About activation and activation modes

After you import your license entitlement file, select the activation mode that best suits your topology. There are two modes available to process the license activation: online mode and offline mode. The activation mode you can use in a particular system depends on the connectivity of the License Manager components to the License Server and Activation Server.

• Use online activation when the License Manager node has network connectivity to the License Server AND Internet connectivity to the Activation Server.

• Use offline activation when the License Manager node has network connectivity to the License Server but does NOT have Internet connectivity to the Activation Server. In this case, a second node with Internet access to the Activation Server is required to complete the activation process using the License Activation Web Page.

  Note: Optionally, you can use another installed License Manager in place of the License Activation Web Page. See Activate licenses in offline mode using two License Managers for details.

  The following diagram illustrates a topology in which you would use offline mode. In this topology, the License Manager is installed on Node 1, which has network connectivity to the License Server. Node 2 has Internet connectivity to the Activation Server and the License Activation Web Page. In this diagram, you can see the four basic steps for offline activation.

  

For both online and offline modes, use the License Manager or a second node with the licensing components installed to import an entitlement file and activate the licenses it contains.

During activation, the licenses in the entitlement file will be associated with the License Server and will become available to products that can access the License Server.