NCache License Management
NCache offers a flexible range of licensing models created to support enterprise high availability and distributed performance. Whether deploying on-premises or in the cloud, NCache provides Perpetual ownership, predictable Annual Subscriptions, and elastic consumption-based models (Hourly) to align with infrastructure scaling and financial requirements.
Important
For license information, please refer to the Alachisoft Pricing Page or contact Alachisoft Sales.
Licensing Overview
Perpetual Licenses
NCache offers a Perpetual License that allows you to own the purchased license indefinitely. The initial purchase includes maintenance and support for the applicable support period. After this period ends, you must renew your maintenance and support to remain eligible for newer NCache releases. This option is ideal for long-time customers who prefer to maintain perpetual ownership while utilizing NCache's 24-hour support.
Important
You will have to reactivate whenever you want to update your NCache version.
Warning
You can only continue using NCache versions that were released during a period in which your maintenance and support were active.
Annual Subscription
NCache offers an Annual Subscription for customers seeking a cost-effective, long-term solution for production workloads. The Annual Subscription is paid once per year and includes both maintenance and standard support. However, 24/7 support is provided separately and requires an active maintenance and support agreement. Licenses are allocated on a per-machine basis and remain valid for one year from the date of purchase. This license can be renewed annually to continue uninterrupted access and support. This model is ideal for stable, ongoing deployments where predictable performance and support are essential.
Important
Renew your subscription at the end of the subscription period. Otherwise, NCache will stop all running caches after a grace period (1 month) after it has expired. When this happens, you have to reactivate your NCache license through the Register-NCacheLicense command line tool.
Hourly Servers (NCache Cloud)
NCache offers an Hourly Subscription model for when you want a flexible, short-term option to quickly deploy and test NCache Cloud without a long-term commitment. This model is fully automated based on the NCache image available on the Azure and AWS marketplaces, and registers itself without requiring a key. This model provides a monthly subscription, where billing is calculated hourly while your machine remains active. This model is ideal for rapid scaling and testing while keeping costs aligned with usage.
Warning
You will not be able to use Hourly licenses outside of the image for which it was originally generated.
License Management
The following section explains how to activate or deactivate your NCache license based on the licensing model you are using.
Important
All NCache licenses are environment-specific. Environment in this context refers to the specific deployment or setting where NCache is being used. For example, "Production", "Testing", etc.
Warning
Before activating your NCache license, make sure all disconnected MAC addresses on your machine are disabled. If the machine has multiple MAC addresses (especially if four or more are disconnected), NCache may mistakenly detect and register only those disconnected addresses. This can cause the license to be marked as invalid. Disabling unused or disconnected MAC addresses helps ensure accurate license registration.
Perpetual License and Annual Subscription
If you have purchased a Perpetual NCache license or an Annual Subscription, you are provided with a license key. This key is used to activate and deactivate the license using the Register-NCacheLicense and Unregister-NCacheLicense cmdlets.
Warning
Please use PowerShell Core 7.6.6 when using any NCache PowerShell Cmdlets.
Activate License
There are two possible modes to activate your NCache license: online and offline.
Online Activation
NCache activation can be performed in online mode when an internet connection is available on the machine. Open PowerShell and execute the following command. The Key parameter is the license key you received when purchasing NCache from Alachisoft (make sure to replace xxxxxxxx-xxxxxx-xxxxxxxx with your actual key).
Note
For NCache Open Source, you can register using the Register-NCacheOpenSource PowerShell cmdlet. There is no expiry for its installation key as it is FREE of cost.
Register-NCacheLicense -Key xxxxxxxx-xxxxxx-xxxxxxxx -Environment Production
Offline Activation
NCache activation can also be performed in offline mode for machines without internet access. Just follow the steps below to activate your license in offline mode:
- In PowerShell, execute the following command to generate your Activation Request Code URL by providing the license key and specifying the
OfflineActivateparameter. Make sure to replace xxxxxxxx-xxxxxx-xxxxxxxx with your actual key.
Register-NCacheLicense -Key xxxxxxxx-xxxxxx-xxxxxxxx -Environment Production `
-Server 20.200.20.11 -OfflineActivate
You will be prompted with a long encrypted text on the screen. This is the Activation Request Code URL.
Copy this URL from the screen to another machine that has internet access. It will open the Activation Data Verification page.
After verifying the information, click on the Activate button at the bottom of the page.
This will redirect you to the Activation Result page showing the Activation Authorization Code.
Copy the Activation Authorization Code back to this machine and execute the Activation Authorization Code against the
AuthCodeparameter.
Register-NCacheLicense -AuthCode xxxxxxxxxxxxxx -OfflineActivate
- You are prompted with a success message upon successful activation.
Tip
You can reactivate NCache online/offline by specifying the Reactivate parameter in the Register-NCacheLicense command.
