Activating an installation

After your MicroStrategy installation is complete, you have 30 days to activate your installation. Before you activate your installation you must request an Activation Code from MicroStrategy. You can complete this request when you install MicroStrategy with the MicroStrategy Installation Wizard or after the installation using MicroStrategy License Manager.

Note: If you are using the Evaluation Edition of MicroStrategy, you must activate your installation within 7 days.

For detailed instructions on how to activate your installation, see the Activating Your Installation chapter of the Installation and Configuration Guide.

De-activating an installation

De-activating your installation allows you to employ more CPUs or change your hardware configuration in a machine, or to re-activate your licenses on another machine with a more desirable setup, such as another CPU configuration. De-activating an installation and notifying MicroStrategy of the deactivation is required so MicroStrategy can keep track of your product licenses and server activation status. For example, if MicroStrategy knows you are no longer using CPUs on a given machine, it can allow the license for those CPUs to be activated and used on another machine in another configuration.

For detailed instructions on how to deactivate your installation, click the Help button in the License Manager tool to access the online help.

Server Activation FAQ

For the most up to date information visit MicroStrategy Server Activation FAQ.

1. What is MicroStrategy Server Activation?
2. Why is Server Activation necessary?
3. Does MicroStrategy adhere to Software Activation common practices?
4. Which products require activation?
5. If more than one server product is installed on the same machine, does each server product need to be activated and deactivated separately?
6. Which customers are required to activate MicroStrategy server products?
7. Is a new CD Key needed to install products on different machines?
8. Is Server Activation is required for both Named-user and CPU based licenses?
9. Does Server Activation aggregate the total number of licenses installed and prevent over-installation of products?
10. Does Server Activation apply to Evaluation Editions?
11. What is the procedure for activating Server Installations?
12. Can the Server Installation be automatically activated after automatically requesting for an activation code?
13. What information is sent to MicroStrategy in the Activation XML File?
14. Is the information sent to MicroStrategy secure?
15. Can I change the information in the Activation XML file?
16. What is used to lock the server to a machine?
17. Is there a grace period from the time server products are installed to when it can be activated?
18. What happens if the Server Installations are not activated?
19. Should the installations be automatically or manually activated and deactivated? 
20. What should be done if requesting an Activation Code fails during installation?  
21. What should be done if automatic request for an Activation Code does not work at all?
22. Can the Activation Code be used on a different machine?
23. What if the server has to be moved to another machine?
24. What if the server machine has a catastrophic failure and cannot be deactivated automatically or manually?
25. If there is more than one server product installed on a machine and one is removed, does the Server Installation need to be deactivated?
26. What information can be monitored on the website?
27. Does Server Activation apply to MicroStrategy Suite?

1. What is MicroStrategy Server Activation?
MicroStrategy Server Activation is a licensing technology that ensures that installations of MicroStrategy server products are authentic and have been legitimately licensed. Server Activation registers each Server Installation with MicroStrategy and locks the installation to a specific machine.  [Back to TOC]

2. Why is Server Activation necessary?
Server Activation provides benefits to both MicroStrategy and its customers.

• It ensures that the software products being used are authentic.
• It helps customers in identifying software installations to prevent over-installation.
• It improves customer service by maintaining a register of the hardware configurations used by our customers.

 [Back to TOC]

3. Does MicroStrategy adhere to Software Activation best practices?
Yes. Extensive research was performed on software activation and it was found that the Business Software Alliance (www.bsa.org) provides the most comprehensive information. MicroStrategy has closely followed these best practices. [Back to TOC]

4. Which products require activation?
All MicroStrategy modular and non-modular server products require server activation, including:

• Intelligence Server, Intelligence Server Module, Clustering Option, Report Services, Report Services Option, OLAP Services, OLAP Services Option, Distribution Services, MultiSource Option, Transaction Services
• Web, Web Universal, Web Reporter Module, Web Analyst Option, Web Professional Option, Web Universal option
• Mobile Server , Mobile Server Universal
• Narrowcast Server Delivery Engine

[Back to TOC]

5. If more than one server product is installed on the same machine, does each product need to be activated and deactivated separately?
No. All MicroStrategy server products installed on a single machine are grouped as a Server Installation and will be activated and deactivated as a group. [Back to TOC]

6. Which customers are required to activate MicroStrategy server products?
All customers who install MicroStrategy server products will need to activate their Server Installations. [Back to TOC]

7. Is a new CD Key needed to install products on different machines?
No, Server Activation has no impact on CD Keys. The latest CD Key sent by MicroStrategy can be used to install products on many machines just as before. The only difference now, is that each installation on a different machine will need a different Activation Code to activate the installation. Server Activation is independent of the CD Keys.  [Back to TOC]

8. Is Server Activation required for both Named-user and CPU based licenses?
Yes. Server Activation is required for both Named-user and CPU based licenses. Server Activation is designed to track software installations regardless of licensing model. Server Activation does not manage or limit the number of servers on which server software is installed. [Back to TOC]

9. Does Server Activation aggregate the total number of licenses installed and prevent over-installation of products?
No. Server Activation and the licensing models are independent. However, using Server Activation information available at https://licensing.microstrategy.com, organizations can monitor the number of installations. De-activating Server Installations that are not being used will ensure this information is up-to-date.  [Back to TOC]

10. Does Server Activation apply to Evaluation Editions?
Yes. The Evaluation Edition must be activated within 7 days of installation.  [Back to TOC]

11. What is the procedure for activating Server Installations?
Installing, modifying or upgrading MicroStrategy Server Installations will automatically generate an Activation XML file that contains information about the installation. This XML file, called the “Activation File” is uploaded to MicroStrategy either automatically by the installation routine or through License Manager; or by manually uploading the Activation File through a web browser via a secure web site, https://licensing.microstrategy.com. MicroStrategy creates a machine-specific Activation Code which is emailed to the installer and to the MicroStrategy Tech Support liaisons. The Activation Code must be manually entered into License Manager on the target Server Installation.  [Back to TOC]

