Activate DPA licenses

After the DPA trial period ends, DPA monitors only licensed instances. If your DPA server uses individual licenses, you must activate a license for each database instance that you want to monitor. Make sure that you have the correct license types for the database instances you want to monitor.

Activate licenses online

If the DPA server is connected to the Internet, you can activate licenses online.

To activate additional licenses with the same key on the same DPA server, see DPA licensing restriction.

1. Complete the following steps to retrieve your license activation key from the Customer Portal.

   If you are evaluating DPA and have received a license activation key from a SolarWinds representative, continue with step 2.

   1. Log in to the SolarWinds Customer Portal.
   2. Choose Licenses > Manage Licenses.
   3. Locate the license, and expand it.
   4. Copy the activation key.
2. On the DPA home page, click License Management. Then click License Manager.
3. Click Enter Activation Key.
4. Select Online Activation, and click Next.
5. On the Online Activation page, paste the activation key into the correct field.

6. In the Amount to Activate section, select All Available or Specify Amount.

   Unactivated licenses can be activated later. You can use the same activation key to activate licenses on a different DPA server. For example, if an activation key includes 10 licenses, you can enter the activation key on one DPA server and allocate 5 licenses, and then enter it on a second DPA server and activate the remaining 5 licenses.
   

7. Enter the remaining information, and click Activate.

Activate licenses offline

Offline activation requires transferring files between the DPA server and a computer connected to the Internet. You can use email, shared storage, or a USB flash drive.

1. In DPA, click License Management > License Manager.
2. Click Enter Activation Key.
3. Select Offline Activation, and click Next.

4. Complete the following steps to obtain a license activation file from the Customer Portal.

   If you are evaluating DPA and have received a license activation file from a SolarWinds representative, continue with step 5.

   1. On the Offline Activation page, identify the type of license you want to activate (for example, Category 1 or Category 2).

      

   2. Copy the text string next to the license type you want to activate, and save it to a text file. This is the unique machine ID. Include the brackets. For example:

      [7R12-X2QN-U8XM-WXTD-23H7-0TD7-59QH-6ERF-5BRN-2M17-328G-0DT2-MNMS-005C-000Z-04Q2-0000]

      Be sure to copy the unique machine ID for the correct license type. If you copy the wrong ID, you will receive the following error when you attempt to activate the license: 

      The UMID is for different product than one being activated.

   3. Transfer this text file to a computer with Internet access.
   4. Log in to the SolarWinds Customer Portal.
   5. Locate the license, and expand it.
   6. Click Activate license manually.
   7. Paste the text string into the Unique Machine ID field, and enter the other required information.
   8. Click Generate License File to download the license file.
   9. Transfer the license file to the DPA server.
5. On the Offline Activation page, click Choose File and browse to the license file.
6. Click Activate.

DPA licensing restriction

If you have used an activation key to activate licenses on a DPA server, you cannot use that activation key to activate additional licenses on the same server. If you try to use an activation key to activate additional licenses on the same server, DPA displays an error that includes the following text:

The activation key you provided has already been used. Provide an unused key and try again.

For example, you have an activation key that includes 10 licenses. You use it to activate 5 licenses on your DPA server. Later, you try to use that activation key to activate 2 more licenses on the same server, but DPA displays the message above.

To use an activation key to activate additional licenses on the same server:

1. Deactivate all licenses that were activated using that activation key.

   If the DPA server is online, the Customer Portal is updated with the deactivation amount.

   If the DPA server is offline, the DPA License Manager provides a deactivation receipt file that you upload to the Customer Portal. (See Deactivate offline.) When it has been uploaded, the activation key is reset.

2. Repeat the online or offline license activation task, and activate the total number of licenses that you want.

Next steps

When you activate a license, DPA automatically allocates the license to a registered database instance if you have enough licenses to monitor all registered instances in that license category. If you do not have enough licenses to monitor all registered instances, you must manually allocate licenses to the instances you want to monitor.