This chapter provides information about activating your core server with a valid LANDesk software license.
LANDesk Software, Inc. uses a central licensing server to help you manage your core server's product and node licenses. To use LANDesk products, you must obtain from LANDesk a user name and password that will activate the core server with an authorized certificate. Activation is required on each core server before you can use LANDesk products on that server. You can activate each core server either automatically by the Internet or manually by e-mail. You may need to reactivate a core server in the event that you significantly modify its hardware configuration.
On a periodic basis, the activation component on each core server will generate data regarding:
No other data is collected or generated by the activation. The hardware key code is generated on the core server using non-personal hardware configuration factors, such as the size of the hard drive, the processing speed of the computer, and so on. The hardware key code is sent to LANDesk in an encrypted format, and the private key for the encryption resides only on the core server. The hardware key code is then used by LANDesk to create a portion of the authorized certificate.
After installing a core server, use the Core Server Activation utility (Start > All Programs > LANDesk > Core Server Activation) to either activate it with a LANDesk account associated with the licenses you've purchased or with a 45-day evaluation license. The 45-day evaluation license is valid for 100 nodes. The 45-day evaluation period begins when you first activate a product on the core server. If you install other LANDesk products for evaluation on the core server later in the 45-day period, that doesn't extend the initial 45-day evaluation period. All LANDesk products on a single core server share the same evaluation license and the same 45-day evaluation period.
You can install additional LANDesk products under your 45-day evaluation license by using the installation CD's autorun program. From the autorun install the product you want, and during setup choose the Modify option. You will then be able to add or remove LANDesk products on your core server.
You can switch from a 45-day evaluation to a paid license at any time by running the Core Server Activation utility and entering your LANDesk username and password.
There are two types of licenses, client and server. Any time you install Management Suite agents on a server operating system, such as Windows 2000 Server or Windows 2003 Server, that installation consumes a Management Suite license for a server. Rollup core servers don't need to be activated.
Each time the node count data is generated by the activation software on a core server, you need to send the node count data to LANDesk, either automatically by the Internet or manually by e-mail. If you fail to provide node count data within a 30-day grace period after the initial node count verification attempt, the core server may become inoperative until you provide LANDesk with the node count data. Once you send the node count data, LANDesk will provide you with an authorized certificate that will allow the core server to work normally once again.
Once you've activated a core server, use the Management Suite console's Configure > Product Licensing dialog to view the products and the number of authorized nodes purchased for the account the core server authenticates with. You can also see the date the core server will verify node count data with the central licensing server. The core server doesn't limit you to the number of authorized nodes you purchased.
Use the Core Server Activation utility to:
Start the utility by clicking Start > All Programs > LANDesk > Core Server Activation. If your core server doesn't have an Internet connection, see Manually activating a core or verifying the node count data.
Each core server must have a unique authorized certificate. Multiple core servers can't share the same authorization certificate, though they can verify node counts to the same LANDesk account.
Periodically, the core server generates node count verification information in the "\Program Files\LANDesk\Authorization Files\LANDesk.usage" file. This file gets sent periodically to the LANDesk licensing server. This file is in XML format and is digitally signed and encrypted. Any changes manually made to this file will invalidate the contents and the next usage report to the LANDesk licensing server.
The core communicates with the LANDesk licensing server via HTTP. If you use a proxy server, click the utility's Proxy tab and enter your proxy information. If your core has an Internet connection, communication with the license server is automatic and won't require any intervention by you.
Note that the Core Server Activation utility won't automatically launch a dial-up Internet connection, but if you launch the dial-up connection manually and run the activation utility, the utility can use the dial-up connection to report usage data.
If your core server doesn't have an Internet connection, you can verify and send the node count manually, as described later in this section.
Before you can activate a new server with a full-use license, you must have an account set up with LANDesk that licenses you for the LANDesk products and number of nodes you purchased. You will need the account information (contact name and password) to activate your server. If you don't have this information, contact your LANDesk sales representative.
The 45-day trial-use license activates your server with the LANDesk licensing server. Once the 45-day evaluation period expires, you won't be able to log in to the core server, and it will stop accepting inventory scans, but you won't lose any existing data in the software or database. During or after the 45-day trial use license, you can rerun the Core Server Activation utility and switch to a full activation that uses a LANDesk account. If the trial-use license has expired, switching to a full-use license will reactivate the core.
The update option sends usage information to the LANDesk licensing server. Usage data is sent automatically if you have an Internet connection, so you normally shouldn't need to use this option to send node count verification. You can also use this option to change the LANDesk account the core server belongs to. This option can also change a core server from a trial-use license to a full-use license.
If the core server doesn't have an Internet connection, the Core Server Activation utility won't be able to send node count data. You'll then see a message prompting you to send activation and node count verification data manually through e-mail. E-mail activation is a simple and quick process. When you see the manual activation message on the core, or if you use the Core Server Activation utility and see the manual activation message, follow these steps.
If the manual activation fails or the core can't process the attached activation file, the authorization file you copied is renamed with a .rejected extension and the utility logs an event with more details in the Windows Event Viewer's Application Log.