Smart Licensing using Policy on Catalyst Switching Platforms

Introduction

This document describes the Smart Licensing feature using Policy on Catalyst Switching Platforms and its various supported deployment mechanisms, from Cisco IOS^®-XE 17.3.2 release and future releases.

Purpose

From 17.3.2 and 17.4.1, all the Catalyst Switching Platforms from the family for Cat9k supports a new Licensing Model of Smart Licensing Using Policy. The purpose of this document is to understand the different supported models of implementation and deployment of Smart Licensing using Policy, primarily for Greenfield deployments.

Smart Licensing using Policy

With Smart Licensing using Policy, the Device has all Licenses IN USE right out of the box. The earlier concepts, Evaluation mode, Registration, and Reservation goes away with Smart Licensing using Policy. With Smart Licensing using Policy, it's all about reporting of the licenses and their usage. The Licenses are still Unenforced, Licensing levels still remain the same. For Catalyst Switch platforms, there are no Export controlled license levels. With Smart Licensing using Policy, the only change is on the Infra of Reporting of license usage and tracking. This section talks in detail about Terminologies, Why the changes, The new components that come with Smart Licensing using Policy, CSLU - Cisco Smart Licensing Utility, Product Ordering Flow.

Terminology

• CSSM or SSM – Cisco Smart Software Manager
• SA – Smart Account
• VA – Virtual Account
• SL – Smart Licensing
• PLR – Permanent License Reservation
• SLR – Smart License Reservation
• PIDs – Product IDs
• SCH – Smart Call Home
• PI – Product Instances
• CSLU – Cisco Smart Licensing Utility
• RUM – Resource Utilization Measurement
• ACK – Acknowledgement
• UDI – Unique Device Identification – PID + SN
• SLP - Smart Licening using Policy

Why this Change?

With the introduction of the Smart Licensing model of trust and verify, Cisco has supported various deployment mechanisms for tracking and reporting of License usage to the CSSM. Yet it was not easily adaptable for all kinds of deployments - there were feedback and requirements from the field, to make Smart Licensing more favorable for adoption. Some of the challenges are: With SL Registration - Devices has to be always connected to the Internet to reach CSSM which is a deployment concern; On-Prem Satellite server introduce more cost to deployment and maintenance; SLR facilitates only air-gapped networks; Any deployments that do not support either of these models, have to run their devices in Unregistered/Eval expired state, even after licenses are purchased.

To facilitate various such requests from the field, Smart Licensing using Policy is Introduced. With Smart Licensing using Policy, you don't have to Register the product to CSSM. All the license levels that are purchased are In USE right out of the box. This removes the day-0 friction that was present on the Device. Smart Licensing using Policy also minimizes the workflow of License provisioning and reduces the excess touchpoints. There is no necessity for the Device being connected to CSSM, round the clock. Smart Licensing using Policy also brings in the ability to use licenses in the disconnected network, report the license usage Offline, and to report license at intervals determined by customer policies

The New Components

Policy

The Policy decides what must be the default behavior for the PI. It tells the licensing reporting requirement attributes for different license levels and conditions. The policy also determines whether the ACK message must be sent back to PI, for every report that is sent to CSSM or not. The policy also contains the Name of the Policy and when the policy is Installed. Cisco's default policy is common and standard for all Catalyst products. However, the customer-defined policy is also allowed if you wanted to have different reporting intervals, ACK response omission.

The policy can be Installed on a PI on various occasions.

• Default policy present in Software
• Policy Installed by Cisco Manufacturing
• Policy Installed through ACK response
• Policy Installed manually through CLI
• Policy pushed using Yang Request.

This output shows how a default Policy looks like.

