the user does not need to borrow a
license or use a VPN connection to use Tekla Structures out of office.

60 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Management of license usage
Three users using Tekla Structures
There are three Tekla Structures users in a company. The users do not use same Tekla
Structures configurations, so each user installs a license server separately on the user’s own
laptop and activates only the licenses that they need.
• A license server administrator is not needed, the users maintain their license servers.
• Offline usage of Tekla Structures is straightforward, because the users install the license
servers on their laptops.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 61
Management of license usage
Ten users using Tekla Structures
There are ten Tekla Structures users in a company. Because there are many users and the users
need to use various configurations, the company uses a common license server.
• The company has an internal policy of license usage. The policy contains regulations of
managing the licenses.
• One of the main users is assigned as a license server administrator. The administrator
installs the license server and informs the other users of the host name and port number of
the server. The license server administrator also performs other server maintenance duties.
• One user travels often and needs Tekla Structures on the journeys. A license server is
installed separately on the user’s computer, so the user does not need to borrow a license or
use a VPN connection for offline usage of Tekla Structures.
• Other users borrow licenses from the license server when they need to use Tekla Structures
offline.

62 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Management of license usage
Fifty users using Tekla Structures
There are fifty Tekla Structures users in two separate offices. The both offices have their own
license servers.
• The both offices have assigned license server administrators. The license server
administrators install the license servers and perform server maintenance duties.
• The company has an internal policy of using licenses. The policy contains, for example,
the rules that define who are allowed to borrow licenses.
• Because the amount of Tekla Structures users is large, the license server administrators
create options files to control access rights for different licenses.
• Only a couple of users need to use Tekla Structures offline. The license server
administrators modify the option files to enable the license borrowing only for the users
who need to borrow licenses.
• If one server crashes, the users can connect to the other license server. If there are available
licenses on the license server, the users can use the licenses.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 63
Management of license usage
64 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Management of license usage
 11 Troubleshooting

This chapter provides solutions to common errors encountered in installing and maintaining
the Tekla Structures license server.

11.1 Common problems

This section provides solutions to common problems encountered in the following actions:
• License server installation (p. 66)
• License activation (p. 66)
• License borrowing (p. 69)
• License deactivation (p. 72)
• License general usage (p. 73)
• LMTOOLS usage (p. 74)
• Starting Tekla Structures (p. 76)
• Options file usage (p. 78)
• Allowing Tekla Structures license server to operate through firewall (p. 81)
• License repairing (p. 92).

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 65
Troubleshooting
License server installation
Case

Problem: License server installation fails.

Reason: You have an older version of the license server installed.
Solution: Unistall the old version and then install the new version of the license server.

Case

Problem: License server installation fails.

Reason: You have a newer version the license server installed.
Solution: You should not install an old version of the license server. Check the latest available
license server release on Tekla Extranet.

Case Problem: License server installation does not finish (no error message).
Reason: Another software using the FLEXnet licensing system is running on the computer.
Solution: Stop all the licensing services in LMTOOLS, then install the Tekla Structures license
server and restart the licensing services you stopped earlier.

License activation
Case

Problem: License activation fails.

Reason: You do not have a connection to the activation server.
Solution: There are several things you need to check:

66 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Troubleshooting
 • Check that your Internet connection is working. An Internet connection is needed during
license activation and deactivation. A low connection speed may also cause errors.
• Your firewall may block the activation communication. Check your firewall settings. For
more information, see IT resources check list (p. 8).
• Your Windows login user name may contain special characters. Try to log in with another
user name, for example, administrator.
If the problem still persists, contact your local Tekla Structures helpdesk for a manual
activation workaround.

Case

Problem: License activation fails and the following message is displayed: "Unable to activate
more licenses than you are entitled to." However, there are free licenses available according to
Tekla Structures License Administration Tool.
Reason: There are a couple of possible reasons for the problem:
• There may be activated licenses on another computer. You cannot activate more licenses
than you are entitled to.
• You tried to activate a renewed temporary license or a permanent license without
deactivating the previous temporary license.
Solution: There are two possible solutions:
• Deactivate a license on another computer and then activate the license on your computer.
• Deactivate the existing temporary license and then activate the succeeding linked license.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 67
Troubleshooting
Case

Problem: The amount of activated licenses in Tekla Structures License Administration Tool
and LMTOOLS does not match.
Reason: The licensing service is not updated.
Solution: Reread the license file in LMTOOLS. To do that, open LMTOOLS, go to the Start/
Stop/Reread tab and click ReRead License File.
If you are connected to several license servers, rereading the license file may not work. In that
case, you need to stop the license server and then restart it.

