Troubleshooting – 1

The below will be scenario troubleshooting methods to resolve the SOLIDWORKS SNL connectivity issue

Scenario 1:

The user complains he unable to open SOLIDWORKS,

The SNL service runs on the server and distributes the licenses to the separate client machines. However, if the service isn’t running (or has a problem) the system won’t function.

To Correct the problem, on the server press the windows key, and type “services”. Then open the Services application.

From here you will find the SNL Manager, you can Stop, Start and Restart the service from here.

n.b. if other machines are using the SOLIDWORKS on the SNL they may lose connection if you do this. It’s a good idea to check first.

If SOLIDWORKS has recently been installed it may be at a different year version compared to the server. The SNL is backwards compatible, so can be newer in version than the clients. However, its not forwards compatible.

The following needs to be done on the server:

To check the version of the SNL, open the start menu and type SolidNetwork. You’ll see the sever application in the list. Click on this one, not the client.

Once this application is open, Click the ‘About…’ button in the bottom left. You will be presented with a version number. In above example the number is 26.1.

This means the install is 2018 SP1 (the easiest way to work this out is to take 8 from the version number, i.e. 26 – 8 = 18, so… 2018! the .1 is the service pack version).

Check the connection

You may be receiving the “Could not obtain a license…“error message because you cannot get a physical connection to the server. Here’s how to diagnose and test this:

Ping the server: Open the command prompt in windows (type cmd into the start menu). Once open type: Ping <server computer name>

You should receive a response, if not you know the problem is an issue in your network. Try and reconfigure some of your network architecture and try again.

Firewall ports

If you can get a connection to the sever, it may be the port used for SNL communication is blocked. The SNL predominantly uses TCP port 25734, but also uses 25735 and 25744 for certain applications.

If you’re running a firewall you can allow connection over these ports by putting in exceptions. In this case we will look at how to do this in windows firewall.

On the server, open the start menu and type in Firewall with Advanced security to find the application where this can be set. Open the application and click:

1. Inbound Rule > New Rule…
2. Select Port on the first screen, click next
3. Select TCP and specific ports and enter “25734,25735,25744”, click Next
4. Select Allow the connection, click Next
5. Select Domain and Private
6. Give the item a name you can recognise, like SOLIDWORKS SNL
7. Repeat the same process on the client machine, but click Outbound Rule at step a

Scenario 2:

User experience crash with below error

“Unable to recover from a kernel exception.” Why is SOLIDWORKS Crashing?

The Unable to recover from a kernal exception error happens when the graphics card is selected for processing, but the GPU performance is much lower than the CPU performance. The workload sent from the CPU to the GPU is overloading the GPU.

Remove the use of the GPU for processing in the processing options:

NVIDIA Control Panel > Manage 3D Settings > Check Graphics tasks only

Also switch your Power Management Mode to Maximum Performance:

1. Open your NVIDIA Control Panel and select “Manage 3D settings”
2. Then, select the “Power Management mode” and change the option from “Adaptive” to “Prefer maximum performance”

 Scenario 3:

The user experience frequent crashes

1. Ensure that your graphics driver is certified.  This does not mean the latest driver.  The latest driver is not necessarily the greatest!  If your graphics card is not in the list of cards with certified drivers, then you may wish to download the latest driver from the manufacturer’s website.
2. Try running SOLIDWORKS in the two different RX safe modes to rule out the graphics card or SOLIDWORKS settings as the cause of the issue.  Close SOLIDWORKS prior to commencing safe mode testing.  If running in OpenGL mode (uses central processing unit [CPU] instead of graphics processing unit [GPU]) and SOLIDWORKS does not crash, then it indicates an issue with whatever graphics card/chip (a.k.a. Display Adapter) or its driver that SOLIDWORKS is normally using.
3. What graphics hardware is SOLIDWORKS normally trying to use?
   • You can find that out in SOLIDWORKS Rx->Diagnostics tab->Card Model.  Is it trying to use the Intel or equivalent basic chip, and yet you know you have something more SOLIDWORKS-capable such as Nvidia or AMD hardware in the computer?
   • If Intel is being used instead of the high-performance hardware, check your graphics card settings.  For Nvidia graphics processors, to access the control panel: right-click on desktop->NVIDIA Control Panel->Manage 3D Settings.  Check which graphics processor is set under Global or program-specific settings, and change if necessary.
   • We do not recommend disabling your basic graphics processor in Windows Control Panel->Device Manager, lest it lead to unforseen consequences (to reference a certain video game)!  If your graphics card/chip Control Panel doesn’t match closely to the images below, fear not…there may be other ways to set your computer to use the high-performance card.  Keep reading for details…

Selecting graphics processor in Nvidia Control Panel

Selecting graphics processor in AMD FirePro Advanced Settings

1. If using a workstation with multiple monitors, and Nvidia Control Panel (or AMD equivalent) cannot be used to select which graphics processor to use, confirm which monitor is connected to which video port on the computer.  If one of those ports is the motherboard (likely running an Intel or equivalent basic graphics processor), that may explain the crashing.  Try minimizing all apps (Windows+D), right-click on your desktop, and choose Display Settings.  Check which display is set as your main display.  If the main display is the one connected to the motherboard, try changing that setting so that the other monitor is the main, or try swapping the connections to the video ports if the plug style will allow that.  Once the main display is the one connected to your high performance graphics port (Nvidia or AMD), re-test in SOLIDWORKS Rx to confirm that the high performance graphics processor is the one being used by SOLIDWORKS.
2. If using a single monitor, to which graphics port is it connected on the computer?  For workstations, the Nvidia or AMD port is recommended, otherwise if plugged into the motherboard then it will likely limit graphics processing to the basic processor on that board, instead of the high-performance processor on the installed graphics card.  For laptops, the port(s) will likely allow either processor to be used, and Nvidia/AMD control panel software should be used to select which processor.
3. If using an AMD FirePro Graphics Card,

If you are using an AMD FirePro graphics card, there may be a setting you can apply for better performance and stability of SOLIDWORKS.  This option does not apply to all AMD FirePro cards, but it’s worth a quick check.

In the Windows Task Tray, you might see an AMD Control Center icon.  It may look something like this…

AMD Control Center

If you right-click on this icon, it should show your AMD FirePro card.  Hover over your card and choose 3D Settings > Standard Settings > High Performance.

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