Managing Instances

The ThingsBoard License Server tracks every ThingsBoard instance (server process) that runs with your license.

On startup, an instance registers with the License Server using your license secret and receives an instance ID. It then sends periodic license check requests to confirm the license is valid. See Architecture.

The Subscriptions and Perpetual licenses pages of the License Portal show how many production and development instances each license uses.

All nodes of a ThingsBoard cluster share one license secret, so adding or removing nodes requires no license changes.

Each node counts as one production instance. For a cluster or high availability (HA) setup, buy enough production instances when you create a subscription or a perpetual license.

In floating mode, instances aren’t tied to specific hardware. You can deactivate Node 1 and reuse its license secret on Node 2.