To avoid the problem in the future, make sure the license server is
automatically notified when you activate, deactivate, or repair licenses.
To enable the automatic notification functionality in Tekla Structures
License Administration Tool, go to Actions and select Notify Server.

Case

Problem: License activation fails, and the following message is displayed: "Only deployed line
item can be fulfilled".
Reason: You are trying to activate an obsolete license.
Solution: You should have received a new entitlement certificate from your local Tekla
Structures reseller. Try the activation again with the new entitlement certificate, and move the
old obsolete entitlement certificate in the Archive folder.

68 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Troubleshooting
Case

Problem: The activated licenses are not visible and it is not possible to activate new licenses.
The following message is displayed: "Error fetching activated licenses. Initialization of API
failed."
Reason: The installation package has failed to initialize or register some of the software
components.
Solution:
1. Close License Administration Tool.
2. Stop Tekla Structures license server and other license servers on the same computer on the
LMTOOLS > Start/Stop/Reread tab. For more information, see Stopping the license
server (p. 30).
3. Go to ..\TeklaStructures\License\Server folder.
4. Double-click installanchorservice.exe.
5. Start Tekla Structures license server and other license servers on the same computer on the
LMTOOLS > Start/Stop/Reread tab.
Open License Administration Tool. The message should not be displayed anymore.

License borrowing
Case Problem: Unable to select a date from the calendar in the Borrow Until box.
Reason: The maximum borrowing period is one month.
Solution: Select a date that is within one month from the date of borrowing.

Case

Problem: License borrowing fails.

Reason: You are not connected to the license server.
Solution: There are several things you need to check:
• Check that your network connection is working.
• Restart Tekla Structures License Borrow Tool and check that you have entered the
correct license server information in the Borrow from License Server dialog box.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 69
Troubleshooting
Case

Problem: License borrowing fails.

Reason: You tried to borrow a license that is not activated on the license server.
Solution: There are several things you need to check:
• Check that your exported product ID file is up to date. If not, export a new product ID file
in Tekla Structures License Administration Tool and use the file for borrowing.
• Check that your license information is up to date in LMTOOLS. If not, reread the license
file.

Case

Problem: License borrowing fails.

Reason: You are not allowed to borrow the license.
Solution: Do one of the following:
• Modify the options file to allow the borrowing of the license.
• Borrow another license.

Case

Problem: License borrowing fails.

Reason: The options file is in use but an exported product ID file is not used for license
borrowing.
Solution: Do one of the following:
• Export an product ID file in Tekla Structures License Administration Tool and use the
file for borrowing.

70 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Troubleshooting
 • Disable the options file. To disable the options file, open the tekla.opt file with a text
editor and type # in the beginning of each row. Then save the changes and reread the
license file in LMTOOLS.

Case

Problem: License borrowing fails.

Reason: The INCLUDE keyword in the options file prevents the borrowing of the
configuration.
Solution: You need to add a dummy user into the group of the included users to enable the
borrowing. Do the following:
1. Open tekla.opt using a text editor.
2. Add “ACTIVATED LICENSE(S)” in the group of the included users, for example:
GROUP steel “ACTIVATED LICENSE(S)” user1 user2 user3 user4
INCLUDE STD-C GROUP steel
3. Save the changes in tekla.opt.
4. In LMTOOLS, stop the server, restart the server, and reread the license file.

Case

Problem: License returning fails.

Reason: You tried to return the license to a different license server where it was borrowed
from.
Solution: You need to return the license to the same license server where it was borrowed
from. Do the following:
1. Restart Tekla Structures License Borrow Tool.
2. In the Borrow from License Server dialog box, type the name of the license server where
you originally borrowed the license from. Click OK.
3. Return the license.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 71
Troubleshooting
License deactivation
Case

Problem: License deactivation fails.

