Control Expert license running in a VMWare virtual machine becomes untrusted after unplugging the USB Ethernet Adapter.
If the USB Ethernet adapter is either removed or disconnected from the virtual machine before shutting down the VM, Control Expert will fail to start the next time that it is launched after starting the virtual machine. When this occurs, the License Manager will show the license as untrusted. This occurs only if the VM does not have a virtual network adapter configured.
The reason this issue occurs is due to the binding of the license to both the VMWare and Windows operating system hardware ID of the USB Ethernet adapter being deleted by both VMWare and the virtual machine operating system. When the USB Ethernet adapter is either removed from the PC or disconnected using the VMWare menu option ('VM\Removable devices'), it is viewed by VMWare and the virtual machine Windows operating system as a hardware removal. The next time that the USB Ethernet adapter is plugged in, it is interpreted as a new hardware being added and gets assigned a new hardware ID from both VMWare and the Windows operating system running in the VM. The lost binding and the difference in VMWare hardware ID assigned to the USB Ethernet adapter causes the license to become untrusted. The License Manager is behaving as designed to prevent piracy.
Attempts to return the untrusted license will fail. The reason why the untrusted license cannot get returned is due to the licensing system rejecting by design the repair of a license which had become untrusted in a VM. When this occurs, the untrusted license must get deleted from the License Manager and a forced return must be performed by the Schneider Electric Software Registration Center through the local technical support group.
To prevent this from occurring, use the following steps.
Use the following steps to start the VM,
Note:
A workaround for this issue would be to add an dummy NIC adapter to the VM. When adding in the dummy NIC adapter, it should not be connected or used for communications. The dummy NIC adapter is to ensure that a network adapter exists in the VM when either the USB adapter is removed or the VM s shutdown. Using the dummy NIC adapter will void the workaround.
The reason this issue occurs is due to the binding of the license to both the VMWare and Windows operating system hardware ID of the USB Ethernet adapter being deleted by both VMWare and the virtual machine operating system. When the USB Ethernet adapter is either removed from the PC or disconnected using the VMWare menu option ('VM\Removable devices'), it is viewed by VMWare and the virtual machine Windows operating system as a hardware removal. The next time that the USB Ethernet adapter is plugged in, it is interpreted as a new hardware being added and gets assigned a new hardware ID from both VMWare and the Windows operating system running in the VM. The lost binding and the difference in VMWare hardware ID assigned to the USB Ethernet adapter causes the license to become untrusted. The License Manager is behaving as designed to prevent piracy.
Attempts to return the untrusted license will fail. The reason why the untrusted license cannot get returned is due to the licensing system rejecting by design the repair of a license which had become untrusted in a VM. When this occurs, the untrusted license must get deleted from the License Manager and a forced return must be performed by the Schneider Electric Software Registration Center through the local technical support group.
To prevent this from occurring, use the following steps.
- Shut down the virtual machine.
- Close VMWare Workstation.
- Remove the USB Ethernet Network Adapter.
Use the following steps to start the VM,
- Ensure that the USB Ethernet Network Adapter is plugged into the PC
- Start VMware Workstation.
- Start the virtual machine.
Note:
- If the virtual machine is started without the USB Ethernet adapter plugged in, the virtual machine virtual machine Window operating system will view this as a new hardware being added the next time it is plugged in..
- If the USB Ethernet adapter is removed or disconnected while the VM is running, the binding will be lost when the USB Ethernet adapter is reconnected or plugged back in.
A workaround for this issue would be to add an dummy NIC adapter to the VM. When adding in the dummy NIC adapter, it should not be connected or used for communications. The dummy NIC adapter is to ensure that a network adapter exists in the VM when either the USB adapter is removed or the VM s shutdown. Using the dummy NIC adapter will void the workaround.
Released for: Schneider Electric USA
