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Event ID 11 — Client Access License Assignment

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Client access licenses (CALs) for Windows EBS must be assigned to user accounts or networked devices for your users to log on to the Windows EBS network. If you assign a CAL to a user account, the user can log on to Windows EBS from any networked device.

Event Details

Product: Windows Operating System
ID: 11
Source: Microsoft-Windows-Windows Server Solutions Client Access Licensing
Version: 6.0
Symbolic Name: LIC_LICTOOL_LICASSIGN_FAILED
Message: License %1 was not assigned to %2 object %3 due to %4.%r%5

Diagnose

This error might be caused by one of the following conditions:

  • The user account that you are using does not have permission to assign a client access license (CAL) to a user account or device or to remove a CAL from a user account or device.
  • All of the CALs in a pack are assigned (error code 0xcfff1200).
  • A CAL is being assigned to a user account or device that is already assigned a CAL (error code 0xcfff1212).
  • The Active Directory object that you are attempting to assign a license to does not exist, or an incorrect Object Type or Edition was specified.
  • The SYSTEM account does not have permission to write to the Active Directory database.

The user account does not have permission to assign or unassign CALs

To assign or unassign a CAL, the user account must be a member of the Administrators security group.

To determine if a user account is a member of the Administrators security group

  1. Click Start, click All Programs, click Windows Essential Business Server, and then click Windows Essential Business Server Administration Console.
  2. Click the Users and Groups tab, and then click User Management.
  3. Click the user account in the list, and then in the Group Membership section of the details pane, review the security groups that the user account belongs to.

If the user account is not a member of the Administrators security group, see the section titled "Add a user account to the Administrators security group."

All of the CALs in a pack are assigned

To determine the number of CALs in a pack that are assigned

  1. Click Start, click All Programs, click Windows Essential Business Server, and then click Windows Essential Business Server Administration Console.
  2. Click the Licenses tab, and then click License Management.

The number of CALs that are assigned from a pack are listed in the Assigned column of the list pane.

If all of the CALs in a pack are assigned, see the section titled "Reassign Client Access Licenses."

A CAL is being assigned to a user account or device that is already assigned a CAL

To determine the assignment status of the CALs in a pack

  1. Click Start, click All Programs, click Windows Essential Business Server, and then click Windows Essential Business Server Administration Console.

  2. Click the Licenses tab.

  3. Click User Licenses.

    The results view shows the user accounts that are set up in Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) and the CALs for Windows EBS that are assigned to them.

  4. Click Device Licenses.

    The results view shows computers and devices in AD DS and the CALs for Windows EBS that are assigned to them.

If the user account or device that you are trying to assign a CAL already is assigned one, see the section titled "Reassign Client Access Licenses."

The Active Directory Domain Services object does not exist or an incorrect Object Type or Edition was specified

This error occurs most frequently when using Windows PowerShell to assign a CAL to a user account or device. If you are using Windows PowerShell to assign or unassign CALs and this event occurs, see the section titled "Ensure the parameters are correct when using Windows PowerShell."

SYSTEM account does not have permission to write to the Active Directory database

If event ID 12 is reported in Microsoft-Windows-Windows Server Solutions Client Access Licensing at the same time that this event is reported, the SYSTEM account may not have permission to read or write to the Active Directory database. If this occurs, see the section titled "Restore SYSTEM account permissions."

Resolve

To resolve this issue, use the resolution that corresponds to the cause you identified in the Diagnose section. After performing the resolution, see the Verify section to confirm that the feature is operating properly

Cause

Resolution

User account does not belong to the Administrators security group

Add a user account to the Administrators security group

The CAL is already assigned to a user account or device

Reassign Client Access Licenses

The specified Active Directory object does not exist

Ensure parameters are correct when using Windows PowerShell

SYSTEM account cannot read or write to the Active Directory database

Restore SYSTEM account permissions

Add a user account to the Administrators security group

To resolve this issue, you must add the user account to the Adminitrators security group or use a user account that is already a member.

