Offline licensing FAQ - Review the FAQ to learn more about the Automation Anywhere Offline licensing model.

Automation 360

Review the FAQ to learn more about the Automation Anywhere Offline licensing model.

What is Offline licensing?
Offline licensing is a licensing model for Automation Anywhere On-Premises Control Rooms that operate in environments without internet connectivity in regulated environments. It enables license activation, management, and consumption through offline license files rather than requiring continuous communication with the Automation Anywhere Cloud License Server.
What are the benefits of Offline licensing?
Offline licensing provides:
  • Support for air-gapped, internet-restricted, and high-security environments.
  • No ongoing internet connectivity requirements.
  • Secure license entitlement management through digitally generated license files.
  • Ability to renew, modify, and reallocate licenses through a controlled offline process.
  • Local license enforcement and consumption tracking within the Control Room.
Is an Offline license available for all customers?
No. Offline licensing is strictly available only for Automation Anywhere On-Premises deployments for customers in regulated industries that have no internet connectivity. This requires approval through Automation Anywhere's exception process. Cloud-connected licensing remains the preferred licensing model.
Is the legacy file-based license retiring?
Yes, legacy file-based licensing is being retired. The goal is to move most customers to GUID-based Cloud licensing, which provides real-time license validation and management through the Automation Anywhere Cloud license server.

Only customers with a valid business justification who have been pre-approved through the exception-based process (such as those in air-gapped or regulated environments) will move to the Offline licensing model. All other customers should plan to migrate to Cloud licensing.

How does Offline licensing work without internet connectivity?
Offline licensing uses a file exchange process:
  1. Generate a License File Request (LFR) from the Control Room.
  2. Upload the LFR to the Customer Account and License Management (CALM) portal.
  3. Generate an Offline License File (OLF).
  4. Download and install the OLF into the Control Room.

After installation, the Control Room enforces licensing locally without requiring internet access. For more information, see Request and install an offline license.

What are the contents of the License File Request (LFR)?
The LFR contains information required to uniquely identify the target Control Room and its licensing context. It does not contain customer business data, automation assets, or bot content.

The LFR includes the following:

  • Control Room public key: Used for secure communication and validation between the Control Room and CALM.
  • Tenant ID: Identifies the specific tenant associated with the Control Room.
  • LFR UUID: A unique identifier for the current LFR, used to track and validate the request.
  • Previous LFR IDs: A list of previously generated LFR identifiers within the current licensing cycle. CALM uses this to ensure only the most recent LFR is accepted, and all prior LFRs are invalidated.
  • Installed GUID: The unique identifier of the Control Room instance where the license will be applied.
  • Metric consumption data: Captures the current consumption state for volume-based licenses (such as IQ Bot pages or IDP Standard pages), including the consumed count for each license type.
  • Account Salesforce ID: Links the LFR to the correct customer account in the Automation Anywhere licensing system.
  • Control Room URL: The URL of the Control Room instance which generates the request. Customers concerned about sending the Control Room URL with the license file request have an option to specify a user-defined alias name assigned to the Control Room instance instead.
  • Control Room build number: Identifies the version and build of the Control Room software.
  • Created timestamp: Records when the LFR was generated.
  • Content hash: A tamper-proof hash to ensure the integrity of the LFR content during transfer.
What are the contents of the Offline license Enablement Token file?
The Enablement Token file contains information required to authorize the Control Room for participation in the Offline licensing process. It is generated from CALM and imported into the Control Room before generating the License File Request.

The token is time-bound and typically valid for 24 hours.

What are the contents of the Offline License File?
The OLF contains:
  • Licensed entitlements
  • License quantities
  • Expiration and renewal information
  • Control Room GUID association
  • Security and validation information required for license enforcement
How is Offline licensing secure?
Offline licensing uses:
  • GUID-based Control Room identification
  • Secure file generation and validation
  • Cryptographically protected license files
  • Entitlement verification through CALM
  • License files that are tied to a specific Control Room identity

These controls help prevent unauthorized duplication or reuse.

