How-to guide - Known licensing issues in Automation Studio

General information

Login Data (employees only!)

With the discontinuation of Lotus Notes, there will also be a change in how login data for TG has to be defined.

User name and password, set as internet password in Lotus Notes are replaced by email address and password used to login into any B&R account. (eg what is used to log on to Windows.)

Note that this also applies to the LogIn in Tools=>Upgrades.

Information for further analysis

In case the following known problems and solutions do not help to solve your particular problem, please create a support ticket with the following information:

  • video (fullscreen, not made with a mobile phone) showing:
  • Installed versions of TechnologyGuarding and Codemeter
  • That the CodemeterRuntimeService is running
  • AS started as administrator
  • The problem
  • Information shown in TechnologyGuarding
  • Information shown in CodemeterControlCenter (all tabs including the WebAdmin pages of the affected TG-dongle or SW container)
  • The contents of this directory “C:\BrAutomation\AsTools\Technology Guarding”
  • If entries are made into the Windows Event Log when the problem occurs also provide the saved event logs (System+Application).

  • Which steps have been carried out to solve the issue (important to understand the background)

Software container licenses

No support of < 4.9

Attention, the newer licenses that only run in a Software license container and not a TG-dongle are incompatible with AS/AR/PVI < 4.9.

No support of SD < 5.12

Attention, the newer licenses that only run in a Software license container and not a TG-dongle are not compatible with SD/mappSafety < 5.12.

Licenses with expiration date (AS, IndustrialPhysics,…) and other licenses (mapp,…) on the same target (TG-dongle or software container)

This topic was covered in Support Newsletter 23 for AS-licenses specifically but is true for all licenses with expiration dates:

It is neither possible nor intended to be able to return a license, which contains an expiration date, back to the server. So the message 10080 is correct for a license like 1TGSWAS.SNG-00-01, because the AS single license expires after one year.

The problem we have is, that once such a license is on a Technology Guard (dongle or software container), it is also not possible to return any other license, which is on the same Technology Guard, back to the server:

This situation usually happens accidentally because the Automation Studio license is used on a PC and all other licenses are used on an Automation Runtime target. The licenses themselves are working so it is still possible to use them.

How to proceed

There is no way to return the licenses back to the server.
So the Technology Guard (TG-dongle) has to be sent back to our repair department for scrapping.
In parallel, an email must be sent to IS.SERVICEDESK@br-automation.com by the responsible salesman to request replacement licenses for the customer account. It’s up to sales to decide if this should be done.
Additionally, sales has to decide if a new Technology Guard is ordered for this customer because the customer will not get the old one back.

In case of emergency it is possible to put replacement licenses on the customer’s account (contact therefore the IS.SERVICEDESK@br-automation.com) before the Technology Guard arrives in the repair department.

In the case of a software container with this problem, it is a Sales decision how to proceed. It would be possible to delete the whole software container (contact 2ndLevel for the procedure) but then Sales has to provide replacement licenses).

Workaround

For the constellation described in the example above (Automation Studio license and any other license for Automation Runtime on the same Technology Guard) the following workaround is possible.

  • Plug the Technology Guard on the Automation Runtime target. So AR is working fine.
  • Use an evaluation license for Automation Studio

Delete software container
image

Manual way

  • Type “Code Meter Control Center” in Windows Run and press Enter
    CodeMeter shows a list of connected containers
  • Note down the container id
    128-4026073 in this example
  • Stop CodeMeter Service
    This should remove all containers in the list
  • Open Windows Explorer and type %programdata%\CodeMeter\CmAct into the location field Locate the file matching the container id noted before 5000248_128-4026073.wbb in this example
  • Delete/move the file to a different folder
  • Restart CodeMeter service

Command line tool

To delete a container via the command line, follow the steps described here CmActLicenses - Frequently Asked Questions - Wibu-Systems

Automatic Re-Activation of AS after one year

If there is a valid service contract for an AS-license (Single, Corporate, Site) a new AS activation will become available some time before the current activation runs out, this can be seen in the TechnologyGuardingPortal:

AutomationStudio will automatically check on the server for not activated licenses when it nears its expiration date and Re-activate itself automatically – no user input required.
Because of a bug this does not work between AS versions. So if originally AS 4.3 was activated but the customer now uses AS 4.4 the automatic re-activation is not possible and AS reports as expired.

