GE

Intelligent Platforms

Advantage Licensing FAQs

How do I identify what version of Proficy Licensing I have? ................................................................................. 2

How do I get the latest version of Proficy Licensing? ........................................................................................... 2

Can I have more than one license activated on my computer? ............................................................................ 2

Can I use an Advantage License and a hardware key on the same computer? ..................................................... 2

Can I have keys or licenses from other manufacturers on the same machine?..................................................... 2

Can I move my license to a new computer? ........................................................................................................ 3

How do I find out what options are on my license? ............................................................................................. 3

How do I upgrade My License To a Newer Product Version? ............................................................................... 3

How do I log in to the GE Intelligent Platforms Support website? ........................................................................ 3

Are Advantage licenses supported on virtual machine images? ........................................................................... 3

Are hardware keys supported on virtual machines? ............................................................................................ 3

I upgraded my license, can I use it on older versions of the product? .................................................................. 4

Why am I getting an “Option is Not Enabled” error message? ............................................................................. 4

How can I troubleshoot technical issues with my license activation? ................................................................... 4

What do I do if I received the wrong options on my license? ............................................................................... 4

How do I get an emergency Activation Code or License? ..................................................................................... 4

What is A Local License Server? When Do I use it? How do I use it? .................................................................... 5

How can I tell if I have a New Style Advantage Hardware key? ............................................................................ 5

Advantage Licensing Terms .................................................................................................................................... 6

Legacy Licensing Terms ...................................................................................................................................... 7

More Resources ..................................................................................................................................................... 7

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Advantage Licensing FAQs

HOW DO I IDENTIFY WHAT VERSION OF PROFICY LICENSING I HAVE?

Proficy Licensing is the primary tool GE Intelligent Platforms uses to manage Proficy software product licensing.

Open the Proficy License Manager application from the Windows Start Menu. The bottom right of the welcome
screen contains the version number.

If you do not have the Proficy License Manager application, you have an earlier version of Proficy Licensing. If you
have an application called “Proficy Common License Viewer” or “ikeydiag”, you can find the version in the Help
menu in the “About” section.

HOW DO I GET THE LAT EST VERSION OF PROFICY LICENSING?

Visit the GE Intelligent Platforms website to get the latest version of licensing: http://www.ge-ip.com/licensing

Proficy Licensing is updated frequently and it is recommended to get the latest version instead of relying on the
version available on the original product media. To subscribe to receive email updates when Proficy Licensing is
updated, visit http://support.ge-ip.com and follow the link for ‘Auto-Notification’.

CAN I HAVE MORE THAN ONE LICENSE ACTIVATED ON MY COMPUTER?

Yes, you can have multiple licenses activated on a device, but only one license per product.

CAN I USE AN ADVANTAGE LICENSE AND A HARDWARE KEY ON THE SAME COMPUTER?

Yes. However, if both are on the same device, licensing will only recognize and read from the Advantage hardware
key.

CAN I HAVE KEYS OR LICENSES FROM OTHER MANUFACTURERS ON THE SAME MACHINE?

Yes. Only our own hardware or software licenses will be recognized by Proficy software products.

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CAN I MOVE MY LICENSE TO A NEW COMPUTER ?

Yes. You are not limited to where your license is located on your site. You can freely move your license from one
computer to another. However, once removed from one computer, you can no longer run Proficy software on that
machine and you may receive warning messages from any Proficy software that is running or it may go into demo
mode. Follow the instructions in the License Documentation to return your activation on a computer.

You can also move licenses from a computer to an Advantage hardware key (and vice versa).

If your company is sold or the license is going to be used by a company other than the original purchaser, you must
contact GE Intelligent Platforms Inside Sales or your Local Representative to transfer the license. Visit
http://www.ge-ip.com/contact to find contact information for your Local Representative.

HOW DO I FIND OUT WHAT OPTIONS ARE ON MY LICENSE?

License Manager, which is part of Proficy Licensing, can read the license and show what options are available.

HOW DO I UPGRADE MY LICENSE TO A NEWER PRODUCT VERSION?

Visit http://support.ge-ip.com and click on the ‘Software Version Upgrade Request’ link on the right. Or contact
your Local Representative or Inside Sales to request an upgrade to a newer release.

HOW DO I LOG IN TO THE GE INTELLIGENT PLATFORMS SUPPORT WEBSITE?

