Supermicro Software License

Key Activation
User’s Guide

Revision 1.1
Revision History
Revision Change Notes Publish Date

1.0 Initial release of the document. December 2021

Modified support list of non-JSON format license key in
1.1 June 2022
Appendix A.

Supermicro Software License Key Activation User’s Guide 1

Table of Contents
1 Overview ............................................................................................................................. 3

2 Software License Key Format.............................................................................................. 3

3 Key Activation ..................................................................................................................... 4

3.1 Activating in BMC Web ...................................................................................... 4

3.2 Activating in SUM ............................................................................................... 6

3.3 Activating in SSM ............................................................................................... 9

3.4 Activating via Redfish API................................................................................. 12

Appendix A ............................................................................................................................... 14

Supermicro Software License Key Activation User’s Guide 2

1 Overview
Supermicro software license keys are designed to regulate the use of paid functions for BMC and
software tools. When users want to unlock licensed features in BMC, they are required to activate the
software license keys in the BMC firmware. Each key is unique to a motherboard, as a key is tied to a
specific BMC MAC address. All Supermicro software license keys are perpetual, remaining valid for the
life span of the hardware (motherboard).

2 Software License Key Format

The software license key from Supermicro is stored in a text file and presented as follows:

<BMC_MAC_address>; <License_Key>

Note that each entry is on one line and includes <BMC_MAC_address> and <License_Key>, separated
by a semicolon.

The method to activate your software license keys is different from software to software. You may
need to edit the license key file.

Supermicro Software License Key Activation User’s Guide 3

3 Key Activation

3.1 Activating in BMC Web

Depending on the type of system you use, you might need to access either the old or the new BMC
Web to activate your software license keys. Note that SFT-OOB-LIC is the only type of license key that
you can activate on the old BMC Web. To activate SFT-DCMS-SINGLE, use SUM, SSM or Redfish API.

3.1.1 Old BMC Web

1. Go to the BMC Web, and log in with your credentials.

2. Click Miscellaneous on the top menu bar.

3. Click Activate License on the left menu, enter the 24-character SFT-OOB-LIC key obtained from
Supermicro, and click the Activate button.

4. The Node Product Key status will change from “Not activated” to “Activated”.

Supermicro Software License Key Activation User’s Guide 4

3.1.2 New BMC Web

1. Open the software license key file (.txt) obtained from Supermicro, delete all MAC addresses and
semicolons, and save each key in each .txt file. Note that no spaces are allowed in the text file.

2. Go to the BMC Web, and log in with your credentials.

3. Click Maintenance on the left menu, and select License Activation.

4. Click the Select File button, choose the text file with the license key from Supermicro, and click
the Upload button.

5. If activation is successful, a message "Success” appears and you will also find the license key
SKUname in the Node Product Key Status field.

If you get a format error, please check the text file and see if there are any blank spaces or if a MAC
address is not deleted.

Supermicro Software License Key Activation User’s Guide 5

3.2 Activating in SUM
For details on installation and usage, refer to The SUM User’s Guide.

3.2.1 Single Node

To activate the license key of a single node, you can choose to do it in-band or out-of-band.

➢ In-Band Activation (executed on localhost OS):

Open a Command Prompt and execute the command:

# sum -c ActivateProductKey --key <License_Key>

Example:

C:\ sum_2.7.0_Win_x86_64> sum.exe -c ActivateProductKey –-key AAYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

AAGSw1zjcokBJrE1va2uIhi1umjMFAUZVqBuP06oZmZkT4y1pOvSYXDuMbJ8S27SyrA8A3S7Xgb

lZeEYbrUF+JzAg6SSAgN6TxAwc8QZS5rIqi7oDARAjJkxMJJKHwYcHiCW1/pSeclAMquDl/g0mTW

NxYeG01mGsrtclIKIm3tvN8i6/zpEeV6jfE7AUOAAunFOVWt/OMcD+iTiY7pN3HhQ39cS3t7dBYoW

v/a1sPjtlCelA0iLjoXi8TCbqVCxpVv4QQRI7Qv2wH4hNcl5dwndiMkamCYDwU4P7DlN/v+++bAgQ

1N0hE/zwLqnxchD+iw==

➢ Out-of-Band Activation:
Open a Command Prompt and execute the command:

# sum -i <BMC_IP_address> -u <Username> -p <Password> -c

ActivateProductKey --key <License_Key>

Example:

C:\ sum_2.7.0_Win_x86_64> sum.exe -i 172.16.104.224 -u ADMIN -p ADMIN -c ActivatePro

ductKey –-key AAYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGSw1zjcokBJrE1va2uIhi1umjMFAUZVqBuP06oZmZ

kT4y1pOvSYXDuMbJ8S27SyrA8A3S7XgblZeEYbrUF+JzAg6SSAgN6TxAwc8QZS5rIqi7oDARAjJk

xMJJKHwYcHiCW1/pSeclAMquDl/g0mTWNxYeG01mGsrtclIKIm3tvN8i6/zpEeV6jfE7AUOAAunFO

VWt/OMcD+iTiY7pN3HhQ39cS3t7dBYoWv/a1sPjtlCelA0iLjoXi8TCbqVCxpVv4QQRI7Qv2wH4hNc
l5dwndiMkamCYDwU4P7DlN/v+++bAgQ1N0hE/zwLqnxchD+iw==

Supermicro Software License Key Activation User’s Guide 6

 Note: When the software license key you purchase and receive from
Supermicro is in JSON format, add two single quotation marks before and after
the key for activation. See the example below.

