Up and Ready

Network performance issue when using SMB Ver. 2

Autodesk identified an issue when in a specific scenario, the Sheet Set Manager is using DWG files stored in a Windows 2008 R2 server with SMB V2 active.

As soon we open a Sheet Set from the server, Process Explorer shows that the process AdcomFolderWatch.dll uses until 50% CPU utilization, and the Network traffic goes up and stays at ~5 Mbps, even after closing all drawings in AutoCAD).

This issue only affects the systems having SMB Ver.2 active, like Windows 2008 Server R2.

The Autodesk development team has been informed. For the time being, the only way to avoid it is to enable SMB 1. See How to Disable SMB 2.0 on Windows Vista/2008

I will update this post as soon a fix will be available for this problem.

A fix has been released for this issue. AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT 2012 SP1 SMB V2 Hotfix

Network: Autodesk online services through proxy server with SecureNAT client

We have discussed the issues with proxy server and Autodesk's online cloud services here.

There were few reported issues when "secureNAT" client is in use, these services don't work even with the work around mentioned in the link.

The issue is due to the ISA Firewall service performing reverse DNS name resolution to determine whether a rule applies for every request from SecureNAT client.

If you add Akamai hosts (*. edgekey.net & *.akamaiedge.net) to the exception lists this issue could be resolved.

Complete list of sites to have an exception rule on proxy for anonymous access would be.

*.autodesk.com

*.google-analytics.com

*.cloudfront.net

*. edgekey.net

*.akamaiedge.net

 

 

Mac: Licensing AutoCAD 2012 for Mac using a Windows network license

Using some posts in Up and Ready, we were able to confirm that Revit Architecture Suite 2012 will license AutoCAD 2012 on the Mac.

1.  Using the License Parser to confirm the contents of the file:

http://upandready.typepad.com/up_and_ready/2011/05/general-licensing-using-the-wwwlicenseparsercom-to-help-create-an-options-file.html

2.  Setting up the License Server:

http://upandready.typepad.com/up_and_ready/2011/11/quick-start-setting-up-a-license-server.html

3.  Confirming which license file the client is looking at:

http://upandready.typepad.com/up_and_ready/2011/06/general-licensing-what-license-file-or-license-server-is-a-client-computer-looking-at.html

Mac location of lmutil is at:  /usr/local/flexnetserver
Linux location of lmtil is at:  /opt/flexnetserver 

4.  Checking the Mac from my Windows computer:

http://upandready.typepad.com/up_and_ready/2011/11/mac-setting-up-vnc-to-remote-into-the-mac.html

Trouble with combining license files. Missing licenses or Multiple Suite licenses in the same file behavior

Please read following solutions regarding combining the Autodesk licenses files.

http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=TS65928

http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=TS15255311

http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=TS18016739

 

What if a feature is repeated twice in the license file and the licenses are issued the same day?

If two licenses contain an identical feature code of the previous versions, the order of the feature within the license file, determines which license is issued first.

o                     I.e.: PrDS-Premium 2012 and PrDS-Ultimate 2012 both contain the AcadM 2010 feature code. In the license file, when you combine the licenses make sure Premium is on top so that starting AcadM 2010 it will take the Premium license first.

 

AutoCAD 2012 (full) on iPad? Yes, you can.

This is just a quick post to let you know that it is possible to run several Autodesk (full) programs on the iPad. It might not be practical to use all the available features on the device but it is certainly worth to try, as an alternative to Remote Desktop.
In order to test this you will need the following:

-       An iPad (yes)
-       A Citrix XenApp (6) server with Autodesk Application published
-       The Citrix Receiver for iPad

You can find the current Citrix Ready Autodesk Applications here http://www.autodesk.com/citrix
The Citrix Receiver for iPad is available free on the iTunes AppStore (search Citrix).

 
 

 
 

 
 

 

 
 

 

 
 

 

 
 

General Licensing: Using Internet Explorer to check if the ports used for licensing are open.

Sometimes it is difficult to check if the required ports are open to the license server from the clientcomputer and/or you are not sure if the licensing service has started on the server.  You can do this quick test using the Microsoft Internet Explorer. Go to:

http://your-server-name:2080

http://your-server-name:27000

Replace:  your-server-name with your actual server name.

The default port values are below:

2080 -> adskflex port

27000 -> lmgrd port

Result in the URL should be should be similar to the following:

Wê-60Wê-60Wê-60Wê-60Wê-60Wê-60

If you get no response or unable to connect message, it means the license service is either not running or there is a firewall blocking the communication to the port.

NOTE:  This will not work in Firefox, Chrome or Safari.

See also:

http://upandready.typepad.com/up_and_ready/2011/06/telnet-to-port.html

 

General Licensing: Using the www.licenseparser.com to help create an options file

The license parser is a website that will parse out your network license file into plain english!

The Product Support Team has been using the license parser website for about a year and as far as I am concerned, it's a fully functional beta website.

So what else is it good for?  You can use it to help you create your options file!

The basics for setting up an options file for licensing can be found here:

http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=TS1055247

Another useful Technical Solution (TS)  is here:  

http://usa.autodesk.com/getdoc/id=TS13944136

Basically, when creating an options file, you do not require the Package part of the license file. It only requires the Components part of the license file.

 

 

Here is a sample adskflex.opt file that means that Revit Structure Suite 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009 can only be borrowed for 144 hours.

MAX_BORROW_HOURS 85792REVSU_2012_0F 144
MAX_BORROW_HOURS 85594REVSU_2011_0F 144
MAX_BORROW_HOURS 74000REVSU_2010_0F 144
MAX_BORROW_HOURS 61000REVSU_2009_0F 144

You can then use Google to convert hours to days via search.

 

Illegal server host name

When configuring a network deployment for Autodesk software, if the license server name has more that 15 characters, you will get the error:

If you go into the properties on a Windows computer, you can see the limitations of using a long computer name when you echo the %computename%.

 

 

Thanks to Avto Chachava for this tip.