Search

FME Flow Troubleshooting: Licensing

Liz Sanderson
Liz Sanderson
  • Updated

Full Guide: FME Flow Troubleshooting Guide

Are you encountering issues licensing your FME Flow (formerly FME Server)?

There are two methods of licensing FME Flow, automatic and manual. If you are attempting to license FME Flow for use with Dynamic Engines you must use the automatic method. 
If you have not already done so, start by reviewing the Request and Install a License documentation.

In 2023, FME Server underwent a name change and is now known as FME Flow. Since this article discusses features present in previous versions of FME, it will refer to both names interchangeably, using the appropriate product name based on the year the feature was introduced. For more information on the rebranding, see our website. 

Content Overview

 

General Troubleshooting

 
  • On the Licensing page is FME Flow picking up a valid license?
  • If your license is valid but your submitted jobs are stuck in the queue check out this article. 
  • Have you tried refreshing your license?
  • Have you tried requesting a new license?
  • Check the fmeserver.log (Resources > Logs > Core >Current) to see if there are any error messages.

 

Common Issues

“FME Flow is picking up an old, incorrect or expired license”

Delete any files that are present in <FMEFlowSystemShare>\licenses, reload the Licensing page in the FME Flow Web Interface and request a new license. 
Note: You will need your serial number

“FME Flow automatic licensing isn’t working or is hanging”

Is your FME Flow on a machine that can reach the internet? 

If you have a strict firewall in place check to see if port 80 is open and make sure FME Flow can communicate with the URLs used for automatic licensing requests . 

If not, you should use the manual licensing method. This will download a JSON file which you can email to codes@safe.com and they will respond with a license file that you can upload to FME Flow.

"The license file failed to upload or the license request did not succeed"

These errors are commonly caused by a permissions issue. Make sure that the account running FME Flow Services has been granted full control of the FME Flow System Share.  
[More Information]

“The uploaded license file is invalid”

When a license file is generated it is tied to a machine key. View the .fmelic file located in <FMEFlowSystemShare>\licenses in a text editor and check that the MACHINE CODE listed matches the Machine Key on the FME Flow Licensing page in the Web UI. If it does not match, you’ll need to request a new license file. 

"I am logged in as an fmeadmin/fmesuperuser, but I can't see the Licensing page and other items are also missing from the Web Interface"

This symptom is commonly associated with an improperly configured FME Flow Database. This issue is experienced more often when selecting a 3rd-party database provider (Oracle, PostgreSQL, Microsoft SQL Server), but can also occur with the default FME Flow Database.

Check the tables fme_subscriber, fme_publisher, and fme_service. Are there any records in these tables? If not, this identifies a backend database that is not fully configured.

Note: The default FME Flow Database option provides the pgAdmin4 application in <FMEFlow>\Utilities\pgsql\bin

To resolve this issue, try manually running the following Post-Configuration Scripts located in <FMEFlowDir>\Clients\utilities:

  • configureDemoWorkspaces.sh
  • addServices.sh
  • addSubscribers.sh
  • addPublishers.sh
  • addCleanupTasks.sh
Note: You may need to run this script as an administrator (right-click and select Run as administrator).
 
"I am logged in as an fmeadmin/fmesuperuser, but the Licensing page only is missing from the Web Interface"

This issue has been observed on Linux OS when the ‘other’ user did not have read permissions to the fme_server_license.code file in <FMEFlowSystemShare>\licenses. To resolve this issue grant full control for all users to this file e.g. chmod 777

“I have renewed my license but it is still showing as expired”

If you have FME Server licenses as part of a subscription these licenses have an expiry date. In FME Server 2022 and newer when the expiry date is nearing FME Server will check periodically ro see if the subscription renewal process has been completed, if it has the license will be refreshed automatically. However in older versions of FME Server after a subscription is renewed the administrator must manually refresh the license from the FME Server Web UI to update the expiry date. 

If you are using FME Server 2019 or newer you can make use of System Events to find out when your license is due to expire. System Events can be found under Admin> System Configuration. Under the Configuration tab within this page, you can find the option for 'License Expiry' and enable send email notifications for this event. You'll also be able to specify how many days before the license expires you'd like to be notified. To send notifications, you must configure System Email, this is the email server FME Server will use to send these notifications out.


“FME Flow is successfully licensed but Dynamic Engines are disabled” 


Dynamic Licensing is supported using automatic mode only, if you are manually uploading a license file, you will not be able to use Dynamic Engines. 

If you have a locked-down environment, make sure these URLs  are accessible.

If you are still experiencing issues enabling Dynamic Engines, contact your Account Manager or sales@safe.com to check that credits were correctly applied to your serial number.    


“My Dynamic Engines were enabled but now show as disabled even though I have credits remaining”

If your FME Flow cannot communicate with the backend licensing server for 7 consecutive days Dynamic Engines will be disabled. If this happens, make sure these URLs are accessible and check the fmeserver.log for any errors.


“After purchasing additional Engines they are not showing up on my license”

If additional engines have been allocated to your serial number you’ll need to ‘Refresh License’ from the Licensing page in the FME Flow Web UI to fetch this information. If refreshing the license file does not update the number of engines available please try to generate the license file again by requesting a new license instead. 

If requesting a license does not work, please contact your account manager to ensure your order has been processed and the asset has been updated. 

Additional Resources

[Documentation] FME Flow Licensing
[Article] FME Flow Automatic Licensing URLs 


Are you still experiencing issues?

Please consider posting to the FME Community Q&A if you are still experiencing issues that are not addressed in this article.

Have ideas on how to improve this?

You can add ideas or product suggestions to our Ideas Exchange.

Was this article helpful?

Comments

0 comments

Please sign in to leave a comment.