Reactivate NCache License

NCache License needs to be re-activated on an already activated machine in two cases:

  • Increase in the number of logical processors

  • License period expiry

  • Change in the number of client licenses for already activated machines.

Logical Processor Change:

The minimum number of licenses required is 2, whether the machine has 1 logical processor or 8. However after 8 logical processors, the number of licenses is incremented by every 4 logical processors added.

In case you increase the number of logical processors (on an activated machine) to a number where the requirement for an additional license becomes valid, you need to reactivate your license.

License Period Expiry:

In case of Subscription based licensing, the customer is notified 60 days before the license period ends. NCache provides with an auto-renewal feature for the license which will check for any next subscription so that the user gets his license reactivated for the next period (i.e. the next year after license expiration) automatically.

Auto-renewal is ON by default and is tried by NCache service on all cache servers as well as clients 30 days before the license expiration.

If the user no more wants to continue using same machine in the next subscription period, he can manually turn off the auto-renewal requests. In order to disable auto-renewal, set the auto-renewal flag FALSE in service configuration file found in NCache installations as follows:

  • .NET: Alachsioft.NCache.Service.exe.config located in %NCHOME%/bin/service
  • .NET Core Windows: Alachsioft.NCache.Service.dll.config located in %NCHOME%/bin/service
  • .NET Core Linux: Alachsioft.NCache.Daemon.dll.config located in /opt/ncache/bin/service

The following command switches off auto-renewal of license for any machine:

<add key="NCacheServer.AutoRenewal" value="False"/>

In case of manual activation or if auto-renewal is disabled, the user gets WARNING messages in Event Logs.

Note
  • Auto renewal starts 30 days before expiry.
  • Manual renewal can be done at any time.

If the request for auto-renewal fails after the grace period ends, the user needs to manually activate NCache for the next period. In order to re-new the license:

  • Purchase a new license period against same license key. Contact Alachisoft Sales for this.

  • Once new license period is purchased, activate your machines using Register-NCache tool.

You can reactivate your license using the license key obtained from Alachisoft. NCache provides PowerShell tool Register-NCache to reactivate your license:

PowerShell Reactivation

You can reactivate your activated license using PowerShell. NCache allows two reactivation modes: online and manual.

Online Activation

  • Search for "Windows PowerShell" on Windows Start menu, right-click on the search result and select Run as Administrator.

  • Execute the following command, where the license key (you got upon purchasing NCache from Alachisoft) is provided with the -Key parameter. Note that the first name, last name and email address are compulsory parameters.

    • For Server Activated licensing, you need to specify -Environment and -Clients.

      Register-NCache -Reactivate -Key xxxxxxxx-xxxxxx-xxxxxxxx -Environment Production -Clients 10 -FirstName Paul -LastName Jones -Email paul.jones@alachisoft.com -Company Alachisoft

  • On successful activation of license, you are prompted with a success message Thank you for registering your copy of NCache.

Manual Reactivation

Manual activation requires generating an activation request code and sending it to Alachisoft Sales to receive the reactivation authentication key from Alachisoft.

  • Search for "PowerShell" on Windows Start menu, right-click on the search result and select Run as Administrator.

  • Execute the following command to generate the authorization code. This is specified with the -ManualActivate parameter. The license key (you got upon purchasing NCache from Alachisoft) is provided with the -Key parameter.

  • For Server Activated licensing, you need to specify -Environment and -Clients.

    Register-NCache -Reactivate -Key xxxxxxxx-xxxxxx-xxxxxxxx -Environment Production -Clients 10 -FirstName Paul -LastName Jones -Email paul.jones@alachisoft.com -Company Alachisoft -ManualActivate

  • You will be prompted with a long encrypted text on the screen. This is the Reactivation Request Code.

  • Copy this code from the screen to obtain the Reactivation Authentication Key. You can do this two ways:

    Method 1: Get Key from Alachisoft Sales

    • Email this code to Alachisoft Sales at sales@alachisoft.com.

    • You will receive the Reactivation Authentication key from Alachisoft Sales. Save this key as it is to be used in the proceeding steps.

      Method 2: Get Key via NCache Email Activation

    • On your web browser, open the following page:
      https://app.alachisoft.com/admin/customer_console/main.php

    • Enter your license key obtained from Alachisoft upon purchase of NCache and click Find.

    • The next page shows license details and related information. Click on the Activate NCache link.

    • Paste the Activation Request Code into the text box on this page and click Verify.

    • This opens up the Activation Data Verification page, which shows Product information, User Information and Machine Information.

    • Once you have verified that the information is correct, click on the Activate! button at the bottom of the page.

    • This opens up the Activation Result page, showing the Generated Authentication Key. Save this key as it is to be used in the proceeding steps.

  • On PowerShell, enter the following command using the generated authentication key against the -AuthCode parameter.

    Register-NCache -AuthCode <authentication_key> -ManualActivate

  • On successful activation, you are prompted with a message Thank you for activating NCache.

See Also

Licensing Model
Activate License
Deactivate License
Evaluation Period Management