Tekla Structural Design Release 2021 and later using 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
23
Tekla Connection Designer
23
Tekla Portal Frame Designer
2023
Tekla Structural Designer
2023
Tekla Tedds Tekla Tedds for Word
2022
Tekla Structural Designer
2022
Tekla Tedds Tekla Tedds for Word
22
Tekla Portal Frame Designer
22
Tekla Connection Designer
2021
Tekla Tedds Tekla Tedds for Word
2021
Tekla Structural Designer
21
Tekla Portal Frame Designer
21
Tekla Connection Designer
2020
Tekla Tedds Tekla Tedds for Word
2020
Tekla Structural Designer
20
Tekla Portal Frame Designer
20
Tekla Connection Designer
Error 25
License Service
Server License
sentinel rms
Environment
Not environment-specific

⚠  Please be aware that the  Tekla Structural Design Product Releases for 2021 and later years (comprising Tekla Structural Designer, Tekla Tedds, Tekla Portal Frame Designer and Tekla Connection Designer) include a new version of the Tekla Structural License Service incorporating Sentinel RMS version 9.7 to that of previous releases.  For Server licensing using Sentinel RMS, your License Server MUST be updated accordingly before installing the 2021 Releases (or later) on clients.  This update of the license server is not optional!  If it is not performed, server licensing will not work reliably, if at all, when the 2021 or later Releases are installed. 

Note that this issue only relates to on-premises (perpetual) licenses using the Server Sentinel RMS license method - it does NOT relate to subscription licenses and Tekla Online Licensing or the Local license options.

A version of the Tekla Structural License Service which incorporates Sentinel RMS 9.7 is available now - for more information on this see the 2021 Release Installation and Licensing FAQ's page.

Please see the sections below for more information about what is happening to require this update and why.

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Background

The Sentinel RMS License System

Perpetual Licensing of the Tekla Structural 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 Thales.  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. 9.5 to 9.7), 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 9.7 on the server and 9.5 on the client will work. However a set up with version 9.5 on the server and 9.7 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 TSD/Tedds - "Error 25" is displayed within the License Manager. How can I resolve this?

Image
Sentinel RMS version 9.7.jpg
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What is happening?

When Thales 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 2021 Releases:

  • The Sentinel RMS version used by A&D Release 2020 is Sentinel RMS Version 9.5.
  • Thales have now released Sentinel RMS Version 9.7.
  • This has been built into our 2021 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 2021 Releases with Sentinel RMS Server Licensing, your License Server(s) must be updated to Sentinel RMS Version 9.7 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 Thales 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. 9.5 to 9.7).  If issues occur with the Sentinel RMS system, Thales generally require 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 Thales in our programs.

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What do I need to do?

This is a simple, quick and straightforward process.  Before you install the 2021 Releases on your clients (user’s computers), simply ensure that you first install the latest version of the Tekla Structural License Service on your License Server. That is it!

Please refer to the FAQs Page for further guidance:

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