Overview

What is an Activator?

An Activator is a person authorized to activate a Byos Secure Edge device. This applies to anyone who will use Byos Endpoint Edges or deploy a Byos Secure Gateway Edge.

Important: Activators are not tied to device ownership. Once an Edge is activated, ongoing activation access is controlled by the Activation Group(s) assigned to that Edge, not by the individual who originally activated it. This means the same Activator email address can be used across multiple tenants without requiring special formatting or identifiers.

What is an Activation Group?

Activation Groups are collections of Activators that control Edge activation permissions. Each group is assigned an Activator Class, which determines licensing limits:

Single - Activators in this group can activate only one Edge

Multi - Activators in this group can activate multiple Edges

How Activation Groups Control Access

Activation Groups "own" the Edges activated by their members. An Edge's activation access is determined by its assigned Activation Group(s), not by the individual Activator who performed the initial setup.

Key capabilities:

Multiple Activation Groups can be assigned to a single Edge, allowing different sets of users to authenticate the same device

Activation Groups can be reassigned or removed from an Edge at any time, providing full flexibility over device access

Master Activation Groups can be created to enable universal activation access across all Edges in your environment

Managing Activation Groups

Add New Activation Group

Name the Activation Group - Choose a descriptive name (e.g., "IT Department" or "Sales Team")

Select the Activation Class - Choose Single or Multi based on your licensing needs

Select the Policy Group - Policy Groups define the security and configuration policies that will be applied to Edges activated by this group

Input the Activator Emails - Add emails by:

Copy and pasting a list into the input field, or

Uploading a CSV file

Edit an Existing Activation Group

To modify an Activation Group, click on it in the main view. You can change:

Group name

Activation Class

Policy Group assignment

Activator membership

Changes to an Activation Group's Policy Group will affect newly activated Edges, but won't automatically update the policies on already-activated devices.

Delete an Activation Group

When you delete an Activation Group:

All Activators in that group are moved to the Default Activation Group

Edges assigned to that group are NOT affected, as long as they have at least one other Activation Group assigned

If an Edge depends solely on the group being deleted, reassign it to another group first to maintain authentication access

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Warning: Always verify that Edges have alternative Activation Groups assigned before deleting a group to avoid access issues.

Managing Edge Access

You can control which Activators have access to specific Edges using two methods:

From the Activation Group sidebar - Assign Edges to an Activation Group, granting all Activators in that group access to those Edges

From the Edge sidebar - Assign Activation Groups to an Edge, allowing all Activators in those groups to authenticate that device

Both methods achieve the same result, so choose whichever workflow fits your task.

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Warning: If no Activation Groups are assigned to an Edge, a warning indicator will appear in the Edge table. Edges without assigned Activation Groups cannot be authenticated by any Activators.

Managing Activators

Add Activators

Activators can be added when creating a new Activation Group or added to existing groups.

To add Activators to an existing group:

Select the Activation Group from the main view

Input the Activator email addresses

Important notes:

The same email address can be reused across multiple tenants without special formatting (e.g., no need for "+customerA" suffixes)

Activators can belong to multiple Activation Groups, enabling layered or site-specific access control

When an Activator activates an Edge, that Edge is automatically enrolled in the Policy Group associated with their Activation Group

View and Edit Activator Details

Click on any Activator in the Activator table to open a side panel showing:

Email address

Activation Group membership

Edges activated by that Activator

From this view, you can modify the Activator's group assignments or remove them entirely.

Delete an Activator

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Important: Activators can be deleted even if they have previously activated Edges. This is because activation access is controlled by Activation Groups, not by individual Activators (This was changed in MC3.0.5 release).

What happens when you delete an Activator:

They lose the ability to activate new Edges

Previously activated Edges continue to function normally

Access to those Edges is maintained through the assigned Activation Group(s)

Activation Safeguards

The Byos Management Console includes several security measures to protect your environment:

Blocked Activations

Edge activation may be blocked in the following situations:

Unsupported Software Versions - Edges running outdated, unsupported software versions cannot be activated to ensure compatibility and security

Automatic Notifications

Rejected Activation Requests - When an activation token request is rejected, an email notification is sent to the device owner

Failed Activation Attempts - After three consecutive failed activation attempts, the device owner receives an alert

Automatic Updates

Unactivated Edges - Any unactivated Edge device is automatically updated upon its first connection to the network, ensuring it meets current security standards before activation

Best Practices

Use descriptive names for Activation Groups to make management easier (e.g., "Remote Workers - North America" instead of "Group 1")

Assign multiple Activation Groups to critical Edges to ensure continuous access if one group is modified

Regularly review Activator lists to remove former employees or contractors

Use Single class for standard users and Multi class for IT administrators or power users who manage multiple devices

Test activation with a new Activator before deploying to a large group to ensure proper Policy Group enrollment