Purchasing & Activation

Overview

This tutorial covers purchasing a Chariot® license and activating it on a Chariot MQTT Server with internet access. It also covers upgrading an existing license, applying license updates, and deactivating an Online license before decommissioning a server.

For air-gapped deployments, see Offline Licenses.

For multi-instance deployments inside a closed network, see Self-Hosted Floating License Server.

Note: Chariot instances deployed through AWS Marketplace or Azure Marketplace do not require additional licensing steps. Licenses are installed and activated automatically as part of the Marketplace deployment.

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Purchase a New License

There are two ways to purchase a Chariot license:

• Through the Chariot UI — Self-service purchasing through Stripe. This option is available for single-instance Node-locked Online licenses.
• Through Cirrus Link Support — Available for all licensing models, including enterprise deals, custom terms, and payment through purchase order or invoice.

Purchase Through the Chariot UI

The following steps cover the self-service purchasing flow.

1. In the Chariot UI, navigate to the License page.

2. Select I need to purchase a license from the wizard. A modal opens showing the features available for purchase.

3. Select the desired features.

   Available features include:

   • IoT Bridge for Snowflake — Connect Chariot to Snowflake using meter-based licensing.
   • MQTT Server — Full-featured MQTT server.
   • MQTT Server Support — A year of support, which can be purchased for one or multiple years.

4. Click Purchase. Chariot redirects to the Stripe purchase page.

5. Verify that the product selection matches the features selected in Chariot.

6. Fill out the payment information and click Pay. If the payment is successful, the page redirects back to Chariot.

7. Cirrus Link generates the requested license and emails it to the provided contact email.

   Note: License generation can take up to 24 hours.

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Activate a License Online

After receiving the license key by email, activate it on the Chariot MQTT Server.

The Chariot License page provides three activation methods:

• Online — Requires an external internet connection and a Chariot license key.
• Offline — Does not require external internet access and uses codes exchanged with Cirrus Link Support.
• Floating — Uses a self-hosted Floating License Server to provide available license seats.

This section covers Online activation. For the other activation methods, see Offline Licenses or Self-Hosted Floating License Server.

1. Log into the Chariot MQTT Server Web UI and select License from the left-hand menu.
2. Follow the wizard and select Online as the license activation method.
3. Provide the text file containing the Chariot License Key. The license can be provided by dragging and dropping the file, pasting the key directly, or clicking the upload button and selecting the file.
4. Confirm the license information to finish the wizard.
5. A successful activation displays the license status page, including the license state, activated features, and related details.

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Upgrade an Existing License

An existing license can be upgraded to add features or additional support without re-purchasing features that are already included.

For example, you can add IoT Bridge for Snowflake to an existing MQTT Server license or add additional years of MQTT Server Support.

There are two ways to upgrade a license:

• Through the Chariot UI — Self-service purchasing through Stripe.
• Through Cirrus Link Support — Available for enterprise deals, custom terms, or payment through purchase order or invoice.

Upgrade Through the Chariot UI

1. In the Chariot UI, navigate to the License page.

2. Locate the Upgrade License widget and click Upgrade License.

3. Select the features to add to the existing license.

4. Click Purchase - you will be redirected to the Stripe purchase page.

5. Verify the following on the Stripe page:

   • The product selection matches what was selected in Chariot.
   • The license key field is pre-populated with the existing Chariot License key.

6. Fill out the payment details and click Pay.

   ⚠️ Do not change the license key.

7. If the payment is successful, the page redirects back to Chariot.

8. Cirrus Link upgrades the license and emails confirmation to the contact email on file.

   Note: License upgrades can take up to 24 hours.

9. After receiving confirmation, click Reactivate on the License page to apply the updated features.

Features already activated on the license do not appear in the upgrade options. The exception is MQTT Server Support, which can be purchased at any time to add additional years of support.

Reactivate an Online License

If a license has been updated, click Reactivate on the License page to retrieve the updated license information without restarting Chariot.

License updates can include:

• Feature changes.
• Expiration date changes.
• Other license updates.

Note: Reactivation does not work with Offline activated licenses. Contact Cirrus Link Support for changes to Offline licenses.

Deactivate an Online License

Deactivate an Online license before decommissioning a Chariot server so that the activation can potentially be used on another Chariot MQTT Server instance.

1. Log into the Chariot MQTT Server Web UI and select License from the left-hand menu.

2. Select Deactivate.

   The license is remotely deactivated and can potentially be activated on another Chariot MQTT Server instance.

   ⚠️ If the server is terminated, deleted, or destroyed without first deactivating the active Chariot License, that activation is permanently lost.

3. Once deactivation is successfully completed, the License page displays the license activation wizard.

What If I Forgot to Deactivate?

If a Chariot server was destroyed without being deactivated first and the license cannot be activated elsewhere, contact Cirrus Link Support.

Include:

• The License ID.
• A brief description of what happened.

Support can review the situation and, in many cases, restore the lost activation.