License Manager Guide

Configure License Manager for use with Portal for ArcGIS

For installation of ArcGIS License Manager, please refer to the topic License Manager Installation and Startup. Installation procedures for ArcGIS License Manager software have not changed with the introduction of support for named user licenses.

After installation of ArcGIS License Manager, named user licenses may be added for ArcGIS Pro and Premium Apps. These licenses are obtained from the My Esri website, where a named user license file (*.lic) must be created for consumption by the License Manager. Following successful authorization of the named user entitlements on the License Manager, a portal configuration file (*.json) must be generated and exported to the Portal for ArcGIS instance.

Creating an authorization file in My Esri

For creating the named user license file in My Esri, the MAC address of the License Manager must be provided as part of the process. To identify the correct MAC address of the License Manager:

  1. Open the License Server Administrator from Start > All Programs > ArcGIS.
  2. In the Authorization panel of the License Server Administrator, press the Machine IDs button.
  3. Copy and paste or note the MAC address of the License Manager to which the file is going to be applied.

Be aware that a machine can have multiple MAC addresses. If this is the case for your machine, they will be listed separated by spaces. Any one of the listed MAC addresses can be used when creating the license file.

To create the ArcGIS Pro or Premium App named user authorization file:

  1. Login to the My Esri website and click My Organizations > Licensing > Create New Provisioning File.
  2. In Step 1A, select your Product Type, Version, and proceed to choose to provision core products, extensions, or both. Select Apply when finished.
  3. In Step 1B, allocate the number of ArcGIS Pro or Premium App entitlements you require and press Next.
  4. In Step 2A, add the end-user information.
  5. In Step 2B, enter the MAC address, as previously noted.
  6. In Step 2C, choose the delivery option for your file and press Create File.

Authorizing the named user authorization file in the License Manager

Following the creation of the named user authorization file (*.lic) in My Esri, the file must be authorized on the ArcGIS License Manager:

  1. Open the License Server Administrator from Start > All Programs > ArcGIS.
  2. In the Authorization view, choose Named User in the drop-down and then click Authorize Now. The Software Authorization Wizard will now be launched.
  3. In the Software Authorization Wizard choose the option I have received an authorization file from Esri and am now ready to finish the authorization process and then click the Browse button.
  4. Browse to a named user authorization (*.lic) file, select it, and then click Open.
  5. In the Software Authorization Wizard, press Next to complete the authorization process.
  6. A pop-up will be displayed confirming the named user licenses have been applied. Click OK to continue.
  7. A Re-reading Licenses message will be displayed for a few seconds.
  8. Once the re-read is complete, the named user licenses that were authorized can be inspected by going to the Availability view of the License Server Administrator and clicking the Named User dropdown in the upper right hand corner. All authorized ArcGIS Pro and Premium App named user licenses will be listed here.

For more information on understanding named user licenses in the Availability view of the License Server Administrator, please see the Useful Information and Best Practices topic.

Creating a Portal configuration file

Once the License Manager is authorized with named user licenses, a portal configuration file can be generated and transferred to portal to complete the licensing configuration. To generate the portal configuration file:

  1. In the License Server Administrator, go to Authorization view and click on the Generate... button under the Generate a Portal configuration file: item.
  2. A pop-up will provide the option to save the portal configuration file to a preferred location. The default file name (portal.json) may also be changed here. Use the created *.json file to authorize the Portal for ArcGIS which will support ArcGIS Pro and Premium App named users.

For more information on authorizing and configuring the Portal for ArcGIS for supporting ArcGIS Pro and Premium App named users, please see the Portal for ArcGIS help documentation. For configuring the ArcGIS Pro application for use with the Portal for ArcGIS, see the ArcGIS Pro help topics. For configuring applicable Premium Apps for use with Portal for ArcGIS, please see the relevant documentation for specific applications.

Performing an in-place upgrade of an existing License Manager with named user licenses

Named user licenses for use with a Portal for ArcGIS instance remain the same with ArcGIS License Manager 2018.1. If you perform an in-place upgrade of the ArcGIS License Manager software from versions 10.3-10.6, or 2018.0 to 2018.1, there is no need to re-authorize your valid named user licenses or export the Portal JSON file to Portal for ArcGIS. The in-place upgrade instructions for ArcGIS License Manager software can found in the License Manager Installation and Startup topic.

If ArcGIS License Manager 2018.1 for use with Portal for ArcGIS is installed on a new host machine, then the named user licenses must be authorized on the new License Manager and a new Portal JSON file must be exported to the ArcGIS for Portal instance.