Use the PI Server install kit to create the machine signature file

We recommend creating the MSF file through the PI Server setup kit (supported only on version PI Data Archive 2015 or later). Generating the MSF through the setup kit ensures that the MSF correlates with the machine hosting PI Data Archive. In addition, this ensures that the most updated version of the MSFWinGen software is used to create the MSF.

Before you begin, make sure that:

• If the host machine has multiple Ethernet ports, ensure they are plugged in so that the MAC addresses of each of these ports are registered by the MSF for your machine.

  The license matching process checks to see if at least one of the MAC addresses are identified when comparing against the list of MAC addresses registered during the creation of the MSF.

• Unplug any non-essential hard drives or thumb drives that will not be present during normal operation of Data Archive.

  Because the MSF is an identifying thumb print of the host machine at the time of license generation, any changes to the configuration of the machine may cause a license mismatch to occur.

1. Double-click the PI Server setup kit executable file to launch the installation wizard.

2. In the Feature Selection window, select the PI Data Archive check box to install on your computer.

   The directory paths are shown for your Data Archive installation on your computer. A list of PI components to be part of the installation are shown.

3. Click Next to continue with the installation.

   The Data Archive window appears.

   

4. Click License information and generation, as highlighted in the screen capture, to autogenerate and locate the MSF.

   The License Information and Generation window appears.

5. Click here, as highlighted in the screen capture, to locate the autogenerated MSF.

   

   A Windows Explorer window appears with the location of the autogenerated MSF on your host computer.

   

6. Paste the path of the MSF to a text document on the host machine. You will need this MSF file path information later in the setup process.

7. If the host machine does not have access to the internet, navigate to the file path and copy the MSF to an internet-accessible computer. The next part of the licensing process requires you to access the Customer Portal. See Generate a license file.