Install FactoryTalk Activation Manager and FactoryTalk Edge Gateway separately. FactoryTalk Activation Manager is included in the FactoryTalk Edge Gateway installer. If an activation becomes corrupted, you must rehost the activation to rebind the license with the device. FactoryTalk Activation Manager provides a secure system for activating Rockwell Automation® software and managing activation files. If the signature is tampered with, damaged, or deleted, the software will not function. The activation is protected by a system-generated signature that is based on machine-specific information that you provide when installing the software.
Without activation, some Rockwell Automation software products will not run, some will run with diminished functionality, and others will run for a limited period of time and then shut down with or without warning. Once a license is bound the product is activated. FactoryTalk Activation works by binding the license for a Rockwell Automation software product to a specific device, such as a dongle, Ethernet address for a computer, or hard disk drive so that it can be run in a production environment.