Cisco UCS Manager CLI Configuration Guide, Release 2.0
Managing Licenses
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Managing Licenses

This chapter includes the following sections:

Licenses

Each Cisco UCS fabric interconnect comes with several port licenses that are factory installed and shipped with the hardware. Fabric interconnects can be purchased fully licensed or partially licensed. Additional licenses can also be purchased after delivery.

At a minimum, each fabric interconnect ships with the following counted licenses pre-installed:

  • Cisco UCS 6120XP fabric interconnect—pre-installed licenses for the first eight Ethernet ports enabled in Cisco UCS Manager and any Fibre Channel ports on expansion modules
  • Cisco UCS 6140XP fabric interconnect—pre-installed licenses for the first sixteen Ethernet ports enabled in Cisco UCS Manager and any Fibre Channel ports on expansion modules
  • Cisco UCS 6248 fabric interconnect—pre-installed licenses for the first twelve unified ports enabled in Cisco UCS Manager. Expansion modules come with eight licenses that can be used on the expansion module or the base module.
  • Cisco UCS 6296 fabric interconnect—pre-installed licenses for the first eighteen unified ports enabled in Cisco UCS Manager. Expansion modules come with eight licenses that can be used on the expansion module or the base module.

Note

The eight default licenses that come with a 6200 series fabric interconnect expansion module can be used to enable ports on the base module, but will travel with the expansion module if it is removed. Upon removal of an expansion module, any default expansion module licenses being used by the base module are removed from the ports on the base module, resulting in unlicensed ports.

Port licenses are not bound to physical ports. When you disable a licensed port, that license is then retained for use with the next enabled port. If you want to use additional fixed ports, you must purchase and install licenses for those ports.

Important:

Licenses are not portable across product generations. Licenses purchased for 6100 series fabric interconnects cannot be used to enable ports on 6200 series fabric interconnects or vice-versa.

Grace Period

If you attempt to use a port that does not have an installed license, Cisco UCS initiates a 120 day grace period. The grace period is measured from the first use of the port without a license and is paused when a valid license file is installed. The amount of time used in the grace period is retained by the system.

Note

Each physical port has its own grace period. Initiating the grace period on a single port does not initiate the grace period for all ports.

If a licensed port is unconfigured, that license is transferred to a port functioning within a grace period. If multiple ports are acting within grace periods, the license is moved to the port whose grace period is closest to expiring.

High Availability Configurations

To avoid inconsistencies during failover, we recommend that both fabric interconnects in the cluster have the same number of ports licensed. If symmetry is not maintained and failover occurs, Cisco UCS enables the missing licenses and initiates the grace period for each port being used on the failover node.

Obtaining the Host ID for a Fabric Interconnect

The host ID is also known as the serial number.

Procedure
     Command or ActionPurpose
    Step 1UCS-A# scope license  

    Enters license mode.

     
    Step 2UCS-A /license # show server-host-id  

    Obtains the host ID or serial number for the fabric interconnect.

    Tip   

    Use the entire host ID that displays after the equal (=) sign.

     

    The following example obtains the host ID for a fabric interconnect:

    UCS-A# scope license
UCS-A /license # show server-host-id
Server host id:
    Scope Host Id
    ----- -------
    A     VDH=SSI12121212
    B     VDH=SSI13131313
UCS-A /license #
    What to Do Next

    Obtain the required licenses from Cisco.

    Obtaining a License


    Note

    This process may change after the release of this document. If one or more of these steps no longer applies, contact your Cisco representative for information on how to obtain a license file.

    Before You Begin

    Obtain the following:

    • Host ID or serial number for the fabric interconnect
    • Claim certificate or other proof of purchase document for the fabric interconnect or expansion module
    Procedure
      Step 1   Obtain the product authorization key (PAK) from the claim certificate or other proof of purchase document.
      Step 2   Locate the website URL in the claim certificate or proof of purchase document.
      Step 3   Access the website URL for the fabric interconnect and enter the serial number and the PAK.

      Cisco sends you the license file by email. The license file is digitally signed to authorize use on only the requested fabric interconnect. The requested features are also enabled once Cisco UCS Manager accesses the license file.

      What to Do Next

      Install the license on the fabric interconnect.

      Installing a License


      Note

      In a cluster setup, we recommend that you download and install licenses to both fabric interconnects in matching pairs. An individual license is only downloaded to the fabric interconnect that is used to initiate the download.

      Before You Begin

      Obtain the required licenses from Cisco.

      Procedure
         Command or ActionPurpose
        Step 1UCS-A# scope license  

        Enters license mode.

         
        Step 2UCS-A /license # download license from-filesystem  

        Downloads the license from its source location. For the from-filesystem: argument, use one of the following syntaxes:

        • ftp:// server-ip-addr
        • scp:// username@server-ip-addr
        • sftp:// username@server-ip-addr
        • tftp:// server-ip-addr : port-num
         
        Step 3UCS-A /license # install file license_filename  

        Installs the license.

