Manage licenses

To use Knox Guard, you need a license. Knox Guard offers a free trial license and a paid commercial license:

• Trial license — You can generate a trial license in the Knox Admin Portal from the Licenses page. The trial license has a three-month License activation period and a three-year License device usage period. The trial license only has 30 seats, meaning you can only activate 30 devices with it.

  

• Commercial license — You can purchase a commercial license from the sales team in your country. The commercial license has a one-year License activation period and a three-year License device usage period. Once purchased, you can enter the license key in the Knox Guard console to activate it.

As mentioned above, each license has two important periods — license activation period and License device usage period:

• License activation period — A commercial Knox Guard license has a one-year activation period. Devices can be activated with the license during this period. After the activation period, the license expires, meaning no additional devices can be activated using that license anymore. However, the devices themselves remain active for a period of three years. This three-year period is called the License device usage period. If you buy additional seats for the license, the activation period is extended for one year from the date of the purchase.
• Device usage period — After a device is activated using a Knox Guard license, it remains active under the license for three years from the date of its activation, even if the license itself is past the License activation period or expired. This period is staggered, meaning each device enjoys a full three-year usage from its activation date regardless of the license expiry date. After the three-year period is over, the Knox Guard polices applied to the device are removed and the device can’t be managed using Knox Guard anymore unless the license is renewed.

Manage Knox Guard licenses:

1. Select Licenses from the left-hand navigation menu.

   

2. Review the following Knox Guard license utilization values listed for each listed license:

   • LICENSE NAME — Displays the license name as a link that can be selected to review license details and, if necessary, update the license name. For more information, go to: License details.

   • TYPE — Lists whether a license is a Trial, Commercial, or Postpaid license. Trial licenses are temporary and subject to expiration on the date listed within the Expiry column. Commercial licenses are for actual device deployments and have a much longer expiration period. Trial licenses can be deleted from the Knox Guard console when they are no longer required for device testing, or be converted to commercial licenses using the Samsung License Management (SLM) key generator. Always delete a trial license key before adding production devices. For more information, go to: Delete a license.

   • STATUS — Lists each license as either Expired, Active, or Registered (not yet activated). When a device is successfully enrolled in Knox Guard, it enters an Active state.

   • PURCHASED SEATS — Displays the maximum number of devices each listed license has paid to support. A Trial license supports 30 seats by default. Commercial licenses are negotiated point-of-sale for the number of license seats included.

   • REMAINING SEATS — Lists the total license count still available, minus assigned licenses. When a device successfully enrolls and moves to an active state, the count decreases by 1.

   • ASSIGNED SEATS — Lists the number of devices assigned a license seat. The number listed also includes consumed license seats. When a device is accepted, the Assigned column count increases by 1.

   • ACTIVATED SEATS — Lists the number of devices that have been activated for each listed license. Activated seats are also included within the Assigned seats total.

   • ACTIVATION END DATE — Displays the expiration date after which licenses can no longer be assigned or activated on devices. License depletion emails are sent when the license count is down to 10% (out of total) remaining seats, then another email when at 5%, and a final email at 3%.

3. Optionally use the Search field, to search and locate specific licenses if unable to initially locate them within the Licenses screen.

License details

To review the details of a specific selected license:

1. Select Licenses from the left-hand navigation menu.

2. Select the LICENSE NAME link of a specific license you wish to review in greater detail.

   

3. The License Name is the only editable value within the License details screen. If needed, revise the name to something more applicable and select the SAVE button.

4. The license Seats portion of the License details screen describes the following:

   • Purchased — Lists the number of license seats purchased on behalf of the selected license. Trial licenses support 30 devices by default, but can be transitioned to Commercial (perpetual) licenses as needed with the assistance of your reseller.

   • Remaining — Lists the total number of remaining license seats available out of the total number of license seats purchased for this selected license.

   • Assigned — When a device is accepted (enrolled) using this license, the Assigned column count increases by 1 to demonstrate the utilization of a license seat.