To add a user account to the Administrators security group

  1. Click Start, click All Programs, click Windows Essential Business Server, and then click Windows Essential Business Server Administration Console.
  2. Click the Users and Groups tab, and then click User Management.
  3. Click the user account in the list, and then in the tasks pane, click Change user account properties.
  4. Click Groups.
  5. In the Available groups list, click Administrators, and then click Assign.
  6. Click Apply, and then click OK.

If the task is successful, Administrators is listed in the Group Membership section of the details pane.

Reassign Client Access Licenses

To resolve this issue, you can reassign a CAL from a user account or device, or you can purchase and install a new CAL pack.

To reassign a CAL, you must unassign a CAL from a user account or device and then assign the CAL to a new user account or device.

To unassign a CAL from a user account or device, follow the procedures listed in "Unassign a Client Access License" at the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=136788).

To assign a CAL to a user account or device, follow the procedures listed in "Assign a Client Access License" at the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=136791).

If you need more CALs, you can purchase and install additional CAL packs. For more information about purchasing additional CAL packs, see "How to Buy" at the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=136766).

To install an additional CAL pack

  1. Click Start, click All Programs, click Windows Essential Business Server, and then click Windows Essential Business Server Administration Console.
  2. Click the Licenses tab, and then in the tasks pane, click Install CAL Packs to start the Install CAL Packs Wizard.
  3. Install one or more CAL packs by following the instructions in the wizard.
  4. Return to the Administration Console, click the Licenses tab, and then click License Management.
  5. Confirm that the licenses are added by checking the entries in the Edition and Total columns.
  6. View the Status column to see if your CALs are in compliance with the licensing terms for Windows EBS.

For more information about CALs, see "Client Access Licenses" at the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=108930).

Ensure parameters are correct when using Windows PowerShell

To resolve this issue, you must ensure that the objects listed as parameters to Windows PowerShell cmdlets exist in the Active Directory database. You must also ensure that the correct object type and CAL pack edition are specified.

To verify the names of user account objects or device objects in the Active Directory database

  1. On the Management Server, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Users and Computers.
  2. To verify user account names, expand the domain container, and then click Users. To identify user accounts, look for User in the Type column.
  3. To verify device names, expand the domain container, and then click Computers.

The object type can be either User or Device. The Edition can be either Standard or Premium.

For more information about using Windows PowerShell to manage CALs, see "PowerShell Cmdlets for Licensing Services" at the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=136795).

Restore SYSTEM account permissions

To resolve this issue, ensure that the SYSTEM account has Read and Write permissions for the Active Directory database.

To assign Read and Write permissions to the SYSTEM account by using the ADSI Edit snap-in

  1. Click Start, click in the Start Search box, type adsiedit.msc, and then press ENTER. The ADSI Edit snap-in opens in Microsoft Management Console.
  2. On the Action menu, click Connect to, accept the default selection of Default naming context, and then click OK.
  3. In the navigation tree, expand Default naming context, expand DC=<DomainName>, DC=com, and then click CN=System.
  4. In the containers pane, right-click CN=msWssgConfig, and then click Properties.
  5. Click the Security tab, and then click Advanced.
  6. Ensure that Current owner is set to SYSTEM.
  7. Click the Permissions tab, and ensure that the SYSTEM account has Read and Write permissions.

Verify

You must use an account that is in the Domain Admins group to perform this procedure.

You can monitor the assignment of CALs in the Administration Console.

To view CAL assignments

  1. Click Start, click All Programs, click Windows Essential Business Server, and then click Windows Essential Business Server Administration Console.

  2. Click the Licenses tab.

  3. Click User Licenses. 

    The results view shows the user accounts that are set up in Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) and the CALs for Windows EBS that are assigned to them.

    Note: The Administrator account is automatically assigned a Premium Edition CAL in all editions of Windows EBS. You cannot unassign this CAL.

  4. Click Device Licenses. 

    The results view shows computers and devices in AD DS and the CALs for Windows EBS that are assigned to them.

Client Access License Assignment

Windows EBS