Documentation forTask Factory

Task Factory Licensing

Note:  Task Factory can be used in the Visual Studio design environment to build, edit, and test execute packages without a license. A license is required to execute the packages outside of the Visual Studio design environment.

SolarWinds License Manager Online Activation

Your SolarWinds Task Factory license is managed through the SolarWinds License Manager.

  1. Use the Windows Start menu to open SolarWinds License Manager.
  2. Select Activate to add your full license. Note:  Use Upgrade if you are updating an existing license, not a trial evaluation.SolarWinds License Manager Activate license
  3. Enter the Activation Key, then select Next. Note:  There are options to use a proxy server or activate your license offline as well.SolarWinds License Manager Online Activation
  4. You must register Task Factory to continue. Enter your contact information, then select Next to continue.
    SolarWinds License Manager product registration
  5. Select Finish to leave the activation wizard and return to the SolarWinds License Manager.
    SolarWinds License Manager Finish
  6. This copy of Task Factory is now licensed.
    SolarWinds License Manager License activated
    Note:  The available Action is now Upgrade. In this example, there's a 1 after SolarWinds Task Factory, indicating that this key activated a license that is good for one server. If you purchase additional licenses, use the Upgrade option to apply a new activation key.

SolarWinds License Manager Offline Activation

Use the SolarWinds License Manager to activate a new license key or upgrade your trial license.  Activate your license on an offline machine by completing the following steps:

1. Use the Windows Start menu to open SolarWinds License Manager.

Important:  If you have an existing license, the Action will have an Upgrade option. If you have an evaluation license or just upgraded from a SentryOne licensed version of Task Factory and need to apply a SolarWinds branded license, the Action will have an Activate option.

2.  To apply a license, use the Upgrade or Activate option. 
SolarWinds License Manager Upgrade license

3. Select the This server does not have internet access option and then select Next to continue.
 SolarWinds License Manager offline manual activation

4. Complete the steps on the Activate Product page:

1. Select Copy Unique Machine ID and then paste the id into a text editor. Save the .txt document, and then move the document onto a machine with internet access.
SolarWinds License Manager Copy Unique Machine ID

Note:  You can transfer the document to a shared location, or copy the document onto a portal drive for transfer.

2. Log into the SolarWinds customer portal, select Licenses > Manage Licenses, and then navigate to the product you are trying to activate.

3. Select Activate license manually to open the Manage License Activation page. SolarWinds License Management Activate license manually

4. Paste the unique machine id from your .txt file into the Unique Machine ID field. Enter a computer name for your machine, and then select Generate License File.SolarWinds License Management Generate License File

5. Select Download Activation File, and then move the file onto your offline machine.SolarWinds Manage License Activation Download Activation File

Note:  A copy of the download file is emailed to the email associated with your SolarWinds customer account.SolarWinds Software License File email example

5. Select Browse, select the location of your license key file, and then select Next to continue.
SolarWinds License Manager Activate Product Next 

6. Select Finish to activate your license.
SolarWinds License Manager Finish

7. Select Exit to close the SolarWinds License Manager.

Important:  A product that is licensed for multiple installations will display as Not activated on the SolarWinds License Management page until all installations have been activated. In the example below, one licensed installation has been activated for Task Factory, and there are 4 out of 5 installations available to be activated.SolarWinds License Management 4 of 5 installations available

Licensing Errors

Through the course of validating your license in Task Factory, you can run into licensing errors. This section provides an overview for these common errors and ways to troubleshoot them. If you have a licensing issue, it's important to view your log file for more insight into the issue. Select View Log to open the LicenseManagerLog.

SolarWinds License Manager select View Log

Online License Activation Failure TLS Version Mismatch

SolarWinds License Manager Your license activation failed message

If your log file reports that the client and server can't communicate because they don't have a common algorithm, it's possible that your license manager has a TLS version mismatch. You can troubleshoot this error by completing the following steps:

1. Close the SolarWinds License Manager.

2. Open the SolarWinds License Manager program files at C:\Program Files (x86)\SolarWinds License Manager.

3. Open the LicenseManager.exe.config configuration file.

Open the SolarWinds LicenseManager.exe.config file

4. Add the following code to the .config file before the </configuration> tag: 

<runtime>
 <AppContextSwitchOverrides value="Switch.System.Net.DontEnableSystemDefaultTlsVersions=false" />
 </runtime>

Add code snippet example

5. Save the changes to the .config file, and re-enter your license into the SolarWinds License Manager.

Deprecated License Management

Deprecated:  This section applies only to Task Factory versions prior to 2021.8.

See Deprecated License types for information about Deprecated Task Factory license modules.

SentryOne Task Factory License Manager

Updating Your SentryOne Task Factory License

Older versions of Task Factory have different paths to the license manager.

Current path:

%Program Files (x86)%\SentryOne\Task Factory\PragmaticWorks.LicenseManager.exe

1. Open the License Manager, and then select Install a License
SentryOne Task Factory License Manager Install a License

2. Select Use an activation key, enter the license key in the Activation Key text box, and then select Activate.
SentryOne Task Factory License Manager Activate license

Your license has been activated. 
SentryOne Task Factory License Activation complete

Version 2016.2.1 path:

%ProgramFiles (x86)%\Pragmatic Works\Task Factory\LicenseManager\PragmaticWorks.LicenseManager.exe

Version 3.2 path:

%ProgramFiles%\Pragmatic Works\Task Factory\TaskFactoryRegistration.exe

1. Before installing Task Factory 3.2, run the Task Factory Registration application (located at %ProgramFiles%\Pragmatic Works\Task Factory\TaskFactoryRegistration.exe), and copy the Activation Key.

About Task Factory window 

2. After the activation key is copied, uninstall the current version of Task Factory, and then install Version 3.2 ( or higher). 

Important:  For current versions (2016.2.1 or later), run the new Pragmatic Works License Manager application again (current release is located at %Program Files (x86)%\SentryOne\Task Factory\PragmaticWorks.LicenseManager.exe) then select Install A License. All previous versions need to use the same registration tool found in step one.

Task Factory Pragmatic Works License Manager

 3. When the Licensing window opens, select I have an activation key, and then select OK to continue.Task Factory Licensing window

4. Paste or enter the activation key that was copied, and then select Activate to install your license.Task Factory Licensing window

License Activation & Communication Ports

You may need to open a port (or add an exception) on a secure server to allow communication with our licensing servers. This requires the standard HTTPS port 443 and the activation URL for the exception is activation.sentryone.com.

Task Factory Licensing Changes

Since the release of version 3.2 of Task Factory we use a licensing technology that requires every license to be updated. This means that if you have a current license, you need to run the Task Factory Registration tool with your current license key (if you have one) and update your license.

Note:  If your installation of Task Factory shows the (BIDS Only) message at the bottom then your machine does not have a license for the product, and can only be used be for development purposes. A license is needed when you execute an SSIS package containing a Task Factory component outside of BIDS.

Task Factory (Trial Mode BIDS Only)

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