Reason: You do not have a connection to the activation server.
Solution: There are several things you need to check:
• Check that your Internet connection is working. An Internet connection is needed during
license activation and deactivation. A low connection speed may also cause errors.
• Your firewall may block the activation communication. Check your firewall settings. For
more information, see IT resources check list (p. 8).
If the problem still persists, contact your local Tekla Structures helpdesk for a manual
activation workaround.

Case

Problem: Unable to select a license for deactivation.

Reason: You cannot select a license for deactivation if the license is borrowed.
Solution: Return the license and then deactivate the license.

Case

Problem: License deactivation fails.

Reason: You have deactivated the license too many times in a 30 days period.
Solution: You can deactivate the license again when 30 days have passed since the first
deactivation of the license in the time period. The number of deactivations of a license within a
given time period is limited due to technical and security reasons.

72 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Troubleshooting
Case

Problem: License activation fails, and the following message is displayed: "Only deployed line
item can be fulfilled".
Reason: You are trying to activate an obsolete license.
Solution:You should have received a new entitlement certificate from your local Tekla
Structures reseller. Try the activation again with the new entitlement certificate, and move the
old obsolete entitlement certificate in the Archive folder.

License general usage

Case

Problem: A license cannot be used.

Reason: The Restore trust status of your license is not trusted. Your backup system may have
overwritten some licensing information.
Solution: You need to repair the license. For more information, see License repairing (p. 92).

We recommend that you configure your system backup settings so that

the existing licensing software, tools and files are not automatically
overwritten or replaced with the restored ones.

Case

Problem: A license cannot be used.

Reason: The Host trust status of your license is not trusted. Hardware setup of your server
computer has changed radically.
Solution: You need to repair the license. For more information, see License repairing (p. 92).

We recommend that you run your license server on a proper server

computer that is regularly maintained. You need to deactivate your
licenses before performing any maintenance actions on your server
computer. However, unnecessary deactivations should be avoided due to
technical and security reasons.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 73
Troubleshooting
Case

Problem: A license cannot be used.

Reason: The Time trust status of your license is not trusted. Time settings of your server
computer have changed radically.
Solution: You need to repair the license. For more information, see License repairing (p. 92).

Do not manipulate system clock settings of your server computer.

LMTOOLS usage
Case Problem: Rereading the license file does not take effect.
Reason: Rereading the license file does not work if you are running a licensing service locally
on your laptop and you are connected to another license server at the same time.
Solution: You need to stop and restart the licensing service. Do the following:
1. Open LMTOOLS and go to the Start/Stop/Reread tab.
2. Click Stop Server and wait a few seconds for the service to stop.
3. Click Start Server.

Case

Problem:LMTOOLS is unable to stop the license server.

Reason: You may have selected an incorrect licensing service.
Solution: You need to select Tekla Structures Licensing Service as the licensing service. Do
the following:
1. Open LMTOOLS and go to the Config Services tab.

74 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Troubleshooting
 2. Select Tekla Structures Licensing Service in the Service Name box.
3. Go to the Start/Stop/Reread tab and click Stop Server.

Case Problem:LMTOOLS is unable to stop the license server.

Reason: You did not run LMTOOLS with administrator rights.
Solution: Run LMTOOLS with administrator rights. For more information, see Running
applications with administrator rights (p. 9).

Case

Problem: Starting or stopping the server or rereading the license file cannot be performed.
Reason: You have not selected the licensing service.
Solution: You need to select Tekla Structures Licensing Service as the licensing service. Do
the following:
1. Open LMTOOLS and go to the Config Services tab.
2. Select Tekla Structures Licensing Service in the Service Name box.

Case

Problem: Starting or stopping the server or rereading the license file cannot be performed. The
status list in LMTOOLS indicates that the license server manager (lmgrd) has no been started.
Reason:LMTOOLS points to the wrong lmgrd.
Solution: You need to modify the settings in LMTOOLS. Do the following:
1. Open LMTOOLS and go to the Config Services tab.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 75
Troubleshooting
 2. Select Tekla Structures Licensing Service in the Service Name box.
3. Click Browse to locate the lmgrd.exe file. By default, the file is installed in the
..\TeklaStructures\License\Server folder.
4. Click Save Service.
5. Go to the Start/Stop/Reread tab and click Stop Server.
6. Click Start Server to restart the server. The changes come into effect.