Workaround for i, ii, iii

Enter license key again, the required activation is available on the server and will work.

Solution

Starting with the following AS versions the automatic re-activation works between AS versions:

  • AS 4.2.14 SP
  • AS 4.3.09 SP
  • AS 4.4.07 SP
  • AS 4.5.03 SP
  • AS 4.6.02
  • AS 4.7.01

AS-license activated on 3rd party dongle

Currently, there is no check implemented that prevents that an AS is activated on non-B&R dongles. So it can happen that if there are other dongles plugged when the AS licensing is done they get the license and not the B&R dongle.
Licenses with expiration date (like AS licenses) cannot be removed from a TG-dongle so the license is stuck there until it expires.

Workaround

If the customer cannot live with this situation and local sales agrees B&R Headquarter can add an additional AS-activation to the customer´s license. Create a support ticket with the information that the customer activated a license on a 3rd party dongle.

User rights for TechnologyGuarding

The user working with TechnologyGuarding needs write access to this file:

“C:\ProgramData\BR\TechnologyGuarding\BR.AS.License.UI.state”

If that is not ensured there can be different and misleading error messages like “maximum number of activations/licenses reached.”
That a selected TG-dongle is not shown in TechnologyGuarding after selecting it is also a possible hint to this problem.

This problem only occurs in rare cases when customer IT department enforce very strict user rights management, e.g. restricting local administrators, UAC virtualization and so on.

Workaround

Starting AS explicitly as Administrator can solve the issue.
You can also try to delete the file and it should be created again automatically when starting TG, except if customer IT blocks this too.

Codemeter Runtime server service

A running CodeMeter Service is a prerequisite for AS to run.
If the service is not running then our system does not work and it doesn’t make sense to investigate our system as long as the service is not running. You will get errors like this:

The customer IT has to ensure that the service can run, if necessary they should contact WIBU support
2nd Level support would appreciate to get some information what the root cause was in this case. Please report this information in the Controls Support group in MS Teams.
This is a very rare problem, from the cases we got feedback the root cause was:

  • a “MultiKey” driver installed on the customers system, after removing this driver CodeMeter service worked properly
  • some kind of “reverse engineering tool”, after uninstalling this tool the service worked properly

AS license expired before one year elapsed

Because of a known bug in TechnologyGuarding < 1.1.1.12 and TG-FW < 4.10 it can happen that the system time of the CmContainer (TG-dongle) jumps into the future and triggers the expiration of the license (1TGSWAS.SNG.00-01).

In this case it is most important to find out the versions of TechnologyGuarding, Codemeter and TG-Firmware the customer used at the moment the license expired.
If the customer used TG < 1.1.1.12 or TG-FW < 4.10 and the SystemTime of the CmContainer is in the future then it is a known problem and B&R Headquarter will provide the customer with a new activation.

Solution

Create a support ticket with screenshots of used TechnologyGuarding, the error the customer gets and the timestamps of the TG-dongle.
Advise the customer to install the latest version of TechnologyGuarding from B&R homepage and to update TG-FW to >= 4.10 to prevent this in the future.

(different issue than the above-mentioned) AS license expired before one year elapsed


red text means license expired

Although TG > 1.1.1.12 and TG-FW >= 4.10 is used and the timestamps of the TG-dongle were always correct it can occur that AS and TechnologyGuarding report the AS-license as expired although the year has not yet elapsed.
This case is very rare and 2nd Level support needs additional information to investigate this. When reporting this to 2nd level you have to be absolutely and 100% sure that the timestamps never had a jump to the future and TG > 1.1.1.12 was in use when the problem occurred.

Workaround

Create a support ticket with screenshots of used TechnologyGuarding, the error the customer gets and the timestamps of the TG-dongle. You have to be 100% sure that this versions were in use when license expiration occurred and not that they were updated afterwards.
Additionally add the following log from the affected TG-dongle and PC of the customer:
CmActLog files located in “%ProgramData%\CodeMeter\Logs”
CmDust log file created by

  • open windows start menu
  • enter “CmDust”
  • windows explorer is opened with a file named “CmDust-Result.log”

If the customer does not want to continue in “Expired”-mode until a solution is found B&R Headquarter can add an additional AS activation for him.

