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NI OPC Servers 2016 licensing problem

Hi All,

I'm having a strange problem with the latest NI OPC Servers 2016 client. We bought a new license for it, and it seems to work for a couple of weeks. Then something causes it to lose it's license and switches to demo mode, effectively halting our production test for the rest of the day. I have to go through some crazy hoops re-submitting the license and messing with reinitializing the project, server, or just rebooting the computer. 

 

We are running Windows 7, LabView 2016, and the NI License Manager says "License File Expiration = never", "Status = Activated for this computer.".

 

The Datalogging and Supervisory Control Module uses a different serial number, the same that LabView 2016 uses. It says "License File Expiration = never", "Status = Activated for this computer." Yet NI-OPC server is stuck in DEMO mode.

 

If anybody can shed a little light on this situation it would be much appreciated. 

 

Thanks.

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Hi jtrujil1, 

 

That is an interesting issue indeed! May I ask, where is the license file for NI OPC Servers saved? Usually license files will be in a directory such as:

 

C:\ProgramData\National Instruments\License Manager\Licenses folder

 

Is an OPC license file located here? Are the LabVIEW and DSC licenses also located here? All of your software licenses should be located in this directory. If not, try moving the license files here. 

 

Another thing you can try is our method of wiping the license clean and reapplying it. Here is the process:

 

  1. Move the existing license file out of C:\ProgramData\National Instruments\License Manager\Licenses folder.
  2. Delete the registry key: In regedit >> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE >> SOFTWARE >> Wow6432Node >> National Instruments >> License Manager >> Activation Codes >> <product in question>. Right click – delete.
  3. Put a clean evaluation license in the licenses folder (you can get this here; you'll have to choose the single or unlimited package out of the zip file), and activate as normal with your serial number. 

If the above steps do not help, we might need to take a closer look at your serial number, in which case I would suggest calling or emailing our Applications Engineering team directly (so you don't have to post your SN online!). You can open up a service request by either calling 866-275-6964 or by going here.

 

Please keep us updated on the results of the above steps! 

Thanks,

Rita Prather
Software Product Manager
rita.prather@ni.com
National Instruments
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Hi Rita,

Thanks for the reply. I was waiting until the problem came back again before sending a reply. Well, it happened again last night, and the only thing different that happened with this PC is that windows update was run yesterday morning and I rebooted the machine. There are more updated waiting for me today, and my LabView app is frozen because NI OPC decided to go into demo mode again. Attached is a picture of the license files I have installed in the location you specified. I see a lot of "*_TmpEthernet.lc" files in there. Is that for when the wifi connection breaks?

The list might be hard to read so I added the picture as an attachment as well. I have yet to try your license renewal suggestion yet. I assume I just have to move the OPC license files to do this?

Thanks,

Jovan

 

LabView_Licenses.png

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Hi Jovan,

 

I'm honestly not sure what the "*_TmpEthernet.lc" files are used for, but I have them on my machine as well and I'm not experiencing any issues, so I wouldn't worry about that for now.

 

Go ahead and try wiping the license clean and reapplying it using the steps I listed above. And yes, you'll have to move the OPC license files out of that folder in order to properly get rid of the old license.

 

It's interesting to me that this came up after a Windows Update ran on your computer. Is this something you can make your IT department aware of, in case they would have a clue why an update would affect your OPC license?

Thanks,

Rita Prather
Software Product Manager
rita.prather@ni.com
National Instruments
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Yes, I'll let my IT guy know. I tried resetting the license as you said, but then I ran another update and the problem came back. Here is the message I get in OPC server:

 

Demo timer started. Reason: Allen-Bradley ControlLogix Ethernet is not licensed

 

Going to try your fix again and reboot now.

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Do you have the 1 driver or unlimited driver licensed for OPC Servers 2016?

 

Also, what device drivers are your channels using in the server configuration?

Matt J | National Instruments | CLA
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HELLO

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HELLO!

Matt J | National Instruments | CLA
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Hi,

I can't remember the last time I've had this problem. It only seems to happen now when the PC does a Windows update, and that has not happened in a very long time.

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Are you seeing this problem again?

Clemens | Technical Support Engineer | National Instruments
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