Overview
itopia CloudApps delivers learning experiences from Autodesk, which offers applications for architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, education, and entertainment industries.
In this article, we'll review:
Included applications
The CloudApps Autodesk image includes the most recent generally available versions and the previous major version of the following applications:
AutoCAD - Autodesk's flagship computer-aided design (CAD) software, AutoCAD is used by architects, engineers, and structural designers to design, draft, and model buildings and other structures
Revit - The Revit line of software for building information modeling is designed to let users explore the planning, construction, and management of a building virtually before it is built
Fusion 360 - Fusion 360 unifies design, engineering, electronics, and manufacturing into a single software platform
Inventor Pro - Inventor 3D CAD software provides professional-grade mechanical design, documentation, and product simulation tools
3ds Max - 3ds Max is a longtime industry standard for creative modeling of characters, objects, and scenes and includes a powerful rendering engine
Maya - Maya is a cutting-edge 3D modelling and animation platform
Application Licensing
itopia CloudApps now supports both "named user" and "network license server" models. When creating a Class, you can optionally specify a public IP address and network port for your Autodesk license server.
Autodesk software is subject to Autodesk's licensing terms. Users are required to sign in to their licensed Autodesk accounts when launching software, or a valid network license server must be configured and reachable from the CloudApps network.
For information on education licensing, refer to Autodesk Education and Student Access.
Connecting to Your Licensing Server
Each virtual machine instance created through Labs is ephemeral and isolated from communicating with other devices over the network. For Autodesk applications to communicate with your license server from Labs, we must meet a few requirements.
CloudApps does not support private connectivity to on-premises networks (such as via VPN); therefore, your Autodesk license server must be accessible from the Internet with a static public IP or a dynamic DNS record that automatically points to the current IP address of your Autodesk Network License Manager server. This can be accomplished by creating a NAT on your firewall to allow the labs to communicate with your license server. Steps for creating a NAT varies per firewall vendor.
Your perimeter firewall device must be configured to allow traffic from the following IP addresses and TCP ports; these are the IP addresses that CloudApps sessions use for Internet connectivity.
Rule type | Source(s) | Port(s) |
Allow | 35.247.99.83/32 | TCP Daemon Port (see below)
TCP: 27000-27009 |
By default, the Autodesk licensing daemon assigns a dynamic port whenever the license service is started; you can manually specify a static port in your Autodesk license file by appending 'port=XXXX' to the line that defines DAEMON ADSK. For example, to specify port 2080, you can edit your license fille to change the DAEMON line to:
DAEMON ADSK port=2080
When you create a new Class in the Labs Admin Dashboard (labs-admin.itopia.com) and select an Autodesk image, you may optionally enter your license server's public address in the format:
[Port]@[IP address or DNS name]
Where Port is the daemon port and IP address or DNS name is the public address of your license server.
Troubleshooting Autodesk Network License Issues
There are two main reasons why a CloudApps VM may not be able to communicate with your network license server:
1. License Server Not Mapped to the Class
The most common issue is that a license server was not specified during class creation or was not mapped afterward. Every class that uses Autodesk applications must be assigned a network license server. This can be configured in the Admin Portal.
To assign a license server post-creation, follow the instructions in our guide:
👉 Application License Management
2. Firewall Configuration Issues
Another common issue is firewall misconfiguration. Your firewall must allow inbound connections from the CloudApps IP ranges listed above on the correct ports. (see ports above)
You may also need to configure port forwarding (NAT) to route the connection to the correct internal server hosting the Autodesk license manager.
To test connectivity from a CloudApps VM, open Command Prompt and run:
Test-NetConnection -Computer [License Server IP] -Port [License Port]
Example:
Test-NetConnection -Computer 192.168.1.250 -Port 2080
If the result shows TcpTestSucceeded: True, then the connection is successful, and the firewall is properly allowing traffic from CloudApps.
3. Missing CAM Ultimate Licenses (Inventor-Specific Bug)
There is a known issue with Autodesk Inventor Pro, where the application attempts to coordinate with a secondary software package called Inventor CAM Ultimate. This software requires its own set of licenses.
If your license server does not include CAM Ultimate licenses, users will be prompted to enter a license server every time they launch Inventor Pro. Although users can click the “X” or close the message to continue using Inventor Pro without issue, the prompt will continue to appear.
To permanently suppress this message, the necessary CAM Ultimate licenses must be installed on your Autodesk license server.
By checking and completing both steps above, most network license server issues with Autodesk in CloudApps should be resolved. If you're still experiencing problems, please reach out to our support team for further assistance with a screenshot or recording showing the issue.