Not your typical license key activation

My team recently purchased new software, and I was responsible for installing it and getting it up and ready. The software was installed a few months ago when we first received the demo version. Now, I just needed to activate the new license and ensure everything ran smoothly. It should be easy, right? Well, not quite.

You see, I tried activating the new license a couple of weeks ago but hit a bump in the road. During the registration process, it asked me for a License Server Address and the license key. Usually, when I come across a new software that I want to use, all I have to do is download the application, run the executable, and go through the installation wizard. This was my first time being asked to input a License Server Address and the license key. I had no idea where to find the server address or even what it was.

I tried, though. I tried entering our lab server address, but that didn't work. I tried entering the lab's workstation address, but that didn't work either. Ultimately, I gave up and decided to call the software's tech support line. Unfortunately, I couldn't get through to anyone. I felt frustrated and defeated. I decided to take a break.

I took a break for a few hours, then decided to give it one more try. If everything fails, I'll email tech support instead of calling them. I re-read the activation email, re-visited the support page, looked through their knowledge base articles, and finally found an article that mentioned a License Server. I thought, yes! This is it! After reading the article, I made some changes and tried registering the license key, but it still didn't work. I did some more digging and came across a manual. I followed the manual step-by-step and finally successfully registered the license key. Whew! What an adventure!

What did I learn?

Take a break. When you've hit a roadblock and don't know what to do anymore, walk away. Come back and face the issue with a clear mind.

A License Server allows the company to manage software licenses by ensuring that the number of licenses being used matches the number of licenses registered to the company. A License Server Address is the hostname or IP address where the network licenses are housed.

An easier way to understand this is to think of a License Server as a library that contains only books an organization has purchased. The License Server Address then is the location of the library. If the organization purchases two books (license keys), then the library can lend up to two books. However, if the organization purchases only one book, the library can lend only one. Additionally, the library has a rule (policy) that allows only one book per person (one license per user account). I created a diagram below to depict this process.