This tutorial will guide you through obtaining a license key to be able to use Semarchy xDM beyond the 7-day trial period and complete the tutorials available on the Semarchy website.

Learning outcomes

Prerequisites

Vocabulary

License
A license grants permission to use Semarchy xDM, whether it is a trial or customer license. It specifies the duration of Semarchy usage and any limitations, like the data volume permitted under the license.

Instance
An instance refers to a single installation of Semarchy xDM—specifically, one repository installation of xDM.

License key
A license key is a JSON string that enables one instance of xDM to use a specified license.

Learning track

If you have not already done so, install xDM first. You can follow the tutorials available on the Semarchy website to install xDM on-premises or in the cloud.

INSTALL SEMARCHY xDM

To get a license key, you need an account on Semarchy's license server. This section walks you through how to create an account and request a license key.

  1. Log in to your Semarchy xDM instance. You will land on the Welcome page.
  2. In the banner at the top of the screen, click the Manage License hyperlink.

  1. The "Activation Required" page opens. Click the license.semarchy.com hyperlink.

  1. If you do not already have an account, go to the Sign up tab and create a new one.



  1. You should receive an email from the Semarchy license server to confirm that you have successfully created an account. Follow the instructions in the email.

  1. You should receive a confirmation indicating that your email has been successfully verified.

Congratulations!

You have successfully completed the account creation process. You are now ready to request your license key.

Now that you have an account, it is time to request a license key and register your Semarchy instance.

If you are evaluating Semarchy and your organization does not have a license yet, this section will guide you through requesting a trial license. Once your license is approved, you can proceed to ④ Add a new instance.

  1. Log into the Semarchy license server and open the License Server application.

  1. Click on Request a trial.

  1. Fill out the form with your information to request a trial license, then click Finish.

  1. You should receive a confirmation email, similar to the one below.


  1. Once your trial license is granted, you can log in to the license server and add your new xDM instance.

Congratulations!

You have successfully requested a license for your Semarchy instance.

Next, you will integrate your license for your xDM instance.

After receiving your license (whether it is a customer or trial license), the next step involves adding your new xDM instance as one of the instances covered by your license.

In this section, you need to register your xDM instance and associate it with your license. The goal is to obtain a license key for activating your instance.

  1. Go back to your Semarchy instance.
  2. On the "Manage License" page, click the Activate button.

  1. Copy the instance ID.

  1. Log in to the Semarchy license server.
  2. Click on Add instance.

  1. Fill in the form to add your instance and click Finish.
    Be sure to give your instance a meaningful name in the Name field (e.g., "Alice's Tutorial Instance" or "Product Domain POV").
  2. You will receive an email from Semarchy confirming that you added the new instance. This email contains your license key.

  1. Copy the license key from the email.


  1. Paste the license key into the field prompting for the license key.

  1. Click Activate.
  2. You can opt to enable automatic synchronization of your instance with the Semarchy license server. This ensures that updates to your license are automatically applied to your instance.
    If you click Cancel, you will have to manually apply any changes to the license key for your instance, including annual updates.

If you see this screen, it means you have successfully registered your instance and your license key is valid.

Congratulations!

You have obtained a license key and successfully registered your xDM instance to continue using it beyond the 7-day trial period.

To summarize:

This section covers common issues that customers may encounter. Your question might be addressed here. If you encounter problems that are not covered in this FAQ, please reach out to our Technical support team.

The license key expired and is not auto-updating.

If auto-sync is enabled and your license key expires, your instance may encounter synchronization issues with the license server. Ensure that your server is connected to the Internet.

If auto-sync is enabled, follow these troubleshooting tips to update the server:

If auto-sync is not enabled and your license key expires, you must manually request a new license key and update your xDM instance accordingly. For instructions on how to manually request a license key, go to the "I don't want to enable auto-sync. What should I do?" section.

I never received any emails from Semarchy about my license key.

If you have not received any emails from Semarchy regarding your license key, please consider the following steps:

After creating an account, I am unable to view any licenses allocated to me.

Are you the first person at your organization to request a license key? If so, you need Semarchy to designate you as the first "admin" user at your organization. Reach out to our Technical support team to request that someone adds you as an admin user for your organization so you can administer the license and grant access to future team members.

If you are not the first user at your organization and you know that your organization already has "admin" users, there might be an issue cross-referencing the email address you used. Are you using a different email address, such as name@company.com versus name@thecompany.com? Use the email where you currently receive correspondence from Semarchy.

This situation commonly arises when an individual works at a subsidiary and possesses two email addresses, one from the parent company and the other from the subsidiary. If you have multiple email addresses, please try using a different one.

Another issue encountered is case sensitivity. If you continue experiencing problems, please attempt signing up with an email that contains only lowercase letters, such as firstname.lastname@company.com instead of Firstname.LastName@Company.com.

If you still do not see any licenses after trying the above suggestions, please contact our Technical support team to inquire about the email address on file for you.

I have an active license, but when I attempt to apply a license key to my instance, it indicates that the license is not active. Why is this happening?

Have you enabled auto-sync? If so, review the tips provided above regarding the scenario "The license key expired and is not auto-updating." Ensure that there are no proxies or caching technologies hindering the proper application of your new license key.

If you are not using auto-sync, this might explain why your instance does not appear as active. If you do not use auto-sync, you may need to obtain a new license key and manually apply it. For instructions on how to request a license key manually, see the "I don't want to enable auto-sync. What should I do?" section.

What does auto-sync do?

Auto-sync automatically updates your license information on your instance, ensuring your license remains up-to-date. It also gathers certain license and data usage details. For additional insight into the license server synchronization process and the information collected, see the Semarchy xDM documentation.

For further clarification on the auto-sync functionality not addressed in our documentation, please contact our Technical support team.

