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