TG-dongle stuck in Firmware update Mode (WB47 or WB67)

If customers try to do a FW-update on a TG-dongle from CodemeterControlCenter it can happen that the dongle is stuck in firmware update mode and returns error WB47.
Only some TG-dongles were affected by this issue and the root cause was fixed on the WIBU update servers by 01.05.2019


The TG-dongle is stuck in FirmwareUpdateMode and cannot be recovered. If the FW-Update is attempted too often (internal counter in WIBU software) it will lockup completely and show error WB67.

Solution

By 01.05.2019 the root cause was fixed and the FW-update should work at customers, even if they got error WB47 before, so ask the customer to try again.
If the problem still occurs or the customer gets error WB67, create a support ticket with screenshots of used TechnologyGuarding, the error the customer gets and the timestamps of the TG-dongle. Also provide information how often the customer attempted the FW-update. 2nd Level will verify the issue and probably the TG-dongle has to be sent to repair.

Error during license information read


When using TechnologyGuarding < 1.1.1.12 this error can occur when attempting the licensing. With newer versions, this should no longer occur but installing the newer version does not always solve the existing problem.

Solution

Advise users to use the latest version of TechnologyGuarding from the homepage.
If the problem still occurs create a support ticket with screenshots of used TechnologyGuarding, the error the customer gets, and the timestamps of the TG-dongle.
2nd Level will verify the issue and probably the TG-dongle has to be sent to repair.

Proxy Authentication Required (407) when licensing AS

Solution

This is an error message that can only be solved by the customer’s internal IT department:

General information about the error can be found here: 407 Proxy Authentication Required - HTTP | MDN

Issues with License container when licensing AS

i. Error 262 with software container licenses

AS-licenses for software license containers (Site, Corporate, Evaluation, Employee) that are activated on a system where such a license was in use before can in rare cases show this error:

Create a support ticket/CASE with screenshots of used TechnologyGuarding, the error the customer gets and history of which AS licenses were used on this system.
Additionally following log from the affected TG-dongle and PC of the customer is needed:
CmActLog files located in “%ProgramData%\CodeMeter\Logs”
CmDust log file created by

  • open windows start menu
  • enter “CmDust”
  • windows explorer is opened with a file named “CmDust-Result.log”

Additionally provide answers to this questions in the ticket/CASE:

  1. Was there a CodeMeter Runtime Update before the license activation?
    1.1 Installed CodeMeter Version when problem occurred
  2. When were the license activated / tried to be activated?
  3. Was there any other problem when a license was tried to be activated?
  4. Was there a Windows Update / restore of a System restoration point before the license operation?

ii. Error “Create update failed” with software container licenses

When licensing AS with a software container-based license, it could be possible that the licensing procedure fails with the following message pop-up.

iii. Error “The relative expiration date has been exceeded, error 71” with software container licenses

iv. Error "Cannot execute operation - CmContainer 128-xxxx is marked as unexpected state detected

v. Error “Activation was not successful - reason: There are differences in the binding schemes of the 3 license…”

Due to a changed name of software containers, licenses issued before October 2023 could produce this error if they are tried to be moved to a container with the new name. Licenses issued after October 2023 could produce this error on transfer to an old named container.

Needs to be fixed on the server. Deleting a container will not solve all those issues

Workaround

It is possible to delete the license container in the above-mentioned cases on the system completely and then license AS again.

AS does not start (relation to TechnologyGuarding indicated)

There are several errors you can get at start of AS that indicate a problem with the licensing system, e.g.:

Ask the customer to do following steps:

  • Install latest version TechnologyGuarding from homepage:

[Technology Guarding | B&R Industrial Automation

  • Check installed version of Codemeter, should be >= 6.70 (if not install latest version from WIBU homepage)

  • Check that the CodemeterRuntimeService is running

If the problem still occurs provide a video (fullscreen, not made with a mobile phone) showing:

  • Installed versions of TechnologyGuarding and Codemeter
  • That the CodemeterRuntimeService is running
  • AS started as administrator
  • The problem
  • Information shown in TechnologyGuarding
  • Information shown in CodemeterControlCenter (all tabs)
  • The contents of this directory “C:\BrAutomation\AsTools\Technology Guarding”
    If there are entries made into the Windows Event Log when the problem occurs also provide the saved event logs (System+Application).
    Provide this data in a support ticket.

