Hello, everyone,

I decided I want to learn Houdini and downloaded version 8.0.410 today. After the installation I started Houdini Master and then chose to get a non-commercial license. This failed with the message “cannot generate server key”. I opened the website that was provided to manually genereate the license keys, filled in my server name and code, but got the same message again. Is there a problem with the website?

How do I get the apprentice version licensed?

Cheers,
Marc


PS: I use Windows XP Pro SP2 (does Houdini run under Win2K?) and am connected to the internet through a LAN router. The license administrator launches fine and I have tried the automatic process with stand-alone both on and off.

- EDIT:
NEW SETUP, NEW ERROR MESSAGE, STILL NO LICENSE. READ BELOW.

I just managed to get a new license so I don't think it's a server problrm. Try this. From the License Administrator, choose from the top menu, View > Diagnostic Information. Please the post the result here.

I just installed on 2 computers and tried to put it on a third which is on the same network and it gives me the same error. this is what the diagnostic printout says

Diagnostic Output
==================
If you are having licensing problems, please save this information and email it
to support@sidefx.com.

License Administrator output
=============================
Generated on Sun Dec 04 220937 2005
Local host name RVJA24
Local server code 3d83b507
Local ip address 127.0.0.1
Number of servers 1
License server name rvja24 (rvja24)
License server server code 3d83b507
Server ip address 127.0.0.1
License server is running Yes
May read licenses from server Yes
Has SERVER license No
License server version 8.0.313
May modify server from this machine Yes
Redundant server keys 0
Name Code Redundant Connected Transmission OK
—- —- ——— ——— —————
License Administrator version 8.0.313
Http proxy host (none)
Using standalone mode Yes
Can retrieve http//license.sidefx.com/index.php No (ERROR Could not read response from the web server.)

Installed licenses
LicID Platform Product Ver Avail Expiry
—– ——– ——- — —– ——

sesictrl -i output
===================
—– SERVER rvja24 ——–

*** WARNING *** - No valid server lines found




hserver -l output
==================
Hostname RVJA24
Uptime 01536
License Server rvja24
Server Version sesinetd8.0.313
Version Houdini8.0.313
ReadAccess +.+.+.*
WriteAccess +.+.+.*

163 of 255 Mb available
CPU Usage 4% load
0 active tasks (1 slots)



licenses file
==============
* Could not open the licenses file. *

jjstanley, I think your problem is different from klausmehnke's. I can see two potential problems on your end:

1. You're using a beta version. Please download 8.0.410. The first official non-beta build I think was 8.0.383. However that build had a bug where standalone mode (Windows only) did not work.

2. The computer that you're installing from doesn't seem to have access to the internet (or that it requires a proxy server) because the license administrator can't contact http://license.sidefx.com/index.php [license.sidefx.com]. So you might need to get an Apprentice license for that machine manually.

Thanks for the quick reply Edward. The computers do have a dial-up internet connection which I am useing right now but none of them would connect to the server automaticaly so there must be something wrong with the network somewere but the others worked perfect with the manual install. The others are the same build as well. I will download a newer version when I get to a highspeed connection.
How would I set up a Proxy connection? I assume I would use the IP of the router but which port?
Thanks for the help.

Thanks for your help, Edward,

below is the diagnostic information. Licensing manually through the website still does not work for me. My LAN router is also my DSL modem and has a firewall built in, but I don't have to use a htpp-proxy for anything. Would I have to open certain ports for the license administrator? What about the Windows-XP firewall? I added the license administrator to the exceptions there.

Cheers,
Marc

PS: Does Houdini work under Windows 2000?


License Administrator output:
=============================
Generated on: Mon Dec 05 11:21:19 2005
Local host name: dualathlon
Local server code: eb66f567
Local ip address: 192.168.1.13
Number of servers: 1
License server name: dualathlon (dualathlon)
License server server code: eb66f567
Server ip address: 192.168.1.13
License server is running: Yes
May read licenses from server: Yes
Has SERVER license: No
License server version: 8.0.410
May modify server from this machine: Yes
Redundant server keys: 0
Name Code Redundant Connected Transmission OK
—- —- ——— ——— —————
License Administrator version: 8.0.410
Http proxy host: (none)
Using standalone mode: No
Can retrieve http://license.sidefx.com/index.php: [license.sidefx.com] Yes

Installed licenses:
LicID Platform Product Ver Avail Expiry
—– ——– ——- — —– ——

sesictrl -i output:
===================
—– SERVER dualathlon ——–

*** WARNING *** - No valid server lines found




hserver -l output:
==================
Hostname: dualathlon
Uptime: 0:11:13
License Server: dualathlon
Server Version: sesinetd8.0.410
Version: Houdini8.0.410
ReadAccess: +.+.+.*
WriteAccess: +.+.+.*

1749 of 2047 Mb available
CPU Usage: 3% load
0 active tasks (2 slots)



licenses file:
==============
* Could not open the licenses file. *

NEW DEVELOPMENT:

Edward,
I had to change my system back to Windows 2000 due to stability issues. Installed Houdini 8.0.410 again in standalone mode.

