[feynman]

Hard to say without being in your office and without a concise problem description.

Have you tried what I did? In my case (and I had this problem for over two years on and off) it was the MAC address on my laptop that was the culprit AND too many network adapters present and enabled.

Have you 1. looked up the MAC address on the machine running the RLM server (the laptop) and 2. the MAC address in the license file (on the laptop)? What I had to do next was to either disable WLAN on the laptop and all PCs (only then would the nodes license) or prioritise LAN over WLAN in the Windows 7 local policy settings on the laptop and all PCs.

[Neil Evans]

Hey

Thanks for the reply, the MAC address matches perfectly. I have disabled wireless lan on both the machines, ie laptop and render node and it still will not register. If I do it manually by editing the lic file and then fire up Maxwell render node I get an error saying 'communications error with license server, TCP server cannot listen port:45459.

I have not firewalls on.

If I fire a render node up on the laptop where the server is all works fine.

It also works when I am not conencted to the lan and am connect via wifi.

Weird one!

Cheers

Neil

[feynman]

Maybe I describe the whole process I went through to finally solve all my issues (and that of colleagues with similar set-ups - a laptop for work and some PCs to render with):

0. Disable the Windows firewall. Keep Microsoft Security Essentials on

1. On the laptop and all PCs, go to Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center and click on Change adapter settings. In Network Connections, disable the WLAN adapter by right-clicking on the WLAN icon. All your network connections can now only route through your ethernet based LAN

2. On the laptop and all PCs, right-click on the LAN icon and select Properties. Here, click on Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and then click the Properties button. Assign a static/fixed IP address to the laptop and all PCs - IP address: 192.168.2.2, Subnet mask: 255.255.255.0, Default gateway: 192.168.2.1, Preferred DNS server: 192.168.2.1 for the laptop and increment the last digit of the IP address on your PCs. Click OK, then Close

3. Back in the Network Connections window, press the Alt key on your keyboard. A menu appears under the window title bar. Click the Advanced menu and click Advanced Settings... You see the Adapters and Bindings tab open. In the Connections list, use the green up arrow buttons on the right to shift your LAN to the top - this prioritises LAN usage over WLAN usage (for later, once you have WLAN re-enabled on the laptop and the PCs). Click OK

4. On the laptop and all PCs, go back to Network and Sharing Center, you should see only Unidentified network and Work network below (see http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/71 ... ublic.html in case you have not set your Work network correctly and wonder how it can be changed). Also disable HomeGroup in case it is enabled. Click on See full map and click on Network map of LAN - Unidentified network; you should see your network layout (the laptop's icon, the PC's icons, the switch or router icon). When you hover over each icon, you see each machine's MAC address, IP address and name

5. Open an Explorer window. Click on Network, you should see all your machines (including your laptop). Clicking on each PC icon there should display the Users Share icon on the right

6. Go to C: > ProgramData (usually hidden in folder options, make temporarily visible) > Next Limit > Maxwell > licenses and open maxwell_suite_floating_lic with a text editor. The first line should read HOST localhost SOMELONGNUMBER 5053, that long number being the MAC address of your laptop's ethernet card. If the MAC address in the license file does not match the one of your laptop, delete the license and re-license

7. Open MR on your PCs - they should see your laptop and license alright

8. Now, re-enable your WLAN adapter on the laptop and those PCs that need WLAN

This is what worked for me and colleagues.

ps: If you happen to use a USB LTE stick to use the internet while on the road with the laptop or you are on site at a client location that forces you to use an external ethernet card for security reasons, Windows will take that MAC address instead of your ethernet card's MAC address - and your laptop will not start MR. You need to keep two or more license files for such use cases. I have not found a way around this latter issue; maybe some more knowledgeable MR user has.

[Neil Evans]

Hey Feynman

Thanks for the really good email.

I am not sure which bit of it fixed the problem but I know have a no working!! I can't get the mac running but at least I can work and render at the same now.

Thanks a lot, I owe you one

[feynman]

Good to hear. Render on!