Activate licenses

You must activate licenses when you:

• Install a XProtect VMS product with a registered software license file (.lic)
• Add hardware devices in Management Client
• Add or make changes to XProtect VMS plug-ins and add-ons
• Add Milestone Interconnect™ sites
• Upgrade to a newer version of your XProtect VMS product, including service releases

Depending on whether your system is connected to the internet, use the online activation or offline activation process to activate licenses:

• Online activation is the recommended method if the system can access the internet. Online activation automates the process of activating hardware device licenses
• Offline activation lets you activate licenses when the system cannot access the internet. Offline activation requires additional manual steps to activate licenses

Use online activation

If your system has access to the internet, you can turn on automatic license activation in Management Client. The system can be set to activate device licenses whenever it detects a change, for example, after you add devices, or only when you manually start the online activation process.

When adding devices for the first time, you must manually start online activation. Once started, the system can be set to automatically activate device licenses.

Start online activation manually

1. In Management Client, in the Site Navigation pane, expand Basics, and select License Information.

2. Select Activate License Manually, then select Online.

   

3. Enter the user name and password for your My Milestone account, then select Next.
4. Select Finish to activate the licenses.

Enable automatic license activation

To set up automatic license activation, in Management Client, in the Site Navigation pane, expand Basics, and select License Information. Select the Enable automatic license activation check box and enter the user name and password for your My Milestone account.

After you add a device, automatic license activation might take a few minutes to reflect the changes.

Use offline activation

After you import your software license file and add devices in Management Client, if your XProtect VMS product is not connected to the internet, you can use offline activation to activate hardware device licenses.

You will need a portable storage device, such as a USB flash drive, and a computer with access to the internet.

To use offline activation:

1. Export a license request file (.lrq) from Management Client.
2. Activate the license request file in Milestone Customer Dashboard.
3. Receive an activated license file (.lic) in an email, and then import the file into Management Client.

Export a license request file (.lrq) from Management Client

The license request file contains information about your XProtect VMS system. For example, it contains the number of hardware devices to activate licenses for.

To export a license request file (.lrq):

1. In Management Client, in the Site Navigation pane, expand Basics, and select License Information.
2. At the bottom of the main workspace, select Activate License Manually > Offline > Export License For Activation.

   

3. Save the license request file (.lrq) to a portable storage device.
4. Connect the portable storage device to a computer with internet access.

Activate a license request file (.lrq) in Milestone Customer Dashboard

1. Log in to Milestone Customer Dashboard.
2. Select Licenses or Customers in the main menu, then select Activate .lrq file.

   

3. Select Select .lrq file, and then find the license request file (.lrq) that you saved on the portable storage device.
4. Optional: By default, the activated license file is sent to the email address that was specified when the software license was purchased. To add more email recipients for the activated license file, enter the recipients' email addresses in the Enter additional recipients (optional) field and select Add.
5. Select Upload.

Receive an activated license file (.lic) in an email and import the file into Management Client

After you receive an activated license file, you can import the file into Management Client to update your software license information.

To import the activated license file:

1. Copy the activated license file from the email to your portable storage device, and then connect the portable storage device to the computer where Management Client is installed.
2. In Management Client, in the Site Navigation pane, expand Basics, and select License Information.

3. Select Activate License Manually > Offline > Import Activated License.

   

4. Find the activated license file on the portable storage device and select Open.