Environment
LANDESK Management Suite 9.0
LANDESK Management Suite 9.5
LANDESK Management Suite 9.6
Problem/Issue/Symptoms
The on line activation process of a LANDESK Management Suite Core server fails.
Causes
The most common causes for this issue are:
- Lack of http connectivity towards license.landesk.com
- Missing certificates on the core
- Missing registry key for the activation URL
Solutions
1) Lack of http connectivity towards license.landesk.com
1.1) Check if your core server is able to communicate with license landesk com, executing a ping license.landesk.com in a command prompt, a public IP address should reply, for instance 204.246.148.180.
1.2 Verify that you can open in a browser the following URL:http://license.landesk.com/authorizationservice/licensing.asmx
1.3) Verify that the proxy options used in your web browser are the same used in your Core Server Activation, if the browser is able to reach the URL just checked.
1.4) Verify that the software and hardware firewalls between your core and the internet allow your core to reach license.landesk.com on the tcp port 80 (http).
1.5) Verify that your %windir%\system32\drivers\etc\hosts file doesn't contain any line referring to license.landesk.com
2) Missing certificates on the core
2.1) In the folder %programfiles(x86)%\LANDesk\Shared Files\keys\. You should find one file for each of the following extensions: .0, .cer, .crt and .key. If you are running a 32 bit server remove the (x86) part in the path. On a 9.6 Core user the %programfiles% folder instead.
2.2) Verify that the registry key CertName in HKLM\Software\Wow6432Node\LANDesk\ManagementSuite\Setup is pointing to the right certificate name. On a 9.6 core remove the Wow6432Node part from the registry path.
2.3) Verify to have a .0 file with the same name as the one just checked in the folder %programfiles(x86)%\LANDesk\Shared Files\cbaroot\certs\. If you are running a 32 bit server remove the (x86) part in the path. On a 9.6 Core user the %programfiles% folder instead.
2.4) To troubleshoot a missing or deleted certificate follow this article: How to troubleshoot a missing or deleted core certificate.
3) Missing registry key for the activation URL
3.1) Verify the presence of the AuthorizationServiceUrl key in HKLM\Software\Wow6432Node\LANDesk\ManagementSuite. The value of the key (string) must be http://license.landesk.com/authorizationservice/licensing.asmx On a 9.6 core remove the Wow6432Node part from the registry path.
4) Other complementary tasks
4.1) Run the core server activation as an administrator
4.2) Track the activation process with procmon or wireshark to check if the core is really able to communicate with license.landesk.com
4.3) Delete the content of the %temp%, %tmp% and %windir%\temp folders
4.4) Delete all the .txt and .save files in the %programfiles(x86)%\LANDesk\Authorization Files\ folder\. If you are running a 32 bit server remove the (x86) part in the path. On a 9.6 Core user the %programfiles% folder instead.
5) Other resources
5.1) Unable to activate an 8.7 / 8.8 core server online: https://community.landesk.com/docs/DOC-29443
5.2) Manually activating the core server via email: How to Activate the Core Server
5.3) Missing licenses and subscriptions after a major release upgrade: The core server you are connecting to does not appear to have a valid license