How the licence works
The licence is activated once, against your provider's server, and binds to the machine where it was activated. From then on the engine renews a permit every few hours by itself.
What happens if the licence server does not answer
Nothing, for quite a long time. The permit the engine has stored stays valid, and a network outage or a maintenance window does not leave your viewers without signal. Only if the situation drags on does the system start warning.
What happens when the licence expires
In stages, and none of the early ones switch off the broadcast:
| Stage | What changes |
|---|---|
| Valid | Nothing |
| Grace | The panel warns. Everything keeps working |
| Restricted | What you can change is limited. What is broadcasting keeps broadcasting |
| Blocked | The service stops |
There is plenty of room between the first warning and the last step. The system does not switch off without having said so many times first.
The right to updates is a separate thing
A licence can be valid and still have no right to new versions: they are two different
dates. Losing the right to updates does not stop it working; it stops you installing
anything newer. sve update checks this before downloading anything and says so plainly.
How your server is recognised
By several machine values combined, not by one alone: that way, changing a disk or a network card does not invalidate the licence. Changing the whole server does — that is what moving an installation is for, and your provider can do it.
To check the engine is reading those values correctly, see the relevant section of the installation page.