License Renewal
If you hold a Perpetual license, once the license is activated, it remains activated. This means that you never have to reactivate your license unless you are moving licenses to new machines or if you are updating your NCache version. Thus, you can maintain your license by renewing your annual maintenance and support, provided your license remains active and your maintenance agreement with Alachisoft is up to date. In contrast, if you hold an Annual Subscription, you must renew both your subscription and support agreement each year before the expiration date to ensure uninterrupted access and continued support.
Moreover, for an Annual Subscription, you are notified 30 days before the license period ends. NCache provides an auto-renewal feature for the license, which will check for any next subscription so that you get your license reactivated for the next period (i.e., the next year after license expiration) automatically.
Auto-renewal is ON by default and is tried by the NCache Service on all cache servers 30 days before the license expiration. However, if you no longer want to continue using the same machine in the next subscription period, you can manually turn off the auto-renewal in the service configuration file. To disable auto-renewal, set the auto-renewal flag to FALSE, as follows:
<add key="NCacheServer.AutoRenewal" value="False"/>
These service configuration files are at the following paths:
- Windows: Alachisoft.NCache.Service.dll.config located in
%NCHOME%binservice. - Linux: Alachisoft.NCache.Daemon.dll.config located in
/opt/ncache/bin/service.
After this, restart the NCache Service.
Note
- Auto-renewal warnings start 30 days before expiry.
- Manual renewal can be done at any time.
If the request for auto-renewal fails after the grace period ends, you need to manually activate NCache for the next period. To renew the license:
- Purchase a new license period against the same license key. Contact Alachisoft Sales for this.
- Once a new license period is purchased, activate your machines using the Register-NCacheLicense tool.
Deactivate License
Deactivation can be used to move your licenses from one machine to another. Please note that deactivation of licenses is not available by default. You’ll need to contact Alachisoft Sales to enable deactivation. Once it is enabled, you can use your license key to deactivate the activated machines. There are two possible methods to deactivate your NCache license: online and offline.
Note
To deactivate your NCache license, you need to have the license key from Alachisoft Sales.
Online Deactivation
You can deactivate the NCache license online when the internet is available on your NCache-installed server. Just follow the steps below to deactivate your license in online mode.
- Open PowerShell as an administrator, and execute the following command to deactivate NCache on a local server. To do so, use the license key you got from Alachisoft with the
Keyparameter. Make sure to replace xxxxxxxx-xxxxxx-xxxxxxxx with your actual key.
Unregister-NCacheLicense -Key xxxxxxxx-xxxxxx-xxxxxxxx
- You are prompted with a success message upon successful deactivation.
Offline Deactivation
You can deactivate NCache on a server for machines without internet access. Here is how you can deactivate the NCache license in offline mode.
- Execute the following command to generate the Deactivation Request Code URL by providing the license key against the
Keyparameter and specifying theOfflineDeactivateparameter. Make sure to replace xxxxxxxx-xxxxxx-xxxxxxxx with your actual key.
Unregister-NCacheLicense -Key xxxxxxxx-xxxxxx-xxxxxxxx -OfflineDeactivate
When you execute this command, a long encrypted text will appear on the screen. This is the Deactivation Request Code URL.
Copy this URL to a machine with internet access. It will open the Deactivation Data Verification page.
After verifying the information, click on the Deactivate button at the bottom of the page.
If the deactivation is successful, you will be redirected to the Deactivation Result page displaying a success message.
Hourly Servers (NCache Cloud)
If you are using NCache Cloud, you can use the commands provided below to activate or deactivate your license.
Activate License
The following command registers NCache with an Hourly server duration. Keep in mind that the Key parameter represents the NCache license key you purchased from Alachisoft. Make sure to replace xxxxxxxx-xxxxxx-xxxxxxxx with your actual key.
Register-NCacheLicense -Key xxxxxxxx-xxxxxx-xxxxxxxx -Environment Production `
-LicenseDuration Hourly
Deactivate License
You can deactivate an Hourly server as shown below.
Unregister-NCacheLicense -Key xxxxxxxx-xxxxxx-xxxxxxxx
Using NActivate Wizard
You can also use the NActivate wizard to activate your NCache license. You can do this by following the steps below:
Search for Activate Deactivate NCache in your Windows Search Bar and run the result as an Administrator.
Choose Activate with License Key in the activation wizard as shown below and click Next.
Review the System Information NCache detects and click Next to proceed.
On the next screen, enter your License Key (from NCache Sales), along with the Deployment Environment, Client Count, and License Duration. Click Next.
Note
For Annual Subscriptions, select Standard as your License Duration. For NCache Cloud, you can select Hourly Servers.
- Select an activation mode, either Online or Offline, and click Next.
Note
For Offline Activation, you will have to copy the generated Activation Request Code URL and enter it in the Activate NCache with Authorization Code screen before clicking on Activate License.
- For the recommended Online activation mode, click Activate License as shown below.
If your license is valid, you will get a success message.
Verify License Activation
You can verify your license activation by running the following command.
Get-NCacheVersion
This displays your environment and license details as shown below.
Now that your NCache license is active on your machine, you can start exploring its full capabilities. Refer to the NCache Developer's and Administrator’s guides to learn more about the features and configuration options available.
