Entitlement tokens
After purchasing an entitlement for PFTrack, you need to obtain an Entitlement Token to run the application.
Entitlement tokens are either Static or Dynamic:
Dynamic entitlement tokens are provided by the PFBucket entitlement management system to any machine that can communicate with the entitlement server.
Static entitlement tokens are generated manually in the PFAccount Portal and locked to a single machine.
You can choose how each of your product entitlements will be used by visiting the PFAccount Portal and selecting the appropriate option on the Product Entitlement Manager page.
Important details on the restrictions that are imposed when using PFTrack with a static entitlement token are available below. Please review this information before generating a static entitlement token.
Dynamic Entitlement Tokens
Connecting to PFBucket
When PFTrack first runs, it will attempt to connect to a PFBucketd server on your local network via a local area broadcast. If a connection can be made automaticaly and an entitlement is available on the server to use, the PFBucketd server will return a dynamic entitlement token to PFTrack.
If no connection can be made immediately, PFTrack will wait a short while to see if any further communication is received:
If no PFBucketd servers can be found, an error window will appear:
This error window indicates that no PFBucketd servers responded to the broadcast, and also that PFTrack couldn't find a valid entitlement token in the license.txt file. It also displays your PFHostID, which is an identifier unique to your workstation.
Further details on network configuration for the PFBucketd server are available here.
Manual connection
If you have installed PFBucketd on your network, but the local area broadcast did not succeed due to network configuration restrictions, you can tell PFTrack the IP address of your PFBucketd server. This is achieved by editing the license.txt file on your workstation at:
/Applications/The Pixel Farm/license.txt
and specifying the IP address of your PFBucketd server as follows:
SERVER XXX.XXX.XX.XX:8070
replacing "XXX.XXX.XX.XX" with the local IP address for your PFBucketd server machine, and 8070 with the port number used to communicate with PFBucketd (if it has been changed from the default value).
Please note: The SERVER line should be the only thing in the license.txt file on your workstation. Do NOT add this line to the license.txt file on your PFBucketd server.
After editing your license.txt file, launch PFTrack again and it will attempt to communicate directly with the PFBucketd server at the IP address you have specified.
Receiving Entitlement Tokens
Once a connection to your PFBucketd server has been established, PFTrack will ask for an entitlement token. If one is available on your server, PFTrack will launch and you can get working straight away.
If no entitlement token is received, PFTrack will display an information window listing the entitlements available on the server, and indicate why PFTrack is unable to run:
In this example, PFTrack connected to a PFBucketd server called 'MyServer' at the IP address '192.168.0.8', The server holds a single PFTrack entitlement, but that entitlement is currenty in use on another machine. This corresponds to the entitlement error message 'Too many entitlements requested'.
In the following example, an entitlement is available on the server, but its maintenance subscription expired before this build PFTrack of was released:
If this error message occurs even though a maintenance subscription has been purchased, please ensure the entitlements activated on your PFBucketd server are up-to-date. Further information about entitlement management in PFBucket can be found here.
Please note: the functionality displayed here in the entitlement error window may not be available when using older versions of the PFBucketd entitlement server. Please ensure you are using the latest available version of the PFBucket desktop app and the PFBucketd server daemon.
Static Entitlement Tokens
A static entitlement token can be used to run an application on a workstation when the PFBucket entitlement system is not being used.
Once a static entitlement token is generated, that entitlement is tied to a single machine and cannot be moved elsewhere.
When using a static entitlement, internet access on the workstation is required to launch the application. If no internet connection is available on the workstation, please install the PFBucket entitlement server on your local network instead.
Please note that static entitlements should be generated for operator workstations only, and will not work with the PFBucket entitlement server.
Generating Static Tokens
Generating a static entitlement token is possible for any unassigned product entitlement, and is achieved by visiting the PFAccount Admin Portal at https://pfaccount-thepixelfarm.co.uk, selecting the Product Entitlement Manager option and then selecting the Static token type.
Clicking the Generate Static Token link next to your entitlements will display a page where you can enter information about your workstation.
You will be asked to enter two pieces of information: the PFHostID for your operator's workstation, and the workstation machine name. The PFHostID is a unique identifier associated with your computer, and can be found by running your application and waiting until the Entitlement Error window appears. This will display the PFHostID as a string of 12 characters:
Please note that PFTrack requires a suitable hardware identifier on your machine to generate a PFHostID. We do not recommend or support the use of virtual machines or similar to run PFTrack using static entitlements because they are unable to provide such an identifier.
Once the token is generated, it can be downloaded to your workstation and copied to the appropriate location for your operating system (note this may require Administrator privileges on your computer):
| Operating System | Entitlement Token Location |
|---|---|
| Windows | C:\Program Files\The Pixel Farm\license.txt |
| macOS | /Applications/The Pixel Farm/license.txt |
| Linux | /var/thepixelfarm/license.txt |
If the static token is lost (for example, the operating system is re-installed after wiping the hard drive), it can easily be recovered by visiting the PFAccount Admin Portal, clicking the Information button for the entitlement, and then clicking Download Token link.
Releasing Static Tokens
If you wish to move your entitlement to another machine you can release your static entitlement in the PFAccount Admin Portal by clicking the Information button for the entitlement, and then clicking Release Entitlement from the popup window.
This will allow you to either generate another static entitlement token for a different machine, or move your entitlement into a bucket to use with the PFBucket entitlement server. Releasing an entitlement from a machine will invalidate the entitlement token stored in your license.txt file.
Please note that for the versions of PFTrack released before 2018, releasing a static entitlement token from a workstation in this way means that computer can no longer be used to run The Pixel Farm's software. As such, this should be done if it is no longer possible to access that machine due to issues such as hardware failure etc. This should be done with caution and only as a last resort when the computer is no longer functioning. If you require the flexibility of moving entitlements between machines, please install the PFBucket entitlement server on your local network instead of using static entitlements.