Install and license OpenFlows CONNECT Edition products without an internet connection


Product(s): WaterGEMS, WaterCAD, HAMMER, SewerGEMS, SewerCAD, StormCAD, CivilStorm
Version(s): 10.XX.XX.XX and higher
Area: Installation

 

Problem

How can an OpenFlows product be installed and licensed on a computer without an internet connection, such as on a computer with access to a SCADA system that has an "air gap"? (no internet)

When installing an OpenFlows application (version 10.02.XX.XX and higher) without internet access the installation fails and a screen similar to the following appears:

"Check internet connection and restart the setup"

Or, you may encounter the error message: Setup Failed. 0x80070002 - The system cannot find the file specified

Background

Starting with the 2026 version (26.00.00.514 and higher) of OpenFlows Water, OpenFlows Storm (excluding PondPack) and OpenFlows Sewer, the installation packages from the Software Downloads site are online installers - small executable files which download al the data when run. To create an offline (no internet required) installation package, you must first create a deployment image. See details here: Silent installation and Deployment Image for OpenFlows Products

For older versions, the product installation executable (.EXE) includes the prerequisites such as Visual C++ runtime redistributables and CONNECTION Client, so no internet connection should be required for those. 

Note: the CONNECTION Client (which manages Bentley licenses and other services) requires a certain version of the Microsoft .NET Framework prerequisite (currently 4.6.2 as of March, 2020) which is not included and will be downloaded from Microsoft's website if it is not currently installed. When it is detected that internet access is not available an error may appear.

Also, license activation requires a connection to the internet unless the license is checked out.

To determine which versions of .NET Framework are required for each version of the OpenFlows product, see: Platform Compatibility

Solution - Version 2026 and higher

1. Create an offline deployment image per the article above. 

2. Browse to the folder that you had chosen to save the deployment image to - all of these files will need to be transmitted (for example by USB drive) to the computer that doesn't have internet. The folder will include the main installation package (.exe and .msi files), the layout .lyt file (storing the settings you had chosen), as well as prerequisite installation files such as VC++ runtimes, .NET framework and the CONNECTION Client.

3. After transferring the entire contents of the deployment image folder to the computer in question, run the main installation executable file (the name will look similar to "Setup_Waterx64_26.00.00.514.exe".) either manually or via script/SCCM. If you had chosen the "No UI" option, the installation should proceed silently with no user prompt, and should not need to download anything.

Solution - Version 2024 and earlier

1. Access a computer that has an internet connection.

2. Download the appropriate Microsoft .NET Framework and Visual C++ runtime redistributable offline installers (and Microsoft Access Database Engine, if needed). For a list of required .NET Framework and VC++ versions, see:

Note: currently the latest available versions of FlowMaster and CulvertMaster require .NET Framework 3.5. This is not enabled by default for Windows 8 and Windows 10, so Windows may need to download information in order to enable it as part of the installation process. In this case you may need to temporarily connect to the internet in order to enable .NET Framework 3.5 if the offline installer cannot be located.

3. Transfer the above files (plus the OpenFlows application installation file) to the computer without internet access. For example using a USB flash drive or burned DVD.

4. Install the VC++ redistributables, the required Microsoft .NET Framework version and the Access Database Engine

5. Install the Bentley OpenFlows product.

After installation, the CONNECTION Client itself requires an internet connection (to sign in), and is required to activate the license as of version 10.02.XX.XX and greater. See below for more.

Licensing

If there is a requirement for extended offline scenarios beyond the offline period of the products (I.e. usually 7 days), Subscription Entitlement Service provides the capability to reserve or check out licenses.  For computers without internet connectivity, license files can be generated from the administration website by the Administrator from an internet-connected machine. 

For versions that use the Subscription Entitlement Service Licensing (10.02.XX.XX and greater), you can temporarily connect to the internet and check out a license, or the administrator can download a check out license file, transfer it to the computer in question (for example using a USB flash drive) and import the license file into the Bentley Licensing Tool. For more information, see: How to check out licenses from Entitlement Management

Note that license usage will always be 100% of the time, when it is checked out (as if the software is always open).

OpenFlows product features that require Internet Connectivity

The following feature rely on an internet connection:

If you are connecting to your corporate network using a VPN and experience connection problems or slow connection speed, the above features can be impacted. For example a background image may take a long time to load or fail to load.

For information on the specific URLs that CONNECTION Client accesses, see the section called "Which domains does the CONNECTION Client access?" in the following link: FAQ - CONNECTION Client.

See Also

Downloading OpenFlows / Hydraulics and Hydrology Software