RSLogix 500 Installation

nagaraj_h

Member
Join Date
Dec 2014
Location
San Diego
Posts
11
My customer purchased the RSLogix 500 for programming Micrologix 1200 series PLC. Am I allowed to install it in multiple machines? I need it on two machines: desktop testing computer and a field service laptop.
 
You can install it on both but you can only use it on one at a time. You will have to move the activation between the computers to allow use on each. The use of a USB dongle may make the movement of activation easier.
 
I just bought the AB dongle, it cost $142.00, plus incoming freight, UPS, & sales tax (it's the sales tax I personally have a problem with!)

It also includes a 2GIG flash drive on it.

To get the licenses on it you basically have to send them back to Rockwell over the internet, then reactivate them back & put onto the dongle, which requires the serial # AND product key from the original install disks. No transferring direct from a hard drive to the dongle, like there should be.
 
Unless the rules have changed over the last two years, when you are transferring the license from pc to pc, you can only move the license 3 times in a year. after that, you will need to call tech support and explain what is going on.

regards,
james
 
The situation that the OP described is what the dongle is for - frequent use of aa single license on two computers. The activation is tied to the dongle and is never actually 'transferred' to the computer. My use of 'movement of the activation' earlier gave the wrong impression.
 
Last edited:
Activations...

Aabeck said:
I just bought the AB dongle...It also includes a 2GIG flash drive on it.

To get the licenses on it you basically have to send them back to Rockwell over the internet, then reactivate them back & put onto the dongle, which requires the serial # AND product key from the original install disks. No transferring direct from a hard drive to the dongle, like there should be.

James Mcquade said:
Unless the rules have changed over the last two years, when you are transferring the license from pc to pc, you can only move the license 3 times in a year. after that, you will need to call tech support and explain what is going on...

Bernie_carlton said:
The situation that the OP described is what the dongle is for - frequent use of aa single license on two computers. The activation is tied to the dongle and is never actually 'transferred' to the computer. My use of 'movement of the activation' earlier gave the wrong impression.

Guys,

I think there is a little bit of confusion here with regard to moving/transferring licence files, or Activations?

You do not move Activations with a USB Dongle. The USB Dongle is only part of an Activation. For a 9306-USB-DONG, you are only moving the hardware Host ID aspect of an Activation. For a 9306-USB-DONG2, you are moving the Host ID and optionally the licence file required for an Activation.

An Activation is made up of two parts - a licence file, and a hardware Host ID. "Activation" is a term used for the association of a licence file with a Host ID. It is not "tangible", as a file is "tangible".

When you "Get New Activations" in FactoryTalk Activation Manager, you first create a Host ID file. This is where you choose an available hardware Host ID, local to that computer, such as the USB Dongle. This creates an FTAManagerData.xml file. 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.

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 software installed. This primes the software on each computer, ready to Activate the software when the associated hardware Host ID is present.

When you are "transferring" an Activation from a HDD, or indeed a LAN adapter, to a USB Dongle, you are Rehosting the Activation, which changes the associated hardware Host ID for the licence file, from the HDD ID to the Dongle ID.

This is a software change, not a physical change as in "...transferring direct from a hard drive to the dongle...". You are not simply moving a licence file from one hardware device to the other, you are changing an association between a licence file and a hardware device, for an Activation.

Aabeck,

You have a newer 9509-USBDONG2, which has the 2GB user accessible memory. This allows license files to be stored directly on the Dongle. So the Dongle is acting as both the Host ID and the storage location for the licence file(s). Where ever the Dongle is plugged in, FactoryTalk Activation Manager v3.50, or higher, can detect the Host ID and automatically detect the licence file(s) are present. This is merely for convenience. This saves a user having to place a copy of the licence file(s) on each user computer. As the licence files move with the Dongle, they are ever present wherever the Dongle is used.

The FTAM Activation Server reads the Dongle's storage memory automatically, once the folder structure is correct. You have to manually create an "Activations" folder in the root of a new Dongle. The FTAM Server search path does not have to be pointed at the Dongle. An ordinary USB flash drive will not work with an "Activations" folder at the root, only the USB-DONG2 works in this manner.

This does not tie the licence files to the Dongle in any way. Using the licence files on the Dongle is not compulsory, just convenient. Although it is convenient, the licence files, residing on a USB-DONG2, can also be copy/moved to a computer's Activation folder. In this case, the FTAM Server must point to licence file storage folder. This is/was the normal method before the 9509-USB-DONG2 was available.

The older 9509-USB-DONG, which is now obsolete, has no user addressable memory. So in this case, nothing would, or could have ever physically been moved or stored on the Dongle. All it could do is act as a hardware Host ID. For the older USB-DONG, the licence files must reside in the Activations folder of each user computer.

The default Activations folder is not special. You can create and save the licence files in any folder of your choosing, once the Activation server can see it. You simply change the Server's search path to your new location.

If you want to associate a licence file i.e. a software product, with a different Host ID, then you must Rehost the Activation. This involves creating Rehost codes in FTAM, which you use on the Activations website with the new Host ID and just the serial number i.e. no product key. This allows you to download a new Rehosted licence file for that product.

Rehosting is meant as an infrequent event, such as a new computer, or a computer failure. Using the Activations website, each serial number can be rehosted up to three times in any 12-month period. Rehosting an activation a fourth time requires a call to Rockwell Automation Technical Support.

