Rockwell Automation 7477-IC2VC PlantPAx Server and Workstation Bundles User Manual - Manual (Page 15)

Publication 7477-UM001A-EN-E - August 2009 15
Process Automation Server (PASS) Chapter 2
Client computers must be set up to obtain floating activations from the
activation server. A continuous network connection is also required for clients
to use floating activations. After a client obtains a floating activation, if the
activation server detects that the client has been disconnected, the activation is
returned to the server pool.
Activation Considerations
Consideration Details
Software that is not activated If the components you have installed cannot be activated, for example, because the
activation server is unavailable, then the software will continue to run for up to seven
days. The seven-day grace period allows time to correct the problem with acquiring
activations, without disrupting critical applications. If activation is restored within seven
days, normal operations will resume. If activation is not restored, the grace period will
expire. After the grace period expires, if you restart the components and activation
remains unavailable, the software will run for two hours in Demo mode.
Location of activation server The PASS is the primary choice for activation management and should be the location of
the activation server. In the instance that the PASS is not an acceptable location, for
example, a customer makes use of a redundant PASS solution, a EWS is the secondary
choice. In this instance, the EWS should be a dedicated station with a permanent Ethernet
connection to the system. The FactoryTalk Activation software can be configured to run as
both a server and client utility.
Options for adding activation files to the
PASS To make concurrent floating activations available to activation clients, first you must
download the activation files to the activation server computer, from the Rockwell
Software Activation website.
If the PASS has Internet access, see Activate Software on a PASS with Internet
Connectivity on page 16 .
If the PASS does not have Internet access the activations may have to be downloaded on a
different computer with Internet connectivity and then transferred to the PASS, see
Activate Software for a PASS without Internet Connectivity on page 19 .
Protect activation files Activation files are simple text files that must have a .lic extension.
As long as the .lic extension is retained, you can copy or rename an activation file without
harming it. However, tampering with text inside the activation file can disable your
Rockwell Software products.
If an activation file is damaged or deleted, contact Rockwell Automation Technical
Support.
For safekeeping, keep an original set of your activation files on back-up media. Use
descriptive names for the files, so that you can identify them later, and copy them back to
the appropriate computers.
Activation files are locked to the Host IDs of the computers (or dongles) that need them.
Activation will fail for Rockwell Software products on a computer where the specified Host
ID is not recognized by the activation file.