AB Activation dongle?

Hello,

Even know I've used a dongle for years, I worked somewhere we never had to share it. I thought that if 2 people had a product that had a activation on the dongle, they could share the dongle regardless of the software serial #. Is this not true?

Thanks.

It's been awhile since I had to host activations onto a dongle, but if memory serves, the activations are tied to a combination of the serial number and product key. That's the red piece of paper that comes with the cd containg the software. The one they tell you not to lose.

Soggy Canuck said:

It's been awhile since I had to host activations onto a dongle, but if memory serves, the activations are tied to a combination of the serial number and product key. That's the red piece of paper that comes with the cd containg the software. The one they tell you not to lose.

Click to expand...

That makes sense. I had thought, for example, if i had a RS logix 500 activation on the dongle, that someone in the plant who had logix 500, but a different software key, would also be able to still use the dongle to activate their software.

I guess once you use a dongle to activate a certain software key, it is bound to that key #.

I have FTV ME on a dongle. I have to leave it in the USB port while I'm working FTV or i get the "Trial period" warning. As was explained to me it's a portable license and it can be used on any computer that has FTV installed on it. But just that computer. what to move, pull the stick and move it.

I use my dongle on multiple computers. You have to copy the license file for the dongle on each computer you want to share the dongle with. The activations folder is in c\users\public\public documents\Rockwell Automation\Activations. Navigate to this folder on the computer that you have been using and copy the "Hostflexid" license file to a thumb drive and save it to the other computer you want to use in the same location.

Activation - Will you marry me?

"Activation" is a term used for the association, or marriage, of a software product with a hardware device. This association, or marriage, ties the software product serial number to the unique ID of a specific piece of local hardware so as to prevent the product from being used unless the piece of hardware is physically present.

A licence file holds the information that defines this association for FactoryTalk Activation Manager to access. The licence file is like the marriage certificate, if you will.

The Host ID was traditionally always the hard disk drive or the LAN adapter on the local computer. This is where the term Node-Locked licence is used. The computer is the Node and because the hardware is an ever present local and physically fixed device, the licence is Locked to the Node and cannot be used elsewhere.

The USB Dongle introduces another option where you can have a removable device provide the hardware Host ID. The Dongle provides what is known as a Flex ID as the unique Host ID. Although it provides storage space, it is not a standard USB flash drive, thumb drive or memory stick. In providing a hardware Host ID, it works the very same as using a hard disk drive or LAN adapter except it is removable. Here the licence is no longer Node-Locked. Because it is removable, it is referred to as a Mobile licence.

The same hardware Host ID cannot be activated against more than one serial number at a time for the same software product. So you cannot plug the Dongle into different computers to activate the same software product using different serial numbers. A hardware Host ID can, however, be used to activate several different software products at the same time.

When you "Get New Activations" in FactoryTalk Activation Manager, you first create a Host ID file. This is where you choose, for a particular software product, an available hardware Host ID, local to that computer, such as the USB Dongle. The USB Dongle must be plugged in to the computer at the time of selection.

This creates an FTAManagerData.xml file. This file stores the information for the newly formed relationship between the software product serial number and the USB Dongle Host ID, or Flex ID. A simple way to describe it is that it is a declaration of their intent to be married. It could also be described as an application to Rockwell for them to be married. So this file is temporary until the deed is done.

Depending on whether or not the local computer has Internet access, you can save this file either local to the computer, to a regular USB flash drive, or to a USB-DONG2 with 2GB storage. You then use this file on the Activations website. On the webpage, you browse to the FTAManagerData.xml file and load it. This populates the Host ID fields. You then enter the software serial number and the product key in their fields, and proceed to download the licence file. This is a new licence file, hence the product key is required (Red envelope).

Depending on which option was chosen for the download...

1. The licence file is now saved local to the computer with Internet access, in the proper Activations folder.

2. It is saved to a location of your choosing to transfer back to the other computer.

3. It is saved to the USB Dongle, if you have the newer USB-DONG2 with 2GB storage.

If option 2, you transfer the licence file back to the other computer, placing it in the proper Activations folder. If the software is to be used on more than one computer, then you likewise transfer the licence file to the Activations folder of those computers. This is a regular file copy/move operation. It has nothing to do with Activation, Rehosting, and nor is it limited by the number of copies which can be distributed.

So, licence files can be moved around at will, as many times as you like. They can be copied. A copy can exist on multiple computers with the same software product and serial number installed. This primes the software on each computer, ready to activate the software when the associated hardware Host ID is present.

When you want to move an Activation from a hard disk drive, or indeed a LAN adapter, to a USB Dongle, you are Rehosting the Activation, which changes the associated hardware Host ID for the software product, from the fixed hardware Host ID to the Dongle Flex ID. This is a software change, not a physical change. You are not simply moving a licence file from one hardware device to the other. You are changing an association between a software product and a hardware device. That is, you do not physically move licence files to Rehost them, you in essence replace them. You must Rehost via Rockwell on the Internet.

The Rehosting process first disassociates, or divorces, the original relationship between software and hardware and then creates a Rehost Code based on the newly formed relationship. A Rehost Code acts as an annulment and also an application to Rockwell for the software to marry again, the floozy!


If you want to use the USB Dongle to activate the same software products on more than one computer then make sure they all have the same serial number and the same licence file. Else associate different serial numbers to different hardware Host IDs, such as the local hard disk drive, LAN adapter, or another USB Dongle, for instance.

Regards,
George