Obtain and install a license file

Decide if you need a new license file

Generate a new license file for your network server in these situations:

• Purchasing or renewing a license subscription.
• Adding seats for a network license product.
• Adding new products to your network license server.
• Adding licenses to a new version of a network license product.
• Changing your network license server.
• Changing details of your network license server configuration.

Collect license server information

To generate a license file, you need the following information:

• For a single server model, the server host name and physical address
• For a redundant server model, the server host names and physical addresses of the master server and the two backup servers
• For a distributed server model:
  • The number of servers
  • The host name and physical address of all servers
  • The number of seats on each server

For Windows servers, you can run the LMTOOLS utility that comes with NLM to find the host name. For macOS or Linux servers, use Terminal commands to find the host name.

Generate a license file

When you purchase new seats of Autodesk software, each seat is usually related to an Autodesk Account. In some cases, Autodesk sends you a serial number and product key, which you use to generate a license file. (You can also find this information in your Autodesk Account.)

To generate a network license from Autodesk Account, you must be an account administrator or a contract manager or software coordinator. You must also have a subscription with multi-user access for the product requiring the network license. Follow these steps to generate a license file from your Autodesk account:

1. Sign in to your account at manage.autodesk.com.
2. Locate your software title on the Products & Services page.
3. Set the license type filter to Network to see only multi-user licenses.
4. Select Generate Network License File from the pop-up menu for the product.
5. On the Generate Network License File dialog, select the license server model (single, redundant, or distributed) for your network.
6. Enter the server name and MAC address or addresses of your servers.
7. Select the product licenses available to your servers.
8. If you're using a distributed server model, allocate the available number of seats for each product on each server.
9. Click Get License File to generate your license files.

Save the license file

When you have your license file, save it in the folder where you installed NLM. You can choose any license filename, but use the extension .lic. Here are examples of license file locations for different operating systems:

Windows: C:\Autodesk\Network License Manager\Licenses

macOS: /Users/<user>/local/flexnetserver

Linux: /opt/flexnetserver

Confirm license file accuracy

After saving your license file, confirm that it contains the correct information. Your license file works only on a computer that has the physical address you provided when you obtained the license.

1. Open the license file. For Windows, use Notepad. For macOS, use TextEdit. For Linux, use a comparable text editor. Do not use Microsoft Word or another word-processing program. These programs can introduce formatting errors or modify the file.
2. Verify that the physical address matches the address of your server. The first line of the license file, beginning with SERVER, shows your host name and physical address. If they do not match, request a new license file with the correct information.

Consolidated license files

If you need a consolidated license file that incorporates licenses for different products, Autodesk Account allows you to generate a combined license file for each server. The resulting license file contains seats for every network licensed product, regardless of its associated subscription plan.

If necessary, you can use a legacy process for consolidating a license file. This process involves downloading individual product license files from the Autodesk registeronce website and manually combining them into a single license file. To use this method, perform the following steps:

1. Go to https://registeronce.autodesk.com.
2. Sign in with your account username and password. (Register to create an Autodesk Account if needed.)
3. Select the account where your product is registered.
4. Select the operating system and enter your product serial number.
5. Select your network server type and provide the license server information you collected.