FAQ for TIBCO Activation

FAQ for TIBCO Activation

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Article ID: KB0137508

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Updated On:

Products Versions
TIBCO Activation Service 1.0.0
TIBCO ActiveMatrix BusinessWorks 5.16.1 , 6.12.0
TIBCO Enterprise Message Service 10.4.0
TIBCO Rendezvous 8.8.0, 8.8.1
All Products All
TIBCO BusinessConnect 7.5.0 and above
TIBCO BusinessEvents 6.3.2 HF01 and above
TIBCO MDM 9.3.2 HF01

Description

Frequently Asked Question for TIBCO Activation

Table of Contents

 

TIBCO Product Activation Overview

 

Activation is the process of enabling your TIBCO products to run via a license that confirms your entitlement to those products. This process relies on license files and should be integrated into your overall planning when installing or upgrading to new releases of TIBCO products. TIBCO provides different activation options that are supported in both production and development environments, and you should choose the one that best suits your requirements.

1. Choosing Your Activation Method

Activation is the process of enabling your TIBCO products to run via a license. TIBCO products can be activated using one of two options.

Q: What are the supported activation options? 

A: There are two supported options for production and development environments:

    • In-Product Activation (Recommended): A license file is placed directly in each operating environment where you are running TIBCO products. This is our modern, flexible, and recommended approach.
    • TIBCO Activation Service (TAS): You run a central instance of the TAS software, and your TIBCO products connect to it remotely to request activation.

Q: How do I choose between In-Product Activation and TAS? 

A: You should choose the option that best suits your requirements.

Summary Comparison

Aspect

In-Product Activation

TAS

Infrastructure

✅ Zero additional infrastructure

❌ Requires dedicated Linux servers

Maintenance

✅ Maintenance-free

❌ Ongoing server maintenance required

Security

✅ No CVE exposure

❌ Continuous CVE patching required

Scalability

✅ Unlimited scaling

❌ Server capacity constraints

Cloud Ready

✅ Perfect for cloud/containers

❌ Complicates cloud adoption

Cost

✅ Lower TCO

❌ Higher operational costs

Reliability

✅ No single point of failure

❌ Central server dependency

Deployment

✅ Simple file deployment

❌ Complex server setup

HA

✅ Available via TIBCO Product

❌ Not available 
  • In-Product Activation represents TIBCO's modern, customer-centric approach that eliminates unnecessary complexity while improving reliability, security, and cost-effectiveness.
  • TAS introduces operational overhead, security risks, and architectural constraints that conflict with modern DevOps practices and cloud-native strategies.
  • Recommendation: Select  to In-Product Activation to eliminate operational burden, reduce costs, improve security posture, and align with modern deployment practices.

2. In-Product Activation (Recommended Method)

Q: What is In-Product Activation?

A: In-Product Activation is a method where a license file is placed in each operating environment (file system, network drive, or container) where your TIBCO products run, and those products use that file to activate locally. You generate a single license file that can be deployed to all your environments.

Q: What are the main benefits of In-Product Activation?

A: The key benefits are flexibility and ease of management:

    • Use a single license file across multiple environments (Development, Test, Production).
    • Simplify containerized deployments (like Docker and Kubernetes) where machine IDs can change.
    • Store the license in a central location, such as a shared network drive accessible by all your systems.
    • No dependency on TIBCO Activation Server and 3rd party jars.
    • Low management and maintenance cost for our customers

Q: How do I use In-Product Activation?

A: You download the unbound license file and either place it on each machine or store it in a common mounted drive. For detailed steps on configuring your specific product, please consult your TIBCO product documentation or refer KB Article : https://support.tibco.com/support-home/kbsearch/article?articleNumber=KB0137948

NOTE: If you plan to use a common mounted drive, we recommend testing this configuration in a lower environment (e.g., Development or Test) first to ensure it functions as expected before deploying to Production.

Q: Which TIBCO product versions support In-Product Activation?

A: You must upgrade to specific releases to use In-Product Activation License File option. As of September 17th, 2025, supported versions include:

Products Already GA

Product Version LTS
TIBCO ActiveMatrix BusinessWorks™ 5.16.1 Hotfix 2 and above YES
TIBCO ActiveMatrix BusinessWorks™ 6.11.0 Hotfix 4 and above  NO
TIBCO ActiveMatrix BusinessWorks™ 6.12.0 and above YES
TIBCO BWCE 2.10.0 HF-04 and above NO
TIBCO Enterprise Message Service™ 10.4.0 Hotfix 3 and above YES
TIBCO Rendezvous® 8.8.1 and above YES
TIBCO BusinessEvents® 6.3.2 Hotfix 1 and above NO
TIBCO FTL® 7.1.1 and above YES
TIBCO BusinessConnect™ 7.5.0 and above YES
TIBCO Foresight® Instream® 9.4 and above YES
TIBCO Foresight® Instream® Healthcare Edition 9.4 and above YES
TIBCO® MDM 9.3.2 Hotfix 1 and above NO

A full list is available in the TIBCO Activation Service User Guide appendix. 1.1.0 Appendix

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3. TIBCO Activation Service (TAS) - (Alternative Method)

 

Q: What is TIBCO Activation Service (TAS)?

