Troubleshoot Catalyst Center Licensing Use Cases and Workflows

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Updated:June 3, 2026
Document ID:221995

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Introduction

This document describes different Cisco DNA licensing scenarios that are frequently encountered.

Prerequisites

Requirements

There are no specific requirements for this document.

Components Used

This document is not restricted to specific software and hardware versions.

The information in this document was created from the devices in a specific lab environment. All of the devices used in this document started with a cleared (default) configuration. If your network is live, ensure that you understand the potential impact of any command.

Background Information

This document provides the step-by-step details of how to use the License Manager workflow of Cisco DNA for device license registration, license migration between Virtual Accounts via CSSM, and so on.

Scenarios

Scenario 1: Device License Registration via Cisco DNA License Manager: Legacy Method

Step 1. Log into Cisco DNA via admin credentials or via a custom role with super-admin privileges.

Step 2. Navigate to Hamburger and select Tools > License Manager.

Select Tools and License Manager

Step 3. Select Devices tab and use the Filter option or scroll through the table to find the devices whose licenses you want to register.

Select Devices

Step 4. Select the check box next to each device whose license you want to register, then choose Actions > Manage Smart License > Register.

Select Check Box next to each License to Register

Step 5. Choose the Virtual Account where the respective license is deposited and click Continue.

Choose Virtual Account

 Step 6. Cisco DNA prompts whether the change is to be applied immediately or later. Choose the desired option and click Confirm.

Choose Apply Now or Later

Scenario 2: Device License Registration via Cisco DNA License Manager: CSLU Reporting Workflow

Starting from Cisco DNA release 2.2.1.x and Devices running 17.3.2 or higher, devices are no longer required to get registered with CSSM. Instead, a new workflow shall be used called Smart License Compliance Reporting. Please refer to the snippet listed for more details.

Device License Registration

Prerequisites

Cisco DNA

  • Cisco DNA must be running on release 2.2.1.0 and later.
  • Catalyst Center Appliance must be registered with Cisco Smart Software Manager (CSSM) via Settings > Smart Licensing.(Recommended)
  • Catalyst Center Appliance must be integrated with Cisco Smart Software Manager (CSSM) via Settings > Smart Account.
  • Cisco DNA must be able to communicate with CSSM portal and be able to reach tools.cisco.com.
  • Devices must be Reachable and Managed on Cisco DNA Inventory dashboard.
  • Appropriate SSM Connection mode must be chosen on Catalyst Center. CSLU workflow is not applicable for On-Prem CSSM (Satellite Server) as of Catalyst Center release 2.3.7.x
  • CSLU workflow is not applicable for AireOS Wireless Controllers (Models: 3504, 5520, 8540).

Network Device

  • Device must be running on Cisco IOS® XE 17.3.2 or later and must have enough space in flash for the RUM report.
  • For the release 2.3.7.x and later: NetConf configuration (netconf-yang) is no longer mandatory.
  • For the release 2.3.5.x and before: Device must have netconf-yang model configured and Cisco DNA must be able to communicate with the device over Netconf port 830.
  • To validate the NetConf configuration on device:

   show run | sec netconf-yang

  

   i. During Device discovery on Cisco DNA , the Netconf parameter under credentials section must be enabled.

Provide Credentials NETCONF

   ii. If the Netconf parameter was not enabled at the time of Device Discovery, use the Edit Device option on the Cisco DNA Inventory to enable it.

Edit Credentials

  • Device must have the sdn-network-infra-iwan trustpoint installed; this is done by the Cisco DNA .

To validate:

show crypto pki trustpoint sdn-network-infra-iwan (To check the trustpoint)

show crypto pki certificates verbose sdn-network-infra-iwan (To check the trustpoint in detail)

  • If the sdn-network-infra-iwan trustpoint is not installed, do these steps:

Step 1. Log into Cisco DNA via admin credentials or via a custom role with super-admin privileges.

Step 2. Navigate to Hamburger and select Provision > Inventory.

Step 3. Select the device you want to install the trustpoint on, click Actions > Telemetry > Update Telemetry Settings.

Select the Device to Install Trustpoint On

Step 4. Select Force Configuration Push and click Next

Select Force Configuration Push and Click Next

Step 5. Select Now and click Apply. This has no effect on production.

Select Now and click Apply

If all prerequisites are met, then refer to next steps mentioned to execute the Reporting Workflow:

Step 1. Log into Cisco DNA via admin credentials or via a custom role with super-admin privileges.

Log In to Cisco Catalyst Center

Step 2. Navigate to Hamburger and select Tools > License Manager.

Step 3. Select the Reporting tab and locate the Smart License Compliance dashlet; click the dashlet to launch the workflow.

Select Reporting Tab

Step 4. Select the Smart Account and Virtual Account where the device licenses are stored and click Next.

Select Smart Account and Virtual Account

Step 5. Choose the device whose license utilization you want to report.

Choose Device Whose License Utilization to Report

Step 6. Modify the Reporting interval, if required.

