How to Convert an Unfulfilled PAK to a Smart License

Introduction

The article describes a process of converting an unfulfilled product activation key (PAK) to a Smart license.

Prerequisites

Before you start, ensure that:

• You have the following data at your disposal:
  • Active Cisco.com account
  • PAK and PIN
  • Administrator or User access to a Smart Account (To request access to a Smart account or Virtual account, refer to How to Request Access to an Existing Smart Account.)
• Your product activation key (PAK) is assigned to your Smart Account.
• Your product is covered by the Software Support Service (SWSS)/ECMU/PSBU contract that is associated with your Cisco.com account.

  Note: If you have a contract with Cisco but do not know your company's service contract number or Partner contract agreement number, please contact your Service Contract Sales representative, Point of Sale (Partner), or email web-help@cisco.com.

Converting an Unfulfilled PAK to a Smart License

Step 1: 

Go to Cisco Software Central and log in with your Cisco.com account.

Step 2:

In the Traditional Licenses section, click Access LRP.

Step 3: 

In the Show Smart Account and Virtual Account drop-down lists, confirm that the correct respective accounts are selected.

Note: If the system displays the Welcome To The License Registration Portal alert dialog box, you can select Do not show this message again to prevent it from being displayed again.

Step 4:

On the PAKs or Tokens tab, identify an unfulfilled product activation key (PAK) that you need to convert to a Smart license. Verify that the product activation key (PAK) is eligible for Smart conversion by scrolling down to the bottom of the page, and then clicking the hyperlink in the Some licenses are eligible to convert to Smart Licensing message.

Tip: If you have multiple PAKs on the list, you can search for a specific one by clicking Show Filter, entering your PAK in the PAK/Token field, and then pressing Enter.

Caution: You can only convert a product activation key (PAK) to a Smart license for the product families that are Smart-enabled. To identify if your product family is Smart-enabled, refer to the Cisco Licensing Enabled Product Families spreadsheet on the Cisco Smart Licensing page.

Step result: The system displays the Licenses Available for Smart Conversion dialog box.

Step 5:

In the Licenses Available for Smart Conversion dialog box, select the unfulfilled product activation key (PAK) that you want to convert, and then click Next.

Step result: The system displays the Convert to Smart Entitlements dialog box.

Step 6:

In the Convert to Smart Entitlements dialog box, confirm your Smart and Virtual accountfrom the respective drop-down lists. Click Submit.

Note: The information requested in the Convert to Smart Entitlements dialog box may vary depending on a product family for which you are converting the license.

Caution: Some license types can only be converted to a Smart License if a contract authorizes this capability. If your contract does not authorize this capability, the system displays an error message. To resolve the error message, refer to the Troubleshooting section.

Step result: The system displays the Convert to Smart Entitlements alert dialog box with the notification message about successful conversion.

Step 7:

In the Convert to Smart Entitlements alert dialog box, note down the Transaction ID, and then click Close.

Note: If you experience an issue while converting to Smart License, refer to the Troubleshooting section of this article.

Verify

You can confirm that you successfully converted your unfulfilled PAK in the following way:

Verification Step 1: On theTransactions Historytab, identify your transaction ID and confirm that the status of your transaction is Processed. Click the blue circled chevron icon next to your transaction, and then select Get transaction information.

Tip: If you have multiple transactions on the Transaction History list, you can search for a specific one by clicking Show Filter, entering your transaction ID in the Transaction field, and then pressing Enter.

Step result: The system displays the Transaction Info dialog box.

Verification Step 2: In the Transaction Info dialog box, on the Transaction History tab, in the SKU column, copy the stock keeping unit (SKU) number.

Verification Step 3: Go to Cisco Software Central, and in theSmart Software Managersection, clickManage licenses.

Verification Step 4: On the Activity tab, click License Transactions, and then paste the SKU number (from Verification Step 3) in the search bar. Press Enter.

Note: If you own multiple Smart Accounts, ensure that you select the one for which you converted the product activation key (PAK) to a Smart License from the Smart Account drop-down list.

Tip: To view transaction details, click the hyperlink in the Transaction Date column. See Figure 1.

Step result: The system returns the results relevant to your search. In the Source column, you can see Conversion (PAK: [your converted PAK] which is a verification that your conversion was successful.

Figure 1 - The Transaction dialog box displays transaction details.

Troubleshooting

To manage the contracts associated with your account, visit https://rpfa.cloudapps.cisco.com/rpfa/profile/edit_entitlement.do. If you need further assistance with your contracts, send an email to web-help-sr@cisco.com or open a case in Support Case Manager (SCM).

Related Information

How to Validate License Ownership by PAK Enhanced Authentication

How to Request Access to an Existing Smart Account

How to Verify That a PAK Is Assigned to a Smart Account

How to Add a Cisco Service Contract Access to a Cisco.com Account