What Can Cause a Broken OmniServer License?

What can cause a license to break?

The OmniServer licensing mechanism is based on a trust relationship between the licensing service, and the machine/hardware profile of the computer on which the license is running. If this trust relationship is broken (i.e. the licensing service no longer trusts that it is running on the same machine where the license was originally activated) the license will break and OmniServer will revert to demo mode.

When a license is activated, OmniServer records a set of machine identifiers that represent the host. From then on, each time OmniServer starts, it recreates those identifiers and compares them to the stored originals. Any mismatches are added up using weighted values. If the total of those weighted values exceeds the threshold, the license is invalidated.

The machine identifiers used are as follows:

Hard Drive Format Serial
MAC Address of Network Interface Card (NIC)
Windows Product ID
Bios Revision Number/Date
Computer Name
Processor Information
Processor Speed
Memory Size
SID
Video Card
Hard Drive Model
Hard Drive Serial
Motherboard Model
Motherboard Serial
CD/DVD Drive
Sound Card
Domain

How do I recover from a broken license?

If your license has broken, it will need to be reset by our support team before it can be re-applied to your machine.

Contact support directly with your license information via one of the following methods to have your license reset:
- Submit a Re-Registration Request
- Complete the Ask A Question form
- Email support@softwaretoolbox.com
- Call +1 (704) 849-2773 during our normal business hours of Monday - Friday, 8AM - 5PM US Eastern Time

NOTE: License resets are a benefit included in an active Support and Maintenance Agreement. To receive a quote to renew your Support Agreement, please email your license Serial Number(s) to: insidesales@softwaretoolbox.com

How can I prevent license breakage from happening again in the future?

The first step of preventing a breakage is understanding what causes it. Refer to the first section of this page for the list machine identifiers and understand that changes to these fields may cause a license to break.

If you expect hardware changes to be common, you can alternatively convert your license to a hardware key to prevent license breakage. We have a blog on this topic, Top 4 Benefits of Using a Hardware Key with OmniServer, that explains hardware keys and how they may fit your needs.

On virtual machines, ensure that you review our FAQ for Running TOP Server on Virtual Machines before applying your license. This FAQ references another one of our OPC Server products, TOP Server, but the licensing mechanisms are similar and the same concepts will apply.

How does an active Support and Maintenance Agreement help me?

As mentioned before, it is important that your licenses have an active Support and Maintenance agreement. The reset of a license for any reason is included in the service provided with a valid Support and Maintenance Agreement, which also grants access to product updates and technical support.

If you have any questions, please contact Technical Support through our Ask A Question form or by emailing support@softwaretoolbox.com.