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Licensing and activation

Every Clustron Zaris installation starts with an automatic 30-day trial — no key, no sign-up, no network access needed. When the trial runs out, the Web Console locks first and, after a further grace period, the data plane stops serving until a license is activated. Nothing is ever deleted, and activating a license brings the product back immediately. This page explains the lifecycle, how to activate a key, how to check where you stand, and what to do when something is locked.

Licensing is tracked per machine: one machine is one seat, and every node running on that machine shares it. In a multi-server cluster, each manager host has its own trial clock and consumes its own seat, so a license key must cover all of the managers in your workspace.

The lifecycle​

StageWhenWeb ConsoleProduct (data plane)
TrialingFrom install until the trial ends (30 days by default)WorksWorks
Trialing (extended)After activating a Trial-tier extension key, until that key's expiry (around 90 days in total)WorksWorks
Trial expiredFrom trial end for the length of the grace period (30 days by default)Locked to the license screenStill serving
Product stoppedAfter the grace period, until a license is activatedLockedRefuses to serve — data is preserved
LicensedWhile a valid Enterprise license is activeWorksWorks

A few points worth knowing:

  • The trial is automatic and offline. It starts the first time Zaris runs on a machine and is bound to that machine. Reinstalling does not reset it, and presenting another trial key does not restart it.
  • An extension lengthens the trial; it never restarts it. A Trial-tier extension key issued by Clustron extends the trial to the key's expiry — typically to about 90 days total from install. The extension is recorded locally, so it survives the key lapsing or the machine going offline.
  • The console locks before the product stops. During the grace period the cluster keeps serving reads, writes, and coordination exactly as before; only the Web Console is gated. This gives you time to license without an outage.
  • A stopped product is reversible. After the grace period, nodes stay up but answer data operations with an unavailable status. Nothing is deleted. Activating a license resumes serving immediately — no restart, no data loss.
  • Only an Enterprise license lifts the gate for good. Keys are node-locked: an Enterprise activation happens online and caches a signed lease on the machine, which is then trusted offline within its own grace window.

Get a key​

Keys are issued by Clustron and look like LIC-…. There are two kinds:

  • Enterprise license — unlocks the console and the product on each machine it is activated on. Production use of Zaris requires one; see Support plans or email sales@clustron.io.
  • Trial extension — a Trial-tier key that extends the automatic trial. Ask for one if you need more evaluation time.

Keys are cryptographically signed. Zaris ships only the public key, so a key can be verified but not minted or edited.

Activate a license​

All three methods bind the seat of the machine the key is applied to, take effect immediately, and work for both Enterprise and extension keys.

PowerShell​

From a session with an active workspace (New-ZrWorkspace … -Activate or Use-ZrWorkspace), run:

Set-ZrLicense -Key 'LIC-…'

Set-ZrLicense fans the key out to every manager in the workspace, so one command licenses the whole cluster. Each manager machine binds its own seat, which is why the key must cover all of them. The cmdlet prints one row per manager with its resulting stage and status.

To release a machine's seat — for example before decommissioning a server — pass -Deactivate:

Set-ZrLicense -Key 'LIC-…' -Deactivate

Web Console​

When the console is gated it shows a license screen with a key field. Paste the key and choose Activate. The console applies the key across the workspace in the same way as Set-ZrLicense, lists the result for each manager, and unlocks as soon as activation succeeds on all of them.

Environment variable​

To license a machine at startup — useful for scripted installs, containers, and air-gapped hosts — set ZARIS_SUPPORT_KEY on each manager host and restart the Management Service:

[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('ZARIS_SUPPORT_KEY', 'LIC-…', 'Machine')
Restart-Service Clustron.Zaris.ManagementService

The manager activates the key automatically at boot. Because the setting is per host, set it on every manager machine in the cluster.

Check status​

Get-ZrLicenseStatus reports one row per manager in the workspace — the machine, its lifecycle stage, and a status token:

Get-ZrLicenseStatus
ColumnMeaning
ManagerThe manager host and port — one row per machine, since each has its own seat.
StageTrialing, TrialExpired, Stopped, or Licensed.
StatusSUCCESS when both console and product are running, GATED when only the console is locked, STOPPED when the product has stopped serving, or ERROR if the manager could not be reached.

Because each machine has its own clock, it is normal for machines installed on different days to show different stages. Fix a mixed cluster by activating the key with Set-ZrLicense, which applies it everywhere at once.

The Web Console shows a days-remaining chip in its top bar while the trial is running, a Supported chip once licensed, and switches to the license screen once gated.

Configuration​

These settings are read from the environment on each manager host. Changing a value requires a restart of the Management Service.

VariableDefaultEffect
ZARIS_SUPPORT_KEY—A license or extension key to activate automatically at startup.
ZARIS_SUPPORT_WINDOW_DAYS30Length of the automatic trial, in days.
ZARIS_PRODUCT_GRACE_DAYS30Length of the grace period after the trial ends, before the product stops serving.

Troubleshooting​

The console is locked but the cluster is still running​

You are in the grace period: the trial has ended, the product keeps serving, and only the Web Console is gated. Activate a key by any of the methods above — paste it into the console's license screen, run Set-ZrLicense, or set ZARIS_SUPPORT_KEY and restart the manager. The console unlocks as soon as the machine is licensed. If you only need more evaluation time, a Trial-tier extension key reopens the console for the length of the extension.

The product has stopped serving — how do I resume?​

The grace period has ended and Get-ZrLicenseStatus shows Stopped. Your data is still in memory on the nodes; they have simply stopped answering data operations. Activate an Enterprise license — Set-ZrLicense -Key 'LIC-…' is the quickest — and serving resumes immediately on every licensed machine, with no restart and no data loss. Until you do, store creation and start on that manager are refused as well, while stop, delete, diagnostics, and health checks continue to work.

I reinstalled Zaris but the trial did not restart​

That is by design. The trial is bound to the machine and recorded outside the install directory, so reinstalling, or applying a second trial key, does not reset it. Request a Trial-tier extension key to lengthen the trial, or activate an Enterprise license.

One manager shows GATED or STOPPED while the others show SUCCESS​

Each manager machine has its own seat and its own trial clock, so a machine added later, or one that missed an activation, can lag the rest. Run Set-ZrLicense from a workspace that includes every manager; it applies the key to each one and reports a row per machine so you can confirm they all match.

Set-ZrLicense reports ERROR for a manager​

The cmdlet could not reach that manager. Confirm the Management Service is running and the management port (default 7801) is reachable, then re-run the command. See Troubleshooting for connectivity checks.

Activation fails on an air-gapped machine​

Enterprise activation needs to reach the licensing service once to obtain a lease; after that the cached lease is trusted offline. For a host with no outbound access, ask Clustron for an offline license file and supply it through ZARIS_SUPPORT_KEY. The trial itself never needs network access.

Next steps​