April 8, 2013

Autodesk 2014 – Network License Behavior and License Cascading

This is Derek Wielkopolski, Support Manger with Ideate, Inc. We always seem to get a lot of questions about network license behavior when we get a new release. 2014 products are rolling out and it’s always a good idea to have a refresh on this topic, especially with the cascading sequence.

So what is license cascading? By definition, “Cascade Licensing is implemented for mixed-product environments where a single license manager is servicing multiple Autodesk products. Cascade Licensing allows an Autodesk product to obtain a license that belongs to another Autodesk product in the same license pool. With Cascade Licensing, lower ranking product licenses can be used before higher ranking product licenses; when all lower ranking product licenses are in use, a product will cascade up to use the license of a higher ranking product.”

Some really good docs to keep on hand are Understanding Cascade Licensing For Autodesk Products and 2014: Cascading Sequence For Autodesk Products.

A note about license behavior and previous versions; if a single user is working in identical products but different version years this will consume two separate licenses. For example if I’m working in Revit Architecture 2013 and switch to a different project and launch Revit Architecture 2012, I will pull two licenses. Take a look at the Autodesk document Understanding Previous Version Support For Autodesk Point Products for more info.

As always email me at support@ideateinc.com if you have any questions.


Don’t forget to look through other great features our Ideate Technical Team has found in the new 2014 releases for Revit Architecture, Revit MEP, Revit Structure, Civil 3D, AutoCAD and more: ideateinc.com/2014



Derek Wielkopolski
Ideate Technical Support Manager/Application Specialist

Derek holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Roger Williams University, Rhode Island. He is experienced working within the AEC industry from concept design through construction administration for both small and large scale projects. As Ideate’s Support Manager he ensures a timely and quality response to support requests and questions. Follow Derek on Twitter: @dwielk

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