Keyshot Licensing Issues

[quigley]

I'm posting this here because there does not appear to be a specific licensing related topic.

We have used Keyshot since before version 1 and one of the things I like about it is that we can move the license around from machine to machine depending on needs. For example, we find occasionally that if we Export to keyshot from SolidWorks, some parts are missing, whereas if we "render in Keyshot" from Solidworks it comes in fine. In other cases neither works and we import the SolidWorks file to keyshot, or in a worst case scenario export to STEP then import that.

The issue is that due to our machine loading I often need to run Keyshot on different manchines, so the internet activate/deactivate feature is ideal. Until it stops working. Then we are totally screwed.

Today this happened. We had a deadline to email sets of renders off at 4PM UK time, and at 2pm I exported the keyshot file from SolidWorks, and wanted to use our fastest workstation to do sets of renders (56 cores). So I deactivated Keyshot 7 on the SolidWorks machine, then went to reactivate on the rendering machine. But it failed. So I went back to the SW machine and Keyshot had deactivated there and would not reactivate. So we were left with no functioning license of Keyshot.

These things happen of course, but the issue for any software vendor is these things happen to customers who are up against deadlines. So I tried to enter in all the codes again - nothing. I emailed the files to Luxion, and get an automated email back saying "we will try to get onto this as quickly as possible"...timed at 6.59am LA time!

It is not 15.49 and I have had to import the lot into V Ray (Rhino) and they are currently churning away there. We might make it.

So the issue is this. In SolidWorks if the activation server fails, I pick up the phone to my VAR and they can reset it manually at their end. As of 2019, users can do this as well. With Adobe CC if I forget to deactivate one of the Team licenses and am out the office, their system automatically deactivates it and lets me activate.

The Keyshot system usually works well, but you have to design a system for the worst case scenario -and this was it today. Like many here, we depend on Keyshot to work when we are up against a deadline. Nothing annoys more than having licensing issues that prevent us using software we pay for (we are on the annual maintenance plan).

So can I suggest that Luxion either have a 24hr "clear all activations" service available, or enable customers on maintenance plans to log into an activation area and do this themselves.

Back to V-Ray now...

[quigley]

Update - Keyshot 7 has now reactivated. So it was possibly some issue with the activation server earlier?
Which makes me think - could there be a way to warn users of server downtime, planned or otherwise?
Either at the "deactivate" phase, getting a message saying "server planned maintenance time ..." or "unable to deactivate at this time"
Or for a reactivation allowing users to reactivate off line for a limted timeframe (say 2-3 hrs), then automatically reactivating when the server is back online?
Anything would be better than just seeing the spinning dots, then throwing you into the manual registration page.