What are the Causes for a EcoStruxure Control Expert Software License to Become Untrusted?

Issue
Control Expert license running in a VMWare virtual machine becomes untrusted when using a USB Ethernet Adapter or a Dynamic MAC Address.

Product Line
EcoStruxure Control Expert

Resolution

The following situations could cause an untrusted license:

• • Windows was not properly shutdown (crashed, blue screen, power outage) last time. This is especially a problem for floating licenses as server trusted storage files are always opened by vendor daemon.
  • Restoring of a disk backup
  • Disk encryption software is used that changed track 0 information and corrupted anchor information
  • Attempt to cheat or tampering by a hacker (copied Trusted Storage files to another machine)
  • Anchor information in registry got changed/manipulated (maybe registry cleaner was used)
  • Attempt to cheat or tampering by a hacker
  • Hard disk was exchanged
  • MAC address has been changed automatically or manually. For 'Hyper-V' VMs there exist MAC address assignment configuration that is by default set to dynamic but it must be static! For VMware moving of the vmx configuration file changes also the MAC address even when moved on same host in different folder.
  • Network card was exchanged
  • Primary network adapter changed after adding of further network cards
  • Virtual network adapter configuration was changed (manually or automatically by the hypervisor, e.g. at cloning of VM)
  • A snapshot of a virtual machine in running state is started after cloning of the virtual machine (cloning can be long time back!!!) and then rebooted. Only after the reboot, Windows detects the cloning that changes the MAC address and in consequence the UMN2.
  • A virtual machine that includes licenses was cloned (moving of the virtual machine does not change UMN3).
  • A snapshot of a virtual machine in running state is started after cloning of the virtual machine (cloning can be long time back!!!) and then rebooted. Only after the reboot, Windows detects the cloning that changes its internal IDs and in consequence the UMN3.
  • A virtual machine was reverted to a snapshot that includes licenses
  • Clock was winded back manually by more than a day
  • Clock was winded back automatically because of synchronization with time server or with host of virtual machine by more than a day
  • USB Ethernet adapter used to license Control Expert in a VM was unplugged and plugged back in (See following FAQ for more information.

To prevent this from occurring, use the following steps:

1. Shut down the virtual machine.
2. Close VMWare Workstation.
3. Remove the USB adapter.

Use the following steps to start the VM:

1. Ensure that the USB Ethernet adapter is plugged into the PC
2. Start VMware Workstation.
3. Start the virtual machine.

Note:

1. 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..
2. 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.

If the above listed reasons does not apply to your license untrusted situation,  we recommend that the end user open a case directly with our Technical Support group to help troubleshoot and resolve the issue.

For USA, Canada and Mexico you can contact thru the following:
Email address: src-americas@se.com
Phone number: 1-888-266-8705 and press Option 3

Released for: Schneider Electric USA