The following mini guide covers changing the server key generation method.

When making this change to a production system, please contact Catch Software staff and pre-arrange a time for a new license to be generated, this will minimize any outage period.

In versions prior to 4.0 we generated the server key used by Enterprise Tester from this information:

  • Machine Name

  • Processor Count

  • Mac Addresses of permanent network interfaces

  • Operating System Name

  • Operating System Version

Unfortunately in virtualized environments the MAC addresses can often change, causing a new server key to be generated next time Enterprise Tester starts, displaying a message on screen to customers that their license is now invalid or expired.

We have now introduced a new server key generation method that generates a stable server key even if the MAC address changes over time.  To use it, you must add the following line to your web.config file:

<appSettings>
  …

<add key="Licensing.ServerKey.GenerationMode" value="Stable" />

Once added, on the next start up a new "stable" server key will be generated.

At this point you will need apply a new license key as requested from Catch Software, and from then on you should no longer experience issues with the licenses expiring when the MAC address changes.

EC2 Support

If you are using EC2, then by default windows instances will be allocated a new hostname every time they start up.  This is in the form of "ip-XXXXXXX" (where XXXXXX is a hexadecimal number), so even when using the stable server key generation mode this would require that a new license is entered every time Enterprise Tester starts up.

To remedy this, access the EC2 server via remote desktop, and then:

  1. Click start -> EC2ConfigServer Settings

  2. When the EC2ConfigServer settings dialog appears, uncheck the "Set Computer Name" checkbox.

Another recommendation is to assign the machine a more meaningful name, as this will be recorded in log files and can be used to determine which machine they were recorded on (i.e. development or production).

To give the server a more meaningful name:

  1. Go to Start-> Control Panel -> System.

  2. Clicking "Change settings"

  3. Give the machine a unique name i.e. "ETPROD-COMPANYNAME".

  4. Click OK, you will be prompted to restart.

  5. Restart

Once restarted, access Enterprise Tester in a web browser, obtain the server key, request/generate a new valid license, and apply it.

You should now be able to start/stop the EC2 instance without having to enter a new server key every time.

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