Policy:

Policy in use: Merged from multiple sources.
Reporting ACK required: yes (CISCO default)
Unenforced/Non-Export Perpetual Attributes:
First report requirement (days): 365 (CISCO default)
Reporting frequency (days): 0 (CISCO default)
Report on change (days): 90 (CISCO default)
Unenforced/Non-Export Subscription Attributes:
First report requirement (days): 90 (CISCO default)
Reporting frequency (days): 90 (CISCO default)
Report on change (days): 90 (CISCO default)
Enforced (Perpetual/Subscription) License Attributes:
First report requirement (days): 0 (CISCO default)
Reporting frequency (days): 0 (CISCO default)
Report on change (days): 0 (CISCO default)
Export (Perpetual/Subscription) License Attributes:
First report requirement (days): 0 (CISCO default)
Reporting frequency (days): 0 (CISCO default)
Report on change (days): 0 (CISCO default)

Note: A policy cannot be erased by erasing/modifying a system configuration, clearing of nvram, or formatting the flash: filesystem. The policy is set to Cisco default, on 'license smart factory reset'

RUM Reports

Resource Utilization Measurement is usage reports generated and stored by the PI. The ISO19770-4 Standard RUM reports are completed for Smart Licensing using Policy. RUM reports store any and all changes on License usages made in the PI as report files. Usage data for each license level are stored in separate rum reports. RUM report measurements are collected and stored in PI at regular intervals. Whenever there is a change in PI's license usage or a reporting of usage has been triggered or when reports have reached maximum size/samples, new rum reports for all license levels are generated. In other cases, the existing rum reports can be overwritten with a new Sample and updated timestamp. The default rum report utility measurement is every 15 minutes. At every reporting interval, rum reports are sent to Cisco CSSM.

All the rum reports are signed by the PI and verified by the CSSM. When CSSM receives the rum report data from PI, it validates the report, checks the Timeline of License Usage changed, and update the CSSM data accordingly. CSSM then acknowledges back to the PI through ACK response message.

RUM reports can be sent to CSSM through the several ways.

• PI sends rum reports to CSSM directly on Reporting Interval
• PI pushes the rum report to CSLU.
• CSLU Pulls rum reports from PI at regular intervals through RESTAPI and YANG models.
• Rum reports are saved manually on the PI through CLI and uploaded manually to CSSM.

Note: RUM reports cannot be erased by erasing/modifying a system configuration, clearing of nvram, or formating the flash: filesystem. All rum reports can be removed from PI, on 'license smart factory reset'.

Note: The default reporting interval is 30 days.

Manufacturing flow for Greenfield Deployment Case

Once a new Product Order is placed at Cisco CCW, the PI goes through the flow of operations done by the Manufacturing team. This is to facilitate the secured process of signing in Rum reports and also remove the Day-0 friction in registering the PI. Once the order is placed, any existing SA/VA or new SA/VA that is created, are associated with the Product. Cisco Manufacturing team takes care of these operations before shipping the Product to You.

• Install the Trust Code on the Device. Trust code Signature is Installed based on Device UDI. Installed on every product.
• Install Purchase Code - Information on what license levels are purchased along with the product. Installed on every product.
• SLAC - Smart License Auth Code - Not Applicable for Catalyst Platforms.
• Install Policy - Default or Custom Policy based on your Input.
• Report the License Usage to CSSM - SA/VA.

Note: {As of 17.3.2/17.4.1 Trust code Installation is not done by the Manufacturing team.}

CSLU

Smart Licensing using Policy bring in a new Simple yet Powerful tool Cisco Smart Licensing Utility (CSLU). CSLU is a GUI based tool, that runs on Windows 10 Operating System. CSLU, that can be run on your local private network, is responsible for collecting the RUM ports from the PIs those are associated to CSSM. CSLU must be provisioned in a manner to collect rum reports on PIs in the local network and also to periodically pushes the rum report to CSSM through the Internet. UDI CSLU is a simple tool, that displays only the details of UDIs of the provisioned devices. All the License Usage data for PIs, Purchased Licenses, Unused Licenses in the Pool are seen only in SA/VA of CSSM, for you to verify. It is powerful because it can collect usage reports of up to 10K PIs. CSLU is also responsible to push the ACK messages from CSSM back to PI.

Note: Please refer to section, CSLU based Topology for detailed configuration and supported modes of Operation of CSLU.

Smart Licensing using Policy - Direct Connect

On a factory shipped product, the default Transport mode is configured to CSLU. If you wish to use the Direct Connect method, you have to change the transport mode to Call-home or SMART based on the requirement. The basic requirement for the Direct Connect method of topology is to have Internet connectivity for the reachability to CSSM. Additionally, it must be ensured that for the connectivity to CSSM, required L3 configurations, DNS, and Domain configurations are present in the Device.

