Avamar: Error while relicensing a grid: ERROR: avmaint: license: server_exception(MSG_ERR_NOTSTARTED)

Summary: After the utility node is replaced, license installation shows ERROR: avmaint: license: server_exception(MSG_ERR_NOTSTARTED). The issue occurs because the Avamar Services Control Daemon (ASCD) service is not running on the node. ...

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Symptoms

The following error is seen during the license installation after the utility node has been replaced:

ERROR: avmaint: license: server_exception(MSG_ERR_NOTSTARTED)

Cause

The Avamar Services Control Daemon (ASCD) service is down on the Avamar Utility Node.

Resolution

  1. Log in to the Avamar Utility Node as admin.
  2. Verify that the ASCD service is not running. The following command does not produce any output if the ASCD service is down. If the service is running, stop using this solution 
    ps -ef |grep ascd |grep -v "grep"
  3. Restart ASCD: 
    ascd start

Sample output:

ulimit -S -c 0; ascd.bin --hfsport=27000 --probefile=/usr/local/avamar/var/probe.xml --sysdir=/usr/local/avamar/etc --windir=/usr/local/avamar/etc/gsan-maint-scripts --keyfile=/usr/local/avamar/etc/license.xml --elmkeyfile=/usr/local/avamar/etc/license.lic --scanfile=/usr/local/avamar/etc/serverlogscanners.xml --sysconfigdbfile=/usr/local/avamar/var/sysconfigdb.xml --logfile=/usr/local/avamar/var/ascd.log --errlogfile=/usr/local/avamar/var/err.log >> /usr/local/avamar/var/ascd.out 2>&1 &
  1. Verify that the ASCD service is running: 
    ps -ef |grep ascd |grep -v "grep"

Sample output:

admin    69990     1  0 01:09 ?        00:00:00 ascd.bin --hfsport=27000 --probefile=/usr/local/avamar/var/probe.xml --sysdir=/usr/local/avamar/etc --windir=/usr/local/avamar/etc/gsan-maint-scripts --keyfile=/usr/local/avamar/etc/license.xml --elmkeyfile=/usr/local/avamar/etc/license.lic --scanfile=/usr/local/avamar/etc/serverlogscanners.xml --sysconfigdbfile=/usr/local/avamar/var/sysconfigdb.xml --logfile=/usr/local/avamar/var/ascd.log --errlogfile=/usr/local/avamar/var/err.log
admin    69991 69990  0 01:09 ?        00:00:00 ascd.bin --hfsport=27000 --probefile=/usr/local/avamar/var/probe.xml --sysdir=/usr/local/avamar/etc --windir=/usr/local/avamar/etc/gsan-maint-scripts --keyfile=/usr/local/avamar/etc/license.xml --elmkeyfile=/usr/local/avamar/etc/license.lic --scanfile=/usr/local/avamar/etc/serverlogscanners.xml --sysconfigdbfile=/usr/local/avamar/var/sysconfigdb.xml --logfile=/usr/local/avamar/var/ascd.log --errlogfile=/usr/local/avamar/var/err.log
  1.  Apply the new license:  
    avmaint license /tmp/ --ava

Additional Information

See the Avamar Administration Guide page 173, for detailed information about applying a license on an Avamar grid.

Affected Products

Avamar Server

Products

Avamar Server
Article Properties
Article Number: 000064097
Article Type: Solution
Last Modified: 03 Mar 2026
Version:  9
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