How to connect to an ArcGIS License Manager using IPv4 and IPv6 connections.

Are you having trouble connecting to the ArcGIS License Manager (LM) when using IPv4 and IPv6 connections?  When using Dual-IP stacks, your computers and other devices can run both protocols however there can be issues when connecting to an ArcGIS License Manager.  The connection is usually set to be IPv4 (e.g. internal network) or to IPv6, for example MS DirectAccess, that uses IPv6 connections; not to both protocols.

Please note that the IPv6 is supported for the License Manager. However, only if the machine and operating system environment support IPv6.

If you require a connection for both protocols to a License Manager, a workaround is to configure the registry. It’s very Important that before making any modifications to the registry, back up the registry for restoration in case problems occur.***

Workflow:

On the client-side machine (where ArcGIS Desktop resides), update the ESRI LICENSE_SERVER registry key in the registry using Windows Regedit to add the second IPv6 address of a License Manager assuming if you have IPv4 connection. The following example is using a local network (IPv4) and a DirectAccess (IPv6) network.

• Open Windows Regedit:
• Navigate to Key Location (for License Manager 10.x).
  
  For example if you have installed ArcGIS Desktop 10.8 navigate to:
  Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\ESRI\License10.8\LICENSE_SERVER

• Right click to Modify and then Configure two licensing servers in the registry, one for the local network and one for the MS DirectAccess network, separated by a semi-colon, for example, @IPv4 address;@IPv6 address.

Once this is done, open the ArcGIS Administrator on the client machine and check the availability of licenses. The users with either IPv4 or IPv6 connections can then open ArcGIS Desktop irrespective of which of the protocols they are using.

***Note: You will be making changes to your computer’s registry. Esri Australia is not responsible for any incorrect changes made to the registry of your machine. Please use caution and proceed at your own risk. Consult with a qualified computer systems professional, if necessary.