License Reporting

On Direct Connect topology the the rum reports are directly sent to CSSM. License Reports requires s successful Trust Code to be installed on the device. The Trust code is Installed by Cisco Manufacturing on the Device before Shipping. You can also Install Trust Code on to the device.

The Trust Code is a token string take from CSSM, on Virtual Account - General Page. Trust Code can be Installed through the CLI.

Switch#license smart trust idtoken < > all/local

Note: All Option must be used for HA or Stacking back system. For a Standalone device, local option can be used.

Switch#license smart trust idtoken < > all/local. 



On Successful installation of policy, the same can be verified through 'show license status' CLI.

Switch#show license status 

Utility:
Status: DISABLED

Smart Licensing Using Policy:
Status: ENABLED

Data Privacy:
Sending Hostname: yes
Callhome hostname privacy: DISABLED
Smart Licensing hostname privacy: DISABLED
Version privacy: DISABLED

Transport:
Type: Callhome

Policy:
Policy in use: Installed On Nov 07 22:50:04 2020 UTC
Policy name: SLP Policy
Reporting ACK required: yes (Customer Policy)
Unenforced/Non-Export Perpetual Attributes:
First report requirement (days): 60 (Customer Policy)
Reporting frequency (days): 60 (Customer Policy)
Report on change (days): 60 (Customer Policy)
Unenforced/Non-Export Subscription Attributes:
First report requirement (days): 30 (Customer Policy)
Reporting frequency (days): 30 (Customer Policy)
Report on change (days): 30 (Customer Policy)
Enforced (Perpetual/Subscription) License Attributes:
First report requirement (days): 0 (CISCO default)
Reporting frequency (days): 90 (Customer Policy)
Report on change (days): 90 (Customer Policy)
Export (Perpetual/Subscription) License Attributes:
First report requirement (days): 0 (CISCO default)
Reporting frequency (days): 90 (Customer Policy)
Report on change (days): 90 (Customer Policy)

Miscellaneous:
Custom Id: <empty>

Usage Reporting:
Last ACK received: Nov 03 12:57:01 2020 UTC
Next ACK deadline: Dec 03 12:57:01 2020 UTC
Reporting push interval: 30 days
Next ACK push check: <none>
Next report push: Nov 07 22:50:35 2020 UTC
Last report push: Nov 03 12:55:57 2020 UTC
Last report file write: <none>

Trust Code Installed:
Active: PID:C9500-24Y4C,SN:CAT2344L4GH
INSTALLED on Nov 07 22:50:04 2020 UTC
Standby: PID:C9500-24Y4C,SN:CAT2344L4GJ
INSTALLED on Nov 07 22:50:04 2020 UTC

Once the Trust Code is Installed Successfully, the PI can report the usage to CSSM directly. License reporting happens on these conditions.

• On successful Trust Code installation.
• On every default Reporting Interval.
• On device Reload/Boot-up.
• On Switchover.
• On Stack member addition or removal.
• On Manual trigger of license sync.

License reporting to CSSM to can be triggered using below CLI.

Switch#license smart sync all

The Usage Reporting section in show license status tells us on timelines of Last ACK received, Next ACK deadline, Next report push and Last report push.

Usage Reporting:
Last ACK received: Nov 03 12:57:01 2020 UTC
Next ACK deadline: Dec 03 12:57:01 2020 UTC
Reporting push interval: 30 days
Next ACK push check: <none>
Next report push: Nov 07 22:50:35 2020 UTC
Last report push: Nov 03 12:55:57 2020 UTC
Last report file write: <none>

Direct Connect - Smart Transport

On a Direct Connect or Direct Cloud Access mode topology, if SMART Transport is used, here are the required configurations on the device.

Configure the desired Transport mode using below CLI.

Switch(config)#license smart transport smart

Running config on Smart Transport Mode:
!
license smart url smart https://smartreceiver.cisco.com/licservice/license
license smart transport smart
!

Direct Connect - Call-home Transport

On a Direct Connect or Direct Cloud Access mode topology, if Call-home Transport is used, below are required configurations on the device.

Configure the desired Transport mode using below CLI.