# ./sum -c ActivateProductKey --key '{"ProductKey":{"Node":{"LicenseID":"1","LicenseName":"SF

T-OOB-LIC","CreateDate":"20200409"},"Signature":"eTFoW1COvxznAnJtet+XeOceIdOjPPhNhOxjIJ

03tqCXRZoqxFo73BShTI/yEW5Ljp7Q7NHBbSdFpDGxx89NoWm1NoFIGGfcuqf7ir0w4HXMarcG2WfXS

6reLlL3KlQxpy2Djuej3oTQczKV4uW3CVzWYT+bjgMfyk/JV3lTF2CIVxsr4Eqytg0PUC4TR7J20AZOLyA+

+cyijRN2PbFacybngsfi/SvAha77XWvbTE4HA8IWSmh74IBX56dKu4CbuBmnRGnKOGVVfe8vX1glVFA5
ovFuzMc1ENAewFn8qJ/abVLsp1lbvh9XAQTky0J8g2VRfZOK+BfIvWaABE6eVw=="}}'

3.2.2 Multiple Nodes

Activating the license keys of multiple nodes can only be done out-of-band.

1. Obtain the text file of the software license keys purchased from Supermicro. Note that each entry
is on one line and includes <BMC_MAC_address> and <License_Key>, separated by a semicolon.

Example:

2. Create a text file to include the following information on the nodes: the BMC IP addresses,
usernames, and passwords. You should type them in the order of <BMC_IP_address>,
<BMC_username>, and <BMC_password>, and separate them by blank spaces.

Example:

Supermicro Software License Key Activation User’s Guide 7

3. Open a Command Prompt and execute the command

#sum -l <User/PW list file> -c ActivateProductKey --key_file <License list file>

Example:

C:\ sum_2.7.0_Win_x86_64> sum.exe -l List.txt -c ActivateProductKey –-key_file License.txt

The message “Success” will appear after the activation is successful.

Supermicro Update Manager (for UEFI BIOS) 2.7.0 (2021/09/03) (x86_64)

Copyright(C) 2013-2021 Super Micro Computer, Inc. All rights reserved.

Press ENTER to see the current execution status:

Start to do ActivateProductKey for systems listed in List.txt

Multi system log file created:

List.txt.log_2021-10-22_13-59-54_2706698

---------------------------------Final Results----------------------------------

Executed Command:

sum.exe -l List.txt -c ActivateProductKey --key_file License.txt

Summary:

5 EXECUTIONS ( WAITING: 0 RUNNING: 0 SUCCESS: 5 FAILED: 0 RETRY: 0 IGNORED: 0

CANCEL: 0 )

Status List:

System Name | Elapsed | Status | Exit Code

172.31.3.42 | 00:00:13 | SUCCESS | 0

172.31.3.43 | 00:00:08 | SUCCESS | 0

172.31.3.44 | 00:00:05 | SUCCESS | 0

172.31.3.45 | 00:00:03 | SUCCESS | 0

172.31.3.46 | 00:00:09 | SUCCESS | 0

Summary:

5 EXECUTIONS ( WAITING: 0 RUNNING: 0 SUCCESS: 5 FAILED: 0 RETRY: 0 IGNORED: 0

CANCEL: 0 )

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please check output message:

List.txt.log_2021-10-22_13-59-54_2706698

Supermicro Software License Key Activation User’s Guide 8

3.3 Activating in SSM
After installation, please connect to the SSM Web. For details on installation and usage, refer to The
SSM User’s Guide.

1. Create a text file to include the following information on the nodes: the BMC MAC addresses,
BMC IP addresses, and license keys. You should type them in order and separate them by
semicolons:
<BMC_MAC_Address>;<BMC_IP_Address>;<License_Key>

2. Click Administration on the left menu bar.

3. Expand the Monitoring Setup menu and select Node PK Activation.

4. Click Choose File to upload the text file, enter the BMC username and password, and click the
Activate button.

Supermicro Software License Key Activation User’s Guide 10

5. The Node PK Activation window appears. Click Run.

6. If successful, the status will display “Success” along with a green check mark.

Supermicro Software License Key Activation User’s Guide 11

3.4 Activating via Redfish API
The 12th generation and later platforms support software license key activation thru a Redfish
interface. There are various tools on the market, we use one here to illustrate the activation steps.

1. From the Method drop-down list, select POST.

2. Make your URI field include “/redfish/v1/Managers/1/LicenseManager/ActivateLicense”.

3. Copy the info in the license key file, paste it in the Body field, and then click Send.

Or you can drag and drop the license key file to the Body field.

4. If the activation is successful, the code “200 OK” appears in the Response field, and the message
“Successfully Completed Requested” appears in the Body field in green.

Supermicro Software License Key Activation User’s Guide 12

To query the activation status, include “/redfish/v1/Managers/1/LicenseManager/QueryLicense” in
your URI field, and use the Method drop-down menu to select GET.

Supermicro Software License Key Activation User’s Guide 13

Appendix A
Since 12th generation platforms, the software license keys in JSON format have been employed with
few exceptions. However, the software license keys in non-JSON format will continue to be supported
on 11th generation platforms and earlier.

The table below lists the motherboards from the 12th generation platforms that only work with the
software license keys in non-JSON format.

Platform MB Model
H12 DP H12DSU-iN
H12 DP H12DST-B
H12 UP H12SST-PS
H12 UP H12SSW-iN
H12 UP H12SSW-iNL
H12 UP H12SSW-NT
H12 UP H12SSW-NTL

Supermicro Software License Key Activation User’s Guide 14