Basic information: PROMOTIC hardware key (further refered to as "HW Key") is used for protection of the PROMOTIC system and for the protection of the designer's "know how". The complete information regarding the purchased licence is burned into the key. The HW Key is the most commonly used licence carrier.
Each PROMOTIC HW Key is labeled by 4-digits number that identifies the licence number. This number can be found on the white label that is attached on the HW Key. The information regarding the connected key can be obtained in the runtime mode by the Pm.LicenceInfo method, or in the INFO system of running application - /SYSTEM/Licence tab.
The PROMOTIC system uses
SENTINEL licence keys by the
SafeNet Ltd company. When ordering a PROMOTIC licence several different key types can be choosen:
USB key:
of the standard size is plugged in the
USB port of the PC.
USB key:
of the minimal size is plugged in the
USB port of the PC.
WARNING - this key type is functional since version Pm8.2.16 and Pm8.3.17.
USB key:
connected to USB port on PC motherboard.
WARNING - this key type is functional since version Pm8.3.8.
According to the licence content we distinguish 2 types of PROMOTIC licence keys:
-
Development licence key. It is supplied together with the PROMOTIC development environment (at a price of the
PmDevProf licence) Without the development licence key the PROMOTIC development environment runs in the
PmFree regime.
-
Runtime licence key. It is used as a PROMOTIC runtime licence carrier. With such key the application can be edited or modified only if the key contains the
PmDevForRt licence (since version
Pm7.3.1).
Other licences can be added into the runtime HW Key anytime. This can be done either by "overburning" the HW Key (i.e. the key has to be conveyed) or by sending the file (e.g. by an email) with the content of new licence, see
Licence file SWK extending the content of licence key.
Upgrade HwKey
The licences contained in the hardware key can later be extended easily by:
hinstall.exe - Hardware key driver
For the correct behavior of the HW Key it is necessary to set parameters that can be changed by the
hinstall.exe program (it can be launched from the
cmd command line) that is located in the
\Promotic\Tools\HwKey folder.
The PROMOTIC installation program sets these parameters automatically but in special cases it is possible to change the parameters by the user.
Caution in OS Windows Vista, 7, Server 2008 it is necessary to run as Administrator
The basic commands of the program:
>\Promotic\Tools\HwKey\hinstall -i .. Install HW Key driver
>\Promotic\Tools\HwKey\hinstall -r .. Removes HW Key driver
>\Promotic\Tools\HwKey\hinstall -h .. Displays next possible commands
>\Promotic\Tools\HwKey\hinstall -info .. Statement of the installation state (version, priority for searching the key, etc.)
Known problems with the installation of the HW Key driver
- Problem connected with running the PROMOTIC application on
OS Windows servers and virtual machines.
Although it seems the installation of the key driver on this OS is completed successfully, the application cannot be lauched due to the inaccessibility of licence. See:
- In the
terminal service client process (remote desktop)
it is not possible to access the HW Key driver.
The reason is insufficient permision of the logged-in client for computer hardware access. This also concerns the driver that is used for HW Key access.
The PROMOTIC system cannot be installed in this mode.
Compatibility table OS Windows and PROMOTIC version
The following overview indicates the compatibility of PROMOTIC version with
OS Windows version. Installation of HW Key drivers is a part of the PROMOTIC system installation. This way the application can accesss the content of the HW Key via the driver. There may be problems in situation when an older PROMOTIC version is installed on a new
OS Windows that was not known at the time the PROMOTIC version was released.
| 32/64 bit OS Windows |
---|
PROMOTIC | 98, ME | XP | XP embed | Vista, Server 2003 | 7, 7 embed | 10 | Server 2008 - 2019 |
---|
version <= 6(SP14f) | Yes | Yes | Yes | - | - | - | - |
---|
version <= 7.3.8 | Yes | Yes | Yes | - | - | - | - |
---|
version >= 7.3.9 | - | Yes | Yes | Yes (*) | Yes (*) | Yes (*) | Yes (*) |
---|
version <= 8.0.13 | - | Yes | Yes (**) | Yes (*) | Yes (*) | Yes (*) | Yes (*) |
---|
version <= 8.1.13 | - | Yes | Yes (**) | Yes (*) | Yes (*) | Yes (*) | Yes (*) |
---|
version <= 8.2.23 | - | Yes | Yes (**) | Yes (**) | Yes (**) | Yes (**) | Yes (**) |
---|
version <= 8.3.25 | - | Yes (^) | Yes (^)(**) | Yes (**) | Yes (**) | Yes (**) | Yes (**) |
---|
version >= 8.3.25 | - | Yes (***) | Yes (***) | Yes (***) | Yes (**) | Yes (**) | Yes (**) |
version >= 9.0.0 | - | - | - | (***) | Yes (**) | Yes (**) | Yes (**) |
---|
(*) = only with new HW key driver - Driver HASP
(**) = OS Windows may require newer version of HW key - Sentinel Driver
(***) = Installed PROMOTIC version includes the installer of hardware key driver that is not compatible with this version of OS Windows. It is necessary to (manually) install an older version of the driver. - Driver HASP
(^) = The installation may require higher version of Windows installer - Windows Installer
Recommendation: If the older Promotic version is installed on newer OS Windows and the HW Key driver provided with PROMOTIC is not functional, then:
- Abort the current installation by closing the error window.
- Download installation package of current driver
Driver HASP and follow the installation steps indicated in the manual.
The version of installed driver can be identified by running the HW Key driver installer with parameter
-info. For example:
hinstall.exe -info.
Running the installer of HW Key driver with parameter -?, for example: hinstall.exe -? will indicate the version of the driver that is contained in such installer.