If you opt not to use auto-sync and prefer to apply your license manually, refer to the section below titled "I don't want to enable auto-sync. What should I do?"

I don't want to enable auto-sync. What should I do?

If you prefer not to enable auto-sync, follow these steps:

  1. Log in to the license server.
  2. Go to Manage Instances.
  3. Select your instance in the table.
  4. Click on the Options menu.
  5. Select Send license key.

You will need to manually update your license key annually or according to your renewal period. If there are any changes or updates to your license, you must also manually request Semarchy to send you a license key, which can be done from the license server.

We started with a trial license. Now that we've become customers, we transitioned to a full license. How does the license key work with a full license?

If auto-sync is enabled, all updates should occur automatically. This means that transitioning from a trial license to a full license should happen seamlessly during the next synchronization of your environment with the license server.

However, if auto-sync is disabled and you are manually applying license key updates, you will need to request a new license key manually. For guidance on requesting a license key to be sent to your email, see the instructions provided in the question "I don't want to enable auto-sync. What should I do?", so you can manually apply the license key.

To verify the status of your license after converting to a full license, see the question "How can I return to the ‘Manage License' page?" on this FAQ section.

I have a .semkey license key file. However, I cannot upload files when attempting to activate a license; I can only paste a key. How can I use this file?

You might possess a license key file with a .semkey extension. This file format is used for installations of xDM operating on versions 4.x and 5.0. However, for versions 5.1 and later, a new licensing mechanism is used through the Semarchy license server.

If you are running xDM 5.1 or a later version, it is necessary to use the new license server mechanism to register your xDM instance and request a license key. Follow the instructions provided in this tutorial to activate your xDM instance accordingly.

Additionally, you can seek assistance from the person within your organization who is responsible for administering the license.

Upon accepting the end-user license agreement, instead of installing a repository, I'm prompted to upload a license key. How can I register this instance and upload the license key?

You must be using xDM 5.0 or an earlier version before Semarchy introduced the license server. You have two options:

  1. Upgrade to the latest version of xDM (i.e., 5.1 or later) and follow the steps in this tutorial.
  2. Discuss with the Semarchy Sales team whether you need a .semkey license key (though this option is unlikely).

How can I return to the "Manage License" page?

If you wish to learn more about your license, update your license key, or configure auto-sync, you need to return to the "Manage License" page. Follow the instructions below to navigate back to your license page.

  1. Go to the About section in the Application Builder.

  1. Click the Manage License hyperlink.

  1. You should see license information on your license page. For example:

Why am I unable to access the "Manage License" page? After logging in to the instance, I try to manage the license by clicking Activate, but nothing happens.

Updating licenses is restricted to users with the semadmin (i.e., Semarchy administrator) role. Verify whether you have been assigned that role.

What's the difference between an admin and a delegate?

An administrator has the ability to include additional team members in the license and to add new instances. A delegate can only add new instances to the license server. It is important for your organization to have at least one administrator to manage the license.

As an admin, how do I add other team members to the license?

Here is the process for adding members to a license:

  1. Log in to the license server and select your license.
  2. Click on the Team tab.
  3. Open the Options menu.

  1. Select the Add member option.
  2. Add your team member's email address and assign them a role: either None, Admin, or Delegate. To understand the difference between an admin and a delegate, read the question "What's the difference between an admin and a delegate?"

Can you add me to the "Organization ABC" customer license?

With the new license server, you can self-serve and request the Semarchy license server to generate a license key for you, provided there is already an admin user assigned at your organization. Request your admin user to include you as a user under your organization's license, in the Team tab. It is at the discretion of your admin user whether to designate you as another admin or assign you the role of delegate.

Next, you need to create an account, following the instructions provided in ② Create an account. Once logged in, you should see the license under your account. You can then proceed to follow the instructions outlined in ④ Add a new instance to request a license key.

If you are using a different email than the one registered in the license server by your admin, refer to the question in this FAQ titled "After creating an account, I am unable to view any licenses allocated to me" for instructions on what to do.

We are not able to log in to license.semarchy.com. We've attempted to access it from various networks and browsers without success.

Please inform our Technical support team immediately regarding the license server's malfunction. They will contact you promptly to provide updates on the server's status and availability.

I tried to log in, but encountered an error message. What should I do?

Try logging in again. If you still encounter difficulties, please contact our Technical support team to report your issue.

We are unable to access the license management page. In Chrome, I'm seeing an unrendered HTML page. What should I do?

This issue occurs because your application server is set up with an option that includes a header blocking content type sniffing (i.e., blockContentTypeSniffingEnabled). You can try using another browser, such as Firefox or Edge, or find the configuration to disable this header.

How frequently does the license server update the existing license keys?

The instance communicates with the license server to update the applied license key. The instance adheres to this schedule if auto-sync is enabled:

The license synchronization status remains indefinitely at Synching. What should I do?

After clicking on the Synchronize button, the license server status shows Synching, but the operation remains ongoing even after logging out and back in.

This may be due to the license key server not being allowed to access the instance.

To try and fix this issue:

  1. Request a new license key.
  2. Manually update the license in the instance.

What should I do in case of a license synchronization error?

The following error can occur during synchronization:

If you see this message, inspect the PDE log and the catalina.out files for errors, as they will offer insight into the underlying cause. If you have difficulty troubleshooting this error, reach out to the Technical support team for assistance.

Great job! You have learned how to add a license key to your new xDM instance.

To summarize:

Next steps

xDM is designed to handle various data types, including customer data, location data, reference data, organizational data, supplier data, and other domains.

To learn how to harness the capabilities of xDM, you could now pursue two distinct paths:

Go back to the main menu to find these resources.

GO TO TUTORIALS

Thank you for completing this tutorial.