A: TIBCO Activation Service is a new product that is required  to activate your TIBCO products using a valid license. You can read more about in TAS Docs https://docs.tibco.com/pub/tibco-activation/1.0.0/doc/html/Default.htm

 

Q: What are the benefits of the TIBCO Activation Service (TAS) ?

A: By centralizing activation throughout your organization, TIBCO Activation Service helps:

    • Minimize the number of licenses that you must generate and manage.
    • Ensure you know the location of your licenses at all times.
    • Enable the redeployment of TIBCO products to new operating environments without generating new licenses.
    • Minimize the reactivation effort required when software subscriptions are renewed.
    • Accelerate upgrades to new TIBCO product releases.
    • Reduce downtime risk of your TIBCO product caused by lost or damaged licenses.

4. Knowledge Articles and Doc Links

Q: Where can I find more information about TIBCO Activation ?

 A: You can find more information in the following resources:

Please refer  Product Docs: 

    • TIBCO® Activation Service - https://docs.tibco.com/pub/tibco-activation/1.0.0/doc/html/Default.htm
    • TIBCO ActiveMatrix BusinessWorks Activation - https://docs.tibco.com/pub/activematrix_businessworks/5.16.1/doc/html/Default.htm#getting-started/license_enforcement.htm
    • TIBCO Rendezvous Activation - https://docs.tibco.com/pub/rendezvous/8.8.0/doc/html/Default.htm#admin-guide/Licensing.htm
    • TIBCO Enterprise Messaging Service Activation - https://docs.tibco.com/pub/ems/10.4.0/doc/html/Default.htm#users-guide/running-ems-license.htm

Please refer  Support KB Articles for Activation:

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5. Product Activation Requirements

Q: Which TIBCO products require activation?

A:  As of the publication date of this FAQ, the following TIBCO products (as well as future versions) require activation:

    • TIBCO ActiveMatrix BusinessWorks 5.16.1 - LTS
    • TIBCO ActiveMatrix BusinessWorks 6.12.0 - LTS
    • TIBCO ActiveMatrix BPM 4.3.5 -LTS
      TIBCO BusinessConnect 7.5.0 - LTS
    • TIBCO BPM Enterprise 5.6.1 (*) 
    • TIBCO BusinessEvents 6.3.2 (*)
    • TIBCO Enterprise Message Service 10.4.0 - LTS
    • TIBCO FTL 7.1.0 - LTS
    • TIBCO Fulfilment Orchestration Suite - Order Management 6.0.1(*)
    • TIBCO iProcess Engine 11.10.0
    • TIBCO MDM 9.3.2 (*)
    • TIBCO Rendezvous 8.8.0 LTS
    • TIBCO Streaming 11.2.0 (*) 

 

These products embed FTL 7.1.0, and so indirectly, they require activation:

    • TIBCO ActiveSpaces 5.1
    • TIBCO eFTL 7.1.0
    • TIBCO Operational Intelligence Hawk RedTail 7.4

Some of the above releases have also been designated as LTS releases.  For more information on the long term support policy and latest product list , please review 

NOTE: We will update this list when other TIBCO products require and support TIBCO Activation Service.

Q: Which TIBCO products support In Product Activation License (unbounded) ?

A: You must upgrade to specific releases to use In-Product Activation License File option. As of September 17th, 2025, supported versions include:

Products Already GA

Product Version LTS
TIBCO ActiveMatrix BusinessWorks™ 5.16.1 Hotfix 2 and above YES
TIBCO ActiveMatrix BusinessWorks™ 6.11.0 Hotfix 4 and above  NO
TIBCO ActiveMatrix BusinessWorks™ 6.12.0 and above YES
TIBCO BWCE 2.10.0 HF-04 and above NO
TIBCO Enterprise Message Service™ 10.4.0 Hotfix 3 and above YES
TIBCO Rendezvous® 8.8.1 and above YES
TIBCO BusinessEvents® 6.3.2 Hotfix 1 and above NO
TIBCO FTL® 7.1.1 and above YES
TIBCO BusinessConnect™ 7.5.0 and above YES
TIBCO Foresight® Instream® 9.4 and above YES
TIBCO Foresight® Instream® Healthcare Edition 9.4 and above YES
TIBCO® MDM 9.3.2 Hotfix 1 and above NO

 

Q: I'm running an older version of a TIBCO product. Do I need to activate it?

