As the holidays are approaching, we would like to give you a few reminders.
Our offices will be closed during public holidays as well as de facto holidays in Sweden: December 24, December 25, December 26, December 31, January 1, and January 6.
Staffing may be reduced on working days between holidays. Support is covered during our opening hours, but individuals might be on vacation, out of the office, or sick. Support requests sent to specific personnel cannot be expected to be read until that person is back on duty.
The first choice when trying to get in contact with support should be using our common support details as found at https://www.ides.se/support.
For matters that are more than a short question, we prefer that you raise a case via https://customer.idesglobal.com.
Solution for Issue: Elmaster Design Not Establishing Database Connection
Introduction
When AutoCAD runs with a borrowed license, a popup can disrupt initialization, affecting the Ides CAD-driver COM-server and causing the application to switch to standalone mode.
Problem definition
The popup that appears when the AutoCAD license is borrowed prevents proper initialization, causing the COM-server not to load in a timely manner, and the driver fails to connect to the database.
Solution
Run the MCSTARTUP command manually:
Once all components have loaded, open the command prompt in AutoCAD.
Execute MCSTARTUP to initiate the connection.
Preventive Measures
Manage AutoCAD licenses. Avoid borrowing licenses if possible.
Summary
To resolve the issue, manually run MCSTARTUP after AutoCAD/MasterDesign has fully loaded.
Check the license configuration and avoid borrowing licenses to prevent the problem.
https://imaster.se/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/logotype_ides_20-300x44.png00Johan Daleniushttps://imaster.se/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/logotype_ides_20-300x44.pngJohan Dalenius2024-10-25 15:27:252024-10-28 17:08:25Issue with database connection when using borrowed license i Autocad
Browse to the web interface of the license server. Using a web browser enter protocol http:// the address/name of the license host and port :5054 to access the web interface.
Click on Status
Click on the button for License Usage of the idesglobal isv server.
Click on Get License Usage.
Looking at license usage – rlm tracks usage per user
Regardless of the number of reasons each user consumes only one license. [1]
The overview license usage is a list of reasons. The view can be used to investigate resource allocation by providing information on which users have checked out licenses. Out time and what rows show up can be of use when evaluating to what extent they use their license.
Below is a screenshot of the license usage view with filter for only one specific user.
The license server lists two reasons to why this user is consuming a license. The count of licenses that user is consuming is still one (see license status) but as long as any of the reasons remain the user will be consuming that license.
Note that the PID column is short for process identifier and is the same PID that can be found on the machine consuming the license using task manager. In this case two separate processes of acad.exe that have checked out the license elmaster_design.
Both processes owned by the same user have the license available and can load the Design application. The user consumes one license from the license pool.
Licenses that allow multiple applications, such as the Enterprise license, can be checked out for many reasons from different processes such as acad.exe and masterexplorer.exe simultaneously.
Note that the same process can register multiple reasons. This is common when certain dialogues from masterexplorer.exe handle work in parallel and open multiple sessions to the database.
Summary
In short it is worth notice that reasons differ from consumption.
Notes
1 – Simplified for clarity. Can be configured by the license issuer. Our licenses are issued counting consumtion per user and per machine. If the same credentials are used on another host those reasons are going to consume one license per combination of user and host.
https://imaster.se/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/logotype_ides_20-300x44.png00Johan Daleniushttps://imaster.se/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/logotype_ides_20-300x44.pngJohan Dalenius2024-10-25 15:20:432024-10-25 15:20:45How to interpret license usage
The license server has a web interface in which it presents the license status. To determine how many of your licenses have been loaded into the server and how many licenses have been checked out by users you can visit the web interface using a web browser.
Reaching the web interface
Using the address field in your browser navigate to the address of your license server. Per default the web interface will be hosted at port 5054 and the address should be constructed as the following.
http:// hostname :5054
Where hostname is replaced with the name of the machine hosting your license server.
If you are unable to reach the web interface First make sure you use an address field in the browser and not a search field. If the problem persists, contact your system administrator or IT helpdesk. Possible reasons include the interface is set up using a custom port, license server not running, firewall blocking you from accessing the interface and so on. The reasons mentioned have in common it is best investigated by someone with access to the host.
Navigating the web interface
The license server administration web interface has a menu on the left.
In the menu, click on Status.
On the Status page additional information such as the file names of found/loaded license files is shown.
For reaching the license status of your Master concept licenses locate the idesglobal-row and the Server Status-column and click on the button in the cell where they cross.
As you click on the button the isv server status of idesglobal will be loaded.
How to read the license status table
The vendor license server status overview is presented as a table. Similar licenses are gathered and handled as a pool. Further reading on how rlm performs pooling of licenses can be read in the manual. Often the result is one pool per product. That is the case we are going to focus on in this context.
