Understanding the License Grace Period alarm after a hardware change

What happened

If your system raised a License Grace Period alarm after a hardware replacement, the software detected a change in one of the hardware identifiers used for license validation.

If this alarm is present, the licensed application can continue running while the license is updated.

Why it happened

The license is tied to more than one hardware identifier, not only the host ID.

In addition to the host ID, the software also validates the server's system serial number, which is provided by the system firmware. When a motherboard is replaced, that serial number usually changes because it is unique to that board.

Even if the host ID was preserved, the changed system serial number can still cause the license check to detect a hardware change. When that happens, the software automatically starts a 14-day grace period so service can continue while a corrected license is arranged.

What the grace period means

• Your system continues to run normally during the grace period.
• You will receive a recurring grace period active notification as a reminder.
• The grace period lasts 14 days.
• If an updated license is not installed before the grace period ends, the licensed application will stop.

Important: Do not set the system clock backwards while the grace period is active. Doing so can cause the licensed application to stop immediately.

How to resolve it

1. Request an updated license for the current hardware.
2. Include the server's system serial number and host ID.
3. Install the updated license file.

Once a valid updated license is installed, the grace period is cleared automatically.

If your hardware vendor is able to restore the replacement motherboard with the original system serial number, the existing license may validate again without requiring a new license.

Virtual machine deployments

• A license is issued for either a physical environment or a virtual environment.
• A license issued for one environment will not run in the other.
• On virtual systems, the software validates the identifiers presented by the VM. If those identifiers change, an updated license may be required.

When requesting a license update

Please include the system serial number and host ID. This information is needed to generate a replacement license for the current hardware.