LanSchool Classic 9.3 Installation and Updating

LanSchool Classic 9.3 Installation and Updating

Overview

The LanSchool Classic Teacher console requires a LanSchool Classic license key in order to run. This license key can be found under the Manage License section.
 

Deploying LanSchool Classic 9.3 as a New Install

If you are deploying LanSchool Classic 9.3 for the first time please see the following options for deployment and best practices.

Installing Manually

LanSchool Classic Teacher can be deployed manually by running the Teacher.msi or Teacher.dmg file on the teacher device. Follow the installation steps and at the end of the installation input the License Key.
 
Please see Installing LanSchool Teacher for Windows, Installing LanSchool Teacher for macOS for more information.

Mass Deploying

The teacher console may also be mass deployed using a software deployment tool.
Notes
Ensure that the License Key is included in your script for Windows deployment.
Please see Mass Deploying LanSchool Teacher for Windows, Deploying LanSchool Classic Using Intune, Deploying LanSchool Classic Using Jamf Pro, Mass Deploying LanSchool Teacher for macOS for more information.

Imaging Devices 

If you plan on imaging your devices do not license LanSchool Classic on the device when creating the Master Image.
Please see Deploying LanSchool Classic 9.3. Using a Master Image for more information.
 

Updating LanSchool Classic to 9.3

If you already have LanSchool Classic installed and are updating the Teacher Console to 9.3 for the first time, please see the following options for updating and best practices.

Updating Manually

LanSchool Classic Teacher can be updated manually by running the Teacher.msi or Teacher.dmg file over the currently installed version of LanSchool Teacher. Follow the installation steps and at the end of the installation input the License Key.

Please see Installing LanSchool Teacher for Windows, Installing LanSchool Teacher for macOS for more information.

Updating Using a Software Deployment Tool

The teacher console may also be updated using a software deployment tool.
Notes
Ensure that the License Key is included in your script for Windows deployment.

Updating Using an Imaged Device

If you plan on imaging your devices do not license LanSchool Classic on the device when creating the Master Image.

Updating Using the LanSchool Connection Server

The LanSchool Connection Service (LCS) can be configured to automatically deliver updated versions to Windows or macOS devices with LanSchool Teacher or LanSchool Student already installed and configured.
The automatic update process will update the version of the software and send out the licensing key to the teacher consoles but will not modify any configuration settings.

Alert
It's important that you update the LanSchool Connection Server first before pushing out the update to the Teacher Console(s).
  1. Update the LanSchool Connection Service to the latest version first. In My Computer, go to the LanSchool product download location and double-click LCS.msi in the Windows>>Connection Server folder.
  2. Once the LCS is updated, copy the latest version of the teacher and student installers based on the type of devices in your environment.
    1. Windows: teacher.msi & student.msi
    2. macOS: lanschool_teacher_365.dmg, lanschool_student.dmg, mupdate.zip & mtupdate.zip
  3. Paste the teacher and/or student installers in C:\Program Files (x86)\LanSchool on the LCS.
  4. Add the licensing key to a .txt file and name the file LicensingKey.txt. The licensing key can be found in the LanSchool Classic Portal. 
    Warning
    Ensure there are no extra spaces or lines in the LicensingKey.txt file.
  5. Move the LicensingKey.txt file in C:\Program Files (x86)\LanSchool on the LCS.
  6. Access Windows Services.
  7. Locate the LanSchool Connection Server Service and select Restart.
  8. Once the service has restarted, any connected device will be automatically updated to the version of LanSchool that was copied to the LCS and the teacher consoles will receive the Licensing Key. 

Updating Teacher Consoles with a New License Key

There a few different options to update the teacher consoles with a new license key.
  1. Remove the cached license information from the teacher computer by deleting the following folder: C:\ProgramData\LanSchool\cache
    This will force the Teacher console to prompt for a license the next time it is ran and they can enter a valid license.

  2. Remove the cached folder from the teacher computers: C:\ProgramData\LanSchool\cache 
    Then use the LCS to force the correct license key down to the teacher consoles using the LicensingKey.txt file and the force license key registry. 

  3. Remove the cached folder from the teacher computers: C:\ProgramData\LanSchool\cache 
    Then add the LicensingKey.txt file in the c:\LanSchool Files folder on the teacher computer.

  4. For Mac Devices, remove the old license key from  ~/Library/Application Support/LanSchool/certs/
    Then push out the PKG with the new license key.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter an issue where the Teacher Console is still receiving the prompt for the license key after deployment, please see the following troubleshooting steps.

LCS Updating Issue

In the event that the LanSchool Teacher Console was updated to 9.3 using the LCS but the LicensingKey.txt file was added after updating, please add the following registry key to the LCS to push down the LicensingKey.txt to any teacher so that the next time the teacher runs, it will use that license key.

Alert
Confirm the LCS is running 9.3.0.28 or later.
Confirm that the "LanSchool Helper Service is running on the teacher machine
Confirm that the LicensingKey.txt file is in C:\Program Files (x86)\LanSchool on the LCS
  1. On the LCS, hold the Windows Key and press “R” to bring up the Run dialog box.
  2. Type "regedit" then press "OK".
  3. Navigate to this policy key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\LanSchool
  4. Right-click in the empty pane and choose New> DWORD (32-bit) Value.
  5. Name the DWORD ForceLicenseKeyPush
  6. Double-click on ForceLicenseKeyPush and change the value data to decimal 1 to force the LicensingKey.txt file to be pushed to all Teachers regardless of their installed Teacher console version.
  7. Restart the LCS.
  8. To turn the automatic push off, change the value data to decimal 0. Restart the LCS.
Info
Setting this value will cause extra traffic between Teacher machines and the LCS as long as it is turned on (when the Teacher machine initially connects to the LCS), so it is best to turn this forced push of the LicensingKey.txt file off once the Teacher machines have all licensed correctly.

Teacher Console Keeps Prompting for License Key

If the LanSchool Classic Teacher Console was installed and the license key is still prompting after logging out and back into the device, there are a few causes for the continuous prompting.
  1. Ensure that you don't have a "snapshot" tool restoring the device i.e. Deepfreeze.
  2. For Windows, confirm the user has rights to the C:\ProgramData\LanSchool and C:\ProgramData\Lenovo folders.
  3. For Windows, the license key folder location may be corrupted. Try the following steps:
    1. On the Teacher Console, go to Administer>>Exit Teacher Console.
    2. On the teacher device, locate the C:\ProgramData\LanSchool and C:\ProgramData\Lenovo folders.
    3. Delete both folders. 
    4. Launch the teacher console and enter the license key when it prompts.
    5. Log out and back into the device to confirm it no longer prompts for the license key.

Unable to Communicate with the License Server

If you are encountering an error where the Teacher Console is unable to communicate with the LanSchool Classic License Server, ensure that the following site is whitelisted for your region.

Region
Site Address
Americas 
api-lsa.lenovosoftware.com
EMEA
api-lsa-emea.lenovosoftware.com
APAC
api-lsa-apac.lenovosoftware.com


If you utilize tools that have deep-packet inspection or insert themselves into the security certificate chain i.e. Fortinet /Fortigate, Lightspeed etc., LanSchool Classic will need to be added to the exclusion list for the security tool.