Modify Reporting Interval

Step 7. Review the summary of devices and click Next to trigger Reporting.

Sync Data with Cisco

Review Summary of Device and Click Next

Upload Usage Report

Overall Sync Process

  • If a device has not been onboarded on Catalyst Center but has already been registered with a Virtual Account, then Catalyst Center would run the SLUP reporting for that device automatically once it is onboarded on Catalyst Center without the need to explicitly execute the Smart License Compliance workflow.
  • If a device has not been linked or registered to a Virtual Account/Smart Account, then Smart License Compliance workflow is not executed automatically. Refer to this screenshot wherein Last Synced status is NA:

Choose Sites and Devices

  • To report the License utilization, customer needs to execute the Smart License Compliance workflow via Catalyst Center’s License Manager. From this point onwards Catalyst Center would execute the Smart License Compliance workflow automatically at interval scheduled by the customer during the first time execution of SLC workflow.

Refer to this screenshot wherein Last Synced status is shown:

List of Network Devices

Scenario 3: License Migration between Virtual Accounts

Step 1. Log into Cisco DNA via admin credentials or via a custom role with super-admin privileges.

Step 2. Log into software.cisco.com and select Manage Licenses.

Download and Manage

Step 3. Navigate to Inventory and select the source Virtual Account.

Navigate to Inventory and Select Virtual Account

Step 4. Select the License tab and choose the Target Virtual Account.

Select License Tab and choose Target Virtual Account

Step 5. Select the license you want to transfer and click Actions & Select Transfer.

Select License to Transfer

Step 6. Choose the quantity of licenses you want to transfer and click Transfer.

Choose Quantity of Licenses

Scenario 4: License Migration between Smart Accounts

Migration of Licenses between different Smart Accounts can be done by the Cisco Licensing team. Please refer to these next steps to raise the case with the respective team.

Step 1. Log into Support Case Manager with Cisco credentials.

Step 2. Click Open New Case and select Software Licensing > Expand License Management > Select Move Licenses. Then select Reassign licenses between SA and click Open Case.

Open New Case

Step 3. Select the relevant product (for example, wireless, switching, and so), fill in the form, and submit the request.

Select Relevant Product

Scenario 5: Change of SSM Connection Mode

Step 1. Log into Cisco DNA via admin credentials or custom role with super-admin privileges.

Step 2. Navigate to Hamburger and select System > Settings.

Select System and Settings

Step 3. Select SSM Connection Mode and choose the desired option (Direct/Smart Proxy/On-Prem). Click Save.

Select SSM Connection Mode

  • Direct SSM Mode: In Direct Mode, Catalyst Center still acts as the proxy for the SLUP workflow wherein Catalyst Center collects the RUM report from the network devices and uploads it to the Cisco Smart Software Manager (CSSM) cloud.
  • On-Prem CSSM SSM Mode: Run Reports are sent to the On-Prem CSSM and then it is sent to the Cisco Smart Software Manager (CSSM) cloud.

Scenario 6: Integration of Smart Account with Cisco DNA

Step 1. Log into Cisco DNA via admin credentials or via a custom role with super-admin privileges.

Step 2. Navigate to Hamburger and select System > Settings.

Integration of Smart Account with Cisco Catalyst Center

Step 3. Under Smart Account, click Add.

Under Smart Account Select Add

Step 4. Enter the Smart Account username and password, and click Save.

Enter Smart Account Username and Password

Step 5. If you have multiple Smart Accounts, repeat steps 3 and 4.

note-icon

Note: If you have multiple Smart Accounts, choose one account to be the default. The License Manager uses the default account for visualization and licensing operations.

Scenario 7: Change of License Level

Step 1. Log into Cisco DNA via admin credentials or via a custom role with super-admin privileges.

Step 2. Navigate to Hamburger and select Tools > License Manager.

Change of License Level

Step 3. Select Devices tab and use Find or scroll through the table to find the devices whose license level you want to change.

Select Devices Tab and Use Find

Step 4. Check the check box next to each device whose license level you want to change, then choose Actions > Change Cisco DNA License.

Check Box for Each License to Change

Step 5. Click the license level for either the Essentials or Advantage devices. Then click Continue.

Click License Level For Essentials or Advantage

 Step 6. Cisco DNA prompts whether the change is to be applied immediately or later. Choose the desired option and click Confirm.

Confirm for Now or Later

note-icon

Note: You must also choose the option Reboot device on update for changes to take effect. Also, this activity needs to be performed in downtime.

Related Information

Revision History

Revision Publish Date Comments
3.0
03-Jun-2026
Updated Introduction, Style Requirements, and Formatting.
2.0
15-Apr-2025
Added Alt Text. Updated Style Requirements, Machine Translation, and Formatting.
1.0
17-May-2024
Initial Release
TAC Authored

Contributed by Cisco Engineers

  • Akinchan Mishra
    Cisco Customer Delivery Engineering Technical Leader

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