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ISV keys, licenses and certificates

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Posted on by 786

Hello, I'm having a hard time understanding the concept of configuration keys and certificates.

So lets say I'm working developing a generic solution that may be sold to different clients. Some of them may buy the solution per life, others on a monthly basis and some others on a yearly basis. 

If in my solution I have a configuration Key, a license code and a certificate (signed by a third party...) should I have this certificate to expire in one month, and then constantly ship new solutions to those clients who renew their license? Or should I branch the solution just to have multiple certificates? 

Maybe I'm missing something, any help will be appreciated. 

  • Arcadi  Profile Picture
    Arcadi 786 on at
    RE: ISV keys, licenses and certificates

    Thanks André,

    That's the guide I followed to generate a test certificate but I wasn't sure how the process worker in the real world aka production. I see now I shouldn't worry too much about monthly licenses and maintaining them for different periods.

  • Verified answer
    André Arnaud de Calavon Profile Picture
    André Arnaud de Cal... 291,965 Super User 2025 Season 1 on at
    RE: ISV keys, licenses and certificates

    Hi Arcadi,

    The code signing certificate is used to generate a license key which can be validated when a customer imports the license. Preferably, the code signing certificate will be generated e.g. once per 3 years and will be shipped within the solution, linked to the license code.

    While generating the license, you can specify an expiry date for the license key. In that way, you can manage the validity period. Note that a monthly renewal of the license is a cumbersome process for customers as it would require a deployment on a production environment using an all-in-one deployable package including all ISV solutions, customizations and the new license. That would require preparation of a new package using a build pipeline at the customers' DevOps and have a validation on UAT and downtime on production.

    You can read more about the license generation and expiry date on the next page: Independent software vendor (ISV) licensing - Finance & Operations | Dynamics 365 | Microsoft Learn

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