Case

Problem:LMTOOLS does not show the licensing service status.

Reason: You are trying to perform a status enquiry of a licensing service that is not running.
Solution: You need to start Tekla Structures Licensing Service. Do the following:
1. Open LMTOOLS and go to the Start/Stop/Reread tab.
2. Check that Tekla Structures Licensing Service is selected and click Start Server.

Starting Tekla Structures

Case

Problem:Tekla Structures does not start.

Reason: You are not connected to the license server.
Solution: There are several things you need to check:
• Check that your network connection is working.
• Check that you have typed the license server name correctly.
If you are using Tekla Structures 14.0 or a later version, see Starting Tekla Structures
with FLEXnet licensing (p. 21) for more information.
If you are using Tekla Structures 12 or 13, see Starting Tekla Structures 12 and 13 with
FLEXnet licensing (p. 23) for more information.
• Check that license information in LMTOOLS is correct. If not, reread the license file in
LMTOOLS and try to start Tekla Structures again.

76 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Troubleshooting
Case

Problem:Tekla Structures does not start.

Reason: Your license server may not be up to date.
Solution: Update the status of your license server. Do the following:
1. Start LMTOOLS with administrator rights.
2. Go to the Start/Stop/Reread tab.
3. Click Stop Server and wait a couple of seconds.
4. Click Start Server.
5. Start Tekla Structures.
If the problem still persists, contact your local Tekla Structures helpdesk with a copy of the
tekla_debug.log file.

Case

Problem:Tekla Structures occasionally does not start.

Reason: There may be communication problems between your license server and Tekla
Structures user computers if the port of the license server is not defined.
Solution: Define the port for the license server. Do the following:
1. Stop the license server in LMTOOLS.
2. On the server computer, define a free port for the license server in the tekla.lic file.
For more information, see Setting the TCP/IP port manually (p. 16).
3. Restart the license server in LMTOOLS.
4. Start Tekla Structures on a user computer.
5. In Tekla Structures, click Tools > Change License Server.... Define the port and host
name of the license server.
6. Close Tekla Structures.
7. Repeat steps 4 to 6 on all Tekla Structures user computers.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 77
Troubleshooting
Options file usage
Case Problem: The tekla.opt file does not take effect.
Reason: The licensing service has not read the options file.
Solution: Do the following:
1. Open LMTOOLS, go to the Start/Stop/Reread tab and click ReRead License File.
2. Open the ..\TeklaStructures\License\Server folder and open the
tekla_debug.log file and the tekla.opt file with a text editor.
3. Check that the tekla_debug.log file contains the same keyword syntaxes as the
tekla.opt file.

11.2 Configuring Tekla Structures license server man-

ually
If you encounter problems during the Tekla Structures license server installation, it is possible
that the license server does not start automatically. Then you need to configure the license
server settings manually. To configure the settings:
1. With administrator rights, click Start > All Programs > Tekla Structures Licensing >
LMTOOLS.
2. Go to the Service/License File tab.
3. Select Configuration using Services.
4. Go to the Config Services tab.
5. Click the Service Name field and type the name of the service. For example, Tekla
Structures Licensing Service.
6. Click the Browse buttons to locate the lmgrd.exe, tekla.lic and
tekla_debug.log files. By default, the lmgrd.exe and tekla.lic files are
installed in the C:\TeklaStructures\License\Server folder and the
tekla_debug.log in the +C:\TeklaStructures\License\Server folder.

78 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Troubleshooting
7. Select the Use Services checkbox to run the licensing service as a Windows service.
8. Select the Start Server at Power Up checkbox to start the licensing service
automatically after powering up the computer.
9. Click Save Service to save the settings.

10. Go to the Utilities tab.

11. Type tekla (all letters lowercase) in the Vendor Name field.
12. Type the name of the license server in the Path field.
If you run the license server and Tekla Structures on the same computer, type
@localhost. You can also type the TCP/IP port, for example, 27001@localhost.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 79
Troubleshooting
 If you run the license server and Tekla Structures on separate computers, type the host
name of the license server, for example, @server_host_name. You can also type the
TCP/IP port of the license server, for example, 27001@server_host_name.
You can also enter several license servers. Separate the server names with a semicolon.
For example, 27001@server_host_name;27001@localhost.
13. Click Override Path.

