How to create a Universal License

This article gives a general introduction to Universal License and explains how to set it up in Device Provisioning.

Article overview:
Introduction to Universal License
How to create a Universal License
Best practice

Universal License

A Universal License is an activation code that helps you activate new devices by automatically assigning unused licenses from a selected License Group or it will reuse a previously assigned license if the device was activated in the past. In other words, a Universal License can be seen as a key to all other licenses inside a License Group.

This is interesting if you want to deploy multiple devices. This can be done by creating a Master SD Card from which you clone all other devices. With a Universal License already present on the SD Card it will automatically activate the device after boot up.

How to create a Universal License

Instead of manually assigning one license to one device, for every device you want to deploy, you can set up a Universal License in Device Provisioning. This way the Universal License is flashed onto your device and upon boot it will fetch a license from the chosen License Group and assign it automatically to the device in question.

Note: Every license can be used as a Universal License, but you will need one advanced/premium subscription to access Device Provisioning.

  1. Log in to your Device Hub.
  2. Navigate to Purchases > Licenses.
    Header-purchases-Licenses-marked
  3. Click on the arrow of a license group for a drop-down list of your licenses.
    License14
  4. Under Activation code you will see a list of your licenses.
  5. Select and copy one existing license to promote.
  6. Once you've selected one license navigate to Provisioning.
    Header-Provisioning-marked
  7. Toggle to enable Device Provisioning.
    EnableDeviceProvisioning
  8. Scroll down to Universal Licenses.
  9. Paste your selected license and click Add.
    UniversalLicensesProvisioning1
  10. Now you can select a License group from which the new Universal License will fetch a license.
    UniversalLicensesProvisioning2
  11. The Universal License is flashed with our installer onto your SD card.
    As with all other provisioning settings, it has no effect to set up a Universal License after flashing. But, if you remove a Universal License from Device Provisioning, automatic activation and reactivation of your devices with the Universal License will not be possible anymore.

Note: To reactivate devices, you will have to use the same license you used upon device activation. Assigning a new license to a previously activated device is not possible, similarly, it is not possible to unassign a license from a device after activation. The Universal License automatically chooses the same license as before.

 

Best practice

  • It is best to keep your Universal License secret. If openly shared, your Universal License can be misused by third parties to activate their devices with your unused licenses.
  • When activating new devices, it is best to select a staging group and move new devices from the staging group to the appropriate groups after the activation.
  • Or, License Groups can be organized preemptively by customer, location, etc., to better facilitate a bigger roll out.