This time I was able to get a SERVER license, but no application licenses through the automatic procedure. The error message is now “Error installing key XYZ. Invalid license key specified”

I tried it through the website and this time it worked, well at least I was given three keys: one server, one Master, one render. The key for Master is the same as in the error message above. And upon entering it manually I get the same message again: “Invalid license key specified”

Below is the diagnostic printout again.

Thanks for your efforts,
Marc

Diagnostic Output:
==================
If you are having licensing problems, please save this information and email it
to support@sidefx.com.

License Administrator output:
=============================
Generated on: Mon Dec 05 17:31:41 2005
Local host name: DUAL-ATHLON
Local server code: eb66f567
Local ip address: 127.0.0.1
Number of servers: 1
License server name: dual-athlon (dual-athlon)
License server server code: eb66f567
Server ip address: 127.0.0.1
License server is running: Yes
May read licenses from server: Yes
Has SERVER license: Yes
License server version: 8.0.410
May modify server from this machine: Yes
Redundant server keys: 1
Name Code Redundant Connected Transmission OK
—- —- ——— ——— —————
dual-athlon eb66f567 no - -
License Administrator version: 8.0.410
Http proxy host: (none)
Using standalone mode: Yes
Can retrieve http://license.sidefx.com/index.php: [license.sidefx.com] Yes

Installed licenses:
LicID Platform Product Ver Avail Expiry
—– ——– ——- — —– ——

sesictrl -i output:
===================
—– SERVER dual-athlon ——–
Serv dual-athlon eb66f567
redundant: no
connected: no
transmission successful: no



hserver -l output:
==================
Hostname: DUAL-ATHLON
Uptime: 0:07:19
License Server: dual-athlon
Server Version: sesinetd8.0.410
Version: Houdini8.0.410
ReadAccess: +.+.+.*
WriteAccess: +.+.+.*

1703 of 2047 Mb available
CPU Usage: 0% load
0 active tasks (2 slots)



licenses file:
==============
## Side Effects Software License File
#
# For license information, please contact:
# Side Effects Software Inc.
# 123 Front St. West, Suite 1401
# Toronto, Ontario, Canada
# M2J 2M2
# licensemanager@sidefx.com
# http://www.sidefx.com [sidefx.com]
#
# NOTE: This file may be modified by the licensee
#

# Key installed 17:20:06 12/05/05
SERVER dual-athlon eb66f567 54918d7f868e7623b4284a3c61e25c0336b8ac35e39191

jjstanley
How would I set up a Proxy connection? I assume I would use the IP of the router but which port?

That would depend on your particular network configuration. It should correspond to whatever your web browser is using if you need a proxy.

Installed Houdini 8.4 last night, and at first it wouldn't connect to the license server period. I attempted the manual license procedure, and that wouldn't work either. I have tried again today (several times) and now I can contact the server but I am getting an error: invalid license key and it will not give me the option of attempting a manual key. Any thoughts?

Diagnostic Output:
==================
If you are having licensing problems, please save this information and email it
to support@sidefx.com.

License Administrator output:
=============================
Generated on: Mon Dec 05 12:17:35 2005
Local host name: OEMCOMPUTER
Local server code: c3d558e7
Local ip address: 127.0.0.1
Number of servers: 1
License server name: oemcomputer (oemcomputer)
License server server code: c3d558e7
Server ip address: 127.0.0.1
License server is running: Yes
May read licenses from server: Yes
Has SERVER license: Yes
License server version: 8.0.410
May modify server from this machine: Yes
Redundant server keys: 1
Name Code Redundant Connected Transmission OK
—- —- ——— ——— —————
oemcomputer c3d558e7 no - -
License Administrator version: 8.0.410
Http proxy host: (none)
Using standalone mode: Yes
Can retrieve http://license.sidefx.com/index.php: [license.sidefx.com] Yes