14. Go to the Start/Stop/Reread tab.

15. Click Start Server.

The status bar should display that server start was successful.
16. Go to the Server Status tab.

80 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Troubleshooting
 17. Click Perform Status Enquiry.

In the status list, the line License server status displays the TCP/IP port and host name
of the license server. The list should indicate that license server is up and vendor daemon
tekla is up. The list also displays all the activated licenses on the server.

11.3 Allowing Tekla Structures license server to oper-

ate through firewall
When you set up Tekla Structures license server in your network, you may also need to
configure the firewall or antivirus settings.
The internal firewall of your company (for example, Windows Firewall) must allow the
communication between the server computer and the computers with Tekla Structures. You
must allow the applications tekla.exe and lmgrd.exe to operate through the firewall.
Allowing exceptions for lmgrd.exe and tekla.exe (p. 81) and Allowing traffic in fixed TCP/
IP ports (p. 87) give information on how to modify the firewall settings so that the firewall
allows Tekla Structures licensing traffic. The information given here applies to Windows
Firewall as well as to other vendors’ firewalls.
In addition to allowing the exceptions for your actual firewall, you may need to configure
exceptions for Windows Firewall. Windows Firewall may be set on without you being aware of
it, since some Windows updates may automatically turn on the Windows Firewall.

Allowing exceptions for lmgrd.exe and tekla.exe

To allow exceptions for lmgrd.exe and tekla.exe:
1. On your server computer, go to Start > Control Panel > Windows Firewall.
2. On the General tab, make sure that you have not selected the Don’t allow exceptions
check box.
If you have selected the check box, the modifications do not take effect.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 81
Troubleshooting
 3. On the Exceptions tab, click Add Program… to open the Add a Program dialog box.

82 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Troubleshooting
4. In the Add a Program dialog box, click Browse… and browse for your Server folder.
By default, the path is ...\TeklaStructures\License\Server.
5. In the Server folder, select lmgrd.exe.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 83
Troubleshooting
 6. Click Open to add lmgrd.exe to the program list in the Add a Program dialog box.
7. In the Add a Program dialog box, select lmgrd.exe and click OK.

The lmgrd.exe application appears to the list of exceptions.

84 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Troubleshooting
8. To allow the exceptions also for tekla.exe, repeat the steps 3 – 7:
• On the Exceptions tab, click Add a Program.
• Browse for tekla.exe.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 85
Troubleshooting
 • Select tekla.exe to add it to the program list.
• In the Add a Program dialog box, select tekla.exe to make it appear on the list
of exceptions.
9. Click OK to confirm the changes.

86 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Troubleshooting
Allowing traffic in fixed TCP/IP ports
To allow traffic in fixed TCP/IP ports:
1. Make sure that some other software or service does not use the ports that you are about
to set fixed.
Use the command line command netstat to find out which ports are in use.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 87
Troubleshooting
 2. On the server compute, browse for tekla.lic, and open it using a text editor.
By default, the path is ..\TeklaStructures\License\Server.
3. To set a fixed port for lmgrd.exe, type the TCP/IP port number at the end of the
SERVER row.

The port number can be any free port in the range of 1024 - 64000.
Flexera Software recommends using ports in the range of 27000 - 27009.

4. Type the text port=free_port at the end of the VENDOR row, for example,
port=1234.

88 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Troubleshooting
 Defining the TCP/IP port number on the VENDOR row may slow down
Tekla Structures start-up.

5. Save the changes and close tekla.lic.

6. To update your license server with the changes, go to the Start/Stop/Reread tab in
LMTOOLS.
a Click Stop Server.
b Click Start Server.

7. On your server computer, go to Start > Control Panel > Windows Firewall.
8. On the General tab, make sure that you have not selected the Don’t allow exceptions
check box.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 89
Troubleshooting
 If you have selected the check box, the modifications do not take effect.
9. On the Exceptions tab, click Add Port… to open the Add a Port dialog box.

10. In the Add a Port dialog box:

• In the Name field, type lmgrd.
• In the Port field, type the TCP/IP port number that you set in step 3.

