2013: Tips for Upgrading Autodesk Simulation Moldflow Products

Issue

You are upgrading your Autodesk Moldflow products to Autodesk Simulation Moldflow 2013 and are looking for any details concerning this process to address that will streamline the upgrade and assist in avoiding any potential problems.

Solution

It is always recommended to read the installation guides, system requirements, and operating system compatibility to ensure you can support the necessary requirements and integration features.  The tips, outside of reading the relevant documentation, are listed below.

Branding Changes:

The new portfolio for the previously titled Autodesk Moldflow products is now Autodesk Simulation Moldflow, for the 2013 release.  We've also modified the license levels for the Autodesk Simulation Moldflow Adviser and Simulation Moldflow Insight programs so that they align with one another and make more sense.  Refer to here for further details regarding these changes.

Distribution Changes:

With the Autodesk Simulation Moldflow 2013 release, products will now be distributed differently.  In previous releases, a customer would receive 1 package with 1 DVD for every serial number or product they purchased.  The DVD though, would have the same media on it as every other DVD, the only difference would be the serial number and product key on the packaging.  For 2013 though, you will now receive 1 package with 2 DVDs for each serial number or product purchased.  The primary difference is twofold.  First, the DVDs are specific to product.  They have only specific installations on them, and won't be the same as all the other DVDs.  The second change is the split of 64-bit and 32-bit installation.  Rather than the installer deciding for the user during the installation, you will now need to choose the correct DVD.  More details can be found here on the separate installs.

Licensing Process:

Autodesk Simulation Moldflow is the second release to be fully functional on FLEX License Manager and no longer utilizes the proxy.  The version with which the 2013 products can utilize is 11.9 and newer.  Older versions of the Autodesk Network License Manager should be uninstalled before you start the upgrade procedure.  This is especially true for 64-bit machines as the 11.9 version is a 64-bit installation and thus will cause significant conflicts if the old versions (pre 2012 release, which are 32-bit) are not removed before installation.  The process for doing so is below as well as here;

• Start->Control Panel->Programs and Features (Add/Remove Programs in XP)->Uninstall Autodesk Network License Manager

Installation Process:

The installation process for the new 2013 products can be found here. For more information on product keys, please refer to this article on product keys.

There are several other changes to the installation process.  First, all Autodesk Simulation Moldflow 2013 products use the Autodesk installer.  This improves the options available during the installation process.  You can now create deployments straight from the installer.  You can also install tools and utilities separately, such as the license manager, without needing an additional installation.  Finally, it provides significantly more options with respect to customization of the installation.  These options are detailed in the link above to the 2013 installation process.

The final change has to do with the issuance of multiple DVDs, as listed above in the distribution section of this article. As each product now comes with a DVD for both the 64-bit installation and the 32-bit installation, it is vital that the correct DVD is used.  Further details on this can be found here.

Previous Versions:

Only Autodesk Moldflow 2012 versions will run on the new Autodesk Simulation Moldflow 2013 licenses.  This is due to the removal of the proxy service that controlled and distributed licenses for older versions of the product.  If you wish to continue to utilize the older products, you will need to add the license content from the older licenses to the new license.  This will allow the proxy to continue to communicate with the new version of FLEX to distribute the older product licenses.  Ensure that when you're uninstalling the Autodesk Network License Manager during the upgrade process that you DON'T uninstall the Autodesk License Manager (Moldflow) which is the proxy service.