Problems if TLS < 1.2 deactivated

It was discovered that if a user PC blocks/disables TLS < 1.2 the TechnologyGuarding and with it the licensing system stops to work. You will get errors along this lines:

TechnologyGuarding does support TLS >= 1.2 but it seems that manual steps on the PC are necessary to really get this working.

According to this link

there is need to make some settings on a PC in order to make .NET programs actually use TLS1.2

For example this link

image

A customer reported the same problem (slightly different error text).

He changed registry keys according to the description in the links and it works for them now.

Another customer faced the same problem, with their AS 4.5 installation.

His IT was able to resolve the issue, using the proposed solution.

They changed/created the Registry Key on their Windows system:
image

Afterwards a TLS1.2 connection could be established as expected.

In week 44 of 2021 B&R IT decided to block/deactivate TLS < 1.2 on our TechnologyGuarding server and soon afterwards we got the first reports that TechnologyGuarding could not access the server.

All of our customers would have to make the listed adjustments to force their systems to really use TLS 1.2

B&R deactivated TLS 1.0 and 1.1 on servers

With March 1st 2024 we have deactivated TLS < 1.2 so it might be necessary for customers to make sure their PCs actually use TLS 1.2 now.

This means

  • Automation Studio versions < 4.6 cannot be licensed anymore from within Automation Studio. => Use TG >= 1.4 standalone for licensing.
  • Automation Studio versions >= 4.6 can be licensed from within Automation Studio (even if TG < 1.4 is used)

For licensing AS using TG standalone:

  • start TG
  • select dongle
  • enter license key in the field labeled license key
  • click activate online
  • transfer license

    Note: If a user name and password is requested and the customer has none (for whatever reason) he can just fill the respective fields under options with anything.

However he can not use TG for anything else, than licensing AS if he has no valid user name and password.

License Activation fails "Invalid object passed in, ‘:’ or ‘{’ expected. (12):{ECHNOLOGY GUARDING

Currently a very few users world wide cannot activate licenses through Online Licensing because of this errors:


This was previously reported last year and investigation of IT found out that this is a firewall issue caused by a blocked URL (Blocked due to usage of possible script tags, most probably in the CONTEXT that is passed).

==> If you have a customer with this problem create an IT-ticket

==> Workaround is to use the OfflineLicensing as documented in

  • the HowTo section Offline licensing for AS-licenses
  • or in Help (Automation Software-Technology Guarding-Technology Guarding Wizard-Operation-Offline dongle licensing) for other licenses

Licensing issues in TG version 1.5.x

License Activation fails with “No parameter for ticket number found” in TG version 1.5.x

There is a problem in TG version 1.5.x regarding product activation in Automation Studio.

If a user tries to activate a license he might get the following error:

This is caused by the TG tool due to an internal error when there is already the same license present.

Workaround

Transfer the license in TG by inserting the license key (needed for dongle-based licenses)

Or delete the software container (delete only if the above does not work).

License return to the server is not possible in TG version 1.5.x due to a technical limitation of the license server

Using TG 1.5.x it could still be possible that the user gets the same message as before when returning a license back to the server.

This is due to the technical limitation of the server. There are update commands on the server which are executed when a license is transferred to the server. Up until this happens a return is not possible.

Workaround

Transfer any license to the dongle before and then attempt the return.

Virtual Machines

If a VM is used for work with Automation Studio there are certain checks in CodeMeter which might invalidate a software container. An invalidated container can not be used anymore and leads to Automation Studio not able to license.

A container breaks when

  • a VM is moved
  • a VM is copied
  • a SnapShot is restored (and the container and license were part of the SnapShot

So in following sequence the container will break and lead to issues

  • Install TG
  • Create new container
  • Transfer license
  • Take Snaphot
    • optional - Transfer license works
  • Reset to 1st Snapshot
    → Container gets invalidated
  • Transfer license
    → Create update failed. It is not possible to create an update from an old CmActLicense context…

The sequence that works (as of CodeMeter 7.51)

  • TG install
  • create container
  • Snapshot
    • license transfer
  • Revert to Snapshot
    • license transfer
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