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Home → Network Guide → FAQs → Deactivating a Network License

3.14. Deactivating a Network License

Disponible en español: Desactivación de una Licencia de Red

Applies to:
Server Manager 6.x/7.x/8.x
Managing 5.x–8.x Licenses

This section is about deactivating licenses. If you’re looking for how to activate a license, you’ll find full details of the activation process in Activating an Activatable License under Server Step 3: Activate License or Obtain Certificate.

When would you want to deactivate a license?

• When you’re planning to change servers, reimage your server, or upgrade your server’s operating system, you must deactivate all licenses first.
  
  
• When you’re upgrading Palisade network software to a later version, Palisade Technical Support may ask you to deactivate any old permanent licenses in order to receive the new permanent licenses.
  
  

If an Activation ID is listed more than once, that means you originally split its activations; see Network Licenses Installed on This Server. In that case, to deactivate the Activation ID you will need to deactivate each line item, known as a “fulfillment”. When you reactivate the Activation ID later, on this server or a different server, you can activate all users in one operation or split them in a different way if you wish.

To deactivate a license, select the license from the list and then click Deactivate. If Deactivate is grayed out, this license is a certificate type and cannot be deactivated (returned). Please contact Palisade Technical Support for assistance.

After clicking Deactivate, you can choose Automatic or Manual Deactivation. Automatic is faster, but it won’t work if your server can’t establish a connection with Palisade’s server.

Automatic Deactivation

In Palisade Server Manager, click the license that you want to deactivate. Click Deactivate » Use Automatic Deactivation. You should get a response within 60 seconds. If it is “Your license has been successfully deactivated”, then the deactivation is complete. Otherwise, the deactivation is not complete, so please contact Palisade Technical Support for assistance before you decommission your server.

After the deactivation, Server Manager will update the display.

If you’re returning a license to obtain a newer software release, and you’ve successfully completed the Automatic Deactivation, please contact Palisade Technical Support. Mention the serial number that you deactivated, and ask for the production license for your upgrade.

Manual Deactivation

If Automatic Deactivation fails because your server can’t connect to Palisade’s server, or if your server is not on the Internet, use Manual Deactivation.

Caution! Don’t start any other activation or deactivation while you have this one in progress. That could confuse the FLEXnet licensing software, and recovering from such a state is not simple.

• On the main screen of Palisade Server Manager, click the license that you want to deactivate. Then, click Deactivate » Use Manual Deactivation » Save Deactivation Request File and send the saved request file to Palisade Technical Support. It’s impossible for Technical Support to deactivate your license without this file.

• You may close Server Manager while you’re waiting, if you want to. Use Close, not Reset.
  

• Technical Support will send you a response file.
  

• If you’re planning to decommission your server, you can ignore the response file. Technical Support has deactivated the license in Palisade’s database, using your request file, and the license is available for transfer to another server. But if you’re keeping this server, please proceed to the next step.

• On the Manual Deactivation screen, click Load Deactivation Response File and load the file you received from Technical Support. When you get the response "Deactivation was successful", the deactivation procedure is complete.
  
  If you don’t get that response, first verify that you are loading the response file (ResponseDAct.xml), not the request file. If that’s not the answer, contact Palisade Technical Support for assistance; include your software serial number and a screenshot of the message.

• If you closed Palisade Server Manager earlier, reopen it and click Resume to get back to the Manual Deactivation screen. If you don’t have a Resume button when you open Server Manager, see After Reset, Can’t Load Response File.
  
  
• After the deactivation, Server Manager will update the display.

Why might deactivation fail?

• If your server can’t make contact with our server, Automatic Deactivation will fail. In that case, try Manual Deactivation.
  
  
• Network licenses can be deactivated only once in 90 days. If you try to deactivate a license too soon, you’ll get a message that not enough time has passed.
  
  
• For a Concurrent Network license, if anyone has borrowed a license you will not be able to return the “fulfillment” that includes it. See Status to determine whether any licenses are currently borrowed. If a license is borrowed, and you don’t want to wait for the borrow to expire, see Borrowing a Concurrent Network License for Use Off Network for the early return procedure.
  
  

For an Enterprise Network, if you have activated any end users (clients) you will not be able to return the “fulfillment” that includes them. See Status to determine whether any licenses are currently activated. To deactivate an end user, see Deactivating an Enterprise Network Client License.

Last edited: 2020-03-28