What is the validity of the Offline License File?
The OLF is valid for the duration specified when it is generated. A new license file is required for renewals, entitlement changes, or other licensing updates.
How are Offline license entitlement eligibility and counts determined?
Entitlements and quantities are determined by the customer's purchased subscription and the allocations configured by the admin in CALM. The OLF reflects only the entitlements allocated to the specific Control Room GUID.
How do I revise or reconfigure the license allocation in the Offline license File?
Generate a new License File Request and use CALM to modify the entitlement allocation. A new OLF must then be generated and installed in the Control Room. For more information, see Reconfigure offline licenses.
How many days before the renewal event should I get a new license file?
Automation Anywhere can issue a new OLF up to 90 days before the subscription end date if the customer chooses to renew. However, customers can submit the license file request on the Control Room only up to 7 days before the new subscription's start date. Submitting the request within this window provides sufficient time to generate and install the new OLF, helping prevent interruptions to production operations due to exhausted license entitlements.
How is consumption tracked with Offline license Files?
License consumption is tracked locally by the Control Room. Since the environment is offline, consumption data is not continuously synchronized with Automation Anywhere Cloud services.

For user licenses (such as Bot Creator and Bot Runner), the Control Room tracks how many licenses are allocated and in use against the entitlements defined in the OLF. For volume licenses (such as API credits), consumption data including bot runs and credit usage is tracked locally using an encrypted, tamper-proof mechanism. Credit exchange rates are embedded directly in the OLF.

How do I release Offline license entitlement and delete the On-Premises Control Room?
The entitlement release process is performed through the Offline licensing workflow. Customers should follow the documented release procedure to remove allocated entitlements before decommissioning the Control Room. For more information, see Release an offline license.
How do I move from a legacy file license to Offline licensing?
Before starting the migration, ensure your On-Premises Control Room is updated to version v.40 or later.

The migration process generally involves:

  1. Enabling Offline licensing by requesting your sales contact.
  2. Generating the required enablement token and installing the token on the Control Room.
  3. Creating a License File Request.
  4. Generating and installing an Offline License File.
How do I move from an Offline license to a Cloud-Connected License?
Customers can transition by releasing Offline licensing allocations and reconfiguring the Control Room to use Cloud Licensing by entering the license GUID on the Control Room. The exact steps depend on the deployment architecture and licensing configuration. For more information, see Move from offline to Cloud licensing.
Can Cloud-Connected and Offline licenses coexist with different Control Rooms?
Yes. Separate Control Rooms can operate under different licensing models, provided licensing allocations are managed appropriately through CALM.
How can you identify which Control Room GUID was originally used to create the licenses associated with your current allocation?
The associated Control Room GUID can typically be identified through the following:
  • Licensing records
  • LFR generation page
  • Allocation information maintained in CALM

Validation with Licensing Operations might be required.

How do you ensure licenses are not mistakenly created under a net-new GUID instead of the existing one?
Administrators should verify the Control Room GUID before generating a License File Request and confirm that allocations are associated with the intended Control Room record in CALM.
What happens if licenses are created under a new GUID?
Offline licenses are tied to a specific Control Room GUID. Licenses generated for a different GUID will not be valid for the original Control Room. Remediation might require reallocation and regeneration of license files.
Are there any prerequisites before enabling Offline licensing?
Yes. Key prerequisites include:
  • Automation Anywhere On-Premises deployment
  • Control Room version v.40 or later
  • Approval for Offline licensing
  • Admin access to CALM for entitlement management
  • Ability to transfer licensing files between environments
What is the process if two accounts need to be merged or divided with respect to licenses and allocations?
This process is handled through Licensing Operations and entitlement management procedures. The specific approach depends on the subscription structure and ownership of the licenses.

If the account IDs change because of the merge or division, the entire offline licensing process must be restarted from the beginning. This includes downloading a new enablement token from CALM and installing it in the Control Room, followed by generating a new LFR and completing the full licensing cycle.

If a client is using both Automation 360 On-Premises and Automation 360 Cloud, will Offline licenses function independently or share a common license pool?
The license pool in CALM is common across both deployments. When generating an Offline License File, the entitlements are carved out from this shared pool based on the allocation configuration.

However, after the OLF is generated and installed on the On-Premises Control Room, it operates entirely independently. The Control Room enforces the entitlements defined in the OLF without any dependency on or communication with the Cloud deployment.