The ArcGIS Desktop Administrator is unable to connect to ArcGIS License Manager when network speeds are slow or while connected to a VPN

Description

In some cases, a concurrent use license may not be obtainable for the ArcGIS Desktop software from the license server over a VPN, dial-up, or a slow DSL/ISDN connection.

The following error is returned:

Error:
Provide your license server administrator with the following information:

Cannot connect to license server system.
The license server manager (lmgrd) has not been started yet, the wrong port@hostname in the license file is being used, or the port or hostname in the license file has been changed.
Feature: <product>
Server name: <license manager server hostname>
License path: @<license manager server hostname>
FLEXnet Licensing error:-15,570.

Cause

This issue has been reported in several cases with ArcGIS Desktop 9.3 through 10.5, which use Flexera Software’s (formerly Acresso) FLEXnet Publisher licensing technology. The steps outlined below have been found to mitigate the issue for users experiencing this problem. Similar problems have been reported by other software vendors using Flexers’s FLEXnet Publisher technology. Esri has notified Flexera Software of the problem.

Workaround

The amount of time the program waits for a response from the license manager can be increased by configuring an environment variable at the client workstation. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Click the Windows Start button. Search for and click Settings > About.
2. In the Settings window, on the About page, navigate to the Related settings section, and click Advanced system settings.
3. In the System Properties window, click the Advanced tab.
4. On the Advanced tab, click Environment Variables.
5. In the Environment Variables window, under System variables, click New.
6. In the New System Variable window, type FLEXLM_TIMEOUT for Variable name, and 1000000 for Variable value.
7. Click OK to close each window.
8. Launch ArcGIS Desktop.

If a license is obtainable, the value of 1000000 microseconds (1 second) is sufficient. If a license is not obtainable, repeat the procedure, increasing the value in 1000000 microsecond increments until a license is obtained from the license server.