Activating License Keys

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Affected Roles:  Administrators

Related Digital Watchdog VMS Apps:  DW Spectrum® IPVMS

Complexity:  Medium

Last Edit:  August 19, 2024

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DW Spectrum Recording Licenses

DW Spectrum® IPVMS is free to use for monitoring and managing devices that are connected to your DW Spectrum Server(s).  However, to record and archive video footage through DW Spectrum®, a recording license must be activated for each camera on the DW Spectrum® server to enable the recording function.

This article will outline how to activate recording licenses in DW Spectrum® IPVMS.

 

**NOTE:  For more information on the variety of DW Spectrum® recording licenses, please read DW Spectrum License Types.

If you are removing a recording license, check out Deactivating License Keys.

 

**NOTE:  Use of the term “system” is used to refer to individual DW Spectrum® servers, as well as DW Spectrum® servers that have been merged into a single array.

Use of the term “server” is used to refer to the computer on which the server portion of the DW Spectrum® IPVMS program is installed on.

**NOTE: It is strongly advised to create an export of your licenses after activation and saving the file somewhere save (external storage, cloud storage).  Refer to the article DW Spectrum - Exporting License List

Supported/Affected Devices

• DW Blackjack® Series

 

Internet Activation

Each recording license pack has an activation key that must be entered into DW Spectrum® to register it to the server.  If the Server has Internet access, the Internet Activation function can be used to easily apply licenses.

 

To activate a license using Internet Activation:

1. Launch the DW Spectrum desktop application and connect with the DW Spectrum® server.

Log in as the system Owner or as an Administrator.

• • Default Login:  admin
  • Default Password:  admin12345

 

2. If your system is a merge, ensure that your client is connected to the server you wish to activate the license to.  The server you are connecting through will have a person icon over the server in the resource tree .  If you are not connected to the server you wish to activate your license to, right-click on the desired server in the tree and select "connect to  this server".
   
   
3. Open the Main Menu, then select System Administration (Ctrl+Alt+A).

Next, click on the Licenses tab.

 

3. Under Internet Activation, enter the license key of the recording license pack, then click the Activate License button to add the license pack to the server.

 

4. Once applied, the license pack will display in the Active Licenses section.

The licenses will remain tied to the DW Spectrum® Server that they were activated on and cannot be registered to any other servers.  To register a license pack on a different server, the license key must first be deactivated.

Servers that are merged with the system may also use the recording licenses, but will lose access if the server that the licenses are registered to becomes unavailable to the DW Spectrum® system.

 

 

Manual Activation

If your DW Spectrum® server does not have Internet access, you can manually apply license keys through the Manual Activation function.  To do so, a request will need to be submitted in exchange for an activation file.

 

**NOTE:  Use of another device with Internet and email access is required to obtain an Activation Key File.  A USB stick will then be required to transfer the Activation Key File to the offline server.

 

To activate licenses for a Server that does not have Internet access:

1. Launch the DW Spectrum desktop application and connect with the DW Spectrum® server.

Log in as the system Owner or as an Administrator.

• • Default Login:  admin
  • Default Password:  admin12345

 

2. Open the Main Menu, then select System Administration (Ctrl+Alt+A).

Next, click on the Licenses tab.

 

3. Under the New License section, click on Manual Activation.

Each Server has a unique Hardware ID that is determined by the computer’s BIOS, motherboard, RAM, and network card (NIC).  This information is used to maintain license registry for servers.

 

4. Copy down the Hardware ID and send an email request to [email protected] requesting an Activation Key File from a computer or device that has Internet access.

 

The email should include:

• • Server’s Hardware ID
  • License Key(s) for manual activation.

 

5. A member of the Digital Watchdog Licensing team will email you back with an Activation Key File.

Download the file from the email and copy it to a USB stick so that it can be transferred to the offline Server.

 

6. Copy the Activation Key File to the DW Spectrum® server.

Under the Manual Activation section, click on the Browse button.

Locate and select the Activation Key File, then click on the Activate License button.

 

7. Once applied, the license pack information will display under Active Licenses.

The licenses will remain tied to the DW Spectrum® Server that they were activated on and cannot be registered to any other servers.  To register a license pack on a different server, the license key must first be deactivated.

Servers that are merged with the system may also use the recording licenses, but will lose access if the server that the licenses are registered to becomes unavailable to the DW Spectrum® system.