How to specify license servers using the ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE environment variable

Autodesk Support

Dec 18, 2024


Products and versions covered


Issue:

You want to know how to specify license servers using the ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE environment variable as when starting an Autodesk product, errors that include the code -15.x, and so on, are seen.

Causes:

The product is not connecting to a license server. It may not be assigned to the correct server.

Solution:

Use an environment variable to specify one or more license servers for your Autodesk products. This variable affects only products that use the ADSKFLEX.EXE vendor daemon. It is set automatically during a client installation from a deployment configured for distributed servers. For redundant servers, use licpath.lic for license server settings.

 

Note: The help of a systems professional may be needed to perform this procedure.

 

  1. Go to Windows Control Panel > System and Security > System.
  2. Select Advanced system settings.
  3. On the System Properties dialog, click Environment Variables.
  4. Under System variables, click New.
  5. For Variable Name, enter ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE.
  6. For Variable Value, enter the names of one or more license servers, in this format: 
    2080@server1;2080@server2;2080@server3 (where server is the hostname or IP address of your license server)
Note: 2080 is Autodesk's reserved port number for adskflex, Autodesk vendor license daemon.  To specify a custom port for a server, include the custom port number in this format: port@server. For example, if the IP address of your license server is 193.45.12.4 and you are using custom port 27009, enter 27009@193.45.12.4.
  1. Click OK to save the settings, which become valid immediately.

 

Note about the ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE Environment Variable:

  • Autodesk licensing searches all servers listed in the environment variable and uses the lowest-ranking license first. For more information about product ranking, see Understanding Cascade Licensing.
  • There is no limit to the number of servers that can be specified.
  • Verify that the ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE environment variable values refer only to active Autodesk license servers.
  • The variable automatically overrides the current license server settings, such as those in the licpath.lic file and registry cache.

 

See the video tutorial below on how to set up the variable on a Windows system.

 

Products:

All Desktop Products;


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