A SOLIDWORKS serial number is important because it determines the exact set of products a user is entitled to install and use. It only requires a serial number and installation media to have everything you would require to install a functioning copy of SOLIDWORKS. It is important to keep track of where it is and who is using it as machines may malfunction and the serial number can not be retrieved from the machine itself.
Temporary files can be obtained to run the server-side SOLIDWORKS SolidNetWork License Administrator for the purposes of testing new server hardware while not interrupting a running production server.