12. Can the Server Installation be automatically activated after automatically requesting for an activation code?
No, the Activation Code is sent to the installer and to the MicroStrategy Tech Support contacts by email. Upon receiving the activation code, the Server Installation needs to be manually activated by entering the activation code using License Manager. For manual activations, the Activation Code can be copied from the Activation website, and pasted into License Manager.  [Back to TOC]

13. What information is sent to MicroStrategy in the Activation XML File?

• Installation Information
  • Installation timestamp
  • Activation ID (if the installation has previously been activated)
  • Contract information
  • CD Key used in installation
  • Installer contact details – name, address, email
  • Company contact details – name, address, email
  • Server Installation information – name, location, use
• Hardware information
  • Unique Hardware Identifier
  • CPU Information – type, bit-size, clock speed, total quantity
  • Physical Memory installed
• Operating System information
  • Type, version, bit-size, page/swap size
  • Locale
  • Additional information – 4GT mode and hyperthreading in Windows, LPAR ID, number of pooled CPUs, SMT used in AIX
• MicroStrategy information:
  • Install Type – new/modify/upgrade
  • Products and version installed
  • Number of CPUs used allocated for CPU licenses
• Database information
  • Metadata database and ODBC driver
  • Data warehouse database and ODBC driver

[Back to TOC]

14. Is the information sent to MicroStrategy secure?
Yes. The Activation XML file is sent to MicroStrategy in 2 ways:

• Automatically during installation or through License Manager. This information is encrypted using a RIPEMD-160 algorithm before being sent to MicroStrategy.
• Manually in the https://licensing.microstrategy.com web site. Communication with this web site is conducted through via Secure Sockets Layer once the user has been authenticated.

 [Back to TOC]

15. Can I change the information in the Activation XML file?
The content of this file is secured with a digital signature. Contact MicroStrategy Technical Support if the content is incorrect.  [Back to TOC]

16. What is used to lock the server to a machine?
A unique hardware identifier for each machine is used to lock an installation to that machine. Any changes to these identifiers will require reactivation of the Server Installation.

• Windows: An identifier generated from a one-way hash of the network interface card MAC address
• AIX: Machine ID
• Solaris: Host ID
• Red Hat Linux: An identifier generated from a one-way hash of the network interface card MAC address
• HP-UX: Exposes a unique Machine ID that can be obtained from the Operating System command line, using the following command:
  getconf CS_MACHINE_IDENT

[Back to TOC]

17. Is there a grace period from the time server products are installed to when it can be activated?
Yes. There is a 30 calendar day grace period (7 days for Evaluation Edition) from installation before a server installation must be activated. [Back to TOC]

18. What happens if the Server Installations are not activated?
If a server installation has not been activated within 30 calendar days (7 days for Evaluation Edition), the server products will not be able to be restarted.  [Back to TOC]

19. Should the installations be automatically or manually activated and deactivated? 
It is preferable to automatically send the activation information to MicroStrategy, either during installation or using License Manager. This is an easy process that should take less than 1 minute to complete, and ensures that the correct information is sent to MicroStrategy.  [Back to TOC]

20. What should be done if requesting an Activation Code fails during installation?
Firstly, allow the installation to complete. The Activation Code request should then be attempted using License Manager. If this still does not work, activate the Server Installation manually by visiting the Activation website at https://licensing.microstrategy.com. [Back to TOC]

21. What should be done if automatic request for an Activation Code does not work at all?
The Server Installation should be manually activated using License Manager on a machine that has access to the Web. The Activation XML file should be copied from the Server Installation that requires activation to this computer. If this still does not work, contact MicroStrategy Technical Support.  [Back to TOC]

22. Can the Activation Code be used on a different machine?
No. The Activation Code contains the unique identifier for a specific machine and can only be used on that machine. The server products will not be activated if the incorrect Activation Code is used. [Back to TOC]

23. What if the server has to be moved to another machine?
If the Server Installation needs to be moved to another machine, uninstall the MicroStrategy products or deactivate the Server Installation from License Manager. Notify MicroStrategy that Server Installation has been deactivated. This keeps your active server inventory up to date as shown to you on https://licensing.microstrategy.com.  [Back to TOC]

24. What if the server machine has a catastrophic failure and cannot be deactivated automatically or manually?
If a machine has a catastrophic failure and the server products cannot be uninstalled or deactivated, contact MicroStrategy Technical Support to update the status of this Server. [Back to TOC]

25. If there is more than one server product installed on a machine and one is removed, does the Server Installation need to be deactivated?
Upon removal of a server product, all remaining server products are automatically deactivated. The remaining server product(s) need to be reactivated to reflect the new product configuration on that machine. For example, if a machine contains MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server and MicroStrategy Web, and MicroStrategy Narrowcast Server is removed, MicroStrategy Web will be automatically deactivated. MicroStrategy Web will need to be reactivated. [Back to TOC]

26. What information can be monitored on the website?
When registered Technical Support Liaisons log into the MicroStrategy Activation website, they can display a list of all Server Installations. This report lists each Server Installation along with the following information for reference.

• Installation ID 
• Activation Status
• Contract ID
• Operating System
• Machine CPUs
• Last Update Type
• Last Updated by
• Last Update Date
• Products installed
• Activation and deactivation history

The Installation ID is a unique identifier for Server Installations. This ID is provided along with the Activation Code in the email received when requesting activation. [Back to TOC]

27. Does Server Activation apply to MicroStrategy Suite?
Yes. The MicroStrategy Suite must be activated within 30 days of installation. [Back to TOC]