Switch(config)#license smart transport callhome 

Running config on Smart Transport Mode:
!
service call-home
!
call-home
contact-email-addr shmandal@cisco.com
no http secure server-identity-check
profile "CiscoTAC-1"
active
reporting smart-licensing-data
destination address http https://tools.cisco.com/its/service/oddce/services/DDCEService 
destination transport-method http
!

Note: By default, the destination address for call-home is configured to CSSM URL. This can be verified in show run all config.

Smart Licensing using Policy - CSLU

The CSLU mode is the default Transport Mode on Factory shipped devices, that run 17.3.2 or Higher. Also, if you are migrating from Eval/Eval expired licenses, the transport mode after moving to Smart Licensing using Policy is CSLU. In CSLU based Topology, the CSLU sits in-between the PI and CSSM. CSLU avoids users not to have direct network connectivity to Cisco Cloud - CSSM. CSLU can run locally on private network and download usage reports from all the associated PIs. The Usage Reports are locally saved on the Windows PC, before sending them to CSSM through the Internet. CSLU is a lightweight tool. You can only see the List of PIs associated with it and it can be identified using UDIs. CSLU cannot display or contain the Redundancy Information of PI or License Levels or License Usage.

CSLU Installation and Configuration

CSLU tool is Installed and operated on Windows 10 machine. The software is available in CCO for download and usage at free of cost. Once the tool is installed, the Quick Start Guide/User Manual can be downloaded from Help Menu, navigate to Help > Download Help Manual.

CSLU Installation requires accepting of License Agreement.

It is recommended that the Application is Installed only for the current user and not for all users why works on the Computer.

If an earlier version of CSLU is already present on the PC, it is a good practice to Uninstall it beforehand. Nevertheless, the new Installation takes care of Upgrading the software.

After installation, log in to Cisco, using Log in Option present in the Top Right Corner of the Application. This used your CEC credentials. And through Log in, a trust is established between CSLU and CSSM.

After Log In to Cisco, Ensure the SA and VA details are selected correctly through the Drop-down Menu, In Preference Pane of the tool. Ensure to save the configs.

CSLU using PUSH Mode

CSLU by default operates in PUSH mode. In PUSH mode, the PI sends the usage reports to CSLU at regular intervals. From device, you have to ensure the L3 network reachability to CSLU is available. For the PI to talk to CSLU, the IP address of the Windows machine that runs CSLU has to be configured.

Switch(config)#license smart url cslu http://<IP_of_CSLU>:8182/cslu/v1/pi


The same can be verified through 'show license status' CLI

Switch#show license status

Load for five secs: 0%/0%; one minute: 0%; five minutes: 0%

No time source, 20:59:25.156 EDT Sat Nov 7 2020




Utility:

Status: DISABLED




Smart Licensing Using Policy:

Status: ENABLED




Data Privacy:

Sending Hostname: yes

Callhome hostname privacy: DISABLED

Smart Licensing hostname privacy: DISABLED

Version privacy: DISABLED




Transport:

Type: cslu

Cslu address: http://<IP_of_CSLU>:8182/cslu/v1/pi

Proxy:

Not Configured




Policy:

Policy in use: Merged from multiple sources.

Reporting ACK required: yes (CISCO default)

Unenforced/Non-Export Perpetual Attributes:

First report requirement (days): 365 (CISCO default)

Reporting frequency (days): 0 (CISCO default)

Report on change (days): 90 (CISCO default)

Unenforced/Non-Export Subscription Attributes:

First report requirement (days): 90 (CISCO default)

Reporting frequency (days): 90 (CISCO default)

Report on change (days): 90 (CISCO default)

Enforced (Perpetual/Subscription) License Attributes:

First report requirement (days): 0 (CISCO default)

Reporting frequency (days): 0 (CISCO default)

Report on change (days): 0 (CISCO default)

Export (Perpetual/Subscription) License Attributes:

First report requirement (days): 0 (CISCO default)

Reporting frequency (days): 0 (CISCO default)

Report on change (days): 0 (CISCO default)




Miscellaneous:

Custom Id: <empty>




Usage Reporting:

Last ACK received: <none>

Next ACK deadline: Feb 05 15:32:51 2021 EDT

Reporting push interval: 30 days

Next ACK push check: <none>

Next report push: Nov 07 15:34:51 2020 EDT

Last report push: <none>

Last report file write: <none>

Trust Code Installed: <none>

Reports are sent to CSLU from PI on these conditions

• On every default Reporting Interval.
• On device Reload/Boot-up.
• On Switchover.
• On Stack member addition or removal.
• On manual trigger of License sync.

