ASF said:
Correct me if I'm wrong...don't you need the dongle with the activation on it connected to be able to rehost the activation? I thought that was the whole point, before you're allowed to attach the activation to some other hardware address, you have to detach it from whichever address it's on now...
Hi my friend,
I have explained before in another thread how an Activation is the association of a software serial number with a hardware Host ID. This association is stored in the licence file generated by Rockwell and is locked in by means of an encrypted signature.
FactoryTalk Activation Manager references the association by means of the licence file. When Rehosting, the licence is all that FTA Manager needs to reference in order to create a Rehost Code. Neither the software product nor the Host ID needs to be present on the computer to perform a Rehost.
If it were the case that the Host ID must be present, then this would make it impossible for a user to perform a Rehost where the hardware has gone faulty, has been changed, or even gone missing, as in this case. A call to Rockwell is an option here, but they do not intend that option to be the first.
That being said; one exception to the above is if the only copy of the licence file available to a user was on a USB-DONG2's storage space, and that has gone missing, well then that is another matter. But at the time of its acquisition, the licence file should really be backed up somewhere and not solely stored on the USB Dongle.
Think of the Activation as a primer, loaded in FTAM via the licence file, ready to Activate the product whenever both the software and the associated Host ID are present.
ASF said:
...I've never caught George being wrong yet...
You might have to be up early to catch me out, but you being down under means you usually are up before me, so you're in as good a position as any to "try"!
But trust me, on a daily basis I'm wrong more often than you would think, and I would like to admit.
P.s. Another important note on Rehosting I forgot to mention...
Although the limit on Rehosting a serial number within a 12 month period is 3 times, using self-service, the maximum any serial number can be Rehosted during a 12 month period is 5 times. So that is 3 self-service and 2 calls to Rockwell.
Regards,
George