Symptoms

When trying to run an application that utilizes FineReader Engine, or trying to activate/update/deactivate a license via the License Manager, the "ABBYY Licensing Service is unavailable. The RPC server is unavailable." error occurs.

Cause

This error message usually appears when the FineReader Engine installation is configured incorrectly.

Resolution

Сheck the following:

1) The Licensing Service is running on the server:

• Go to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services.
• Select the ABBYY FineReader Engine 12 Licensing Service service.
• Press Start the service if the service is not running, or Restart the service if it is. 

2) All settings for the Licensing Service are correct. The settings are specified in the LicensingSettings.xml files found in 2 locations:

• FineReader Engine licensing settings – Bin64 subfolder of the FineReader Engine installation folder on the machine running the Engine-based application;
• Licensing Service settings – %CommonProgramFiles(x86)%\ABBYY\SDK\12\Licensing folder on the machine running the Licensing Service.

Try to set or change the port number in the network settings of the LicensingSettings.xml both for the Licensing Service and for FineReader Engine manually:

1. Change the LicensingSettings.xml file for the Licensing Service:
   

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?>
   <LicensingSettings xmlns="http://www.abbyy.com/Protection/LicensingSettings">
   <LocalLicenseServer>
   <ConnectionProtocol ProtocolType="TCP/IP" EndPointName="3000" />
   <EnableIKeyLicenses Enable="no" />  "no" - if you use software license, "yes" - if you use USB protection key
   <EnableCodeMeterLicenses Enable="no" />
   </LocalLicenseServer>
   </LicensingSettings>

2. Change the LicensingSettings.xml file for FineReader Engine:
   

   <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?>
   <LicensingSettings xmlns="http://www.abbyy.com/Protection/LicensingSettings">
   <LicensingServers>
   <MainNetworkLicenseServer ServerAddress="127.0.0.1" ProtocolType="TCP/IP" EndPointName="3000" />
   </LicensingServers>
   </LicensingSettings> 

3) Nothing like closed ports or insufficient user rights prevents Licensing Service’s appropriate work. Check if the 3000 port number is opened from the server station for the client workstation:

• Check if you have the telnet installation on the workstation:
  1. Navigate to Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features.
  2. Click Turn Windows features on or off in the left tab.
  3. Check the Telnet Client checkbox in the Windows Features dialog box.
  4. Press OK, wait for the feature to be enabled, then press Close.
• Open the command line on the workstation and launch the following command: telnet 127.0.0.1 3000.
  1. The "Could not open connection to the host, on port 3000: Connect failed" result means that port 3000 is closed. Try to open the port or specify another one in the LicensingSettings.xml files.
  2. An empty result means that port 3000 is open and available.

4) The error can also occur when FineReader Engine and Licensing Service versions from different distributions are used. In this case, it is recommended to reinstall FineReader Engine on the machine where the error occurs. 

In case none of the recommendations above were helpful, please submit a request to customer support with the following additional information:

1. AInfo report from the machine where the issue occurs.
2. A screenshot of the License Manager window.
3. A screenshot of the list of running services where the ABBYY FineReader Engine 12 Licensing Service service as well as its Status and Log On As values can be seen.