90 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Troubleshooting
11. Click OK to confirm the changes.
lmgrd is added to the list of exceptions.
12. On the Exceptions tab, click again Add Port... to open the Add a Port dialog box.
13. In the Add a Port dialog box:
• In the Name field, type tekla.
• In the Port field, type the TCP/IP port number that you set in step 4.
14. Click OK to confirm the changes.
tekla is added to the list of exceptions.
15. Click OK to confirm the modifications.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 91
Troubleshooting
11.4 License repairing
If your licenses have become untrusted or disabled, you need to repair them.

License status is The Restore trust status of your license is not trusted:
untrusted

The Host trust status of your license is not trusted:

The Time trust status of your license is not trusted:

92 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Troubleshooting
License is
disabled

Repairing the license

To repair a license:
1. Click Start > All Programs > Tekla Structures Licensing > Tekla Structures License
Administration Tool.
Tekla Structures License Administration Tool opens. The Activated Licenses area
displays the activated licenses.
2. Go to Actions > Repair.

The license server contacts the activation server at Tekla. After successful repairing the
Tekla Structures License Administration Tool dialog box is updated.

Because of technical and security reasons, you can repair a license only a
limited number of times. Therefore it is important that you inform your
local Tekla Structures reseller about the license repairs you have been
performing, and keep count of the repairs.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 93
Troubleshooting
94 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Troubleshooting
12 Glossary

Activation-based licensing

Activation-based licensing differs from license file-based licensing. Hardware locks and
password files are not needed in activation-based licensing.
In an activation-based licensing system you need to activate your licenses to transfer the
license rights from Tekla to your license server. The activation enables you to use the
licenses.

Activation ID

A key that enables the transferring of license rights. Every license has an activation ID.
Activation IDs are displayed in the entitlement certificate.

Activation server

The activation server at Tekla contains the license rights. When you activate your
licenses, your license server contacts the activation server at Tekla and the license rights
are transferred to your license server.

Configuration

Configuration is a software set-up for a specific user group. Tekla Structures

encompasses several configurations, for example, Steel Detailing, Precast Concrete
Detailing, and Viewer.

Entitlement certificate

Entitlement certificate contains all the licenses you are entitled to use, and the activation
IDs for the licenses.

Expiration date

There are two types of expiration dates:

• Borrow expiration date is the date when the borrowed license returns to the license
server it was borrowed from. The borrower sets the expiration date for borrowing.
• Temporary license expiration date is the date when the temporary license expires.

FLEXnet Publisher License Management

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 95
Glossary
 The licensing program provided by Flexera Software. The FLEXnet licensing system is
a completely floating activation-based licensing system.

Host name

The unique name by which a computer or a server is known on a network.

IP (Internet Protocol) address

A numerical code that identifies a particular computer on the Internet.

License activation

License activation transfers the license rights from Tekla to your license server and
enables you to use the licenses. Internet connection is required during the activation.

License borrowing

You can borrow licenses for offline usage of Tekla Structures. The licenses are borrowed
from the license server to your computer, and nobody else can use the borrowed
licenses.

License deactivation

License deactivation transfers the license rights from your license server back to Tekla.
You need to deactivate licenses if you have activated too many or wrong configurations.
You also need to deactivate temporary licenses before activating permanent licenses.
Rehosting the license server, major hardware changes of the server computer and
formatting the server computer also require license deactivation.

License return

You can return the borrowed license back to the license server before the borrowing
expires. If you do not return the license, it automatically returns back to the license
server at the expiration date.

License server administrator

A person assigned to set up and configure the license server. The license server
administrator also monitors license usage and informs the Tekla Structures users about
the license usage policy of the company.

Options file

License server administrator can create an options file to manage license access rights.
For example, the license server administrator can allow or deny the use of certain
configurations for certain users.

Renewal

An extended usage period of a temporary license. For example, a change in an

expiration date from 31st January to 31st March. Before you activate a new temporary
license you need to deactivate the old temporary license.

TCP/IP port

An application-specific software construct serving as a communications endpoint used

by the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). A specific port is identified by its number
(commonly known as the port number).

Trusted Storage

96 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16
Glossary
 An encrypted file where your license information is stored.

Trust status

A trust status indicates whether a license is trusted or not trusted. A license that is not
trusted cannot be used.