If you regularly require using Activations on different computers, then use the USB Dongle as the Host ID, which is mobile. Using the USB Dongle as the licence file storage location is optional, but recommended.

If irregularly, to never requiring Activations on another computer, then you can use fixed hardware for the Host ID, such as the HDD or LAN adapter. You could also use a USB Dongle in this case, but it would require the Dongle always being with the computer.

Activation = Association of a Licence File with a Hardware Host ID

Licence File = Software specific and distributable file associated with a Host ID - generated by Rockwell

Host ID = Hardware device associated with a licence file and local to the software - for copyright protection

Rehost = Association of Licence file with another Host ID - new licence file generated by Rockwell - 3 x max. in 12 months

Regards,
George
 
You guys know better than me...
Can't you get an RSLogix 500 Micrologix-only license for around $100 or so?

So if the dongle is also around $100, wouldn't the easiest choice just be to buy a second license and skip the dongle?

The dongle would be cost effective once you have:
- 3 or more machines where you need to run the software (one at a time),
- or a non-Micrologix application (where you can't buy the inexpensive version of RSLogix 500).
 
Note: No "500" in MicroLogix only software!

This is a post I made some time back briefly explaining the different versions of RSLogix Micro, free or otherwise...

http://www.plctalk.net/qanda/showpost.php?p=510948&postcount=10

What specific MicroLogix controllers do you require support for?
All of them, or most of them?

If so, then RSLogix Micro Starter would probably do you? This is the least expensive RSLogix software available.

I have seen one quote on one site for $138?

I'm sure others here can provide you with a firmer idea on the cost, depending on what you need. Or of course you could contact your RA vendor.

Catalog Number: 9324-RLM0100ENE

Regards,
George
 
So if the dongle is also around $100, wouldn't the easiest choice just be to buy a second license and skip the dongle?

For a second license Rockwell charges just about as much for the original program bought, no discounts or reduced price just for another license.
 
nwboson said:
...The dongle would be cost effective once you have:
- 3 or more machines where you need to run the software (one at a time)...

Don't forget the grace period.

If you have two or three, or more, users in the same plant or office/business, then you can all work at the same time, using the same licence.

You all install the same software/serial number.
You all copy the licence file to your Activations folder.
Or, if using USB-DONG2, leave the licence file on that.

Once you open the software once with the Dongle, it is now Activated. You can then unplug the Dongle and the 7 day grace period will begin. You can then give it to someone else to do likewise. You can all work away during the grace period. If it expires, then the software will not open again until you plug the Dongle in again, cancelling the grace period. Or just keep plugging in the Dongle before using the software and then giving it back to whom ever normally keeps it.

That's ok when users are usually working close by and will not be away from the Dongle for more than 7 days. A setup could have a shared Dongle arrangement for everyone at the office, and one, or two Node-Locked roaming laptops for field work. Or have a second Dongle for roaming.

One annoyance can be the grace period popup reminder. It pops up now and again while your working, and sometimes the focus immediately returns to the software, pushing the popup to the background. You are typing and clicking and suddenly nothing works. It appears frozen. You look to the taskbar and can see a second window open for the popup. Click it, and it has the focus again. OK it, and return to your task. A small annoyance to live with for the use of a "free" copy.

The grace period option might make sense when you don't want to purchase several thousands worth of separate software.

In your case nwboson, because you are only looking to use the cheapest RSLogix software, for two users, buying a licence and a Dongle might not make much sense. Two separate licences may be more suitable.

You can decide.

Regards
George
 
Don't forget the grace period.
...
One Caveat to the Grace period.
I use the Grace period all of the time.
I keep activation on the server, and have RSLogix installed on both the laptop, and Desktop.
I often go out to the shop floor and fire up RsLogix 5000, and get the Nag screen.
I come back in the office, and connect to the LAN, restart Rslogix 5000, and it shows “This product has been successfully activated.”

I planned to do this on a recent trip to China. I was only there for 6 days, and I had 7 days grace period.
Well it turned out that I needed to do a Firmware update, and there is no grace period for that.
Rats! What do I do now?
I had to VPN into my local machine back home and Rehost the Activation, and then Get New Activatons.
It all worked out, but it's a good idea to keep the activation local if you are traveling.
 
gbradley said:
One Caveat to the Grace period...

...I come back in the office, and connect to the LAN, restart Rslogix 5000, and it shows “This product has been successfully activated.”...

...I planned to do this on a recent trip to China. I was only there for 6 days, and I had 7 days grace period...

One caveat to the grace period is it should NOT be used away from base.

Under no circumstances would I recommend a professional programmer leave base without a valid licence available to their laptop. Using the grace period is ok for sharing the same software while working back at base, but going into the field unlicensed is a gamble I just would not take.

As I said, use a roaming laptop with it's own licence, or a USB Dongle.

You are using a computer at base to host Activations, in an office or workshop, yes? You would be better off Rehosting the licence(s) you need to a USB Dongle. That way, when you go to the shop floor, you can bring it out and be activated on the floor, no traipsing back to the office to re-activate. Then, when you go offsite, you bring the Dongle and leave whom ever at base relying on the grace period.

Dongle Bells, Dongle Bells, Dongle all the way... 📚

Regards,
George
 

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