FAQ: How to Update an expired Enterprise Geodatabase License

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Enterprise geodatabases are licensed through an ArcGIS Server authorization file. With an ArcGIS Enterprise (or ArcGIS Server basic) license, you can create or enable an enterprise geodatabases in ArcGIS Pro.

If your organization licenses ArcGIS Server for a set time period using a term license, the license is subject to expiration and must be updated manually on the machine hosting ArcGIS Server as well as the related enterprise geodatabase.

Your geodatabase administrator should update the enterprise geodatabase with a new ArcGIS Server authorization file to update the license information in the enterprise geodatabase before the existing license expires. This allows clients to continue working with the geodatabase without interruptions caused by expired licenses.

Use the below workflow to update the enterprise geodatabase license information:

  • Log in to My Esri to obtain the new license file for the new term date and Authorize the new ArcGIS Server term license. Refer to How to Replace expired ArcGIS Server licenses for more information on this process.
  • Copy the keycodes file generated on the ArcGIS Server hosting machine in the following location: \\Program Files\ESRI\License<release#>\sysgen (Microsoft Windows servers) or /arcgis/server/framework/runtime/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/ESRI/License<release#>/sysgen (Linux servers) to the ArcGIS Pro machine from where you will update the enterprise geodatabase license.
  • In ArcGIS Pro, connect to the enterprise geodatabase as the geodatabase administrator (SDE user).
  • Right click on the geodatabase and select properties to open the ‘Database Properties’ dialog.
  • Expand the ‘Enterprise License Expiration’ section and note the current expiration date of the Enterprise license.
  • Click on ‘Update License’ and select the keycodes file copied over from the ArcGIS Server hosting machine. The license information in the enterprise geodatabase is updated and the new Enterprise license expiration date is shown.
  • Alternatively, the geoprocessing tool, “Update Enterprise Geodatabase License” can be used to update the license. The tool requires as input a connection to the enterprise geodatabase made with the geodatabase administrative user (SDE) and the authorization (keycodes) file copied over from the ArcGIS Server hosting machine.

If the license of an enterprise geodatabase is left to expire, ArcGIS Pro users will see an error message when attempting to connect to the geodatabase. The error message instructs users to contact their geodatabase administrator.

In ArcGIS Enterprise, web layers referencing data in the enterprise geodatabase will become unresponsive and fail to render in web maps. Severe errors messages will also be seen in the ArcGIS Server Logs as shown below:

When the geodatabase administrator (SDE user) attempts to connect to an enterprise enterprise geodatabase with an expired license, they will be prompted to provide the path to the keycodes file as shown below.

While this approach also updates the license of the enterprise geodatabase, it can lead to interruptions and downtime for users and services. It is therefore recommended to update the ArcGIS Enterprise license prior to the expiration date.

References:

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