Starting the batch activation process
Selecting the machines to activate on
Providing registration information
Handling upgrade information for batch activation
Providing the activation details
Configuring the batch activation
Confirming the batch activation
Completing the batch activation
Batch activation means to activate a selected group of entitlements against a list of machines. The same quantity is activated on each machine. Batch activation cannot be performed against:
The machines may be selected manually from a search page, typed into a field, or loaded from a flat file.
For example, a user needs to install a client program on 30 servers. Instead of going through 30 activations, the user selects the batch activation option. They provide the list of machines, and are able to complete all of the activations in a single process.
During the activation process, after selecting the entitlements to activate, the Search Machines form is displayed to allow users to select the machine to activate the entitlements on.
If batch activation is available, then a Batch Machine Input link displays.
Clicking this link displays the Batch Machine Input form.
You use the Batch Machine Input form to provide the list of machine names and/or locking IDs to activate on. You can either:
The simple format is a comma-separated list of locking IDs for the activation.
For each locking ID, Poetic checks whether the locking ID exists on a machine belonging to the registered company.
If more than one of the locking IDs provided belong to the same machine, then there is an error that the same machine has been provided multiple times.
The complex format is a tab-delimited list of machines and locking IDs. The list can have up to 15 columns.
For this format, the first row contains the column names, which can include:
| Machine_Name | The name of the machine. You cannot repeat the same machine name in the file. |
| lockingIDTermCode | The list value code for the locking ID label (from the HOST_ID_TERM list). You cannot repeat the same list value code in the file. The number of locking IDs allowed depends on the number of custom properties included in the file. If you include all 10 custom properties, then you can only have up to 4 locking IDs.
For existing machines, the locking IDs override the existing locking IDs on the machine. |
| Custom_n | Represents a machine custom property. n is the number of the property. The column contains the value for that property. There can be up to 10 machine custom property columns in the list. |
Each row represents a different combination of machine and locking IDs.
When adding a new machine, be sure to include any required custom property values for each machine.
To directly type or paste a list of locking IDs (simple format):
To search for and select the machines to activate on:
The Search Machines form for selecting multiple machines provides detailed search criteria concerning what is and what is not installed on the machines you are looking for.
To load the contents of a flat file containing the list:
To load a file that uses the more complex format, from the Input by dropdown, select File load - complex.
A field and Browse button display below the dropdown.
You will be prompted to select the file.
After populating the list of machines on the Batch Machine Input form, click Continue.
The form closes and the Register page of the Activation process displays.
The Register step is the same as for regular activation. See Providing registration information for details.
If the entitlements to activate include upgrade or upgradeable entitlements, then the first machine is used to retrieve the available upgrade paths to display on the Upgrade page. See Providing upgrade information for information on the Upgrade page.
When activating upgrade entitlements, the first machine is checked to verify that it includes items eligible for the upgrade. If it does not, then an error displays.
When activating upgradeable entitlements, if upgrade entitlements are required, the required quantity is estimated by multiplying the quantity required for the first machine by the number of machines. For example, if the first machine requires a quantity of 5 for an upgrade entitlement, and there are 7 machines in the batch activation, the estimated quantity required is 35.
Because this number is just an estimate, you are able to continue the activation even if you do not provide that entire quantity. You may be required to at least provide a quantity equal to the number of machines.
Because the locking IDs are provided with the list of machines, no locking ID fields display on the Activate page.
If the first machine in the list requires other activation information, then those fields are displayed in the Machine Information section. The information provided is applied to all of the machines.
For the activation details, the Installed Qty column does not display, because the installed quantities may vary among the machines.
The quantity values you provide are applied to all of the selected machines. For example, if you enter an activation quantity of 3 for an entitlement, and have selected 4 machines to activate on, then each machine has a quantity of 3 activated on it. A total quantity of 12 is removed from the available quantity for the entitlement.
See Providing activation details for additional details.
For upgrade activation, the activation products and quantities are based on the first machine. For example, if the first machine has a quantity of 15 for Version 1.0, and the upgrade is configured to provide the same quantity of Version 2.0, then on the Activate page, the quantity to activate for Version 2.0 is set to 15.
If another machine in the batch has a smaller quantity installed than what was on the first machine, then only the installed quantity is upgraded. For machines with a greater quantity of the original product, only a quantity equal to the quantity from the first machine is upgraded.
To continue our example, if another machine only had a quantity of 10 for Version 1.0, then that machine would only have 10 of Version 2.0 installed, even though the quantity on the Activate page was 15.
If yet another machine had a quantity of 20 for Version 1.0, then that machine would still only have 15 of Version 2.0 installed.
After providing the activation information, click Next to display the Configure page of the batch activation process.
| Batch job name | In the Batch job name field, type the name to use for the job. This also is used as the pub ID for the event that is raised. | ||||||||||
| Process mode | The process mode indicates whether to only validate the information provided or execute the process.
To only validate the data, and not perform the actual activation, click the Validate only radio button. To execute the process, click the Execute radio button. |
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| Error handling | From the Error handling dropdown, select the method for handling errors when the activation is validated or executed.
To record the error, and then continue the process, select Record and continue. To stop the process when the first error is found, select Stop on error. |
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| Result output | When executing the activation, from the Result output dropdown, select how to send certificates and keys. The available values are:
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| Email result output to | Displays when executing the activation if Result output is not None.
In the Email result output to field, type the email addresses that should receive the certificate information. The information is sent based on the option selected from the Result output dropdown. Use commas to separate multiple email addresses. The certificate information may also be sent to the registered user, based on the activation configuration. |
| Email reports to | In the Email reports to field, type the email addresses that should receive a summary report of the validation or execution.
Use commas to separate multiple addresses. |
| Language | From the Language dropdown, select the language to use for the email messages. |
| Comments | Displays when executing the activation if Result output is not None. In the Comments field, type any additional comments to include in the results email. |
After you finish configuring the batch activation, click Next. The Confirm page of the batch activation process displays.
If needed, check the check box to accept the terms and conditions for the activation.
The Confirm page also includes information about when the batch activation will be completed if you submit the request immediately. The information includes:
When you're finished, click Finish.
The Complete page of the activation process displays.