The GE Intelligent Platforms website is http://support.ge-ip.com. In order to download Proficy Licensing you are
required to log into the support site with an SSO (Single Sign On) ID. You need to register for an SSO account (click
the ‘Register’ link on webpage), or contact Inside Sales to help set up your SSO account.

ARE ADVANTAGE LICENSES SUPPORTED ON VIRTUAL MACHINE IMAGES?

Yes. In order to use Advantage licenses on a virtual machine, a Local License Server must be used. See the Licensing
Documentation for more information on configuring Local Licenses Servers for use with VMWare or other virtual
machines.

ARE HARDWARE KEYS SUPPORTED ON VIRTUAL MACHINES?

Yes. See the Licensing documentation for information on configuring Advantage hardware keys.

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I UPGRADED MY LICENSE, CAN I USE IT ON OLDER VERSIONS OF THE PRODUCT?

Yes. Your license is backwards compatible and will work with older versions of your products, as long as they
supported common licensing and are not obsolete. For example, a license for Proficy Historian 5.0 will work with
Historian 4.5 or earlier. Please note that some products require a SIM to recognize Advantage licenses.

However, licenses are not forward compatible. For example a Proficy CIMPLICITY HMI 7.0 license will not work
with CIMPLICITY HMI 8.0. You will need to contact Inside Sales or your Local Representative to have your license
upgraded to support the newer version.

WHY AM I GETTING AN “OPTION IS NOT ENABLED” ERROR MESSAGE?

The error message “option is not enabled” can occur for a few reasons:

 You are trying to use a feature or product and do not have that option enabled on your license.

Use the License Manager to verify the options available on your license. If you need to add options contact
Inside Sales or your Local Representative.

 You do not have the latest version of Proficy Licensing.

There may be discrepancies between the options on the license and how the older version of Proficy Licensing
is interpreting them. Install the latest version of licensing from http://www.ge-ip.com/licensing

 You have installed the latest licensing and verified that you have the option in Licensing Manager.

There could be an issue with the license configuration that needs to be corrected by GE Intelligent Platforms.
Contact GE Intelligent Platforms Technical Support http://eservice.ge-ip.com for assistance.

HOW CAN I TROUBLESHOOT TECHNICAL ISSUES WITH MY LICENSE ACTIVATION?

The following are suggestions you can try to resolve the issue or isolate the problem:

 Make sure you have the latest version of Proficy Licensing.

 Review the License Documentation and visit http://www.ge-ip.com/licensing for more information.
 Use the Support Knowledgebase (http://support.ge-ip.com) to research the issue.
 Contact Technical Support (http://eservice.ge-ip.com) for further assistance.

WHAT DO I DO IF I RECEIVED THE WRONG OPTIONS ON MY LICENSE?

Contact Inside Sales or your Local Representative. Visit http://www.ge-ip.com/contact to find contact information
for your Local Representative.

HOW DO I GET AN EMERGENCY ACTIVATION CODE OR LICENSE?

GE Intelligent Platforms can issue a temporary activation code or license that can be installed immediately on your
computer if you have a plant down situation. Contact Inside Sales for assistance, or if the issue occurs outside of

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Advantage Licensing FAQs
business hours, contact Technical Support (visit http://support.ge-ip.com and click the ‘Contact Us’ link for support
phone numbers).

WHAT IS A LOCAL LICENSE SERVER? WHEN DO I USE IT? HOW DO I USE IT?

Local License Servers are a way for you to manage and distribute Proficy licenses from a central machine on your
network. Review the License Documentation that comes with Proficy Licensing for detailed information on how to
install and configure it.

HOW CAN I TELL IF I HAVE A NEW STYLE ADVANTAGE HARDWARE KEY?

Most customers will no longer use a hardware key. However, we do offer the option at an additional charge. Below
is a picture of what the Advantage hardware key looks like. If yours does not look like this, you most likely have an
older style key. See the FAQ for M4 Max Hardware Keys for further assistance.

These keys will be shipped to you blank and need to have licenses activated on them before they will work.
Download the latest version of Proficy Licensing available at http://www.ge-ip.com/licensing and follow the steps
in the License Documentation to activate a license on this key.

If you did not wish to receive an Advantage hardware key and would like to use a computer-based license instead,
contact Inside Sales or your Local Representative. Visit http://www.ge-ip.com/contact to find contact information
for your Local Representative.

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ADVANTAGE LICENSING TERMS

Advantage Licensing - The cloud-based licensing model used to license your Proficy products.

