Tekla Analysis & Design 2020 Releases & Sentinel RMS Server Licensing - the License Server must be updated.

Tekla Structural Designer
Tekla Tedds
Tekla Tedds for Word
Tekla Portal Frame Designer
Tekla Connection Designer
Not version-specific
Tekla Portal Frame Designer
Not version-specific
Tekla Connection Designer
Not version-specific
Tekla Tedds Tekla Tedds for Word
Not version-specific
Tekla Structural Designer
Error 25
License Service
Server License
sentinel rms
Environment
Not environment-specific

⚠  Please be aware that the 2020 Analysis & Design Product Releases (comprising Tekla Structural Designer, Tekla Tedds, Tekla Portal Frame Designer and Tekla Connection Designer) include a new version of the Tekla Structural License Service.  For Server licensing using Sentinel RMS, your License Server MUST be updated with this new version before installing the 2020 Releases.  This update is not optional - if it is not performed, server licensing will not work reliably, if at all, when the 2020 Releases are installed. 

The new version of the Tekla Structural License Service (version 3.00) is now available in Tekla Downloads for all Analysis & Design products.  

Please see the sections below for more information.  Also see the 2020 Release Installation and Licensing FAQ's page.

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Background

The Sentinel RMS License System

Licensing of the Tekla Analysis & Design (A&D) programs is handled by a component called the Tekla Structural License Service (TSLS) which uses a (third-party) licensing system called Sentinel RMS produced by Gemalto. This is a robust and proven system used by many software vendors throughout the world, and forms the foundation of the TSLS.  The following current A&D programs (all market versions) use this system:

  • Tekla Structural Designer
  • Tekla Tedds
  • Tekla Portal Frame Designer
  • Tekla Connection Designer

Server Licensing

For the Server licensing method, there are two components to the license system: the Client and the License Server.
  • The Client - this is the user’s computer so, typically for A&D programs, this is an engineer’s computer.
    • The client-specific Sentinel RMS component is automatically installed on the client computer by the installation of the A&D program(s) being used (e.g. Tedds). 
    • In a company with server licenses, there will typically be several users and hence client computers.  All the clients connect to a single computer for their license, this computer being termed the License Server:
  • The License Server - this is the single computer which hosts the server licenses.  Typically it will be a ‘dedicated’ server running a Windows Server operating system (although it can be any PC running Windows).  If you have an IT Department, typically only they will have access to this computer.
    • The Tekla Structural License Service (only) is installed on the server.  This installs the License Server Manager application, and also automatically installs the server-specific Sentinel RMS component which is called the Sentinel RMS License Manager
    • The Sentinel RMS License Manager runs as a Windows Service which handles the server licenses (i.e. stores, tracks and allocates them to clients by network communication).  This is illustrated in the image below (from the Sentinel RMS System Administrator's Guide).  The Sentinel RMS License Manager is listed in the Control Panel > Programs & Features dialog as shown below.

 

Image
Sentinel RMS Server License System.png


A key ‘rule’ of the Sentinel RMS system is; for a major version change (e.g. 9.2 to 9.5), the Sentinel RMS version on the server must be the same as, or newer than, that on the client.  If this is NOT the case, then network communication between clients and the server will not function correctly.

So, a set up with version 9.5 on the server and 9.2 on the client will work.  However a set up with version 9.2 on the server and 9.5 on the client may NOT.  Typically, where such a version mismatch exists and communication between the client and the server fails, this results in the A&D program failing to open on the client with an error message as detailed in this article: I cannot launch the software and/or run commands when it is open after a period of use.

Image
Sentinel RMS License Manager - Control Panel.png
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What is happening?

When Gemalto releases updates to the Sentinel RMS system, and we judge it is necessary, these are then included in our releases, both in the programs (the client Sentinel RMS component) and also the TSLS (the server component).  This is happening in the 2020 Releases:

  • The Sentinel RMS version used by A&D Releases 2019i and earlier is Sentinel RMS Version 9.2.
  • Gemalto has now released Sentinel RMS Version 9.5.
  • This has been built into our 2020 A&D product releases and the accompanying TSLS version and will be installed by them.
  • Per the key ‘rule’ of the Sentinel RMS system explained above, to use the 2020 Releases your License Server(s) must be updated to Sentinel RMS Version 9.5 by installing the new version of the TSLS on your server(s).
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Why is this happening?

Updates to Sentinel RMS are issued periodically by Gemalto to address known issues and ensure compatibility with the latest operating systems etc.  Such updates may be minor (e.g. from 9.2.1 to 9.2.2) or major (e.g. 9.2 to 9.5).  If issues occur with the Sentinel RMS system, Gemalto generally requires that we are using their latest version in order for them to assist us - and thereby you - most effectively.

We take the decision to update the version of Sentinel RMS used by our products when it is prudent and necessary.  This is usually the case for a major update.  We appreciate that installing updates is an overhead for our customers and so try and limit them to when only absolutely necessary - especially for license servers.  Hence we do not include every single update released by Gemalto in our programs.

The Sentinel RMS version 9.5 update also adds new support for Windows Server 2019.

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What do I need to do?

This is a simple, quick and straightforward process.  Before you install the 2020 Releases on your clients (user’s computers), ensure that you first install the new version of the Tekla Structural License Service (3.00) on your License Server.  That is it. Please note the following and refer to the FAQs Page if you have further questions:

  • The current version of the Tekla Structural License Service is 2.06, which installs Sentinel RMS version 9.2.  So this is what you will have on your clients and license server (assuming you have the current version) before installing the 2020 Release versions.
  • Installing the 2020 Releases on clients will update their Sentinel RMS client component to version 9.5.  If the server has not been updated at this point, then server licensing for ALL A&D products and versions on those clients will cease to function correctly.
  • So, to ensure there is no down time for users, the license server MUST be updated with the new version of the Tekla Structural License Service before you roll out the 2020 releases to clients.
  • The new version of the Tekla Structural License Service will be 3.00 and will install Sentinel RMS version 9.5.
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