How to recover a lost password for your Citrix License Server(CLS) Administration Console user-

How to recover a lost password for your Citrix License Server(CLS) Administration Console user-

1. Open the “server.xml” file in C:\Program Files\Citrix\Licensing\LS\conf. If on Win2k8 you will need to open your editor as an admin. (Take a copy of the file first – if anything goes wrong you can simply copy the file back to restore the original settings).
2. Find the entry that looks something like this:
<user firstName=”System” id=”admin” lastName=”Administrator” password=”(ENC-01)LKJ338u98uxkllS(*U+ljljlja-$78923ghJgs” passwordExpired=”false” privileges=”admin”/>;
3. Erase the contents between the double quotes after “password=”
4. Enter a plain text password , for example password=”TemporaryPassword”
5. Change the passwordExpired value to be “true” and save the server.xml file.
6. Restart the licensing services or, at a push, reboot the server.
7. Log into the licensing console using user name “admin” and the password set above.
8. You will be prompted to change your password. The new password will be encrypted in the server.xml file.

Troubleshooting Cluster-Enabled License Servers

 If any of the licensing services fail to start, the cluster detects that licensing is offline and attempts to restart the service three times (by default). If these attempts are unsuccessful, fail-over to the next node is initiated and the cluster attempts to start the services on the second node. If the attempts fail on the second server, the process may enter into an infinite loop. In this case, the computers running Citrix products fall into the grace period. During the grace period, client connections are not affected.

When troubleshooting a cluster-enabled license server, try the following:

• If you move the resources to the other node, do you still see the issue?
• Does your license file have the cluster HOSTNAME in uppercase? The cluster hostname is always uppercase.
• For Windows Server 2003:
  1. In the Cluster Administrator, under the cluster name, expand Cluster Configuration > Resource Types.
  2. Verify that ctxlsclustres is a valid resource type (appears in green).

• For Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2:
  1. In the Failover Cluster Management window, from the left pane, select the cluster. In the middle pane, the summary information for the cluster appears.
  2. Click the Cluster Core Resources title to expand the section.
  3. Verify that the cluster resources are all online (green arrow).

Requirements for Clustered License Servers

The following list outlines the requirements for setting up a license server in a Microsoft Cluster:

• Before configuring Citrix Licensing for Microsoft clustering, you must have a fully-functional active/passive cluster environment. Citrix Licensing does not support active/active clusters.
• To cluster the license server, you must follow the following cluster requirements in addition to any requirements from Microsoft for hardware and clustering in general.
• You must install licensing on the cluster by starting the licensing setup program using a command line.
• When you install Citrix Licensing on a cluster, you must specify the name of the cluster when prompted for the name of the license server during product installation.
• Citrix recommends that you use identical license server hardware for both nodes in the cluster. In particular, Citrix recommends two network adapters on each node and the servers have one drive configured as a shared drive.
• Each node should have two network adapters—one for connection to the public network and the other for the node-to-node private cluster network. Citrix does not support using one network adapter for both connections.
• The public and the private IP address must be on different subnets because the Cluster Service will recognize only one network interface per subnet.
• A name resolution method, such as DNS, WINS, HOSTS, or LMHOSTS, is necessary to resolve the cluster name.
• Both servers that form the cluster must be in the same domain.
• The hostname of both servers must be ALL UPPERCASE.
• Set static IP addresses for the private network connector.
• When you generate a license file at citrix.com, use the name of the license server cluster when prompted for the host name.
• After you download a license file, you must copy it to the F:\Program Files\Citrix\Licensing\MyFiles folder (where F: is the shared drive for the cluster) on the license server and reread it. Alternatively, use the License Administration Console to download, copy, and reread the file.

Clustering CITRIX License server with Microsoft Clustering for High Availability

Clustering CITRIX License server with Microsoft Clustering for High Availability-

Cluster servers are groups of computers that are combined to increase availability, reliability, and scalability. Microsoft clustering functionality exists in Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008. Clustering the license server lets users continue working during failure situations without interrupting their access to critical applications. When the active node in a cluster-enabled license server suffers from hardware failure, fail-over occurs automatically. Resources are available again in a few seconds to a few minutes.

Citrix Licensing supports clustering the license server with two servers in a cluster and a shared drive. That is, you can cluster the license server in a two-node Microsoft Cluster in an Active/Passive Microsoft clustering configuration.

The following steps describe how to set up your clustered Citrix License Servers:-

1.  Start your installation on the active node of the cluster (ensure that node 1 is your

active node and has all the shared resources).

2.  Run the command prompt as administrator (right-click on the shortcut and click on

Run as Administrator).

3.  Use the following command to start the Citrix License Server installation wizard:

msiexec.exe /i ctx_licensing.msi CTX_CLUSTER_RESOURCE_DLL_

PATH="C:\ctxlic" REGISTER_CTX_LS_CLUSTERING="No" /log "clsinstall.

log"

4.  Accept the license agreement and click on Next.

5.  Select the cluster-shared drive as the drive for the destination folder path on the

Change Destination Folderpage.

6.  Accept the default port numbers for the Citrix License Server services on the

Configurationpage.

7.  Finish the installation.

8.  Use the Cluster Administrator console to activate the second node as the active

cluster node.

9.  Run the command prompt as administrator (right-click on the shortcut and click on

Run as Administrator on the second node).