Activation Code - The sixteen digit code you receive to activate an Advantage License.

Activate – To bind an Activation Code to a device (either a computer or an Advantage Hardware Key).

Advantage License – A license installed and activated on a computer or hardware key.

Advantage Hardware Keys - Hardware keys that can be activated with Advantage Licenses.

Proficy Licensing -The software package required to work with Advantage Licensing or M4 Licensing. Proficy
Licensing includes the Licensing Client and License Server installation options.

Licensing Client – The Proficy Licensing installation option that includes the License Manager, the Proficy License
Server Configuration Tool, licensing background services, and licensing documentation.

License Server – The Proficy Licensing installation option that includes the Local License Server.

GE Intelligent Platforms License Server – The cloud-based server used to activate Advantage Licenses.

Local License Server – A local intranet server used to centrally manage licenses for a site.
Note: License activation does not require a Local License Server unless you are activating licenses on virtual
computers or you want to use this configuration in your environment.

Licensing Manager (or License Manager) – The Proficy Licensing software program used to configure, manage,
activate, and return licenses.

Proficy License Server Configuration Tool – The Proficy Licensing software program used to configure Local
License Servers.

Online Activation – The computer or Local License Server is connected to the Internet and communicates directly
with the GE Intelligent Platforms License Server to activate an Advantage license.

Offline Activation (Activate by File) – The computer or Local License Server is not connected to the Internet and
needs to manually transfer activation files with an online computer to activate an Advantage License.

Request File – Used for Offline Activation. A file generated by License Manager on the machine to be licensed. This
file is brought to a computer with Licensing Manager that is connected to the internet.

Response File – Used for Offline Activation. A file generated by License Manager on the online computer that will
be brought back to the Offline machine to complete the activation.

Activation Files – Request Files and Response Files used for Offline Activations.

Return – A function in License Manager to remove the association between a license and a device so that the
license can be activated on another computer or device.

Refresh – A function in License Manager to refresh the activation information for the license and device
information with the GE Intelligent Platforms Server or Local License Server.

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Refresh by File – Used for Offline Activations. A function in License Manager to refresh the activation information
for the license and device information with the GE Intelligent Platforms Server.

License Recovery – If a computer has had an unrecoverable failure and the license cannot be returned, contact
your local rep or GE Intelligent Platforms technical support to request a license recovery. Once recovered, the
license can be activated on another computer or device.

License Source – A field in Licensing Manager which displays information about where the current license
information is stored. Values for the license source may be Hardware, SW License, Evaluation, Unlicensed,
Unknown, or Error.

Proficy Computer ID – A field in Licensing Manager that displays the unique ID of the computer that is to receive
the license file. In the case where a hardware key will be used, it is the unique ID of the hardware key. The ID is
generated automatically when the program is started.

License Type – A field in Licensing Manager that indicates how the license is maintained. Values for the license
type may be Device Locked, Leased, Unlicensed, Evaluation, Not Initialized, or Error.

LEGACY LICENSING TERMS

M4 Keys – Legacy hardware keys that have been activated with Siebel (Legacy CRM).
Note: M4 Keys can be used with the latest version of Proficy Licensing and the Licensing Client. M4 Key options can
be viewed in Licensing Manager and can be updated using PFKeyUpdate.exe with a .plic file. M4 Keys cannot be
activated with Advantage Licensing, nor can they use a Local License Server.

Keyless License – Legacy software licenses that have been created using Siebel (Legacy CRM). These are installed
on the machine via an .exe file and can be removed from Windows Add/Remove Programs.
Note: Keyless Licenses can be used with the latest version of Proficy Licensing and the Licensing Client. License
options can be viewed in Licensing Manager, however cannot be activated with Advantage Licensing, nor can they
use a Local License Server.

M1 Keys - Legacy hardware keys that have been activated with Siebel (Legacy CRM).
Note: M1 keys do not work with the current versions of Proficy Licensing. You must use an older 12.x version of
Proficy Licensing or upgrade to an M4 or Advantage hardware key.

MORE RESOURCES

 Read the License Documentation that installs with Proficy Licensing.

 Visit the Licensing Webpage at http://www.ge-ip.com/licensing.
 Visit the GlobalCare Knowledgebase at http://support.ge-ip.com.
 Contact your Local Representative or Inside Sales http://www.ge-ip.com/contact.
 Contact GE Intelligent Platforms Technical Support http://eservice.ge-ip.com.

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