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Citrix XenApp licensing error.

By Johan van Soest.

Published : 2014-01-29.

Last updated : 2017-05-02.

Console popup message :" Citrix XenApp cannot contact the license server" on Windows 2008(r2) with XenApp 6.0 or 6.5.
When your Citrix XenApp 6.0 or 6.5 server shows you a console popup message" Citrix XenApp cannot contact the license server %License_Server_Name%" check the event log on the server %XenApp_Server_Name% (Click Start button, type "eventvwr.exe", press enter and open the system log) . The XenApp server's system event log may contain warnings like:

Log Name: System
Event Level: Warning
Event Source: MetaFrame
Task Category: None
Event ID: 9015
Logged: 2012/03/21 18:59:10
User: N/A
Computer: %XenApp_Server_Name%
Description:
"Citrix XenApp has entered the grace period. You have 719 hour(s) remaining before this server stops accepting connections from client devices."

Event 9015 occurs every hour for 30 days.

Log Name: System
Event Level: Warning
Event Source: MetaFrame
Task Category: None
Event ID: 9026
Logged: 2012/03/21 18:17:53
User: N/A
Computer: %XenApp_Server_Name%
Description:
"Error 0 received while obtaining a license for a Citrix XenApp client connection. A grace license has been granted."

Event 9026 indicates when the problem started.

This check list may help you:

Ping the license server %License_Server_Name% to see if it is reachable from the XenApp server. (ICMP must be configured in all the firewalls) Try pinging the IP-Address of the license server to exclude DNS problems.
Open the Citrix License Administration Console webpage at http://%License_Server_Name%:8082 and check for errors. If the site is not available start a Remote Desktop session to the %License_Server_Name% or use another remote management tool such as VNC or GoToMyPC.
On the %License_Server_Name% server start the services management console by clicking the Start button, type "services.msc" and press enter
The Citrix Licensing service is probably stopped. Click on the service and click the "Start Service" button in the toolbar or right click the service and choose Start.
When your Citrix Licensing service starts now, make the Startup Type Automatic.
Check on your Citrix XenApp server's system event log if it can contact the license server again and that the grace period has ended. Within minutes the following events should register in the system event log:
Log Name: System
Event Level: Information
Event Source: MetaFrame
Task Category: None
Event ID: 9019
Logged: 2012/03/21 20:54:27
User: N/A
Computer: %XenApp_Server_Name%
Description:
"Citrix XenApp has successfully contacted the license server %License_Server_Name%."
And
Log Name: System
Event Level: Information
Event Source: MetaFrame
Task Category: None
Event ID: 9016
Logged: 2012/03/21 20:54:27
User: N/A
Computer: %XenApp_Server_Name%
Description:
"This server is successfully communicating with the license server. Citrix XenApp has left the grace period."
Now your Citrix XenApp licensing is running again.
However if the Citrix Licensing service stops without any error messages you have to dig deeper by opening the event log on the %License_Server_Name%. Open this log and check for event:
Log Name: System
Event Level: Error
Event Source: Service Control Manager
Task Category: None
Event ID: 7034
Logged: 2012/03/21 20:54:27
User: N/A
Computer: %License_Server_Name%
Description:
"The Citrix Licensing service terminated unexpectedly. It has done this 1 time(s)."
Open the Windows file explorer on the license server %License_Server_Name% and navigate to the folder C:\Program Files(x86)\Citrix\Licensing\LS\conf
Locate and rename both files "concurrent_state.xml" and "activation_state.xml" to "concurrent_state.xml.old" and "activation_state.xml.old". These files can become unusable and the Citrix Licensing Service, lmadmin.exe, does not properly handle the unusable files and crashes.
Switch back to the Services management console on the server %License_Server_Name% and start the service Citrix Licensing
Open the Citrix License Administration Console webpage at http://localhost:8082. Now the familiar web page should appear.
Check your Citrix XenApp server %XenApp_Server_Name% event log if it can contact the license server again and if the grace period has ended. Within minutes the following events should register in the system event log:
Log Name: System
Event Level: Information
Event Source: MetaFrame
Task Category: None
Event ID: 9019
Logged: 2012/03/21 20:54:27
User: N/A
Computer: %XenApp_Server_Name%
Description:
"Citrix XenApp has successfully contacted the license server %License_Server_Name%"
And
Log Name: System
Event Level: Information
Event Source: MetaFrame
Task Category: None
Event ID: 9016
Logged: 2012/03/21 20:54:27
User: N/A
Computer: %XenApp_Server_Name%
Description:
"This server is successfully communicating with the license server. Citrix XenApp has left the grace period."

It took me quite some time to solve this bug, I hope this check list helped you quickly.

Reaction from James Tuson via Twitter:

"Thank you so much for your detailed post "Citrix XenApp licensing error." It helped me fix the same problem in a stressful time"

Johan>Glad I could help.

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