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 97
Glossary
Index

a firewalls
exceptions .............................................................81
lmgrd.exe...............................................................81
accessing tekla.exe ................................................................81
help .................................................................18, 36 FLEXnet
activating overview ..................................................................7
licenses ................................................................. 18 starting Tekla Structures .......................................21
starting Tekla Structures 12 and 13 ......................23

b h
borrowing
licenses ...........................................................33, 37 help
accessing ....................................................... 18, 36

c i
configuration list ........................................................... 57
installation
license server ........................................................11
d installing
license server ........................................................11

deactivating
licenses ................................................................. 30 l
e language
selecting ......................................................... 18, 35
license repairing ...........................................................92
entitlement certificate license server ...............................................................13
saving.................................................................... 16 administrator............................................................9
exporting checking status......................................................25
product ID file ........................................................ 34 configuring manually .............................................78
firewall ...................................................................81
f installation .............................................................11
installing ................................................................11
manually notifiying about activated licenses..........18
firewall .......................................................................... 87 overview ..................................................................7
exceptions ............................................................. 81 stopping.................................................................30
license server ........................................................ 81 switching from hardware lock to FLEXnet .............23
license service installation ............................................11

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 98
licenses
activating ............................................................... 18 n
borrowing ........................................................33, 37
deactivating ........................................................... 30 notification ....................................................................17
deactivation ........................................................... 29 notifying license server .................................................17
examples of managing .......................................... 60
information on Tekla Structures License Administra-
tion Tool ......................................................... 26 o
information on Tekla Structures License Borrow Tool
37
management ......................................................... 59 opening
managing access rights ........................................ 55 product ID file ........................................................36
repairing ................................................................ 93 options file
returning ................................................................ 38 examples of definitions..........................................58
licensing service keyword list............................................................56
manual installation ................................................ 13 modifying ...............................................................55
lmgrd.exe...................................................................... 81
LMTOOLS .................................................................... 41
Borrowing tab ........................................................ 54
p
checking license server status .............................. 25
Config Services tab ............................................... 53 product ID file ...............................................................33
configuring license server manually ...................... 78 default....................................................................33
license server information ..................................... 49 exporting................................................................34
manally notifying about activated licenses ............ 18 opening..................................................................36
Server Diags tab ................................................... 51
Server Status tab .................................................. 48
Service/License File tab ........................................ 42 r
Start/Stop/Reread tab ........................................... 46
stopping license server ......................................... 30
repairing
subentry ................................................................ 50
licenses .................................................................93
System Settings tab .............................................. 43
returning
troubleshooting...................................................... 74
licenses .................................................................38
Utilities tab............................................................. 44

m s
saving
management
entitlement certificate ............................................16
license usage ........................................................ 59
selecting
managing
language......................................................... 18, 35
license access rights ............................................. 55
setting
manual installation
TCP/IP port............................................................16
licensing service.................................................... 13
starting
modifiying
Tekla Structures 12 and 13 with FLEXnet
license server installation ...................................... 15
licensing ................................................................23
modifying
Tekla Structures License Administration Tool .......17
license file ............................................................. 15
Tekla Structures License Borrow Tool...................34
options file ............................................................. 55
Tekla Structures with FLEXnet licensing...............21
stopping
license server ........................................................30
switching
from hardware lock to FLEXnet licensing..............23

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 99
t tekla.exe........................................................................81
traffic
TCP/IP ports ..........................................................87
TCP/IP port troubleshooting .............................................................65
setting ....................................................................16 common problems .................................................65
Tekla Structures License Administration Tool license activation ...................................................66
activating licenses .................................................18 license borrowing...................................................69
deactivating licenses .............................................30 license deactivation ...............................................72
exporting product ID file.........................................34 license server installation.......................................66
license information.................................................26 LMTOOLS usage...................................................74
product ID file ........................................................33 options file usage...................................................78
repairing licenses...................................................93 starting Tekla Structures........................................76
starting...................................................................17
Tekla Structures License Borrow Tool
borrowing licenses.................................................37
u
license information.................................................37
opening product ID file...........................................36 using
product ID file ........................................................33 default product ID file.............................................33
returning licenses ..................................................38
starting...................................................................34

100 TEKLA STRUCTURES 16

TEKLA STRUCTURES 16 101