Move a license to a new server

Why a license has to be moved#

A StackRegent license is bound to the Windows machine ID of the server where it was first checked. Another server, including a reinstalled Windows on the same hardware or a cloned virtual machine with a new machine ID, is refused until the license is reissued. A reissue clears the binding; the next check binds the license to the server that makes it.

You reissue in the client area, on the license's service page. The number of reissues per license is limited, and trial licenses cannot be reissued by the client; if you run out, open a ticket.

Moving to a new server without a migration#

For example after reinstalling Windows on the same server, or when you rebuild a server from backups:

1. Install StackRegent on the new server. If the one-line installer refuses the key because it is bound elsewhere, reissue first (step 2) and run it again.
2. Reissue the license in the client area.
3. On the new server, enter the key under Tools & Settings › License Information and click Save and check, or run stackregent license-set with the key. The license is now bound to this server.

The old server, if it still runs, is refused at its next daily check and goes into restricted mode. Its websites, mail and DNS keep working, but its administrators see only the license page.

Moving during a server-to-server migration#

When you move subscriptions with the Migration & Transfer Manager from an old StackRegent server, the timing matters:

• The new server needs an active license during the migration: a restricted panel cannot create the subscriptions being moved in.
• The old server must stay licensed until the last subscription has been copied: while restricted, a panel's API answers only its license pages, and the migration reads the old server through that API.

So one license cannot cover both ends of a migration at the same time. The usual approach is a second license for the new server, ordered for the length of the move, and the old server's license cancelled once you have switched DNS and disconnected. For a small move, a free trial on the new server can also work if it stays within the trial's 3 subscriptions; a trial can be activated once per server.

If you want to keep one license and move it, do the reissue only after the last re-sync, right before you switch DNS. Then click Check now on the new server straight away, so the new server makes the next check and the license is bound to it.

Moving from Plesk for Windows#

Here only the new server needs a StackRegent license: the Plesk server runs the migration agent, which needs no StackRegent license. See the migration guide.

Common mistakes#

• Reissuing before the migration is finished. The old server becomes restricted at its next check, and the migration stops.
• Not clicking Check now after a reissue. If the old server happens to check first, the license binds to it again.
• Cloning a licensed server and running both. One key licenses one server; a clone that runs next to the original needs its own license.

The licensing chapter of the administrator guide has the reference; for help planning a move, use the migration contact form.