10. Use the following command to start the Citrix license server installation wizard:

msiexec.exe /i ctx_licensing.msi CTX_CLUSTER_RESOURCE_DLL_

PATH="C:\ctxlic" REGISTER_CTX_LS_CLUSTERING="Yes" /log

"clsinstall.log"

11. Repeat step 4 to step 7 for other Node.

Keep the following points in mind:-

·        Because you already generated license files that reference a specific server name, you must either give the cluster the same name as the original license server or rehost your license files with the new name of the license server cluster.

·        Cluster names are always ALL UPPERCASE. Host names in license files are case-sensitive; therefore, the cluster names must be all uppercase in the license file. If they are not, you must rehost your license files with the correct capitalization of the names.

Open the License Administration Console in a cluster by browsing to:

http://clustername:web service port

Where clustername is the name of the cluster and web service port is the port number for console communications (the default port number is 8082).

Installing Citrix License server files manually

Installing Citrix License server files manually-

1. From a Web browser, go to http://www.citrix.com.
2. Click Log In and enter your user ID and password.
3. Select All Licensing Tools.
4. From the main menu, select Allocate.
5. Follow the process to allocate and generate your file.
6. Select the licenses you want to download, click Download and save the file to a directory (remember the location where you downloaded the file; you will need this location). This is the suggested location:
• C:\Program Files\Citrix\Licensing\MyFiles on a 32-bit computer
• C:\Program Files (x86)\Citrix\Licensing\MyFiles on a 64-bit computer
7. At the license server, copy the license file from the directory where it was saved to the MyFiles directory (C:\Program Files\Citrix\Licensing\MyFiles on a 32-bit computer, C:\Program Files (x86)\Citrix\Licensing\MyFiles on a 64-bit computer).

Imp : Ensure that the license file retains the ".lic" file extension. Some copy processes do not recognize a file type for that extension and add a ".txt" file extension during the copy. License files with the wrong file extension cannot be imported.

8. At a command prompt, navigate to:
• C:\Program Files\Citrix\Licensing\LS on a 32-bit computer
• C:\Program Files (x86)\Citrix\Licensing\LS on a 64-bit computer

To ensure that your copied license files are reread by the CLS, you can run the
following command:-
c:> lmreread -c @localhost -all

Licensing Server

Licensing Server -

 

Every Citrix product environment must have at least one shared or dedicated license server. License servers are computers that are either partly or completely dedicated to storing and managing licenses. Citrix products request licenses from a license server when users attempt to connect.

When users connect to a Citrix product, it draws licenses from the license server. That is, the Citrix product requests to check out a license from the license server on behalf of the user or client device. When the license is successfully checked out, the user can run the product.

Depending on the size and configuration of your product deployment, you may deploy licensing on a server shared with other applications, a dedicated license server, or multiple license servers.

License files must be located on the license server that is associated with the product you are licensing and the product must be configured to communicate with that specific license server. The License Administration Console lets you manage and monitor your Citrix licenses by providing a user interface to the license server. You can view a dashboard of licenses and alerts, import license files, and manage license server settings.

Citrix Licensing is a system of components that function together. This system includes:

• License server: A system that allows licenses to be shared across the network.
• License files: The files that you need to license your product. These files are stored on the license server.
• Console: The interface you use to manage your license files and your license server. For Licensing version 11.6.1 and later, this is the License Administration Console. (For previous versions, this is the License Management Console.)
• Product-side settings in your Citrix products that are associated with the license server.

 

There are three stages of the license checkout process.

A Citrix product goes through a three-step process to check out licenses:

1. At startup, a computer running a Citrix product checks out a startup license.
2. A client device connects to the product server.
3. The product requests a license from the license server.

Citrix products, such as XenDesktop, store a replica of the licensing information from the license server, including the number and type of licenses. If a Citrix product server loses its connection to the license server, the product enters a grace period and uses its local record of the licenses to continue licensing the product during the grace period. Citrix products update this record every hour.

License Server Components

The license server comprises several licensing components:

• Citrix vendor daemon
• Console
• License files
• Options file
• Startup license

Citrix Vendor Daemon

Licenses are granted by the Citrix vendor daemon (Citrix.exe), a process that runs on the license server. The Citrix vendor daemon tracks the number of licenses that are checked out and which product has them. Citrix products communicate with the Citrix vendor daemon using TCP/IP. By default, the Citrix vendor daemon uses TCP/IP port 7279.

License Files

License files are text files created by Citrix that store licensing data. They contain information about the product licenses and the number of licenses, as well as system information such as the name of the license server. The license server uses these files to determine whether to grant a license to a Citrix product.

Startup License

The startup license (citrix_startup.lic) allows Citrix products to communicate with the license server using a continuous open connection. The startup license:

·        Tracks which product servers are connected to the license server

·        Stores licensing system information

·        Does not affect your license count

Options File

The options file (Citrix.opt) is a license server configuration file that the Citrix vendor daemon reads every time it restarts or receives a command to reread the file. This configuration file defines licensing behavior—the number of licenses a product server can use, the location of the system logs, and other user-defined customizations.

The License Request Process

When a product requests a license from the license server, the Citrix vendor daemon determines whether a license is available for the request.

The license request process has two phases: the product startup phase and the user connection phase.

Product Start-Up Phase

·        When a Citrix product starts, it retrieves the license server location from its data store

·        The product connects to the Citrix vendor daemon

·        The product checks out a startup license

User Connection Phase

·        A user connects to a computer running the Citrix product

·        The product requests a license from the license server

·        The Citrix vendor daemon checks to see if any licenses are available and grants or denies the product's request

·        The license module in the product grants or denies the use of the product based on the response from the Citrix vendor daemon