Unable to start QlikView Server Service - Status Message: Off Duty

The QlikView Server service will not start after applying a license. The QlikView Management Console displayed "Off Duty" status. 

Environment:

• QlikView Server, all versions

There are multiple possible causes and resolutions:

1. Multiple QlikView server licensed with the same LEF:

Verify that the license is only used once in the environment. If the license is applied twice, one QlikView server will shut down with the following message logged in the QlikView Server event log:

Warning    Init: The initialization process failed. Cluster Count Exceeded, going off duty

The same issue may be caused by a network card loopback causing the QlikView server to respond on two IP addresses.

This only applies to servers licensed with a license key and control number and not with a unified license using a signed license key.

2. Nodes in the cluster exceed the allowed amount:

If setting up a clustered environment, make sure that the license is setup for clustering and has the correct number of nodes in the LEF.
The entry in the LEF that determines cluster count is: NUMBER_OF_CLUSTER_NODES;X where X is 2 or higher. This number cannot be exceeded. 

3. Invalid Root folder:

Verify that the QlikView Server document root folder is accessible and correctly configured. In a cluster, all nodes need to share the same root folder.  
The root folder can be read from the settings.ini stored in C:\ProgramData\QlikTech\QlikViewServer.

Locate: DocumentDirectory=\\STORAGE\folder

4. Service Account identical across all nodes

If the QlikView Administrators Group is used for Service authentication, verify that all services use the identical domain user. See QlikView: Am I using Certificate Trust or Windows Groups between the services? on how to verify what method is used.

5. QlikView Server Folder corruption 

In rare instances, a required file (settings file, pgo file, etc..) is damaged on disk and the QlikView Server is unable to read it upon startup. This folder can be recreated for troubleshooting purpose.
Note! All previous license allocations and CAL assignments will be lost. This should only be used as a troubleshooting step.

1. Ensure the QlikView Server (QVS) license key and control number is readily available
2. Stop the QlikView Server service
3. Rename* the C:\ProgramData\QlikTech\QlikViewServer
4. Start QVS Service
5. Re-license QVS under Qlik Management Console (QMC) > System > Licenses > QlikView Server > QlikView Server License

*Renaming the folder ensures that the data is saved and can be copied over again after the folder was recreated.