How to determine if there are licenses available in the license pool or are they all in use?
Find the row which corresponds to the product you want to check status for. On that row locate the columns named count and inuse. The values of those columns are the cap of that pool and the current usage of that pool.
Out of a count 15 allowed simultaneously, 0 licenses are currently in use.
For licenses to be available for a new user to check out the amount in the inuse-column must be lower than the amount in count-column.
https://imaster.se/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/logotype_ides_20-300x44.png00Johan Daleniushttps://imaster.se/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/logotype_ides_20-300x44.pngJohan Dalenius2024-04-25 09:40:112024-04-25 09:40:13Looking at the license status
Have you ever been sorting columns over and over in reverse order to in the end get the grid sorted by multiple columns? Occasionally one has a sorting and want to freeze the current sorting and apply a second subsorting.
Hold down Shift and click on the additional columns you want to sort, and they will be sorted in order from most significant, second, third and so on.
Objects ordered by Byggnadsplacering, Processfunktion.
This command can be used in grids and will perform the following actions. All fields/columns without any data are hidden. The width of shown fields is set to best fit, adjusted according to the widest data.
Example scenario: Empty cells marked with pink. Unless we were inspecting of those specific fields were empty or not the view give us little information. Are all fields to the right empty? Are all rows below empty?
Notice the size of the scroll bar. It is representative of how much data is shown out of the data loaded to the grid. When using the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+K the grid focuses on the non-empty cells.
https://imaster.se/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/logotype_ides_20-300x44.png00Johan Daleniushttps://imaster.se/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/logotype_ides_20-300x44.pngJohan Dalenius2024-02-22 10:00:002024-02-15 15:45:15Ctrl + Shift + K
This article outlines procedures for intentionally restricting user access during system downtime such as an upgrade. Please note that the instructions provided are relevant specifically when using network licenses.
Initiating a Service Interruption
To lock users out during a service interruption, follow these steps:
Open any web browser.
In the address bar, type the name of the machine where the license server is running, followed by port number 5054.
The web interface for the Reprise License Server Administration will appear.
Click on “Shutdown.”
On the displayed page, you have the option to shut down ISV processes, which manage the licenses themselves.
If RLM is used for multiple licenses, select “vendor license idesglobal” from the ISV list.
Next, click “SHUT DOWN SERVER” to deactivate the server. This action affects the ISV. For your information: RLM remains operational, and you can use the same web interface to restart license management later.
Ending the Service Interruption
When you’re ready to end the service interruption and allow users back in, perform the following steps:
Open any web browser.
In the address bar, type the name of the machine where the license server is running, followed by port number 5054.
The web interface for the Reprise License Server Administration will appear.
Click on “Reread/Restart Servers.”
On the “Reread/Restart Servers” page, you can also choose “idesglobal” from the dropdown list.
Then click “REREAD/RESTART” to read the license file and start the ISV server. For your information: The same button is used to load the new license file during license extension.
https://imaster.se/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/logotype_ides_20-300x44.png00Johan Daleniushttps://imaster.se/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/logotype_ides_20-300x44.pngJohan Dalenius2024-02-21 10:00:002024-04-25 09:40:50Managing Service Interruptions
When the process is being run with administrative privileges the user is unable to get Elmaster Design started properly.
Symptoms
Error messages at start of Design that says Failed to load Master Concept dlls and invalid class string.
Cause
To make it possible/easier to switch between parallel installed versions resources are registered during the initialization of the application. The registration is done for the user who is logged in.
If the application is run by another account – even if that account has high privileges – the part of the registry being used is not the same as where the references to the resources have been set up.
It is a limitation that the acad.exe process about to load Elmaster Design must be run by the logged in user.
Confirmation
To confirm if processes you initiate are being run by your logged on username one can often determine by opening a command prompt and looking at its title bar if it says administrator or not.
Another way to determine if you have this problem is by looking at the acad.exe process via Task Manager. Go to the information pane and select the columns to show via the context menu on the column headers. Choose to show elevated privileges. If your acad.exe process is running with elevated privileges that means it is being run as the administrator account.
Solution
If you are using the context menu on the icon and Run as Administrator – don’t.
Instead run in normal mode by clicking on the icon in start menu och double click on the desktop icon to start Elmaster Design.
Usually, this problem occurs when the user temporarily gains elevated privileges to install new software. Via policy or similar management, the processes initiated by the user are impersonated and run by the administrator account for the duration of the installation period. If that is the case, let whoever gave you the elevated privileges know when you are done. When impersonation ceases, the problem ceases.
Preventive measures
Avoid running the acad.exe processes as administrator. Run it as your logged on user.
If users are temporarily given local administrative privileges for installing software, it is advisable to plan ahead and schedule the installation at a time when the user is not supposed to be productive using Elmaster Design.
