Enable SySAM Logging for PowerBuilder / InfoMaker

Introduction

When running into issues getting PowerBuilder (PB) or InfoMaker (IM) to accept a license, the best first step in diagnosing the problem is to enable SySAM logging. This will generate a log file with plain text errors as to why the SySAM client is not accepting the license. In this example I will use PowerBuilder, however the same steps apply to InfoMaker with naming differences (im.ini instead of pb.ini, etc.)

Error when license isn’t accepted

Generating the Log

• We first need to identify the initialization path where PB startup files are located. This is by default: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Sybase\PowerBuilder 12.x. Where ‘x’ is the version number (12.5, 12.6, etc.) If you still have graced access to PB, you can go to Tools > System Options and the initialization path is displayed.

• Close PowerBuilder if it is open, and navigate to the initialization directory above and open the file pb.ini in a basic text editor like Notepad.

• Under the [PB] section of this file add the line Logsysam=2. Save and close the file.

• Now open PowerBuilder. The error will still appear but ignore it and exit PB once it finishes starting up.
• In the initialization path a new file should be generated called pb12x_sysam.log

Reading the Log

Without full knowledge of the details, it is still easy to infer where the problem is though the SySAM log file. There is first an error similar to:

Error (131281): Failed to obtain 1 license(s) for PowerBuilder feature from license file(s) or server(s).

Below this line should be further details on the error. If using an unserved license (local license file) make sure the host ID and hostname in the file are correct.

Other common errors are:

Error (131175): Terminal Server remote client not allowed. The unserved license prohibits use of pb125GA via Remote Desktop Connection and Terminal Services Client.

• This indicates an attempt to use an unserved license on a virtual machine or remote client. In this scenario a served license must be used. See Knowledge Base Article 1850487 for more information.

Error (131168): License server machine is down or not responding

• This indicates an issue reaching the SYSAM server. Often this happens when the SySAM server is located on a remote machine. See Knowledge Base Article 1875151 for more information.

Error (1000000): Assertion failed

• This is usually triggered by special characters the server cannot parse. See Knowledge Base Article 2147788 for more information.

Error (131073): Cannot find license file

• This error is generic and the details below can provide more information. Either the file is missing or the path is incorrect. See Knowledge Base Article 2004921 for other possibilities.