A: No, activation is not currently required for older versions of products that now require activation. However, TIBCO may change this policy in the future.

 

Q: What is license binding and why is it necessary?

A: License binding attaches license information to a specific Linux host where TIBCO products will be activated. This prevents unauthorized use of the license.

 

Q: Can a product be activated in one environment and run in another?

A: Yes, in the case of remote activation, the license is bound to the environment where activation is performed, not where the product will run.

 

Q: Can I generate multiple licenses bound to different environments?

A: Yes, you can generate as many licenses as you need, each bound to a different environment. Each license can contain all or a subset of your entitled TIBCO products.


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6. Preparation and Obtaining Software

 

Q: How do I prepare for activation?

A: You'll need to:

    1. Plan for activation: Define your architecture and install activation components.
    2. Generate licenses: Generate the licenses needed to activate your products.
    3. Activate TIBCO products: Deploy and configure your TIBCO products for activation.
    4. Maintain activation: Monitor and update licenses as needed.

For more information please refer to TIBCO Activation Service User Guide Doc

 

Q: How do I obtain TIBCO Activation Service software?

A: You can download it from the TIBCO Software Downloads site https://www.tibco.com/downloads.

 

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7. Installation and Infrastructure 

[ NOTE: This section only applies to TIBCO Activation Service and is not applicable to In-Product Activation (unbound ) Local License File.]

Q: How is TIBCO Activation Service installed?

A: Installation instructions are available in the TIBCO Activation Service product documentation.

 

Q: Are there any prerequisites for installing TIBCO Activation Service?

 A: Yes, you'll need:

    • A supported Linux distribution (RHEL or Ubuntu) and Windows OS  - refer TAS 1.1.0 Readme
    • OpenJDK 17 , it's bundled with the TIBCO Activation Service installer.
    • Root or sudo access

 

Q: Which operating systems are supported?

A: Currently, Red Hat, Ubuntu Linux , and Windows OS are supported. You can refer to the Activation Service readme for supported platforms.Readme.txt

 

Q: Can I run TIBCO Activation Service on a virtual server from On-Premise or  a Hyperscaler (e.g., AWS EC2)?

A: Yes, Inline with our our Support Policy for Virtualized environments KB0070515

 

Q: Can I install TIBCO Activation Service in a Kubernetes cluster?

A:   In-Product Activation can be used in Kubernetes cluster where as currently, TIBCO Activation Service is only supported on on-premises or virtualized Linux environments. Kubernetes deployment is not yet supported. We have an enhancement request to add containerized Linux support in future releases. For updates, please contact TIBCO Support.

 

Q: How many instances of TIBCO Activation Service can I run?

A: You can run as many instances as you need, but each must be on a separate Linux system or virtual machine. Each instance requires licenses to be bound to that specific system or virtual machine.

 

Q: Does TIBCO Activation Service support High Availability (HA) mode?

A: No, currently HA is not available for TIBCO Activation Service. However, with In-Product Local License (unbounded ) Activation customer will not need HA , please open a support case for more details.

 

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8. Activation and License Maintenance

 

Q. What happens if our license expires ?

A. If your license expires and your contract is not renewed, you will lose access to our services and the ability to generate new licenses. To restore these functionalities, you must renew your contract with TIBCO. Please contact your Account Management, Sales, or Renewal teams immediately. We strongly advise proactively tracking expiration dates and initiating the renewal process early to prevent service interruption. Consistent communication with your TIBCO account representative is crucial.

Q. How do I get notified before license expiry ?

    • Product-Level Notifications
      • Alerts are added to product logs
    • Proactive Account Management
      • TIBCO Sales representative team initiates contact before a few months of contract expiry.
    • Customers should take the initiative to review their TIBCO subscription contract and notify their organization's procurement teams to collaborate with TIBCO's renewal team six months before the contract expiration date.

Q. What if my TIBCO Activation Service is down, will it stop my products ?

A: No, there will be no disruption. But you will have Maximum Activation Outage period (internally the “grace period”) 30 days to re-establish connectivity with TIBCO Activation Service, after which your TIBCO products activated by that instance will shut down.

NOTE: This FAQ covers many of the common questions about  In-Product Activation and TIBCO Activation Service. If you have further questions, please refer to the resources mentioned above or contact TIBCO Support.

 

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Issue/Introduction

This FAQ provides key details about TIBCO Activation Service, including its purpose, required products, preparation, installation, supported operating systems, license binding, and where to find more information.

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