Cisco Catalyst Center Administrator Guide, Release 3.2.x

Apply specific license reservation or permanent license reservation to devices

Updated: May 4, 2026

Want to summarize with AI?

On this page

Overview

Enable SLR or PLR when the devices and Catalyst Center are connected to CSSM
Enable SLR or PLR when the devices and Catalyst Center are not connected to CSSM
Generate the authorization code from CSSM

Overview

Information about Specific License Reservation (SLR) or Permanent License Reservation (PLR). The License Manager enables Catalyst Center customers to reserve licenses securely from CSSM using an API-based workflow.

Smart Licensing requires a smart device instance to regularly sync with Cisco Smart Software Management (CSSM) so that the latest license status is refreshed and compliance is reported. Some customers have devices that are within highly secured networks with limited internet access. In these types of networks, devices cannot regularly sync with CSSM and show out of compliance. To support these customer environments, Specific License Reservation (SLR) and Permanent License Reservation (PLR) have been introduced. The License Manager enables Catalyst Center customers to reserve licenses securely from CSSM using an API-based workflow. In Catalyst Center, it requires a one-time connectivity to CSSM in the staging environment, then the devices never need to connect to Cisco in SLR or PLR mode. If no connectivity to CSSM or staging is possible, you can resort to the manual SLR/PLR workflow available in CSSM.

SLR lets you install a node-locked license file (SLR authorization code) on a product instance. This license file enables individual (specific) licenses (entitlement tags).

PLR lets you install an authorization code that enables all licensed features on the product.

Both SLR and PLR require preapproval at the Smart Account level. Contact licensing@cisco.com for support.

To enable SLR or PLR when both the device and Catalyst Center are connected to CSSM, see Enable SLR or PLR when the devices and Catalyst Center are connected to CSSM.

To enable SLR or PLR when the device and Catalyst Center do not have connectivity to CSSM, see Enable SLR or PLR when the devices and Catalyst Center are not connected to CSSM.

Enable SLR or PLR when the devices and Catalyst Center are connected to CSSM

Procedure

	1.	From the main menu, choose Tools > License Manager > Devices.
	2.	Select the devices for which you want to apply SLR or PLR, and choose Actions > Manage License Reservation > Enable License Reservation.
	3.	Choose Specific License Reservation (SLR) or Permanent License Reservation (PLR) and click Continue to obtain the request codes for the selected devices.
	4.	After the request codes are generated for the selected devices, click Continue.
	5.	Choose a virtual account from which you want to reserve licenses and click Continue to generate the authorization codes for the selected devices.
	6.	After the authorization codes are generated, do any of the following: To apply SLR immediately, choose the devices and click Continue. To apply SLR later, click Apply Later.
	7.	Click Confirm to apply SLR/PLR to the selected device. You can now view the updated status of the devices under Reservation Status on the All Licenses window.

Enable SLR or PLR when the devices and Catalyst Center are not connected to CSSM

Use this procedure to enable SLR or PLR for the devices that are not connected to CSSM.

Procedure

	1.	From the main menu, choose Tools > License Manager > Devices.
	2.	Select the devices for which you want to apply SLR or PLR, and choose Actions > Manage License Reservation > Enable License Reservation.
	3.	Choose Specific License Reservation (SLR) or Permanent License Reservation (PLR) and click Continue to obtain the request codes for the selected devices. You also can connect to the device through Telnet to obtain the request code.
	4.	After the request codes are generated for the selected devices, click Export. This downloads the requestcodes.csv file, which contains the IP address, serial number of the device, and the request code.
	5.	Save the file to your preferred location.
	6.	Obtain the authorization code for each device from CSSM and update it in the CSV file. See Generate Authorization Code from CSSM.
	7.	Click the Upload CSV link.
	8.	Click the Select a file from your computer link to select the saved CSV file.
	9.	Click Continue.
	10.	Choose a virtual account from which you want to reserve licenses and click Continue. SLR or PLR is applied to the selected devices. You can now view the updated status of the devices under Reservation Status on the All Licenses window.

Generate the authorization code from CSSM

Before you begin

You must have Smart Account credentials to log in to CSSM.

Procedure

	1.	Log in to CSSM.
	2.	Choose Inventory > Licenses > License Reservation. The Smart License Reservation wizard appears. The License Reservation button is visible on the Licenses tab only if you have specific license reservation enabled for your Smart Account.
	3.	In the Step 1: Enter Request Code tab, enter the request code in the Reservation Request Code field and click Next.
	4.	In the Step 2: Select Licenses tab, check the Reserve a specific license check box.
	5.	In the Quantity to Reserve field, enter the number of licenses that you want to reserve and click Next.
	6.	In the Step 3: Review and Confirm tab, click Generate Authorization Code.
	7.	Get the authorization code from the Step 4: Authorize Code tab.

Need help?

Open a support case

(Requires a Cisco Service Contract)

The documentation set for this product strives to use bias-free language. For the purposes of this documentation set, bias-free is defined as language that does not imply discrimination based on age, disability, gender, racial identity, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and intersectionality. Exceptions may be present in the documentation due to language that is hardcoded in the user interfaces of the product software, language used based on RFP documentation, or language that is used by a referenced third-party product. Learn more about how Cisco is using Inclusive Language.