   • Activated — Lists the total number of devices that have been activated using this license.

5. The License Key is displayed and used as a unique alphanumeric code to activate this specific license. Before you enter a Commercial key you should ensure the Trial key is deleted.

6. The Owner and email address of the device provider using Knox Guard to manage device subscriptions and payments using this license.

7. The license type is displayed as Trial or Commercial. Trial licenses are temporary and subject to expiration upon the Activation End Date.Commercial licenses are for actual device deployments and have a much longer expiration period. Trial licenses can be deleted from the Knox Guard console when they are no longer required for device testing, or be converted to commercial licenses using the Samsung License Management (SLM) key generator.

8. Lists the selected license Status as either Expired, Active (successfully enrolled in Knox Guard), or Registered (not yet activated).

9. The Issue Date defines when the license was originally issued and available for allocation.

10. The Activation Start Date defines the beginning date and time a license can be activated for device license seat allocation. The Activation Start Date, as opposed to the Issue date, begins the expiration countdown of a trial license’s activation period.

11. The Activation End Date lists end of the license seat activation period under the terms of this selected license. After this date, this license cannot be used to assign or activate additional devices. Devices that have already been activated with this license can remain active for the remainder of the Knox Guard 3 year service period. License depletion emails are sent when the license count is down to 10% (out of total) remaining seats, then another email when at 5%, and a final email at 3%.

12. If necessary, select DELETE to permanently remove a Trial license when no longer required for device testing.

Get a license

To obtain a Trial (temporary) or Commercial (permanent) Knox Guard license:

1. Select Licenses from the left-hand navigation menu.

2. Select the GET A LICENSE button from the top, right-hand side, of the screen.

   

3. Select GENERATE TRIAL LICENSE to create a license for the purposes of development and testing. Trial licenses are subject to expiration on the date listed within the DEVICES screen.

4. Select FIND RESELLER to search for a Knox reseller in your specific geographic region that supports your intended Knox solutions.

Enter a license key

To enter a license in the Knox Guard console:

1. Select Licenses from the left-hand navigation menu.

2. Select the ENTER LICENSE KEY button from the top, right-hand side, of the screen.

   

3. Provide a relevant License name that will appear as a link within the Licenses screen. When selected, license information displays in detail. For more information, go to: License details.

4. Enter the device’s License key to include within the Device details screen. The License key is available from the device reseller as the device is enrolled in Knox.

5. Select ADD to save the updates.

Out of licenses

There may be instances when you run out of devices licenses and are unable to activate additional devices on the Knox Guard console. When this occurs you will be prompted to increase your license count to accommodate the number of devices that exceed your current license capacity.

To add new licenses:

1. If the Out of licenses screen displays when accepting devices, review the text stating how many licenses remain and how many licenses are required to accept the requested number of devices.

2. Select Generate trial license to create a license for the purposes of development and testing. Trial licenses are subject to expiration on the date listed within the DEVICES screen. Only consider this option if the devices you are attempting to activate aren’t for permanent commercial deployment.

3. Refer to the Purchase commercial license portion of the screen for information on acquiring licenses for permanent commercial device deployments. Select Find your nearest reseller to locate a reseller in your area, as commercial licenses must be purchased from a Samsung reseller in your region.

4. When you have received the requested license and key information, refer to the Enter license key field and enter the following:

   • Provide the License name to display as a license details link within the Licenses screen.

   • Enter the pending device’s License key. The License key is available from the device reseller as the device is enrolled in Knox.

5. Select ADD when completed to proceed with device acceptance using the updated license.

Delete a license

Trial licenses can be deleted and permanently removed from the Knox Guard console when they are no longer needed for device testing.

To delete a trial license:

1. Select a trial license from those available within the Licenses screen.

2. Select the LICENSE NAME link of a listed trial license you wish to delete.

3. Select the DELETE button from the bottom of the License details screen.

   

4. Select DELETE to permanently remove the selected trial license. The deletion of the trial license is an irreversible action, so ensure the selected trial license is no longer needed for testing.