Installed licenses:
LicID Platform Product Ver Avail Expiry
—– ——– ——- — —– ——

sesictrl -i output:
===================
—– SERVER oemcomputer ——–
Serv oemcomputer c3d558e7
redundant: no
connected: no
transmission successful: no



hserver -l output:
==================
Hostname: OEMCOMPUTER
Uptime: 0:25:40
License Server: oemcomputer
Server Version: sesinetd8.0.410
Version: Houdini8.0.410
ReadAccess: +.+.+.*
WriteAccess: +.+.+.*

85 of 511 Mb available
CPU Usage: 7% load
0 active tasks (1 slots)



licenses file:
==============
## Side Effects Software License File
#
# For license information, please contact:
# Side Effects Software Inc.
# 123 Front St. West, Suite 1401
# Toronto, Ontario, Canada
# M2J 2M2
# licensemanager@sidefx.com
# http://www.sidefx.com [sidefx.com]
#
# NOTE: This file may be modified by the licensee
#

# Key installed 12:16:40 12/05/05
SERVER oemcomputer c3d558e7 e82162aeead52ab2f5c1f3ed15dd863d93d642eb44b18

It appears that the license generator server was having problems and may have generated bad keys. We've now manually removed them. Please try again.

Thanks for the heads up, Steve. I tried again, but to no avail. I got the following message:

Error Installing key: LICENSE Generic Houdini-Master-NonCommercial 8.0 1 04-jan-2006 +.+.+.+. oemcomputer b33de51a
1x6QtY7NK2wIa7uFPYkPRKTDNFHyvdBF4eOzrG5tlhEeW@VBr+4Rnq3

INSTALL ERROR: Invalid license key specified
ERROR: key installation failed for oemcomputer

Diagnostic Output:
==================
If you are having licensing problems, please save this information and email it
to support@sidefx.com.

License Administrator output:
=============================
Generated on: Mon Dec 05 16:22:22 2005
Local host name: OEMCOMPUTER
Local server code: c3d558e7
Local ip address: 127.0.0.1
Number of servers: 1
License server name: oemcomputer (oemcomputer)
License server server code: c3d558e7
Server ip address: 127.0.0.1
License server is running: Yes
May read licenses from server: Yes
Has SERVER license: Yes
License server version: 8.0.410
May modify server from this machine: Yes
Redundant server keys: 1
Name Code Redundant Connected Transmission OK
—- —- ——— ——— —————
oemcomputer c3d558e7 no - -
License Administrator version: 8.0.410
Http proxy host: (none)
Using standalone mode: Yes
Can retrieve http://license.sidefx.com/index.php: [license.sidefx.com] Yes

Installed licenses:
LicID Platform Product Ver Avail Expiry
—– ——– ——- — —– ——

sesictrl -i output:
===================
—– SERVER oemcomputer ——–
Serv oemcomputer c3d558e7
redundant: no
connected: no
transmission successful: no



hserver -l output:
==================
Hostname: OEMCOMPUTER
Uptime: 0:42:06
License Server: oemcomputer
Server Version: sesinetd8.0.410
Version: Houdini8.0.410
ReadAccess: +.+.+.*
WriteAccess: +.+.+.*

290 of 511 Mb available
CPU Usage: 1% load
0 active tasks (1 slots)



licenses file:
==============
## Side Effects Software License File
#
# For license information, please contact:
# Side Effects Software Inc.
# 123 Front St. West, Suite 1401
# Toronto, Ontario, Canada
# M2J 2M2
# licensemanager@sidefx.com
# http://www.sidefx.com [sidefx.com]
#
# NOTE: This file may be modified by the licensee
#

# Key installed 12:16:40 12/05/05
SERVER oemcomputer c3d558e7 e82162aeead52ab2f5c1f3ed15dd863d93d642eb44b18

edward
It appears that the license generator server was having problems and may have generated bad keys. We've now manually removed them. Please try again.

Well, I did get a different key from the website, but the error remains the same: Invalid license Key. Any other ideas? I just watched the SideFX show reel and would really, really love to get started.

Marc

Sorry for the delay. It appears that the license generator server problem has only now been corrected. Everyone who obtained a non-working license since 10:00am Eastern Standard Time will need to try again. Thanks for your patience!

Everything works fine. Got my license intalled automatically.
Thanks for the quick response.

Marc

Mine worked perfectly tonight. Thanks for the help!