Network Management

The License Store is inaccessible error when visiting License Manager in the SolarWinds Platform Web Console

This article describes what to do when the following message appears when you access the License Manager in the SolarWinds Platform Web Console.

First published date

10/19/2018 8:54 PM

Last published date

11/13/2025 12:39 AM

Overview

The following error is displayed when you access the License Manager page of your SolarWinds Platform Web Console:
 

The License Store is inaccessible. Restore connectivity to Main Poller <Pollername> in order to view or add licenses


Sample Image:

image.png


Configuration Wizard could show the errors that would result with the same behavior:

 

Product section

Network Performance Monitor

Cause

The Licensing Manager requires that the Business Layer on the main polling engine is running, and the website can access the License Store on the main polling engine. The error occurs in the following situations.

  • The Business Layer host on the main polling engine is down.
  • The connection between the website and the main polling engine is down.
  • DNS issues: the website cannot resolve the hostname of the main polling engine.
  • Migration was not completed successfully
  • BusinesslayerHost is not able to load the License Business layer.

Resolution

Initial troubleshooting steps 

  1. Verify that the main polling engine is up.
    • NOTE: If you deployed High Availability, this is the original primary server (the server specified in Websettings).
    • If you're not using HA anymore, clean the old remnant of the standby server.
  2. Verify that the Business Layer Host on the main polling engine is running:
    1. On the main polling engine, start the SolarWinds Platform Service Manager. See How to Start, Stop, or Restart SolarWinds Services with the SolarWinds Service Manager in the SolarWinds Platform.
    2. If the Orion Module Engine Service is down, restart it.
    3. Restart SolarWinds Information Services to resolve possible communication issues between SWIS and Business Layer Host.

DNS issues

If the above steps do not resolve the issue, continue to troubleshoot DNS issues.

  1. Ping the main polling engine from the webserver with issues, using the hostname.
  2. If the ping is not successful, add the hostname to your host file:

    1. Go to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc

    2. Open hosts in a text editor, and add a new line with the IP address and hostname of your main polling engine.
    • NOTE: To edit the hosts file, you need to launch the text editor as administrator.

If your issue still persists, review the steps for resolving incomplete migration.
 

Incomplete migration 

If the migration did not complete, follow the steps in this KB: Corrupted license store
 

Failed to load License Business layer 

  1. Use a text editor to examine C:\ProgramData\SolarWinds\Logs\Orion\BusinessLayerHost.log
  2. One error you may encounter is: 
    ERROR SolarWinds.BusinessLayerHost.PluginInstanceAppDomain - Plugin "Orion Licensing Business Layer" failed to start.
System.ArgumentException: Only the first eight characters of a custom log name are significant, and there is already another log on the system using the first eight characters of the name given. Name given: 'SolarWinds.Net', name of existing log: 'SolarWinds.Net_old'.
   at System.Diagnostics.EventLog.CreateEventSource(EventSourceCreationData sourceData)
   at System.Diagnostics.EventLog.CreateEventSource(String source, String logName)
   at SolarWinds.Orion.Common.SWEventLogging.OpenEventLog()
   at SolarWinds.Orion.Common.SWEventLogging.WriteEntry(String eventMessage, EventLogEntryType logEntryType, Int32 eventId)
   at SolarWinds.Orion.Licensing.BusinessLayer.LicensingBusinessLayerPlugin.Start()
   at SolarWinds.BusinessLayerHost.Contract.BusinessLayerPlugin.Start()
   at SolarWinds.BusinessLayerHost.PluginInstanceAppDomain.Start()
  3. In the above case, renaming the "SolarWinds.Net" event log to "SolarWinds.Net_old" or something similar will cause an exception
  4. Follow these steps to resolve the error:
    1. Log into Orion server (RDP)
    2. Run > regedit
    3. Navigate to:
      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Services\EventLog\
    4. Locate SolarWinds.Net_old and rename it back to SolarWinds.Net
    5. Stop and start all Orion services

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