How to Upgrade ISE

Introduction

This article describes the process of upgrading Identity Services Engine (ISE) from Legacy VM licenses to the VM Common license in part I. In part II., you can find a brief overview of upgrading ISE from Base, Plus, and Apex to Essentials, Advantage, and Premier Licenses.

Prerequisites

Before you start, ensure that you have the following data at your disposal:

• Active Cisco.com account
• User or admin access to a Smart account (To request access to a Smart account, refer to How to Request Access to an Existing Smart Account.)
• VM License Upgrade PID deposited in your Smart account (To obtain VM License Upgrade PID, refer to How to Obtain the VM License Upgrade PID.)

Upgrading ISE

PART I. Common License: Upgrading ISE from Legacy VM Licenses to the VM Common License

The VM Common license is at the top of the license hierarchy, and it covers what VM Small, Medium, and Large licenses cover.

Step 1: 

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

Step 2:

In theSmart Software Managersection, clickManage licenses.

Step result: You enter Cisco Smart Software Manager (CSSM).

Step 3:

On theInventorytab, select your Virtual account, clickLicenses, and then locate your current legacy VM licenses that you need to upgrade. If you have a long list of licenses, you can search by license in the search bar. In the Purchased column, identify how many licenses you have available. This is an indicator of how many VM License Upgrade PIDs you need to order. There are two legacy VM licenses to be upgraded in the example used for the purpose of this article, therefore in this case two VM License Upgrade PIDs were ordered. 

Tip: If your legacy VM licenses are product activation key (PAK) licenses, convert your existing PAK licenses to Smart licenses and deposit them into your Smart account. To convert your PAK licenses to Smart licenses, refer to How to Convert a Fulfilled Product Activation Key (PAK) to a Smart License (Token Registration) for Identity Services Engine (ISE).

Step 4:

In Cisco Smart Software Manager (CSSM), on the Inventory tab, select your Virtual account, click Licenses, and then locate the VM License Upgrade PID that you deposited in your Smart account. In the Alerts column, notice the Upgrade Pending status next to the VM License Upgrade PID.

Tip: To view the licenses in more detail, expand your selection by clicking the plus icon.

Step 5:

In the Actions column, from the Actions drop-down list, select Complete Upgrade.

Step result: The system displays the Upgrade Licenses dialog box.

Step 6:

In the Upgrade Licenses dialog box, in Step 1 Select Licenses, in the Quantity field, enter the amount of upgrade licenses, and then click Apply.

Step result: The system displays the information about what VM common licenses are replacing the current legacy VM licenses.

Step 7:

Select the Virtual account in which you want to upgrade your legacy VM licenses to the VM Common licenses, and then click Next.

Step result: The system displays Step 2 Review.

Caution: Avoid selecting multiple types of licenses at once. For example, if you want to migrate one VM Small license and two VM Medium licenses to VM Common licenses, you need to follow these steps for one VM Small license or two VM Medium licenses and do the same steps for the remaining licenses.

Step 8:

In Step 2 Review, review your selection, and then click Submit.

Step result: The system displays a confirmation message about the successful license upgrade.

Verify

Use this section to confirm that you properly upgraded ISE from Legacy VM Licenses to the VM Common Licenses.

Verification Step: InCisco Smart Software Manager (CSSM), on the Inventory tab, select your Virtual account, click Licenses, and then locate the VM Common license. Notice that the system no longer displays the Upgrade Pending status in the Alerts column, and the quantity in the In Use column is updated to the amount of licenses that you upgraded.

PART II. Smart License: Upgrading ISE from Base, Plus, and Apex to Essentials, Advantage, and Premier Licenses

When upgrading ISE from Base, Plus, and Apex to Essentials, Advantage, and Premier licenses, the following model applies:

Note: While functionality will be retained across licenses, notice that the license count might be different to what the Base/Plus/Apex license count is, and that all licenses will have an expiry date.

a. If your ISE licenses are in your Smart account, you can go ahead and request conversion from Base/Plus/Apex licenses to the new Essentials/Advantage/Premier licenses by opening a case inSupport Case Manager (SCM).

b. If you have product activation key (PAK) licenses, convert your existing PAK licenses to Smart Licenses (How to Convert a Fulfilled Product Activation Key (PAK) to a Smart License (Token Registration) for Identity Services Engine (ISE)) and deposit them in your Smart Account. You can then request conversion from Base/Plus/Apex licenses to the new Essentials/Advantage/Premier licenses by opening a case inSupport Case Manager (SCM)

Troubleshooting

If you experience an issue during the process of upgrading Identity Services Engine (ISE), open a case inSupport Case Manager (SCM).