Blog SOLIDWORKS Network Licensing: Installing/Upgrading the SOLIDWORKS SolidNetWork License Manager on the Server
Our technical support department often gets questions from customers regarding installing and upgrading processes. Depending on the situation, this can be an extensive support case. This blog is going to take you through the entire process and instructions for installing/upgrading the SOLIDWORKS SolidNetWork license manager on the server.
Before installing, upgrading, or reinstalling the SOLIDWORKS SolidNetWork License Server, you must first check the system requirements and review the “SOLIDWORKS Network License Server section. Now let’s get started.
If you do not have older versions of the SolidNetWork license manager installed, then you can skip steps 1 through 3.
Step 1: Verify that no clients are running
From either the server or a client machine, select the Windows Start button, and locate and open either the SolidNetWork License Manager Client or the SolidNetWork License Manager Server (this might be located in either a yellow folder named “SOLIDWORKS Tools <version>” or a yellow folder named “SOLIDWORKS <version>”).
Select the “License Usage” tab. Next to “Product”, select “SOLIDWORKS Standard”, and confirm that “Licenses used by” does not list any clients.
Step 2: Deactivate the license
From the server, select the Windows Start button, and locate and open the SolidNetWork License Manager Server. From the Server Administration tab, select “Modify…”, select “Move your product license(s) to a new/upgraded computer” (or “Transfer a software license”), and select ‘Next’.
“Select All”, and click through the subsequent screens that appear in order to move the license off of the machine.
Step 3: Uninstall the old SolidNetWork license manager
From the server, select the Server Administration tab in the SolidNetWork License Manager, select Stop (to stop the License Server), and then select OK.
From the server, go to Programs and Features in the Control Panel, select SOLIDWORKS SolidNetWork License Manager, select Uninstall, and confirm the intent to uninstall.
From the server, go to Windows Explorer (File Explorer), and find and delete the “[SolidWorks] SolidNetWork License Manager” folder (typical location is C:Program Files (x86)SOLIDWORKS Corp SolidNetWork License Manager OR C:Program FilesSOLIDWORKS Corp [SolidWorks] SolidNetWork License Manager).
Step 4: Install the new SolidNetWork License Manager
On the server, insert the SOLIDWORKS <new version> DVD.
(If you don’t have the DVD: Log into the SOLIDWORKS customer portal, select “Downloads and Updates”, next to “Select Version”, select the product version, select the SOLIDWORKS tab, select the relevant “SOLIDWORKS Products” line item, select “Accept Agreement & Continue”, select “Download“, save the SOLIDWORKSsetup.exe file to the hard drive. Double-click on the SOLIDWORKSsetup.exe file, and select “Unzip”. Once the files have unzipped, select OK. If the Installation Manager window does not appear, then browse to the location of the unzipped files, right-click on setup.exe, and select “run as administrator”.)
If you are using the SOLIDWORKS <new version> DVD and the Installation Manager window does not appear, right-click on the DVD drive from Windows Explorer (File Explorer), select “Open” (or “Explore”), right-click on setup.exe, and select “Run as administrator”. When the Installation Manager appears, select “Server products”, place a checkmark next to “Install [or Update] SolidNetWork License Manager”, and select Next.
Fill in your SolidNetWork License serial number(s), and select Next (thus, the s/n may now be automatically checked against the SOLIDWORKS activation manager to verify entitlement and to determine what products are to be installed).
Once the “Summary” screen appears, you can select “I accept the terms of the SOLIDWORKS License Agreement”, and then select “Install Now” (or “Download and Install”). Side note: “ in some cases, you might be prompted to reboot in order for the installation process to be completed.
Once the installation is complete, open up the SolidNetWork License Manager by selecting the Windows Start button, and locating and opening the SolidNetwork License Manager Server <version> (this might be located in either a yellow folder named “SOLIDWORKS Tools <version>” or a yellow folder named “SOLIDWORKS <version>”).
If you see a “Would you like to activate now?” prompt when starting the SolidNetwork License Manager Server, then select “Yes” (if you do not see a “Would you like to activate now” prompt, then once the SOLIDWORKS SolidNetwork License Manager opens up, select the “Server Administration” tab, select “Modify”, select “Activate/Reactivate”, and select Next). Place a checkmark next to ‘A firewall is in use on this server’, enter the Computer Name (you can determine the Computer Name via Windows Explorer by right-clicking on “This PC” (or “Computer” / “My Computer”) and selecting “Properties”), enter a “Port Number” (the default port number is 25734), and select Next. Select “Automatically”, enter an email address, and select Next. Select “Finish”.
Client installation(s)
Prior to installing the software, there are a few measures that you can take to mitigate the risk of encountering download/installation issues
- – Check to see whether or not the machine meets these requirements
- – Disable the user account control: Go to Control Panel User Accounts and Family Safety {or User Accounts, if you are connected to a network domain} User Accounts. Select “Change User Account Control Settings”, slide the slider to “Never notify”, and then select OK. (Alternatively, select “Turn User Account Control on or off” {if you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, then type the password or provide confirmation, clear the “Use User Account Control” checkbox to turn off UAC, and then select OK})
- – Disable Windows Firewall: From Windows Explorer, right-click “This PC” (or “Computer” / “My Computer”) select “Manage” from the tree, expand, “Services and Applications”, and double-click on “Services”. Double-click on “Windows Firewall”. Change the Startup Type to “Disabled”, “Stop” the Service, and select OK.
- – Restart the machine; log in as Administrator
- – Disable non-supported Anti-Virus/Anti-spyware/Anti-malware software.
Insert the SOLIDWORKS <new version> DVD
(alternative: if you do not have the DVD, then you could try the following: Log into the SOLIDWORKS Customer Portal, select “Downloads and Updates”, next to “Select Version”, select the product version, select the SOLIDWORKS tab, select the relevant “SOLIDWORKS Products” line item, select “Accept Agreement & Continue”, select “Download“, save the SOLIDWORKSsetup.exe file to the hard drive. Double-click on the SOLIDWORKSsetup.exe file, and select “Unzip”. Once the files have unzipped, select OK. If the Installation Manager window does not appear, then browse to the location of the unzipped files, right-click on setup.exe, and select “Run as administrator”).
If you are using the SOLIDWORKS <new version> DVD and the Installation Manager window does not appear, then right-click on the DVD drive from Windows Explorer, select “Open” (or “Explore”), right-click on setup.exe, and select “Run as administrator”. After the Installation Manager appears, proceed through the Installation Manager screens in order to initiate the installation (if asked whether or not you want SOLIDWORKS to check for updates, then choose the option to install from the DVD without checking for updates).
Typical selections for installation on a client machine are as follows:
- – “Individual (on this computer)”; select Next.
- – Enter your serial number(s); select Next.
- – “Create a new installation of SOLIDWORKS <version>”; select Next.
After SOLIDWORKS is installed, you can check for up-to-date service packs by opening SOLIDWORKS and going to Help “Check for Updates”.
Re-enable the antivirus/antimalware/antispyware software, and Windows Firewall.
Restart the machine.
And there you have it. hope you found this tip helpful. You can find more tips & tricks listed below.
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About the Author
Jonathan M. Sauerbrey is a Senior Support Engineer based out of our office in West Warwick, Rhode Island. Jonathan holds several SOLIDWORKS certifications including Mechanical Design, Simulation, Data Management, Electrical, and more. He has been part of the Fisher Unitech team since 2011.