XProtect licence activation is the process by which Milestone ties purchased XProtect licences to an installation and its devices. Every purchase delivers “An order confirmation and a software license file named after your SLC (Software License Code) and with the .lic extension received per email” and “A Milestone Care coverage”.[1] The SLC identifies the licence. Under the EULA, “the license you have been granted is identified by the Software License Code you have received when purchasing the Product”.[11] The licences must then be activated “for the installed XProtect VMS and XProtect extensions to work and the individual hardware devices to be able to send data to the system”.[3] Catalog proof: Licence identified by the Software License Code.
Editions
Activation works the same way in all four XProtect VMS variants and in the extensions that share the software license file. Some extensions have their own licence files.[10] The SLC format has changed over time: “Product version 2014 or earlier: xxx-xxxx-xxxx” and “Product version 2016 or later: xxx-xxx-xxx-xx-xxxxxx”.[1]
Metrics
Activation registers the XProtect base license for each product and the device licenses in use. All installations that share an SLC are visible together in the License Information window. It shows the licence owner, the installed products with the SLC expiry (“Typically, unrestricted”) and the Care Plus and Care Premium expiry dates. For each site it shows the activated licences, the changes without activation, devices in a grace period, devices whose grace period has expired, and devices without a licence.[6] This window is the primary in-product source for an effective licence position.
Counting / floors
Registration and installation
Milestone recommends registering the SLC on online.milestonesys.com before installation, “Your reseller may have done that for you.”[2] The installer requires the licence file: “You cannot complete the installation without a software license file.”[1]
Ways to activate
- Automatic. With the management server online, “The system activates your hardware devices a few minutes after you have added, removed, or replaced hardware devices”. The used number of device changes without activation then stays at zero. If a base licence expires within 14 days, the system also tries to activate every night.[3] “Some licenses are installed with the automatic license activation enabled, and disabling it is not possible.”[6]
- Online, manual. Started from the License Information window.
- Offline. For servers without internet access, the administrator exports a licence request file (.lrq), uploads it on online.milestonesys.com from a connected computer, and imports the activated .lic file that comes back.[4]
Even with automatic activation, manual activation is required to purchase additional licences, to “Upgrade to a newer version or more advanced VMS system”, to “Buy or renew a Milestone Care subscription”, and to register an increased allowance of device changes without activation.[3] Catalog proof: Automatic license activation; Manual activation needed after buying licences, upgrading or renewing Care.
Grace period
Without automatic activation, devices added to the system (hardware devices, XProtect Interconnect cameras or door licences) “run in a 30-day grace period”. Before it ends, unless device changes without activation remain, “you must activate your licenses, or your devices will stop sending video to your surveillance system”.[3] An expired device “becomes unavailable and cannot send data to the surveillance system”. Its configuration is kept and used again once the licence is activated.[5] Catalog proof: Grace period for license activation; 30-day grace period for unactivated devices; Expired grace period disables devices until activation.
Device changes without activation
Device changes without activation are a built-in allowance for adding or replacing devices without reactivating. The allowance is calculated per installation from three variables: C%, “a fixed percentage of the total amount of activated licenses”; Cmin, a minimum; and Cmax, a maximum. “Milestone defines the values of all three variables and the values are subject to change without notification.”[3]
Milestone’s examples assume C% = 15%, Cmin = 10 and Cmax = 100:[3]
| Activated devices | Allowance | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | 10 | 15% would be 1; Cmin applies |
| 100 | 15 | 15% |
| 99 (after deleting one) | 14 | 15% of 99, rounded down |
| 1,000 | 100 | 15% would be 150; Cmax applies |
Devices added under the allowance do not count as activated for the percentage. If devices are removed so that the allowance shrinks, some devices that were added under it move into a grace period. “One year after your last license activation, your used number of device changes without activation is automatically reset to zero.” Sites that are offline for long periods, such as a ship, can ask their reseller for a higher allowance. Milestone decides each request individually.[3]
The allowance is a technical tolerance, not an entitlement. The EULA still limits use to “as many IP devices as you have acquired device licenses for”.[11] Catalog proof: Device changes without activation; Device changes without activation calculated from C%, Cmin and Cmax; Use limited to the number of device licences acquired.
