Problem

SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional and PDM Standard are network licenses. They can sometimes encounter licensing issues outside the standard Network Troubleshooting steps. This article is about the additional steps that will help resolve a PDM licensing issue. This can include the following errors:

• Failed to obtain a license for SOLIDWORKS Professional. No such feature exists.

  

• Failed to obtain a license for SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional. Cannot connect to license server system.

While each individual SOLIDWORKS Client computer utilizing a SolidNetWork License can add or replace the License Server information, a PDM Client will not be able to use the same process. This is because a PDM License is set by the PDM Administration Tool rather than the SolidNetWork License Manager Client.

Solution 1: License Server Moved

In the situation where a license is moved to a new server, if the PDM Administration Tool does not have licensing updated to that server, clients will get error messages like the ones shown above. These errors happen because the old PDM licensing server is being accessed for the PDM licenses, which have been moved.

To resolve this issue, use the following process:

1. Open the PDM Administration Tool (Windows Start Menu > SOLIDWORKS PDM > Administration)
2. Log in to the Vault with an Administrative account (preferably the PDM System Admin account)

3. Expand the vault to navigate to "License"

   

4. Expand "License" to double-click "Server List". In older versions, double-click "License", or right-click and select "Open", to open the Set License dialog box

5. Using the Add button on the Server List tab, add the new server information as 25734@newservername and click "OK"

   

6. Go to the License Usage and use the drop-down to select the new server; this lets us confirm the licensing is accessible

   

7. Back on the Server List, highlight and remove the old license server

   

8. Click "OK" to close the Set License dialog box
9. After being prompted that users will need to restart/log back in, advise end users to exit/relaunch the PDM applications and/or attempt to log into the Vault View again

Solution 2: Incorrect Client License Type

In addition to a License move, you may get the error “Failed to obtain a license for SOLIDWORKS PDM Standard/Professional. No Such feature exists.” due to an incorrect PDM Client being installed on the client Machine.   

To resolve this issue, use the following process:  

1. Confirm what PDM license you should have by checking the SolidNetWork License Manager for PDM licensing. If your license server has both, check which kind of vault you are accessing in the PDM Admin tool to determine which client type you need installed.

   

2. Please be aware that the vault type will determine the license type requested from the server. If your client type does not match the vault type, you will need to use the following process:
3. Uninstall the current client
4. Restart the computer
5. Install the correct client: How To Install PDM Standard and Professional Client
6. Restart the computer
7. Confirm connection to the Server 

NOTE: In a situation where you have and use both Standard and Professional vaults, you should install the PDM Professional client. A PDM Professional Client will accept and use the PDM Standard license when accessing the PDM Standard vault.

For additional support, existing customers can submit a ticket or new customers can contact Hawk Ridge Systems.