To update network licensing for a new major version

How to update Autodesk Network License Manager and to generate a new license file

Jump to:

• When do I need this?
• What do I need to do?
• To update Autodesk Network License Manager
• To generate a new license file
• About network licenses

When do I need this?

• Whenever you update an Autodesk product to a new major version; for example, moving from 2021.2 to 2022.0
• When you use network licensing

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What do I need to do?

1. Update the Autodesk Network License Manager, NLM for short.
2. Generate a new license file for your product.

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To update Autodesk Network License Manager

The NLM installer is available as a separate download here: https://www.autodesk.com/support/download-install/admins/network-licenses/install-licensing-software

Tip: We recommend to make a back-up copy of any license files registered with the current NLM installation before proceeding.

1. Uninstall previous versions of NLM through your operating system's dialogs.
2. Launch the installer for Netfabb or Local Simulation.
3. Click Install Tools & Utilities.
4. Select Network License Manager if it isn't already selected.
5. Click Install.
6. Click Finish.

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To generate a new license file

1. Visit https://manage.autodesk.com/. You may be asked to log in with your Autodesk Account credentials.
2. Find the new version for your product and click Generate network license file.

From there, proceed with the steps outlined in the article Network License Administration.

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About network licenses

Network licensing works by storing the license in a file which is then served by NLM across a TCP/IP network.

There are two types of license, stand-alone and network. Stand-alone licenses cannot be served in a network, and network licenses cannot be used stand-alone. If you find that you were issued a license with the wrong type, please contact Autodesk Customer Support at https://knowledge.autodesk.com/contact-support for assistance.

As license files can only hold major versions that are known when the file is generated, when a new major version such as 2021.2 versus 2022.0 comes around, the license file must be recreated. Also, if not explicitly mandatory, it is at least strongly recommended to update the license manager as well before applying the license. In this article, we go through the steps for accomplishing both of these tasks.

As Netfabb is only available on Microsoft® Windows®, these steps described here apply only to installations on this operating system. However, as Local Simulation is also available for Linux, some steps apply there in some form or other, too. User's discretion is advised.

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