Long answer: An MSF is necessary to generate your PI Server license activation file. The MSF contains information specific to the licensed machine including hardware, network and operating system information. When you generate your pilicense.dat, it will store the MSF details, and the PI Server will start successfully only if run on the licensed machine. (Source: How to generate a Machine Signature File (MSF))
Long answer: An MSF is necessary to generate your PI Server license activation file. The MSF contains information specific to the licensed machine including hardware, network and operating system information. When you generate your pilicense.dat, it will store the MSF details, and the PI Server will start successfully only if run on the licensed machine. (Source: How to generate a Machine Signature File (MSF))
