Licensing the Portal 

Use

The SAP Enterprise Portal installation requires a license key for the Portal, CM & Collaboration, and TREX. The Web AS Java system, on which the portal is installed, also requires a license key of its own.

Automatic License Keys and License Keys Issued by SAP

Temporary license keys are automatically generated during the Web AS and the portal installations. These license keys are valid for four weeks only. During this period of time you should apply to SAP for permanent license keys. It is recommended that you do so as soon as you can.

Upon request, SAP issues a license key and sends it to you. When you receive the license keys issued by SAP, you must install them before the four-week temporary period is over.

The portal and Web AS license keys are independent of each other and can be installed separately. The temporary licenses can expire on different dates, according to the product installation dates.

§         If a valid license key is not installed for the portal, only three users can log on to the portal simultaneously.

§         If a valid license key is not installed for the Web AS, J2EE Engine stops after 30 minutes.

Expiration of License Key Issued by SAP

Depending on the type of license you request, the license key you get from SAP may be valid indefinitely or it may be valid for a certain period of time. If your SAP license key expires, you can install a temporary license key until you request and install a new license key issued by SAP. You must install the temporary license key within four weeks after the permanent license expires. Because the temporary key is valid for four weeks only, you must apply again for a permanent license key within that time period.

Licensing a Portal Cluster

In the Web AS cluster, the server configured as “message server” is the synchronizer of the rest of the cluster nodes. The license key installed for the message server is valid for all machines in the cluster. The license validity is checked every 24 hours.

While the cluster nodes can work up to one full day even if the machine holding the license (the message server) is off, to ensure a valid license presence at all times, it is recommended that you install a license on more than one machine in the cluster environment. the machines that will take over in case of failure of the message servers are also designated as failover message servers. Make sure that you request and install a license key for all the message servers in the system.

 

Procedure

Installing the First License

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       1.      Log on to the portal with administrator credentials, and navigate to:

System Administration ® System Configuration ® Portal Licensing.

Alternatively:

Use the SAP Web AS Visual Administrator to view the hardware key. See SAP License Keys.

       2.      Make a note of the hardware key.

The hardware key depends on the physical host; therefore, it is the same number for both the portal and the Web AS system.

       3.      To request permanent licenses, access the License Key site on SAP Service Marketplace at:

http://service.sap.com/licensekey ® mySAP Business Suite.

Detailed information on how to request a license is available at this site.

The license keys will be sent to you by SAP.

       4.      Install the license keys using the Web AS Visual Administrator tool.

The Portal UI enables you to see the license details and status, but not to install it.

Maintaining the License Issued by SAP

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If the license you received from SAP does is permanent, no maintenance is required. You can monitor its status as explained below.

If you applied for a license with a predetermined validity period, follow up on its validity and renew it when it expires.

To monitor and renew your license:

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       1.      Monitor the license validity status.

                            a.      In the Visual Administrator, go to:

<server name> ® Services ® Monitoring

                            b.      From the Monitoring tree, in the main window, go to:

Root ® Kernel ® Licensing Manager ® License Validity Period ® <Your Software Product>

       2.      When the license expire, you can install a temporary license until a new license from SAParrives. You can use the temporary license for four weeks.

       3.      Apply for a new license, and install it, as instructed above.