About Smart Licensing
Starting with Cisco Application Programming Infrastructure Controller (APIC) release 3.2(1), Smart Licensing is enabled in the Cisco ACI fabric and by extension in the Cisco APIC as a Cisco Smart Licensing-enabled product. Cisco Smart Licensing is a unified license management system that manages all the software licenses across Cisco products.
Smart Licensing has the following advantages over a traditional license:
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For the purposes of Smart Licensing, APIC is occasionally referred to as the ACI controller product.
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CSSM (Cisco Smart Software Manager) provides a central portal view to customers. Customers can view all the licenses they purchased and license usage and status. It helps prevent occurrences of license violations, expiry of subscription-based licenses, and out-of-compliance licenses.
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To support Smart Licensing, the standard CLI commands and GUI view is implemented across different Cisco products. This provides customers with a consistent user experience.
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Smart Licensing reduces the complexity of license management and makes it easier for customers to troubleshoot license-related issues.
The following URLs provide you with additional information about Smart Licensing:
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The customer log in URL to access your CSSM account: https://software.cisco.com/
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Cisco Smart Accounts URL: https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/software/smart-accounts.html
The following URLs are additional resources that you can refer:
Smart Licensing Usage Guidelines and Limitations
Follow these Smart Licensing guidelines and limitations:
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The Evaluation Period countdown time is stored in the APIC. The countdown time remains intact during a software downgrade. Therefore, if the customer upgrades their APIC software version 3.2 or later once again after a downgrade, the countdown time will continue from the previous value before the downgrade. The countdown time cannot be reset. After 90 days, if no action is taken to register, the license status will display Evaluation Expired.
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If there is a license violation for a feature that is enabled on APIC, the feature functionality will not be disabled, and there will be no impact on system functionality. The system will continue to operate, but relevant faults will be raised to warn the user. The most severe fault that will be raised is major.
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If the registration fails, click the Faults tab in the APIC GUI area. To see details about a specific failure, double click the listed fault.
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The DLC tool is not supported when you use the Smart Software Manager Satellite transport setting.
Pre-Registration Verifications
Verification Checklist for CSSM Configurations
The following is a user checklist for readiness and configurations required with CSSM.
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Verify that you have the appropriate Smart Account and Virtual Accounts created.
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If you have purchased smart-enabled licenses from Cisco Commerce, then verify that your user-purchased licenses are populated.
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As you begin the APIC Smart Licensing registration, work with your Cisco TAC engineer to ensure that you are ready with the appropriate CSSM items.
Verification Checklist for Smart Licensing and APIC Configurations
The following is a user checklist for readiness and configurations required with the APIC.
- Your DNS settings must be configured in APIC to resolve to https://software.cisco.com/.
Registering for Smart Licensing Using the CLI
Registering for Smart Licensing with Direct Connect to CSSM Using the CLI
Procedure
Command or Action | Purpose | |
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Step 1 |
configure Example:
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Enters configuration mode. |
Step 2 |
license smart transport-mode smart-licensing Example:
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Configures the Smart Licensing mode. |
Step 3 |
license smart register idtoken id token from cssm account Example:
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Registers with the CSSM account using the token from the account. |
Registering for Smart Licensing with Transport Gateway Using the CLI
Procedure
Command or Action | Purpose | |
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Step 1 |
configure Example:
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Enters configuration mode. |
Step 2 |
license smart transport-mode satellite url http(s)://10.0.0.0:8080/Transportgateway/services/DeviceRequestHandler Example:
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Configures the Transport Gateway mode and URL. |
Step 3 |
license smart register idtoken id token from cssm account Example:
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Registers with the CSSM using the token from the CSSM Smart account or the CSSM Virtual account. |
Registering for Smart Licensing with Smart Software Manager Satellite Using the CLI
Procedure
Command or Action | Purpose | |||
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Step 1 |
configure Example:
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Enters configuration mode. |
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Step 2 |
license smart transport-mode satellite url http(s)://10.0.10.1:8080/Transportgateway/services/DeviceRequestHandler Example:
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Configures the Smart Software Manager Satellite mode and URL. |
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Step 3 |
license smart register idtoken id token from smart software manager satellite Example:
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Registers with the Satellite using the token from the Smart Software Manager Satellite account.
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Registering for Smart Licensing with HTTP or HTTPS Proxy Using the CLI
Procedure
Command or Action | Purpose | |
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Step 1 |
configure Example:
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Enters configuration mode. |
Step 2 |
license smart transport-mode proxy ip-address ip address port port number Example:
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Configures the proxy mode, the IP address or hostname and the http(s) port. |
Step 3 |
license smart register idtoken id token from cssm account Example:
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Registers with the CSSM account using the token from the CSSM smart account or the CSSM virtual account. |