In CSLU, Inventory page lists the devices currently Associated with CSLU. The devices in the list can be Identified through the UDI. The devices can be filtered based on PID or SN from the list to identify any particular device.

The CSLU Inventory page also has two other columns,

The Last Contact column, which shows the latest Time Stamp when the status of reporting has changed.

The Alert Column - Says the latest reporting status of the PI.

Once the PI sends the report to CSLU, CSLU creates the PI entry in CSSM, the Last Contact TS is updated and Alerts status as well.

CSSM process the reports sent by CSLU, add/update the Product Instance on CSSM, based on the license usage. Once the CSSM process and updates the date, it send back the ACK message to CSLU. CSLU in turn stores and forward the message back to PI.

The ACK message consists of

• Acknowledgment for all the reports sent.
• Policy
• Trust Code

If a new policy is available for you in the CSSM, it is now updated to the PI as well. If the policy is unchanged, the same is pushed to PI.

Note: If ACK message reporting is not required as per your Policy, the ACK message won't be sent.

The Alert message column can have one of these statuses.

• Usage report from Product Instance
• Usage report uploaded to Cisco
• Acknowledgement received from CSSM
• Usage report acknowledgement to Product Instance.

Note: In CSLU on a HA system, always the entry is seen only for UDI of the Active. Only CSSM has all the UDI for individual devices in the system listed.

CSLU Auto Discovery

To support scale deployments with minimal configs, Auto discovery of the cslu is supported. This means you don't have to configure the IP address/URL of the CSLU specifically. In order to achieve this, you only have to add an entry to their DNS server. This lets the device, which has transport mode as cslu (which is the default), automatically discover cslu and send reports.

Couple of things to ensure here.

• Create an entry in the DNS server. The IP address of the cslu must be mapped to the name cslu-local.
• Ensure the name server and DNS configurations are present in the device for reachability.

With this without any additional configs, the devices in the network can reach CSLU and sent rum reports at regular intervals.

CSLU using PULL Mode

PULL mode is where the CSLU initiates the process of fetching the rum reports from the devices. Here the device details are added to the CSLU and CSLU fetches the data on all the added devices at regular intervals. The PULL from CSLU can also be triggered manually. CSLU in-turn sends the rum report to CSSM, and ACK messages that are received back from CSSM are sent to the PI. PULL mode is supported by three different means. - RESTAPI, NETCONF and RESTCONF.

PULL Mode using RESTAPI

For PULL mode to work through RESTAPI the configs required from Device and CSLU are

Configs on PI:

Ensure the network reachability from PI to CSLU is available and working.

!
 ip http server
 ip http authentication local
 ip http secure-server
!
 aaa new-model 
 aaa authentication login default local 
 aaa authorization exec default local 
 username admin privilege 15 password 0 lab
!

Note: User must have priv level 15 access.

CSLU-Procedure to Setup

CSLU must be logged in to CSSM for reports to be synced automatically.

Step 1. Select Add Single Product on the Inventory page.

Step 2. Enter the Device IP.

Step 3. Choose the Connect method as RestAPI.

Step 4. Select Product Instance Login Credentials.

Step 5. Enter the user credentials of the uset wiith Priv 15 access.

Step 6. Save the configs.

The device is added with an only IP address in the Name field.

Select the device and navigate to Actions for Selected > Collect Usage.

Once the usage data is successfully collected, the Name field updates to the UDI of the PI, and the Time stamp is updated as well. Alert field reflects the latest status.

If the Device is still available when the ACK message is received from CSSM, the ACK  is sent back to PI. Else ACK is sent on the next Pull Interval.

PULL Mode using RESTCONF

For PULL mode to work through RESTCONF the configs required from Device and steps from CSLU are:

Configs on PI:

!
restconf
!
 ip http secure-server
 ip http authentication local
 ip http client source-interface GigabitEthernet 0/0
!
 username admin privilege 15 password 0 lab
!

