Licensing problems tend to appear after an AVEVA installation, an upgrade or a server move, in a few typical forms: WindowMaker will not open, a client cannot get a licence, or a License Server goes into its grace period after a virtual machine is moved. AVEVA's documentation explains how the licensing works and where it usually goes wrong. This article collects those pages: server-based licensing in System Platform, the License Server and License Manager, the Flex subscription model, licence reservations for clients, virtual environments, AVEVA Historian tag licences and the known issues of recent patches. It is based on AVEVA's System Platform and InTouch HMI 2023 R2 SP1 P04 and Historian 2026 documentation.
1. Server-based licensing since System Platform 2017
AVEVA System Platform uses the server-based licensing introduced in System Platform 2017, which replaced the file-based licences of earlier releases and manages all licences centrally. Licences must be activated before use. For a plant upgrading from Wonderware System Platform 2014 R2 SP1, AVEVA's instruction is to install and configure a License Server node and activate the licences first, so that the plant keeps running through the upgrade.
2. License Server and License Manager
The AVEVA Enterprise License Server acquires, stores and serves the licences for all installed AVEVA software, and the License Manager is the browser-based tool used to manage them. Points from AVEVA's installation guide:
- Selecting Application Server, InTouch or any role that includes the Galaxy Repository selects the License Server and License Manager automatically, and they cannot be deselected while the Galaxy Repository is selected.
- By default both are installed on the Galaxy Repository node, but a dedicated License Server can be used, and the License Server can be installed separately from the License Manager.
- In a workgroup, the License Manager and License Server must be on the same node.
- Products and roles that do not have the License Server on the same node need the node name of the License Server.
- The License Manager opens in a browser at the AELicenseManager address of the node where it is installed.
Two practical notes come from the same guide. Licensing should not be changed, for example by switching License Servers or activating a new licence, while a product is running. Depending on the product, acquiring a new or changed licence can take up to 30 minutes; restarting the product makes it acquire the licence at once, although where products depend on each other AVEVA notes that the node may have to be restarted.
3. InTouch HMI licences and Flex subscriptions
InTouch HMI needs its licences activated before WindowMaker or WindowViewer can be used, and the License Server and License Manager are selected automatically when InTouch is installed. AVEVA's Flex subscription programme reduces the licensable items to three offers: Edge, Supervisory and Enterprise. Flex is based on named users and entitlement seats: each user is known by an AVEVA ID, and access is granted by assigning that ID to an entitlement seat in the CONNECT portal. With Operations Control connected experience, subscriptions are managed through CONNECT, which needs an internet connection, but a License Server is still required for some server and non-user-facing applications.
4. Reserving licences for client computers
A reservation keeps a licence available for one device whatever the number of devices connected. Each licence can be reserved for one device only, so when device names are not known in advance AVEVA suggests letting licences be taken first come, first served. The License Manager also allows a reservation for a user, but neither AVEVA OMI nor InTouch HMI ViewApps support user-based reservations, and the software then cannot acquire the reserved licence. AVEVA therefore says to use only device-based reservations for Supervisory Client licences.
The device name is the name of the computer running the ViewApp. For a ViewApp in a Remote Desktop session, the name follows the pattern RDS host name, RDP client name and index, joined by hyphens:
| Situation | Device name |
|---|---|
| ControlRoomA runs AVEVA OMI directly | ControlRoomA |
| ControlRoomB opens one Remote Desktop session on the server PrimaryRDS | |
| One client opens several sessions on the same server | the index counts up from 1 for each session |
5. Virtual machines, high availability and disaster recovery
License Servers are supported in virtual environments, but moving a licence from one virtual environment to another can look like an improper move and put the License Server into its grace period. AVEVA's documentation separates two cases for VMware and Hyper-V:
| Case | Grace period |
|---|---|
| High availability failover | not triggered, because the monitored environment values do not change |
| Disaster recovery activities | triggered, because the monitored environment values change |
To avoid the grace period in a disaster recovery setup, AVEVA recommends running the License Server outside the virtual DR environment with the redundant License Server configuration built into the software, or buying disaster recovery licences for a backup License Server. In all environments it recommends AVEVA System Monitor to watch licensing and raise alerts on grace periods and expiring licences.
6. AVEVA Historian tag licences
An AVEVA Historian licence allows a number of tags, and the License Server activates it in steps of 50 tags as tags are added: 120 tags use three steps. An incremental licence adds tags to an existing one. On a
7. Known licensing issues of recent patches
AVEVA lists known issues per patch. Two licensing issues in System Platform 2023 R2 SP1 P02:
| Issue | Symptom | AVEVA workaround |
|---|---|---|
| IMS 3978298 | on a node that also has AVEVA Work Tasks 2023 R2, the IDE does not start after Patch 02 because of a licence acquisition error | copy two named DLL files from the AuthenticationProvider folder to the Framework Bin folder, then restart the node |
| IMS 4014449 | AVEVA Connect cannot be configured after a repair of the License Server | close the Configurator, delete four named DLL files from the License Server folder, then check the AVEVA Connect configuration |
AVEVA's System Platform guide also carries a security advisory: where clients still use a licensing version older than AVEVA Enterprise Licensing Platform 4.0, configure licensing in secure mode on all nodes and uninstall the legacy support from the License Servers.
Checks we make first
These are TDL's working habits, not AVEVA requirements:
- Which node is the License Server, and whether each product points to it by node name.
- Whether the product was restarted, or 30 minutes have passed, since the last licence change.
- For a client, the exact device name the reservation expects, including Remote Desktop sessions.
- For a virtual machine, whether it was moved, restored or failed over to another host.
How TDL approaches it
TDL Industrial Automation is listed in AVEVA's Partner Finder as a System Integrator in the AVEVA Partner Ecosystem. We maintain AVEVA System Platform applications at Samsung SEHC under a yearly contract. Before an upgrade or a server move, we record the License Server node, the licences activated on it and the reservations for each client. More on this service: AVEVA (Wonderware) system integrator in Vietnam.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the AVEVA License Server installed by default?
On the Galaxy Repository node. A dedicated License Server can be used instead, and in a workgroup the License Manager and License Server must be on the same node.
How long does a licence change take to reach a product?
Depending on the product, up to 30 minutes. Restarting the product makes it acquire the new or changed licence at once; where products depend on each other, the node may have to be restarted.
Can an InTouch ViewApp licence be reserved for a user?
No. AVEVA OMI and InTouch HMI ViewApps do not support user-based reservations, so Supervisory Client licences should be reserved by device name.
Does a high availability failover put the License Server into its grace period?
No. In VMware and Hyper-V, a high availability failover does not trigger the grace period, while disaster recovery activities do.
Sources
- AVEVA, Server-based license, License installation and activation, Licensing information and License server, System Platform 2023 R2 SP1 P04
- AVEVA, InTouch HMI Licensing, InTouch HMI 2023 R2 SP1 P04
- AVEVA, Reserve license for client devices and Enterprise licensing support in virtual environments
- AVEVA, Licensing known issues
- AVEVA, About AVEVA Historian licensing and Refresh the license information, Historian 2026
Read 13 November 2026. This article paraphrases the sources and does not quote them; read the original documents before designing or working on a system.