Network Licensing Overview
Autodesk network licensing gives you a pool of floating licenses where users are able to check out a license from the license pool upon launch of their Autodesk software. This means that you can install the software on as many workstations as you want. However, when all of the licenses from the pool are used, then no additional users will be able to open the software until someone exits the software and frees up a license. This has the most benefit when you have employees that only use Autodesk software part time, work in a large office environment and/or have multiple offices, or for a type of software that you don’t use frequently. See the following link for more information on network licensing:
Borrow Licenses
Most Autodesk products are able to borrow licenses from the network pool for any length of time up to six months. When a license is borrowed, the user’s computer does not need to be connected to the workplace network to use the software, but that license is unavailable to those in the office. This is great as a short term solution and for using Autodesk software in the field. It is recommended that you only check out licenses for the time you’ll be out of the office, not for great lengths of time. For more information on Borrowing Licenses see the following page:
Home Use License Agreement (HULA)
The home use license agreement is an option for subscription customers to get a standalone license for use at home. This is available free to subscription customers with standalone or network seats of AutoCAD and is a great long term solution. For more information on the Home Use License Agreement see the following links:
Autodesk Network Licensing Administration
Deployments
A deployment is an option for both standalone and network licenses that makes it easier to install Autodesk software. Deployments are typically silent and do not prompt the user for any information during installation. If installing Autodesk software on many computers, a deployment can greatly reduce the installation time, particularly if the installation is customized. If you are doing an out-of-the-box installation on a handful of computers, a deployment is not necessary. See the following links for more information:
- Official AutoCAD Help – Setting Up and Creating a Deployment
- CAD Masters Blog – Deployment Batch Files
Log Files
When creating the deployment, there are two types of log files that can be created:
- Client Log
- Verbose log of all installation details.
- Includes all prerequisites.
- Network Log file
- Cursory log for all users of product installation, including prerequisites.
- All entries are user and time stamped.
For more information on the log files, see the following link:
FLEXlm® Network License Manager – LM Tools
LM Tools is the main program to control Autodesk Network Licensing. For information on LMTools.exe, see the following links:
- Official Autodesk Help – Install the License Manager
- Official Autodesk Site – Upgrading the FLEXlm® Network License Manager
- Official Autodesk Site – License Manager Download
License File
Please contact CAD Masters, Inc. to obtain a license file for your software. In the long run, it usually works better if you work with us to manage your license files rather than working directly with Autodesk. To view the contents of the license file in a more reasonable format use the following Autodesk website:
Options File
The options file should be in the same directory as the license file and named adskflex.opt. It can be used for such things as controlling access to licenses, setting inactivity timeouts, or controlling borrowing. For more information on the options file, see the following link:
- Official Autodesk Help- Set Up and Use an Options File
- Official Autodesk Site – Network License Options File
Error Codes
If you are having problems with checking out licenses and receive an error code, please check the following link for a list of common error codes:
Tracking Licenses
For software that tracks network license usage over time, CAD Masters typically recommends JTB FlexReport over SAMreport-Lite. For more information on the two see the following links:
Autodesk Asset Locator (Autodesk Product Manager)
The Autodesk Asset Locator identifies all installed Autodesk software across your network. You can download the software from the following website:
