Occasionally you may see a popup like this when trying to Activate a subscription:



Even though this message is a bit cryptic there is something about this message that tells us what is going on. This message is 1 out of 4 similar messages that will popup when something went wrong with the License Manager (LM).


Here are the 4 errors that could occur when trying to communicate with our servers:
  • Error(InternetNotConnected)
  • Error(IsServerAvailable) www server not responding!
  • Error(IsServerAvailable) register server not responding!
  • Error(null) result returned!

These texts are displayed in the popup that you see, but each of them happens at a different time during the communication process. Here's how to interpret each of these messages:
  • Error(InternetNotConnected) - This occurs when there is no Internet connection, either the NIC is down, not connected, or another problem with the physical Network Card exists on your computer. 
  • Error(IsServerAvailable) www server not responding! -  This occurs when we check to see if the www.agi32.com server is available. This is done before trying to connect to the Instabase or the Newsreel. This could also include a case where your local Firewall or Local Area Network is not allowing incoming/outgoing HTTPS (443) traffic.
  • Error(IsServerAvailable) register server not responding! - This occurs when we check to see if the register.agi32.com server is available. This is done before all License Server (LS) requests. This could also include a case where your local Firewall or Local Area Network is not allowing incoming/outgoing HTTPS (443) traffic. 
  • Error(null) result returned! -  This can occur after a successful check that the LS is available, but the response from the LS returns null because the request was invalid or had bad data. This does not include errors because the license has expired or the user doesn't exist, etc. This error is truly because the request was bad. The LS either could not read it, or it was formatted incorrectly. This is rare, but could occur if data is corrupt in the request packet sent to the LS.

So, what can you do about these errors? Well, generally these errors occur because a Firewall is preventing 443 traffic or in a broader sense, your LAN/WAN configuration is not allowing 443 traffic. There is a difference but they both have the same result, the program (e.g. AGi32) cannot connect to the LS or the Instabase.


We have devised a simple test to see if the connectivity issues you are having are on our end. To run the test, open a browser window and go here, or click this link:

       https://lightinganalysts.com/catalog/TestLicenseServerAPI.php 


Then locate your license file and drag and drop it into the drop area on the web page you just opened up. Your license file will be located in this folder, C:\ProgramData\Lighting Analysts\Subscription\License and it will end in the .lic extension. You should see an output like this:



Test 1 is essentially errors 1 and 3 combined. Test 2 checks to make sure the license file is not corrupt or formatted incorrectly. Test 3 sends a small packet to the LS to verify the license file. 


It is possible that this web test works when the program doesn't and that would indicate that more than likely your Firewall or Network is preventing the program from using Port 443. If this test fails then either your Network is having issues, or in fact our LS is down, and if that is the case, then Test 1 above will fail.


For additional information on Firewalls and using port 443 see this KB titled: Unable to connect to license server


Please note that we are unable to aid in Firewall or Network connectivity issues but we hope this test will help you to isolate the problem.


Best Regards,

The Lighting Analysts Team