Temporarily Detaching Software Licenses

You may need to move a license temporarily from one computer to another–for example, if your main computer is a desktop but you need to take a laptop out into the field. You have the ability to detach a software license key activation for a limited period of time to move it to another computer. When you are finished, you can cancel the detachment of the license.

This feature is available with network software license (SL) keys only. Hardware license (HL) keys do not support detachment of licenses.

Note: This topic describes the steps to temporarily detach a software license from a computer. To move a license permanently to another computer, see Transferring an SL key.

Important: A license administrator cannot expire or cancel a detached license. If a user has detached a license, that user retains control over the license until the detachment expires, or the user cancels the detachment on the computer to which the license is now attached. See Notes on Expiration Dates for additional information.

Enabling Detachment of Licenses

To detach licenses, the host computer must be set up to allow the detachment, as follows:

  1. On the host computer from which you want to detach the license, do either of the following:
    • Click Tools > Manage Licenses, and then click Open Sentinel Admin Console. In the Open Sentinel Admin Console dialog box, click Open.
    • Open a browser and navigate to http://localhost:1947.

    This opens the Sentinel Admin Control Center. This page lists all the Sentinel keys that are viewable on the network and on the local computer.

  2. Under Options, click Configuration.
  3. Click the Detachable Licenses tab.
  4. Select the Enable Detaching of Licenses check box.

    5. Note: This setting affects all products.

  5. Click Submit.

Detaching a License

These steps assume that an SL license has been activated on your computer.

  1. On the computer that currently has the activated SL license, close EasyPower if it is open.
  2. On that same computer, do one of the following:
    • Click Tools > Manage Licenses, and then click Open Sentinel Admin Console. In the Open Sentinel Admin Console dialog box, click Open.
    • Open a browser and navigate to http://localhost:1947.

    This opens the Sentinel Admin Control Center. This page lists all the Sentinel keys that are viewable on the network and on the local computer.

  3. Under Options, click Products.
  4. Locate the detachable SL key in the list. This is indicated by a small red arrow and also a Detach button to the right.
  5. Click Detach.

    6. Note: If the Detach button is not visible, see Enabling Detachment of Licenses.

  6. On the Detach License page, select the detach method: Online or Offline. Online detach is only available if the SL key is not located on your computer.

    7. In either case, you need to select a recipient computer, an expiration date, type an optional comment, and then click Detach.

    • See Notes on Expiration Dates for considerations regarding setting an expiration date.
    • The comment could be the name of the person detaching the license, for example.
  7. On the License Detached Successfully page, click Save As to save a Host-to-Recipient (H2R) file that you will apply to the target computer. Transfer this file to the target computer over the network, through email, or on a USB drive.
  8. On the target computer, open a browser and navigate to http://localhost:1947.
  9. Under Options, click Update/Attach.
  10. On the Update/Attach License page, click Browse to select the H2R file you transferred in step 7, and then click Apply File. This completes the transfer on the target computer and displays a confirmation page.

The detached license expires according to the expiration date selected in the Detach License page, at which time the license automatically reattaches to the source computer. However, you can also cancel the detachment before the expiration date, as described below.

Canceling Detachment of a License

You can cancel the detachment of a license before the expiration date is reached, as follows:

  1. On the target computer from which you want to cancel the detachment of the license, do either of the following:
    • Click Tools > Manage Licenses, and then click Open Sentinel Admin Console. In the Open Sentinel Admin Console dialog box, click Open.
    • Open a browser and navigate to http://localhost:1947.

    This opens the Sentinel Admin Control Center. This page lists all the Sentinel keys that are viewable on the network and on the local computer.

  2. Under Options, click Products.
  3. This list displays the detached product, which is indicated by a small green arrow and a Cancel License button to the right.
  4. Click Cancel License.
  5. On the Cancel Detached License page, click Cancel License. This completes the cancellation and displays a cancellation confirmation page.

Extending a License Expiration

An administrator can extend the time that is allotted to a license that is currently attached.

  1. Do either of the following:
    • Click Tools > Manage Licenses, and then click Open Sentinel Admin Console. In the Open Sentinel Admin Console dialog box, click Open.
    • Open a browser and navigate to http://localhost:1947.

    This opens the Sentinel Admin Control Center. This page lists all the Sentinel keys that are viewable on the network and on the local computer.

  2. Under Options, click Products.
  3. Click Extend.
  4. Follow the steps described under Detaching a License, beginning with step 6.

Notes on Expiration Dates

Please note the following regarding expiration dates:

  • Avoid using expiration dates far into the future. This is to prevent situations where a license has been detached and the computer to which the license is now attached has been irreparably damaged, making the license unavailable until the expiration date is reached due to the inability to cancel the detachment.
  • The maximum detachment duration can be set up per product or for all products. This is done under Options > Configuration > Detachable Licenses on the host computer.

See the Sentinel Admin Control Center Help for more information (available in the Admin Control Center under Options > Help).

More Information

Installing EasyPower  
Authorizing Your Software  
Managing License Sessions  
Managing Licenses