Cannot start network license from Revit® Suite or Series products

You installed the network version of Revit® Architecture, Revit Structure and/or AutoCAD® from the AutoCAD Revit Suite (previously Revit Series). The license server has a valid Revit Suite license and the license server is running.

When you started either product, error [1.5.-4], [1.5.-5] or [1.5.-18] was displayed. Note: Revit may only display an error indicating that it could not connect to the license manager.

Revit and AutoCAD depend on cascade license functionality to use a Revit Suite or Series license. Common configuration issues that prevent proper operation of these licenses are listed below.

On the license manager:

• AutoCAD® Revit® Suite licenses only work if the latest PLIST exists in the license file. You should first verify that there is a PLIST in the license file. Check LMTOOLS > Server Status tab > Perform Status Enquiry to verify the PLIST increment is being read correctly.
• Revit licenses and Revit Suite licenses contain different feature codes that look very similar. You should refer to the following solution to confirm the correct feature code for your product exists in the license file: FLEXlm® feature codes for Autodesk products.
• AutoCAD and Revit can cascade only with a Suite or Series license of the same version. For example, AutoCAD 2008 can cascade to a Revit Architecture 2008 Suite license, but it cannot cascade to a Revit Series 9 (2007) license. You should make sure that you have the correct version license in your license file.

On the client workstation:

• Client-side components are installed with Revit and AutoCAD to download and interpret the PLIST increment from the license file. However, these components are only installed if the Network license option was selected during installation or deployment. If Revit was installed as a standalone (the default mode), and then switched to a network installation it will not have these components installed and the Suite or Series license cannot be used. To resolve this issue, reinstall Revit and select the Network license option or install a network-licensed version of AutoCAD side by side.
• Cascading can fail if the license manager has outdated PLIST information or the license manager does not have the correct licenses. Set an environment variable on the client machine to point the software only to the license manager that contains the correct PLIST and license information. Do not include multiple license managers in the environment variable until a license has been successfully pulled. See the following solution for details on setting the environment variable: Specifying license servers using the ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE environment variable.

The client-side cascading components work as follows.

1. During the installation of network-licensed Revit or AutoCAD, the Autodesk Network Licensing Service is installed from the C:\Program Files\Common Files\Autodesk Shared\Service\AdskNetSrv.exe directory.
2. When Revit or AutoCAD is launched, they search for Revit and AutoCAD licenses.
3. If no Revit or AutoCAD licenses are available, or all are in use, the Autodesk Network Licensing starts briefly and downloads an encrypted copy of the PLIST increment to the following file
• Windows 2000/XP:
• C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Autodesk\NetService\AdskNetSrv.dat
• Windows Vista:
• C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\NetService\AdskNetSrv.dat
• Note: If the PLIST increment does not exist or cannot be downloaded, AdskNetSrv.log will be created in its place.
4. The Autodesk Network Licensing Service reads the local PLIST data and instructs Revit or AutoCAD to request a Suite or Series license.

Notes:

• For more information about license cascading and the PLIST increment see the following solution: PLIST Increment Vendor_String.
• Errors [1.5.-4], [1.5.-5] and [1.5.-18] can indicate other problems with the client machines or the license manager. Be sure to rule out other common causes of these errors. For more information about these and other licensing error messages see the following solution: Network licensing errors during software startup.

See also

PLIST increment in AutoCAD® 2007-based product license files
PLIST Increment Vendor_String