Last Modified October 1, 2026
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- Floating Licensing
For Floating Licenses, follow the Muli-User TurnKey Activation implementation with the following additions:
At Application Start-up
The Application needs to check if there is a Floating CDM
that would have been created when the Application was last closed and de-activated to free up the
"Seat".
The Floating CDM is a special CDM file that contains the
License Activation Code and the License Password which can be retrieved to re-activate the License on
start-up of the Application.
On Application Close event
De-activation of the License must occur in the "Close" Event Handler of the Application
if this License is a Floating License.
Revised Activation Flow
| On Start-Up |
Authenticate the DNA Library Set the CDM License File location Check if there is a valid CDM License File with DNA_Validate
Yes, then run the application No, proceed to Activate / Re-activate
|
| Activation / Re-Activation |
First, the Application should try to retrieve the following from the Floating CDM:
If both are available, then do a DNA_Reactivate() call and if successful, run the application. If either is <blank>, or the DNA_Reactivate() call fails, then continue to Step 1
of the TurnKey Activation process.
|
| On Close Event |
Free up the "Seat" for another User.
Check if this is a Floating License using DNA_Param() with "FLOATING".
If not <blank>, then
this is a Floating License (value could be 1, 2, etc) Do a DNA_Param() with "PASSWORD" to retrieve the License Password. Do a DNA_Deactivate() call with the License Password.
The DNA_Deactivate() API call will perform the following for a Floating License:
Disable the CDM license file on the User’s computer Instruct the DNA Server to free-up (i.e. delete) the "Seat"
for this computer which can then be used by another computer / user. Create a Floating CDM which will only contain the License Activation Code
and the License Password, which can be retrieved at the next start-up.
|
Code Sample
Logic to add before Step 1 of the TurnKey Activation Process for Floating Licenses
Highlighted lines indicate where additional code is required or needs to be modified.
// Try to retrieve the Activation Code and Password from a Floating CDM that would have been left
// after a de-activation
DNA_Param("ACTIVATION_CODE",buffer,sizeof(buffer));
DNA_Param("PASSWORD",buffer2,sizeof(buffer2));
if ((*buffer != '\0') && (*buffer2 != '\0'))
{
// have both the License Code and the Password
// assign to activation_code and password variables
errNo = DNA_Reactivate(DNA_product_key, activation_code, license_password,"");
// check result code
// - errNo > 0 means failure
// - errNo = 0 and errNo < 0 means success
// here we have only simple error checking in place
if (errNo <= 0 )
{
// success, run the application
}
else
{
// error occurred, quit the application
// optionally, you can display an error message
// you can use DNA_ERROR() which translate the errNo into a more
// user-friendly description, or use your own descriptions
DNA_Error(errNo,buffer,sizeof(buffer));
// display error explanation
// quit the application
}
}
// do not have the License Code or the Password
// proceed to Step 1 of the TurnKey Activation Process
//
De-Activate the License in Application Close Event
Highlighted lines indicate where additional code is required or needs to be modified.
//************** De-Activation code **********************//
//
// For de-activation of the License to free up this seat for another User
//
// This code should be in the Close Event Handler of your Application
//
DNA_Param("FLOATING",buffer,sizeof(buffer));
if ( *buffer != '\0' )
{
// a Floating License
errNo = DNA_Deactivate(DNA_product_key, password);
if (errNo == 0)
{
// deactivation was OK, exit the application
}
else
{
// error occurred, quit the application
// optionally, you can display an error message
// you can use DNA_ERROR() which translate the errNo into a more
// user-friendly description, or use your own descriptions
DNA_Error(errNo,buffer,sizeof(buffer));
// display error explanation
// quit the application
}
}