Note: These configs are for local authentication. Remote authentication can be also used.

CSLU- Procedure to Set-up

CSLU must be logged in to CSSM for reports to be synced automatically. CSLU set-up is same as RESTAPI for rum report collection and reporting.

Step 1. Select Add Single Product on the Inventory page.

Step 2. Enter the Device IP

Step 3. Choose the Connect method as RESTCONF.

Step 4. Select Product Instance Login Credentials.

Step 5. Enter the user credentials of the uset wiith Priv 15 access.

Step 6. Save the configs.

Step 7. Collect usage data for the selected device.

PULL Mode using NETCONF

For PULL mode to work through NETCONF the configs required from Device and steps from CSLU are

Configs on PI:

!
 ip ssh version
!
 netconf-yang
 netconf ssh
 netconf-yang feature candidate-datastore
!
 username admin privilege 15 password 0 lab
!

To ensure yang process is running, execute the command:

Switch#show platform software yang-management process
confd    : Running
nesd     : Running
syncfd   : Running
ncsshd   : Running
dmiauthd : Running
nginx    : Running
ndbmand  : Running
pubd     : Running
gnmib    : Not Running

Note: These configs are for local authentication. Remote authentication can be also used.

CSLU - Procedure to Set-up

CSLU must be logged in to CSSM for reports to be synced automatically. CSLU set-up is same as RESTAPI for rum report collection and reporting.

Step 1. Select Add Single Product on the Inventory page.

Step 2. Enter the Device IP.

Step 3. Choose the Connect method as NETCONF.

Step 4. Select Product Instance Login Credentials.

Step 5. Enter the user credentials of the uset wiith Priv 15 access.

Step 6. Save the configs.

Step 7. Collect usage data for the selected device.

Note: For all models, NETCONF, RESTCONF, and RESTAPI, the Device list can be added in bulk.

In order to perform the bulk upload, on the Menu bar, navigate to Product Instance > Upload Product Instance List, as shown in this image.

A new pop-up window opens. The template file can be downloaded from it. In the CSV format file, fill in the device details of the list of devices and upload to CSLU to add multiple devices.

Note: For all the types of CSLU PULL mode, it is recommended to set the transport set to Off on the PI. This can be done using CLI.

Switch(config)#license smart transport off

CSLU using Disconnected Mode

CSLU can Operate in disconnected mode from CSSM. This is for any deployments that do not allow the CSLU to be connected to the Internet. In disconnected mode, the reports of all the devices are downloaded manually from CSLU and Uploaded to CSSM. In turn, ACK messages are downloaded from CSSM and uploaded to CSLU. CSLU still continues to PULL/PUSH usage date from PIs and also sends back the ACK message to PI.

Step 1. On CSLU Preference Page, Turn off the Option Cisco Connectivity. This confirms Cisco is not available.

Step 2. Save the settings.

Step 3. In the Menu bar, Click Product Instances > Download All for Cisco. This downloads a tar.gz file to the CSLU.

Step 4. Upload the file to CSSM. In CSSM Smart Account page, navigate to Report > Usage Data Files > Upload usage data.

In the pop-up, upload the tar.gz file

Step 5. Once the data is processed, the Acknowledgment is generated. Download the ACK file and upload to CSLU.

Step 6. In CSLU, import the ACK file from Menu bar, navigate to Product Instances > Upload from Cisco, as shown in this image.

Step 7. Once the ACK is uploaded, the message is sent to the PIs. The same can be verified by the Alerts column.

Smart Licensing using Policy - Offline Mode

Smart Licensing using Policy can also work on total Offline Mode. This is mainly for air-gapped networks, that do not prefer Internet connectivity and also choose not to use CSLU. In Offline mode, the Transport is set to Off.

