factory talk activation

hello all,

Just a quick question about factory talk activation. Can the lic file be moved to copy activation.


How do i back the activation if the computer fails? Can i just have the lic file saved in my usb and if the computer fails .Can I just copy and paste the lic file

What if I need to change the hard disc?

You can use any backup utility to make backup of the disk, so you can easily restore. Even in case of complete failure you can contact Rockwell and they can reset it, so you will be able to get new activation from the site.

If you mean copy to another computer, then no.

You would have to open FactoryTalk Activation Manager and either borrow it or rehost it to another computer.

Since I work on multiple computers i got the USB dongle from Rockwell - it was about $200, but I can put it in whatever computer I am using.

If you lose the activation due to a crashed PC, Rockwell will reset it for you.

If you want to move the license, use the Activation Manager to rehost it.

Copy or Move? Quite the difference here...

bornwild said:

...Can the lic file be moved to copy activation ...

Click to expand...

Just to copy the license file, I would say yes. But to use it elsewhere depends on whether you are using a mobile Host ID, such as a USB Dongle, or a fixed Host ID, such as an Ethernet adapter or hard disk drive (HDD).

If using mobile, then you may copy the license file to as many machines as you wish and then plug in the mobile Host ID (USB Dongle) at whichever machine to activate the software product(s) when used.

If using a fixed Host ID, such as the HDD that you have mentioned, then you may still copy the license file to as many machines as you wish, but you will only be able to activate the software product(s) when used on the machine where the HDD resides.

bornwild said:

...How do i back the activation if the computer fails? Can i just have the lic file saved in my usb and if the computer fails .Can I just copy and paste the lic file...

Click to expand...

To expand on the above - the license files are simply files that contain the relationship between the software product serial numbers and the selected hardware Host IDs. They, in themselves, do not constitute an "Activation", and as such are only part of an Activation. They are a reference file that the software products examine at execution time to determine which specific Host ID to search for and bind to. It is the hardware Host ID's presence on or at the machine in question that is critical in real world terms to Activate products. Therefore, the license files are not locked to a local machine in any way and may be copied at will, as many times as you wish, to other workstation machines, or to any suitable backup storage location.

If using Rockwell's 9509-USBDONG 2 (version 2 Dongle), then optionally, you may store the license files directly on the Dongle using its available 2GB storage space. This is not just for backup. The license files on the Dongle may be automatically read by FactoryTalk Activation when plugged into a machine and software products related to the license files are executed.

If a computer failure is related to the HDD, and the HDD was being used as the Host ID, and the failure is catastrophic, then regardless of whether you have a licence file backup or not, the file is now unusable as the Host ID referenced in the file is no longer available. If the HDD is recoverable and reusable, then a backup license file may indeed be used again once all relevant software is installed and available.

bornwild said:

...What if I need to change the hard disc?

Click to expand...

Whether the HDD has failed catastrophically and you need to change it, or you want to change it, let's say as an upgrade, then the unique serial number for the original HDD will be changing to the new. As the Host ID, the original HDD serial number is bound to the Activation for the product(s) that were executed on this machine. In such cases you must Rehost the Activation to the new HDD Host ID serial number. This will involve FactoryTalk Activation and the Internet. The original license files will become null and void on this machine. For each Rehosted Activation, new license files will be created and downloaded from Rockwell, binding the software product serial numbers to the new Host ID.

In a nutshell, you can "copy" license files at will. But to "move" an actual Activation, which is a relationship between software and hardware, you must "Rehost" the Activation. This can be to a new piece of hardware on the same machine or to new hardware on a different machine.

Regards,
George

Geospark said:

Whether the HDD has failed catastrophically and you need to change it, or you want to change it, let's say as an upgrade, then the unique serial number for the original HDD will be changing to the new.

Click to expand...

Not exactly. If you restore the image on the new HDD it will not change. Also if you upgrade/reinstall/etc., without formatting the HDD it will not change.

Yes. True for you.

I had read your suggestion of performing a backup and restore and had considered what that meant. While you, I, and I'm sure many others might view these methods of recovery as standard fare; to the lesser experienced user, they can seem quite advanced, or even daunting. So sometimes, I make a call on whether to go there, or not. As you had covered it briefly I felt that was enough for this thread. So I proceeded to outline a different scenario...

My "catastrophic" was intended to imply a situation where no means of recovery are available, such as a ghost image of the failed HDD, and one would have to start from scratch on a new HDD.

Of course, even after such a catastrophic case, there are also methods to modify the Volume Serial Number (Volume ID) of a HDD, once you know the serial number you would like to apply. The Host ID serial number for an Activation can be procured from name of a license file itself, or indeed from the contents within the file. Volume Serial Numbers may also be "spoofed". But now I'm starting to go where I felt I didn't want to, for this thread.

Still, my reservations aside, I feel you are correct to point this out and we should endeavour to provide all useful information, no matter what the assumed experience level of the reader, or future readers, is.

Regards,
George

Yes you can simply copy the .lic file for back up. If you have a catastrophic failure, simply reinstall, copy the file back and change the HDD serial number back to the original number.