License activation is becoming more popular and widely used today
because it offers software vendors a more powerful and efficient way to manage
distribution and licensing of software. In addition, it offers the user a simpler
and easier way to activate the application instantly online via the Internet.
Specifically, the user can simply use the received Activation Key to activate
the license right away, without having to register the license using the
Registration ID and License Key.
The license activation method is built on top of the license
registration method. To provide online activation to the user, you must deploy
the Activation Server to
handle requests from the application. When the user enters the Activation Key
to activate the license, an activation request containing both Activation Key
and Registration ID is sent to the Activation Server via the network, in
background process. When the Activation Server verifies that the Activation Key
is a valid account, it returns a reply containing the generated License Key. As
you can see, there is an exchange of Registration ID and License Key as in the
license registration method. However, the license activation method can
simplify and automate the whole process, which is also transparent to the user.
Whereas online activation requires that the computer running the
application must have an Internet connection, the option for offline activation
is also provided. In this case, the user can contact you via phone, fax, or
email, and provide the Activation Key and Registration ID. You can use the
Activation Server control panel called Activation Manager to generate the
License Key manually to be returned to the user. The option of web-based
activation is also provided. You can setup a webpage that interfaces with the
Activation Server for generating the License Key on-demand. Hence, the user can
use any computer or mobile device that can access the Internet to obtain the License
Key from the provided webpage.
See Also