CCP License Temporary Activation

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Hi All,

I asked this question through my dealer but the answer I got from PxPlus didn't make any sense to me so I thought I'd ask here in case there was a misunderstanding.

Lets say I have a set of registration keys for a license from back when it was purchased and they are for version 13. This license is on CCP. When installed, we used the online registration to activate the license on version 16 and this works because the online activation system knows the license is on CCP. All works well.

Now lets say that customers server crashes and we have to restore from a backup to new hardware, or we for some other reason need to urgently migrate the customer to a new server. I need to get the customer up and running on a temporary license, and then request a license move or reset once they are back in business and we can breathe again.

The keys we have on file are for version 13, so if I install v16 and try to apply the v13 keys to get them up and running we receive errors like 'not activated for this software package'. If i try to run the online activation to make the software realize that these keys have CCP associated with them we receive the message 'This serial is already registered'.

If i install version 13 (or lower), and apply the activation keys, I will be able to get the system running in a temporary state...again if i run the online activation i'll receive 'This serial is already registered' which doesn't allow me to then install v16 using the same key file and the keys (as far as it can see) are for v13 still....

So how do we overcome this in an emergency situation where we need to install a temporary activation but we only have the keys for an older version?

This issue recently came up due to some poor planning on our part when migrating a customer to a new server where we forgot until the 11th hour to request a license move. Luckily we were able to get the move initiated by PxPlus just in time for the migration. We need to have an internal procedure in place to ensure we can activate our software out of hours in a data emergency (especially since we are on the other side of the world from PxPlus) to ensure business continuity for our clients.

Your help please!

Thanks,

Chris

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Hi All,

Does anyone have any advice on the post above? Would I be better cancelling CCP on all our licenses perhaps and just purchase version upgrades as needed?

[Mike King]

Generally if you are on the maintenance program, we suggest that when you upgrade an account you request a new set of installation keys to match the release they are using, user count, and any packages they may have.   While these are normally sent out with when you place an order for some form of upgrade, in the case of CCP we don't know if or when you will upgrade the account so you will need to request them. 

These keys will allow you re-install should it ever be necessary, even in case when the internet may be down or our servers offline for maintenance.

Now normally, when upgrading, we suggest you run the online registration on the existing PxPlus before installing the new release and then share the activation license file.  On Windows, if using the default installation path names, sharing of the activation keys is automatic.  For Linux you have to manually use the Linux 'ln' command to share the file or use an environment to point to a shared file.

As for your question about system crashes, for the past few releases the system has had built in detection to see if you are running from a restored backup.  If so it will confirm that you want to move the installation to the new system and make an online request for the keys accordingly.   This only works if you attempt to run from a restored backup and you can only do this once so be sure your new system is stable otherwise you may need to have us reset the keys for you. 

Once the keys are updated it will flag the old system for automatic key deletion should you ever recover the old server and attempt to use it to run the original PxPlus install.

Lastly, it should be mentioned that in PxPlus 2020 (v17) you can use V13 (or older) installation keys and the system will advise you the keys are too old, however if you are attached to the Internet it will provide you the option to register online in order to get your current keys.

Hopefully this answers you questions on re-activation and how to recover from a system failure.

[bbssupport]

Hi Mike,

Thank you for your reply.

I've gotten my head around how to implement the upgrade, my only concern was not having up-to-date keys for an emergency temporary activation. I will request a list of keys for the version we are using with our CCP licenses via my dealer.

Thanks,

Chris

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Follow-up question, for future reference as we struggled with this when we upgraded all our CCP licenses from v12 to v16...what would be the recommended procedure to upgrade from an older ProvideX or PxPlus to the latest PxPlus version?

[Mike King]

For migrating from ProvideX, the upgrade is bit more complicated, specifically because of the location the license file.

The first thing I would do is install the Online activation update for ProvideX that is documented here.  This should let you run the online registration on your ProvideX system.

Once that is done I would contact your supplier to initiate a license move.  Once initiated you should be able to run the online registration on the ProvideX system which will mark its license file for expiration on the first of the next month.  You can then install PxPlus using its installation key and register it.

The move process will provide you time to complete the transition.

Another method that might work on Windows and using ProvideX v8 or later is to set the system Environment variable PVXKEY to the 'lib/keys' directory of your ProvideX system.  You should then be able to install and register PxPlus.  It will share the license with ProvideX.   

On Linux/Unix you can simply use the OS 'ln' command to share the license file (see here for move information on sharing a license file).