Switch(config)#license smart transport off

Same can be verified through, 'show license status'

Switch#show license status

Utility:
Status: DISABLED

Smart Licensing Using Policy:
Status: ENABLED

Data Privacy:
Sending Hostname: yes
Callhome hostname privacy: DISABLED
Smart Licensing hostname privacy: DISABLED
Version privacy: DISABLED

Transport:
Type: Transport Off

Policy:
Policy in use: Merged from multiple sources.
Reporting ACK required: yes (CISCO default)
Unenforced/Non-Export Perpetual Attributes:
First report requirement (days): 365 (CISCO default)
Reporting frequency (days): 0 (CISCO default)
Report on change (days): 90 (CISCO default)
Unenforced/Non-Export Subscription Attributes:
First report requirement (days): 90 (CISCO default)
Reporting frequency (days): 90 (CISCO default)
Report on change (days): 90 (CISCO default)
Enforced (Perpetual/Subscription) License Attributes:
First report requirement (days): 0 (CISCO default)
Reporting frequency (days): 0 (CISCO default)
Report on change (days): 0 (CISCO default)
Export (Perpetual/Subscription) License Attributes:
First report requirement (days): 0 (CISCO default)
Reporting frequency (days): 0 (CISCO default)
Report on change (days): 0 (CISCO default)



Miscellaneous:
Custom Id: <empty>

Usage Reporting:
Last ACK received: Nov 11 15:41:10 2020 EDT
Next ACK deadline: Dec 11 15:41:10 2020 EDT
Reporting push interval: 30 days
Next ACK push check: <none>
Next report push: Dec 07 21:42:30 2020 EDT
Last report push: Nov 07 21:42:30 2020 EDT
Last report file write: <none>

Trust Code Installed: <none>

Whenever you want to report the usage data to CSSM, the usage reports have to be downloaded as a file and manually uploaded to CSSM. In a HA system, Active collects usage for standby/member devices.

To download the usage data from PI - 

Switch#license smart save usage unreported file bootflash:<file-name>

Above option 'unreported' is recommended to use. This downloads only the files that are yet to be reported
and discard old usage reports, that were Acknowledged.


However, there are other options available for the amount of data that needs to be reported. 
For downloading all the available report use option all,
# of daya can be specified


Switch#license smart save usage ?
all Save all reports
days Save reports from last n days
rum-Id Save an individual RUM report
unreported Save all previously un reported reports

Now, this report has to Manually uploaded to CSSM.

Export the save usage data from PI to Desktop.

On the CSSM Smart Account page, navigate to Report > Usage Data Files > Upload usage data. In the pop-up window, select the usage report and click upload.

Once the file is Uploaded, you must select the correct VA to which the Device is associated with.

Once the data is processed completely and acknowledgment is ready, download the file and load it on to PI.

To import the ACK to PI,
Switch#license smart import bootflash:<file-name>
Import Data Successful

Switch#
Nov 11 20:23:06.783: %SMART_LIC-6-POLICY_INSTALL_SUCCESS: A new licensing policy was successfully installed
Switch#

Policy Installed syslog is displayed on console if successful.

Also, the same can be verified using CLI, 'show license all'. The field 'Last ACK received' tells the 
last TimeStamp when ACK message was received.


Switch#show license all
Load for five secs: 0%/0%; one minute: 1%; five minutes: 0%
No time source, 16:23:22.294 EDT Wed Nov 11 2020

Smart Licensing Status
======================

Smart Licensing is ENABLED

Export Authorization Key:
Features Authorized:
<none>

Utility:
Status: DISABLED

Smart Licensing Using Policy:
Status: ENABLED

Data Privacy:
Sending Hostname: yes
Callhome hostname privacy: DISABLED
Smart Licensing hostname privacy: DISABLED
Version privacy: DISABLED

Transport:
Type: Transport Off

Miscellaneous:
Custom Id: <empty>

Policy:
Policy in use: Installed On Nov 11 16:23:06 2020 EDT
Policy name: SLP Policy
Reporting ACK required: yes (Customer Policy)
Unenforced/Non-Export Perpetual Attributes:
First report requirement (days): 60 (Customer Policy)
Reporting frequency (days): 60 (Customer Policy)
Report on change (days): 60 (Customer Policy)
Unenforced/Non-Export Subscription Attributes:
First report requirement (days): 30 (Customer Policy)
Reporting frequency (days): 30 (Customer Policy)
Report on change (days): 30 (Customer Policy)
Enforced (Perpetual/Subscription) License Attributes:
First report requirement (days): 0 (CISCO default)
Reporting frequency (days): 90 (Customer Policy)
Report on change (days): 90 (Customer Policy)
Export (Perpetual/Subscription) License Attributes:
First report requirement (days): 0 (CISCO default)
Reporting frequency (days): 90 (Customer Policy)
Report on change (days): 90 (Customer Policy)

