Configuring Licensing for ThingWorx Platform

Installation and Upgrade > Installing ThingWorx > ThingWorx Configuration Resources > Configuring Licensing for ThingWorx Platform

There are two possible paths for getting up and running with a license.

Connected Mode

In a connected scenario, the ThingWorx instance has an outbound internet connection to the PTC support site for license retrieval. For more information, see Configuring ThingWorx in Connected Mode below.

Disconnected Mode

In a disconnected scenario, the ThingWorx instance does not have an internet connection to PTC support to be able to retrieve a license. For disconnected sites, a dummy file (licenseRequestFile.txt) is generated upon start-up in the ThingworxPlatform folder. With this file you will be able to start ThingWorx, but it will run in limited mode. In limited mode, licensed entities cannot be saved to the database. Licensed entities are Things, Mashups, masters, gadgets, users, and persistence providers. In order to load your file in this mode, see Configuring ThingWorx in Disconnected Mode below.

If you are using High Availability configurations, you must use a license generated after June 2020. Any new licenses generated after June 2020 can be used for HA or non-HA instances.

Configuring ThingWorx in Connected Mode

This path can be configured during ThingWorx installation. For detailed process steps, see Installing ThingWorx.

Follow the steps below to use License Configurator post-installation.

1. Run License Configurator located at ThingWorx Installation Folder\ThingWorxFoundation\licensingconfigurator\twx-licensing-configurator.exe.

2. On the Configure your license screen, select Yes, we're connected.

3. Follow the remaining Licensing configuration screens.

License Configurator can run in silent mode. The command for connected mode is:

twx-licensing-configurator.exe --mode unattended --unattendedmodeui minimal --LICENSE_TYPE Connected --LICENSE_SERVER_USERNAME <license server username> --LICENSE_SERVER_PASSWORD <'password'> --LICENSE_SERVER_TIMEOUT 600 --THINGWORX_ADMIN_USERNAME <user name> --THINGWOR_ADMIN_PASSWORD <'password’>

Configuring ThingWorx in Disconnected Mode

Follow the steps below to download and deploy ThingWorx license manually.

Downloading the License File

◦ Users must log into PTC Support to create a license file manually. In this scenario, follow these steps:

a. In the ThingworxPlatform folder created during ThingWorx setup, open the licenseRequestFile.txt file to locate the Device ID. If the licenseRequestFile.txt file is not included in the ThingworxPlatform folder, delete the license.bin file in the ThingworxPlatform folder and restart your ThingWorx server.

b. Copy the Device ID value.

c. Log into the PTC Support site using your existing credentials or create a new account.

d. Go to https://support.ptc.com/apps/licensePortal/auth/ssl/index and select ThingWorx 8.1+ or Navigate 1.6+ from the dropdown option. Paste the Device ID in the Enter Device ID: field.

e. Click Retrieve.

f. Go to location where license is downloaded.

Deploying the License File

After downloading the license file, it can be deployed in two ways:

Manually

1. Copy the license file to the ThingworxPlatform folder.

2. Rename the file to license_capability_response.bin.

3. Delete the license.bin file in the ThingworxPlatform folder if it exists.

4. Restart ThingWorx or run the AcquireLicense service from the Licensing Subsystem, or you can wait until midnight (server time). The ThingWorx Platform will not be updated with the new feature entitlements until one occurs.

Using License Configurator

1. Run License Configurator located at ThingWorx Installation Folder\ThingWorxFoundation\licensingconfigurator>twx-licensing-configurator.exe.

2. On the Configure your license screen, select No internet connection on this system.

3. Follow the remaining Licensing configuration windows.

License Configurator can run in silent mode. The command for disconnected mode is:

twx-licensing-configurator.exe --mode unattended --unattendedmodeui minimal --LICENSE_TYPE Disconnected --THINGWORX_ADMIN_USERNAME <user name> --THINGWORX_ADMIN_PASSWORD <'password’> --textlicense C:\license_capability_response.bin

Expired Licenses Behavior

If your license is scheduled to expire, a message will display in ThingWorx Composer with a 20 day warning. If the license is not renewed within the 20 days, ThingWorx will shut down. Data is retrievable, but the license must be renewed to fully restore ThingWorx.

If your ThingWorx license has features with different expiration dates, the earliest expiration date will trigger a shutdown. Information about the different features and expiration dates can be found in Monitoring>Subsystems>Licensing Subsystem Settings>License Usage Data.

Licensing Troubleshooting

Fetching a License from FNO

You can enable debug logging to troubleshoot problems retrieving a license file from the license server. It is only recommended to enable logging debugging if you are troubleshooting Active Directory authentication issues. These messages are logged in the Application Log, and can cause the log to get flooded when enabled.

To enable debug logging, use a standard logback.xml file in the ThingworxPlatform directory. If a logback.xml file exists in this location, you can add the licensing logger to the existing set of loggers.

The logback.xml functionality is a Java standard. For instructions about configuring these files, refer to Java documentation.

The following information about the logger package will help to investigate problems related to the connection between the ThingWorx Platform and the license server.

Package:

com.thingworx.system.subsystems.licensing.LicenseFetcher

Entry:

Description:

With debugging enabled, here are example logs that will show up in the Application Log:

1) Invalid License Server URL:

[L: ERROR] [O: c.t.s.s.l.LicensingStateMachine] [I: ] [U: SuperUser] [S: ] [T: localhost-startStop-1] Unable to retrieve license from FNO server because invalid.ptc.com: Name or service not known

2) Invalid License Credentials:

[L: DEBUG] [O: c.t.s.s.l.LicenseFetcher] [I: ] [U: SuperUser] [S: ] [T: localhost-startStop-1] Failed authenticating to license server

[L: INFO] [O: c.t.s.s.l.LicenseFetcher] [I: ] [U: SuperUser] [S: ] [T: localhost-startStop-1] Unable to retrieve License capabilities from license server

3) Valid License Credentials:

[L: DEBUG] [O: c.t.s.s.l.LicenseFetcher] [I: ] [U: SuperUser] [S: ] [T: localhost-startStop-1] Successfully authenticated to license Server