SAP Basis Tech Supports

Symptom
We are frequently asked how often the hardware key, that is, the hardware-dependent part of the R/3 license, changes. The hardware key is identified by the “saplicense -get” program or using transaction SLICENSE. This note explains how the hardware key is determined on different platforms (the procedure depends on the platform in question).
The SAP software (at least the central instance) must be installed to determine the hardware key. The saplicense program is installed with the SAP software executable programs. You can display the hardware key of a computer you currently are logged on to by calling the “saplicense -get” program.
When the SAP system is fully installed, you can log on and execute transaction SLICENSE. This displays the hardware key for the active system. To avoid typing mistakes, copy and paste the hardware key into the permanent license request.
Other terms
Hardware, customer key, cust. key, key, hardware key
Reason and Prerequisites
For every platform, a string is determined that uniquely identifies the hardware. This string is encrypted with an internal algorithm and is converted to the known hardware key. The string is always 11 characters in length, and the first character is always a letter, while the remaining 10 characters are digits. The letter functions as a CRC-type checksum for the number that is used to check whether or not the hardware key is valid.
Platform | Procedure
———————————————————————–
HP UX | Output of “uname -i” is interpreted as a string
AIX | Output of “uname -m” is interpreted as a string
Solaris | The “sysinfo” system call, parameter command=SI_HW_SERIAL
| (see “man sysinfo”)
Reliant | Like Solaris
True64 | The MAC address of the first valid network card is
(True64) | determined directly in the kernel memory. Therefore,
| user “<sid>adm” must belong to group “kmem”.
Linux | The MAC address of the first valid network card is
| determined using IOCTLs.
WinNT | A string that depends on the NT installation is
| determined.
OS/400 | The hardware key depends on the serial number
| of the AS/400 only. (System value QSRLNBR)
OS/390 or | The hardware key depends on the Central Processing
z/OS | Complex Node Descriptor, which is issued by the MVS system
| command “DISPLAY M=CPU”, as well as other information.
On HP UX, AIX, Solaris, and Reliant systems, system calls of the operating system are used to determine the hardware key. The suppliers of the respective operating systems decide how this hardware key is determined.
On True64 (formerly DEC UNIX, previously OSF/1) and Linux, if the computer’s network card is changed, the hardware key changes. If the computer has several network cards, changing the sequence of the cards can create a new hardware key. The operating system may randomly switch the internal sequence of the network cards (this has, however, not yet been observed).
Only Windows determines a hardware key that does NOT depend on the hardware. A new installation or reinstallation of Windows definitely causes the hardware key to become invalid.
On OS/390 or z/OS, the key changes when a hardware upgrade is carried out, but Micro Code Upgrades can also lead to a new hardware key.
Solution
If the hardware key is changed once, the license becomes invalid. You can install a temporary license, valid for four weeks, using the command “saplicense -temp”.
However, to use this procedure, a valid license must have existed in the system previously, and this license must have been used already (in a user logon). This information is stored in the license itself. Therefore, NO changes should ever be made to a license table if a license has become invalid. If you do make changes, the license becomes unavailable to “saplicense”, and no temporary license can be installed.