What activation reports
“By activating the licenses for the Product, you accept that core system data (such as the number of used devices) is exchanged and stored in Milestone’s licensing system.” Milestone collects device MAC addresses, the IP address of the activating server and integration details, and keeps count of camera registrations and deletions “to make sure the licenses are used according to the EULA”. The licensee agrees “to not alter, modify, or in any way tamper with the data transmitted to the online service.”[11] Activation therefore works as continuous licence reporting to Milestone. The EULA contains no separate audit clause. Catalog proof: Activation reports device data to Milestone for licence enforcement.
Additional licences, upgrades and SLC changes
Additional licences are bought from the XProtect reseller. If they are for the same version, the customer simply activates. If they come with an upgraded version, “You receive an updated software license file (.lic) with the new licenses and the new version”, which is used to install the new version.[7] For service-pack upgrades, either the original or the last activated licence file can be used. For version upgrades the installer needs the new file, and devices “will enter a grace period” until reactivated.[9] Catalog proof: Version upgrades need a new software license file.
A temporary SLC, or the SLC of a less advanced product, can be replaced with a permanent or more advanced one “without any un- or reinstallation actions” by importing the new licence file and then activating.[8] Upgrades to a more advanced variant are credited at 100% under the Care Plus trade-in.[13] Catalog proof: SLC can be changed without reinstalling; Care Plus gives 100% trade-in credit on variant upgrades.
Test, pilot and demo licences
Test licences “are used for demonstration and training purposes”. They come from the Milestone Customer Dashboard, a reseller or a Milestone representative, support a limited number of cameras, and are valid “for 365 days to use with the XProtect VMS and six months for XProtect Remote Manager”.[10] Customer pilot licences last up to four months and are granted case by case through a reseller.[13] Under the EULA, use under any temporary licence is limited “solely to the purpose of and only for the term as defined in such a granted license”, without support. Liability is capped at EUR 100 where the licence was free.[11] Management Server Failover has a three-day demo licence. Without a purchased licence, “the Management Server service will stop after three days”.[14] Catalog proof: Test and pilot licenses; Test licences valid 365 days; Test and pilot licences limited to purpose and term; Pilot licences up to four months through a reseller.
Lifecycle and activation availability
Milestone’s lifecycle policy moves VMS products from General Availability to Limited Availability three months after a successor is released. “Milestone guarantees a minimal availability period of four years for all its VMS products, in which the product becomes Discontinued after three years from its General Availability date and Terminated after four years.”[12] The EULA adds a longer horizon for activation: “license activation is available for 10 years after Product’s general availability”. After that, “it may no longer be possible to add new IP devices and/or replace IP devices connected to and enabled in the Product”, although the right to use and the existing system continue.[11] An installation that is never upgraded therefore stops being expandable after ten years. Catalog proof: Milestone Product Lifecycle; License activation available for 10 years after general availability; Product lifecycle: discontinued after three years, terminated after four.
Virtualization & partitioning
Activation ties licences to devices, identified by MAC address, and to the SLC, not to server hardware.[11] Moving or virtualising management and recording servers is not described as requiring reactivation in the retrieved documents. The exception is Management Server Failover, whose licence is issued for specific hostnames.[14]
Cloud / BYOL
AWS deployments use the customer’s own licences under the EULA’s BYOL clause and follow the same activation process.[11]
Out of scope
- The actual C%, Cmin and Cmax values for each product, which Milestone does not publish beyond the worked examples.
- Customer Dashboard and My Milestone account administration.
- Activation of OEM and Husky NVR products.