Features of a node (800) is enabled/disabled under a license between a node vendor and a service provider. A license manager (810) enforces the license to appropriately enable and disable the node features. The license, which includes credentials for authorizing the features and a logical name of the node, is encrypted with an encryption CHWID upon node installation. The secret encryption CHWID is generated based on the components (820) that make up the node (800) at installation using an algorithm. To activate the features, an activation CHWID is generated using a same or similar algorithm and compared against the encryption CHWID. If they are equal, the credentials are decrypted and the features are activated. If they are not equal but the difference is small, the credentials are decrypted, and optionally, the encryption CHWID is reset based on the activation CHWID. If the difference is large, the entire node license is reinstalled.