Usage Reporting:
Last ACK received: Nov 11 16:23:06 2020 EDT
Next ACK deadline: Dec 11 16:23:06 2020 EDT
Reporting push interval: 30 days
Next ACK push check: <none>
Next report push: Dec 07 21:42:30 2020 EDT
Last report push: Nov 07 21:42:30 2020 EDT
Last report file write: <none>

Trust Code Installed: <none>

License Usage
=============

network-advantage (C9500 Network Advantage):
Description: network-advantage
Count: 1
Version: 1.0
Status: IN USE
Export status: NOT RESTRICTED
Feature Name: network-advantage
Feature Description: network-advantage
Enforcement type: NOT ENFORCED
License type: Perpetual

dna-advantage (C9500 32QC DNA Advantage):
Description: C9500-32QC DNA Advantage
Count: 1
Version: 1.0
Status: IN USE
Export status: NOT RESTRICTED
Feature Name: dna-advantage
Feature Description: C9500-32QC DNA Advantage
Enforcement type: NOT ENFORCED
License type: Subscription

Product Information
===================
UDI: PID:C9500-32QC,SN:CAT2148L15K

Agent Version
=============
Smart Agent for Licensing: 5.0.6_rel/47

License Authorizations
======================
Overall status:
Active: PID:C9500-32QC,SN:CAT2148L15K
Status: NOT INSTALLED

Purchased Licenses:
No Purchase Information Available

Troubleshoot

Debug PI

In order to troubleshoot any issues, the commands collected from PI are:

show license all
show license tech support
show license eventlog
show license history message


For debugging Trust Installation/Sync -

Switch#show license tech support | s Trust
Trust Establishment:
Attempts: Total=0, Success=0, Fail=0 Ongoing Failure: Overall=0 Communication=0
Last Response: <none>
Failure Reason: <none>
Last Success Time: <none>
Last Failure Time: <none>
Trust Acknowledgement:
Attempts: Total=0, Success=0, Fail=0 Ongoing Failure: Overall=0 Communication=0
Last Response: <none>
Failure Reason: <none>
Last Success Time: <none>
Last Failure Time: <none>
Trust Sync:
Attempts: Total=0, Success=0, Fail=0 Ongoing Failure: Overall=0 Communication=0
Last Response: <none>
Failure Reason: <none>
Last Success Time: <none>
Last Failure Time: <none>
Trusted Store Interface: True
Local Device: No Trust Data
Overall Trust: No ID

For debugging Usage reporting timers/intervals - 

Switch#show license tech support | in Utility
Utility:
Start Utility Measurements: Nov 11 16:46:09 2020 EDT (7 minutes, 34 seconds remaining)
Send Utility RUM reports: Dec 07 21:42:30 2020 EDT (26 days, 5 hours, 3 minutes, 55 seconds remaining)
Process Utility RUM reports: Nov 12 15:32:51 2020 EDT (22 hours, 54 minutes, 16 seconds remaining)


For Collecting all btrace logs for debugging - 

Step 1. Switch#request platform software trace rotate all
Step 2. Switch#show logging process iosrp internal start last boot to-file bootflash:<file-name>


If there are any failues on PULL mode, ensure server SL_HTTP is Acive

Debug CSLU

If any issue on CSLU is debugged, it is important that the log file from this directory on CSLU installed PC is taken.

C:\Users\<user-name>\AppData\Roaming\CSLU\var\logs

Related Referances

• Migration to SL using Policy - Migration of legacy SL/SLR/PLR licenses to SL using Policy
• Release Notes: RN-9200, RN-9300, RN-9400, RN-9500, RN-9600
• Configuration Guides: Cat9200-CG, Cat9300-CG, Cat9400-CG, Cat9500-CG, Cat9600-CG
• Command References: Cat9200-CR, Cat9300-CR, Cat9400-CR, Cat9500-CR, Cat9600-CR