SOLIDWORKS SNL – Connecting to Multiple License Servers

A common question we get on tech support is what to do if you have multiple license servers and can a client computer have access to more than one server’s licenses?

The answer is YES. In this article, I’ll explain how to set this up as well as answer some other common questions that arise when connecting to multiple license servers.

Tech Tip: This guide will walk through setting up the client computers to connect to multiple license servers and assumes that the license servers are already activated and hosting the networked licenses.

If you need help installing or upgrading your server computers check out our blog here.

To troubleshoot connectivity issues with your servers check out our blog here.

And if you are moving an existing server to a different server computer, we also have a step by step guide here.

To add or change which server(s) the client computer is looking for; on each client computer, you will need to launch the SolidNetWork License Manager Clientfound either by searching SolidNetWork License Manager Client 20XXor under All Programs > SOLIDWORKS 20XX > SOLIDWORKS TOOLS > SolidNetWork License Manager Client 20XX.

Once launched, go to the Server List tab and hit Add to add your server location by typing in port@servername, ex. “25734@servercomputername”.

Tech Tip: If you receive the error message below that the license server is not reachable, the server computer is either 1) Not spelled correctly 2) Not activated yet or 3) There is a Firewall/Antivirus or IT issue that is blocking communication which you can troubleshoot with the help of the blog here.

Once the server location(s) is added, the Client License Manager will look to both servers for licenses when first launching SOLIDWORKS.

Some common questions that arise when accessing two or more license servers:

Q) How do I know which server will be looked at “first”?

A) The License Manager will look at the top of the list first. Server priority can be specified by changing the order of the Server List in the Client License Manager. If the server listed first does not have an available license, it will then look at the next server(s) in the list until it finds a valid license effectively pooling together all available licenses on all servers in the server list.

Q) How does “borrowing” a license work with multiple license servers?

A) Licenses listed for borrowing will only appear from the first server in the list. This means users can only borrow from one server at a time.

Q) Is it possible to specify which level of license (ie. Pro, Premium) to use when launching SOLIDWORKS?

A) Yes. This works by changing the order of licenses under the License Order tab of the Client License Manager. The level of license will look at the top of the list first.

Q) Is it possible to reserve certain licenses for specific users or groups?

A) Yes. This is achieved via an Options file that is deployed on the server machine. You can find more information on the topic of Options files here.

If you still have questions about using multiple license servers or your specific scenario isn’t listed, don’t hesitate to contact us on support and we’ll help get you up and running.

Jordan Puentes
Application Engineer
Computer Aided Technology, Inc.