         

        The following example uses FTP to download and install a license:

        UCS-A # scope license
UCS-A /license # download license ftp://192.168.10.10/license/port9.lic
UCS-A /license # install file port9.lic
UCS-A /license #

        Viewing the Licenses Installed on a Fabric Interconnect

        Procedure
           Command or ActionPurpose
          Step 1UCS-A# scope license  

          Enters license mode.

           
          Step 2UCS-A /license # show file [license_filename | detail]  

          Displays the licenses installed on the fabric interconnect with the level of detail specified in the command.

           

          The following example displays the full details for the licenses installed on a fabric interconnect:

          UCS-A# scope license
UCS-A /license # show file detail

License file: UCSFEAT20100928112305377.lic
    Id: 1212121212121212
    Version: 1.0
    Scope: A
    State: Installed
    Features
    Feature Name: ETH_PORT_ACTIVATION_PKG
    Vendor: cisco
    Version: 1.0
    Quantity: 24
    Lines
        Line Id: 1
        Type: Increment
        Expiry Date: Never
        Pak:
        Quantity: 24
        Signature: B10101010101

License file: UCSFEAT20100928112332175.lic
    Id: 1313131313131313
    Version: 1.0
    Scope: B
    State: Installed
    Features
    Feature Name: ETH_PORT_ACTIVATION_PKG
    Vendor: cisco
    Version: 1.0
    Quantity: 24
    Lines
        Line Id: 1
        Type: Increment
        Expiry Date: Never
        Pak:
        Quantity: 24
        Signature: F302020202020

UCS-A /license #

          Viewing License Usage for a Fabric Interconnect

          Procedure
             Command or ActionPurpose
            Step 1UCS-A# scope license  

            Enters license mode.

             
            Step 2UCS-A /license # show usage  

            Displays the license usage table for all license files installed on the fabric interconnect.

            This following are included:
            • Feat Name

              The name of the feature to which the license applies.

            • Scope

              The fabric associated with the license.

            • Default

              The default number of licenses provided for this Cisco UCS domain.

            • Total Quant

              The total number of licenses available. This value is the sum of the number of default licenses plus the number of purchased licenses.

            • Used Quant

              The number of licenses currently being used by the system. If this value exceeds the total number of licenses available, then some ports will stop functioning after their associated grace period expires.

            • State

              The operational state of the license.

            • Peer License Count Comparison

              The number of licenses on the peer fabric interconnect compared to this fabric interconnect. This can be one of the following:

              • exceeds—the peer fabric interconnect has more licenses installed than this fabric interconnect
              • lacks—the peer fabric interconnect has fewer licenses installed than this fabric interconnect
              • matching—the same number of licenses are installed on both fabric interconnects
            • Grace Used

              The number of grace period days that this license has used. After the grace period ends, Cisco UCS sends alert messages until a new license is purchased.

             

            The following example displays full details of the licenses installed on a fabric interconnect:

            UCS-A# scope license
UCS-A /license # show usage
Feat Name                      Scope Default Total Quant Used Quant State      Peer Count Comparison   Grace Used
------------------------------ ----- ------- ----------- ---------- ---------- ----------------------- ----------
ETH_PORT_ACTIVATION_PKG        A          16          40         11 License Ok Matching                0
ETH_PORT_ACTIVATION_PKG        B          16          40         11 License Ok Matching                0
UCS-A /license #

            Uninstalling a License


            Note

            Permanent licenses cannot be uninstalled if they are in use. You can only uninstall a permanent license that is not in use. If you try to delete a permanent license that is being used, Cisco UCS Manager rejects the request with an error message.

            Before You Begin
            • Back up the Cisco UCS Manager configuration.
            • Disable the feature or port associated with the license you want to uninstall.
            Procedure
               Command or ActionPurpose
              Step 1UCS-A# scope license  

              Enters license mode.

               
              Step 2UCS-A /license # clear file license-filename  

              Uninstalls the specified license.

               

              Cisco UCS Manager deactivates the license, removes the license from the list of licenses, and deletes the license from the fabric interconnect. In a cluster setup, you must uninstall the license from the other fabric interconnect.

              The following example shows the uninstallation of port9.lic:

              UCS-A # scope license
UCS-A /license # clear file port9.lic
Clearing license port9.lic:
SERVER this_host ANY
VENDOR cisco
INCREMENT ETH_PORT_ACTIVATION_PKG cisco 1.0 permanent 1 \
        VENDOR_STRING=<LIC_SOURCE>UCS_SWIFT</LIC_SOURCE><SKU>N10-L001=</SKU> \
        HOSTID=VDH=FLC12360025 \
        NOTICE="<LicFileID>20090519200954833</LicFileID><LicLineID>1</LicLineID> \
        <PAK></PAK>" SIGN=C01FAE4E87FA

Clearing license ........done
UCS-A /license #