To prevent copying of licenses between devices, Software Potential (SP) licenses are locked to a device using a unique device identifier. The device identifier is generated based on some system and/or hardware properties of the device that are available to the SP runtime and passed to the Software Potential service during the license activation process.
For a given device a license will have be activated on the device at least once using either an online or offline activation process. This is required to capture the key device properties required to bind the license to the device.
Activation Process
The license Activation Key must be used to initially activate the license on a device whether using the online or manual (offline) process. The Software Potential runtime will generate an activation request, containing the Activation Key, the Device ID and some other activation properties; this activation request is submitted to the Software Potential activation service which then generates the required License File to be installed on the device.
Online Activation
If the device has internet connectivity then the SP runtime will, on entering of an Activation Key, generate the activation request, automatically submit this to the Activation Service, and then install the required license file returned by the Activation Service. This all happens automatically without any user involvement other than entering of the Activation Key in the activation UI.
Offline (Manual) Activation
If the device is not directly connected to the internet, then it can be activated indirectly via another device that does have internet access. In this case on entering an Activation Key the runtime will generate an Activation Request file that must be copied to a device with internet access from where it can be submitted to the Activation Service using the Manual Activation service at https://manualactivation.softwarepotential.com. The License File returned by the Activation Service must in turn be copied back the original device, where it can be installed to complete the activation.
Offline (Manual) Activation in Customer Portal
It is possible to activate a license on a device that does not have internet access using the Customer Portal if provisioned. Please see Activate a License in Customer Portal for more details.
Reactivation Process
There may be situations where is it necessary to reinstall or reactivate the license on a device e.g. if the license is accidentally deleted or the license has been reissued with new capabilities. As with the initial activation process this reactivation can happen in two ways, depending on whether the machine has internet access or not.
Online Reactivation
In an online reactivation, the Activation Key is again used to reactivate the license and automatically download and install the required License File. If a copy of the License File already exists on the machine (e.g. if the license has been reissued with new features etc) then the newly downloaded license file will replace the previous installed version.
Offline (Manual) Reactivation
A license can be manually reactivated in the same way as it was originally activated on the device. A new Activation Request is generated and copied to a device that has internet access from where it can be submitted to the Activation Service. The resultant license file is then downloaded and copied back the target device, where it is installed to complete the reactivation.
Reactivation Using Customer Portal
It is also is possible to manually reactivate a license on a device using the Customer Portal. For each activated license it is possible download the license file from the Customer Portal, copy it to the device to be reactivated and manually install it to complete the reactivation process.
Application Activation UI
To support license activation, you will need to add to your licensed application the Activation UI components to support both online and offline (manual) activation processes. This UI will need to:
- Allow the end user to enter a 5x5 Activation Key.
- In the case of offline activation allow the end user to:
- Copy the Activation Request file from the device.
- Load a License File from the device’s filesystem.
The following is an example of an activation UI from our sample WPF application used in our demonstrations, showing both Online and Manual (offline) activation modes:
Fig 1: Online Activation UI
Fig 2: Manual Activation UI
License Activation Process
Online Activation Steps
To activate a license on a device connected to the internet:
- The Customer enters the Activation Key in the application’s Activation UI.
- The Software Potential runtime automatically generates and submits the Activation Request to the Software Potential Activation Service.
- The Activation Service completes the activation and returns the required License File.
- SP runtime installs the license file, that is then available to the SP runtime API.
The online activation process is very straightforward and the least disruptive for customers, requiring little or no user input apart from entering of the Activation Key in the application’s Activation UI.
Offline Activation Steps
To activate a license on a device disconnected from the internet:
- The Customer enters the Activation Key in the application’s Activation UI.
- The Software Potential runtime generates the Activation Request that is saved as a text file.
- The Customer copies the Activation Request file to a device/machine that has internet access.
- On the machine with internet access the Customer submits the request file to the Software Potential Activation Service at https://manualactivation.softwarepotential.com.
- The Activation Service completes the activation and returns the required License File.
- The customer copies the license file to the device to be activated and installs the license file using the application’s Activation UI.
- Once installed the license file is then available to the SP runtime API.
This process is similar to the online process apart from the need to manually transport the request file and license file between devices.
License Reactivation Process
How subsequent reactivations are done depends on whether the device has internet connectivity.
Online Reactivation
To reactivate a license on a device connected to the internet, simply re-enter the Activation Key in the UI to trigger a reactivation in a manner identical to the initial activation. The required License File is automatically downloaded and installed on the device, replacing any earlier revision of the license file that may have been installed previously.
Manual Reactivation
To reactivate a license on a device that is not connected to the internet, simply re-enter the Activation Key in the manual UI to trigger a reactivation in a manner identical to the initial manual activation. The required License File that is manually copied and installed on the device replaces any earlier revision of the license file that may have been installed previously.
Offline Activation Using Customer Portal
It is possible to manually reactivate a license on a device using the Customer Portal if provisioned. Please see Reactivate License In Customer Portal for more details.
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