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Event ID 5 — Client Access License Pack Activation

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The Microsoft Software License Terms for Windows EBS give you the right to install and use the server software. However, every connection to the Windows EBS network requires a Windows EBS client access license (CAL) to provide a network user with access to network resources. In Windows EBS, a single CAL provides access to the product services and resources that are enabled by the integrated server solution.

Event Details

Product: Windows Operating System
ID: 5
Source: Microsoft-Windows-Windows Server Solutions Client Access Licensing
Version: 6.0
Symbolic Name: LIC_LICPACK_FAILED
Message: License pack activation failed due to error code: %1.%r%2

Diagnose

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

  • The user account that you are using does not have permission to install and activate a CAL pack.
  • The CAL pack is already installed (error code 0xcfff1208).
  • The CAL pack cannot be activated because of problems with Internet connectivity.
  • The SYSTEM account does not have permission to write to the Active Directory database.

The user account does not have permission to install and activate a CAL pack

To install and activate a CAL pack, 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."

The CAL pack is already installed

Only one instance of a CAL pack can be installed on Windows EBS.

To determine if a CAL pack is installed

  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.
  3. Click Installation History, and then look for the CAL product key in the Product Keys column.

If the CAL pack is installed and you need more licenses, see the section titled "Add new Client Access License packs."

The CAL pack cannot be activated because of problems with Internet connectivity

To determine if Internet connectivity problems exist

  1. Click Start, click All Programs, click Windows Essential Business Server, and then click Windows Essential Business Server Administration Console.
  2. Click the System Health tab.
  3. In the list pane, click Internet Services, and then review the alert information that is provided in the details pane.

If an alert is reported for Internet Services, see the section titled "Identify and fix Internet connectivity."

The 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 pack is already installed

Add new Client Access License packs

The Install CAL Packs Wizard cannot access the Internet

Identify and fix Internet connectivity issues

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

Add new Client Access License packs

To resolve this issue, you must ensure that the CAL pack that you are installing is not already installed. You can install a new CAL pack if all of the CALs are assigned.

If you identify that all of the client access licenses (CAL) in a pack are assigned and 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).

Identify and fix Internet connectivity issues

To resolve this issue, ensure that the Windows EBS servers can access the Internet to activate your new client access licensing pack.

To identify and fix Internet connectivity issues

  • If an alert is reported on the System Health tab of the Administration Console, perform the recommended action to resolve the alert. For more information about monitoring system health in Windows EBS, see "System Health Monitoring" at the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=136783).
  • In Device Manager, check the status of the network adapter. To open Device Manager, click Start, click Run, type devmgmt.msc, and then click OK.
  • Check the network connectivity indicator lights on the computer and at the hub or router. Check the network cabling.
  • Check the firewall settings by using the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security snap-in. For more information about troubleshooting and configuring Windows Firewall, see "Windows Firewall" at the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=136738).

Restore SYSTEM account permissions

To resolve this issue, ensure that the SYSTEM account has Read and Write permission to 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

Verify that the account you are using belongs to the Administrators security group

To verify that the account you are using belongs 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. In the details pane, ensure that Administrators is listed in the Group Membership section.

Monitor Client Access License compliance

You can monitor your client access license (CAL) compliance in the Administration Console.

To verify CAL compliance

  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.
  3. In the results pane, review the Status of each of the CALs in your network for compliance with the licensing terms for Windows EBS. The details pane shows the number of CALs that are installed, assigned, and available for assignment.

Ensure that Internet Services alerts are not reported on the System Health tab of Windows EBS

  1. Click Start, click All Programs, click Windows Essential Business Server, and then click Windows Essential Business Server Administration Console.
  2. Click the System Health tab.
  3. In the list pane, click Internet Services, and then review the alert information that is provided in the details pane.

Client Access License Pack Activation

Windows EBS