Allow confirmation of licence without having to restart NinjaTrader

[koganam]

Please provide the ability to verify the license after NinjaTrader is running, if such could not be verified at start, as sometimes happens if there is a network glitch inside or outside the control of the user.

Having to make multiple restarts of NinjaTrader while furiously smoking the hopium pipe and chanting incantations beseeching the networking gods is not fun.

[NinjaTrader_Cameron]

Hello koganam,

Thank you for your post.

Could you clarify, are you referring to Vendor License keys or the NinjaTrader license key?

If you are referring to the NinjaTrader license key, you can go to Help -> License Key -> Press 'OK' to check a license instead of restarting NinjaTrader.

[koganam]

Hello koganam,

Thank you for your post.

Could you clarify, are you referring to Vendor License keys or the NinjaTrader license key?

If you are referring to the NinjaTrader license key, you can go to Help -> License Key -> Press 'OK' to check a license instead of restarting NinjaTrader.

Sorry that I was unclear, Cameron. Please do this to see what I mean.

Disconnect your network cable, so that you are simulating a loss of connectivity.
Start NinjaTrader.
You should receive a message (after quite a large timeout), that NT cannot verify your licence, yada, yada, yada.
Then NT will start, but you cannot connect to any brokers'/vendors' data feeds.
Reconnect your network cable, and verify connectivity by using a browser, all while NT is still running in its quasi-crippled state.

There is seemingly no way to ask NT to now check the licence so that you can connect to a vendor feed: you have to restart NT, so that it can check and connect to vendor data feeds.

I am requesting that it be possible to request NT to redo that initial licence check without having to restart NT, so that vendor feeds can be connected.

[NinjaTrader_Cameron]

koganam,

I followed your steps on my end and was able to verify the license.

1. Disconnect your network cable, so that you are simulating a loss of connectivity.
2. Start NinjaTrader.
3. You should receive a message, that NT cannot verify you licence.
4. Then NT will start, but you cannot connect to any brokers'/vendors' data feeds.
5. Reconnect you network cable, and verify connectivity by using a browser, all while NT is still running in its quasi-crippled state.
6. From the Control Center -> Help -> License Key
7. Press 'OK'

This will verify your connection and license and check the File -> Connect menu to see your data feeds.

[koganam]

koganam,

I followed your steps on my end and was able to verify the license.

1. Disconnect your network cable, so that you are simulating a loss of connectivity.
2. Start NinjaTrader.
3. You should receive a message, that NT cannot verify you licence.
4. Then NT will start, but you cannot connect to any brokers'/vendors' data feeds.
5. Reconnect you network cable, and verify connectivity by using a browser, all while NT is still running in its quasi-crippled state.
6. From the Control Center -> Help -> License Key
7. Press 'OK'

This will verify your connection and license and check the File -> Connect menu to see your data feeds.

Thanks. That is pretty much what I was asking for, but it is hardly intuitive done this way. Little wonder that I never figured it out. Then again, maybe I should have explored a bit further instead of restarting NT all those times before.

[NinjaTrader_Cameron]

kognam,

Glad to hear that worked out for you.

I'll notify our development team to look into adding a Verify License button or similar option that might be a bit more intuitive.

[sadlersr]

Cameron,
I too am having problems getting NT to verify my NT license if I start up NT with a poor network connection. When I go to the help menu and select License Key, it brings up a dialog box that asks me to enter a "back door code".

When I enter my actual license key and hit OK it gives me an error code saying "The back door code you entered is invalid". If I just hit OK, without entering a code, it gives me an error window saying "The license key must not be empty".

Any other ideas I can try to get NT to verify my license key without having to restart NT? I live in rural america and my only choice for internet connectivity is satellite, so I am always having latency issues which NT perceives as connectivity problems.

Thanks,
Sean

[NinjaTrader_Kyle]

Hello Sean,

Since NinjaTrader would need to verify the license key before the software was allowed to access any major features of the software, you would need to continue to restart until your PC was able to reach NinjaTrader servers in order to verify the license.

One work-around you might consider if there's no hope for a more stable local internet connection is leasing a virtual private server with a more stable connection and using that VPS to run NinjaTrader from your own PC by way of remote desktop.

[koganam]

Hello Sean,

Since NinjaTrader would need to verify the license key before the software was allowed to access any major features of the software, you would need to continue to restart until your PC was able to reach NinjaTrader servers in order to verify the license.

One work-around you might consider if there's no hope for a more stable local internet connection is leasing a virtual private server with a more stable connection and using that VPS to run NinjaTrader from your own PC by way of remote desktop.

This has just come up again. As it takes all of 9 minutes for me to get NinjaTrader into a usable state after I start it, this "restart NT until yada yada yada" is not an acceptable solution. Please arrange to have it so that the license can be verified even after NT is running. I am most displeased by this. Otherwise tell us the "back door code" that needs to be entered. This will just no do!!

[NinjaTrader_Kyle]

Hello,

I am sorry to hear of your frustration. I will forward your suggestion to development for further consideration.

The back door code error indicates that a firewall is preventing NinjaTrader from reaching it's licensing servers. Do you encounter the same error after shutting all firewall software down and restarting NinjaTrader?

[koganam]

Hello,

I am sorry to hear of your frustration. I will forward your suggestion to development for further consideration.

The back door code error indicates that a firewall is preventing NinjaTrader from reaching it's licensing servers. Do you encounter the same error after shutting all firewall software down and restarting NinjaTrader?

The first thing that I do on ANY and every windows installation is to disable the firewall. All my NinjaTrader instances run from separate Virtual Machines which are only used for NinjaTrader, so I do not need any resource-sucking anti-malware.

With a 3-layer network setup protecting the hypervisor, I do not need a firewall on that either, and both routers "stateful packet inspection" firewalls are correctly setup to let NT traffic through, so the issue is not firewalls: it is connectivity itself.

[NinjaTrader_Kyle]

koganam,

Please contact me by email at PlatformSupport [AT] NinjaTrader [DOT] com so that we can schedule a time to take a look at the system with you remotely.

In your message please include a link to this forum thread and tell me what time tomorrow we can reach you and what number to contact you at. We can contact you at any time between 8:30 AM - 6:00 PM Eastern.

[koganam]

koganam,

Please contact me by email at PlatformSupport [AT] NinjaTrader [DOT] com so that we can schedule a time to take a look at the system with you remotely.

In your message please include a link to this forum thread and tell me what time tomorrow we can reach you and what number to contact you at. We can contact you at any time between 8:30 AM - 6:00 PM Eastern.

Having no choice in the matter, I have already long ago, bitten the bullet and restarted NT. This time, of course, it found the server.