Table Of Contents
Configuring Licensing Storage Expansion for Cisco 2800 and Cisco 3800 Series Routers
Finding Feature Information in This Module
Information About Licensing Storage Expansion
License Storage and Memory Allocation
When to Use Licensing Storage Expansion
Downgrading to an Image That Does Not Support Licensing Storage Expansion
How to Configure Licensing Storage Expansion
Compressing the Configuration Files in NVRAM
Configuration Examples for Licensing Storage Expansion
Example: Expanding License Storage
Example: Compressing the Configuration Files in NVRAM
Feature Information for Licensing Storage Expansion
Configuring Licensing Storage Expansion for Cisco 2800 and Cisco 3800 Series Routers
First Published: July 11, 2008Last Updated: October 2, 2009At present, the Cisco 2800 and Cisco 3800 series platforms are running out of licensing storage to support current and potential Cisco Software Licensing projects on Cisco 2800 and Cisco 3800 series platforms, Cisco software licenses are stored in a section of NVRAM. The Licensing Storage Expansion feature reconfigures the NVRAM to provide additional license storage when the default license storage allocation is used up.
Finding Feature Information in This Module
Your software release may not support all the features documented in this module. For the latest feature information and caveats, see the release notes for your platform and software release. To find information about the features documented in this module, and to see a list of the releases in which each feature is supported, see the "Feature Information for Licensing Storage Expansion" section.
Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to http://www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.
Contents
•Information About Licensing Storage Expansion
•How to Configure Licensing Storage Expansion
•Feature Information for Licensing Storage Expansion
Information About Licensing Storage Expansion
•License Storage and Memory Allocation
•When to Use Licensing Storage Expansion
•Downgrading to an Image That Does Not Support Licensing Storage Expansion
License Storage and Memory Allocation
Software licenses for Cisco 2800 and Cisco 3800 series routers are stored in NVRAM. The Cisco 2800 series routers have 16 KB of NVRAM allocated for license storage, and the Cisco 3800 series routers have 32 KB allocated. With the introduction of more licensed Cisco software products, the amount of space allocated for license storage will not be adequate. The License Storage Expansion feature reconfigures NVRAM to provide 64 KB of space for license storage in both the Cisco 2800 and Cisco 3800 series routers.
NVRAM stores two types of files that are not licenses: configuration files (startup-config and user-specific configuration files), and block files (non-configuration files that you can store in NVRAM). The reconfiguration of NVRAM reduces the amount of space available for configuration and block files. In Cisco 2800 series routers, this space is reduced from 240 KB to 192 KB. In Cisco 3800 series routers, this space is reduced from 480 KB to 448 KB.
Table 1 gives the NVRAM allocations for license and configuration storage before and after license storage expansion.
If the configuration files in NVRAM are larger than the allocation for resized storage, you receive a message telling you to compress the files. To compress the files, use the service compress-config command described in the "Compressing the Configuration Files in NVRAM" section.
When the License Storage Expansion feature is run, configuration files are retained in the resized NVRAM. Block files are also retained, if possible. However, it might be necessary to store block files outside NVRAM, in other memory. If the configuration files are too big for the resized NVRAM, they will be compressed and rewritten into NVRAM. Block files will not be compressed.
When NVRAM is successfully resized, a message is sent to the console to indicate that you must reboot the router for the change to take effect.
When to Use Licensing Storage Expansion
When you try to install a license, but there is not enough room for it in license storage, you receive an error message "License store is full." The following example illustrates this condition:
Router# license install flash:gk7.licInstalling licenses from "flash:gk7.lic"Installing...Feature gatekeeper...Failed%Error: Error[137]: License store is full.0/1 licenses were successfully installed0/1 licenses were existing licenses1/1 licenses failed to installWhen you receive this error message, you must expand the license storage. See the "How to Configure Licensing Storage Expansion" section.
Downgrading to an Image That Does Not Support Licensing Storage Expansion
If you downgrade to a Cisco IOS image that does not support the license expand nvram command, all licenses stored in NVRAM are lost. This happens even if the image stores licenses in NVRAM. We recommend that you to save all your licenses before downgrading.
How to Configure Licensing Storage Expansion
•Compressing the Configuration Files in NVRAM
Expanding License Storage
Perform this task to reconfigure the NVRAM to store more Cisco software licenses by expanding the memory allocated for license storage. As a result, the memory allocated for configuration files is reduced.
Prerequisites
Back up your Cisco IOS configuration before performing this procedure.
If NVRAM holds block files (files used for things other than configuration), some of these files will be lost when NVRAM is reconfigured when there is insufficient space for them in resized storage. To avoid the loss of block files, you must back them up by manually removing them and storing them elsewhere. Block files are not compressed.
SUMMARY STEPS
1. enable
2. license expand nvram
DETAILED STEPS
What to Do Next
If NVRAM does not have sufficient space to expand license storage, continue with the "Compressing the Configuration Files in NVRAM" section.
If License Storage Expansion is successful, reboot the router so that the change can take effect.
Compressing the Configuration Files in NVRAM
Perform this task to compress the configuration files in NVRAM:
SUMMARY STEPS
1. configure terminal
2. service compress-config
3. end
4. copy system:running-config nvram:startup-config
DETAILED STEPS
Configuration Examples for Licensing Storage Expansion
•Example: Expanding License Storage
•Example: Compressing the Configuration Files in NVRAM
Example: Expanding License Storage
The following example shows how to expand the allocation for license storage in NVRAM.
Router> enablePassword:Router# license expand nvramCaution: IOS configuration space will be re-partitioned in NVRAM.You must back up your IOS configuration before running this command.Do you wish to continue NVRAM re-partition?[confirm]Router# yWhen you enter y, NVRAM is checked to make sure that it has enough space for your files and the expanded licensing storage. If there is enough space for your files in the resized NVRAM, this message is sent to the console:
License storage expanded successfully.IOS must be restarted for changes to take effect.If there is not enough space for your configuration files, this message is sent to the console:
Error: startup-config is too large. Compress the config with "service compress-config" followed by "copy system:running-config nvram:startup-config" and rerun "licence expand nvram".If, after compression, the startup configuration file is still too large for the resized NVRAM, this message is sent:
Error: cannot expand the license storage. Insufficient NVRAM to store compressed configuration.If expansion cannot take place because the block files are too large, this message is sent to the console:
Error: cannot expand the license storage. Existing block files are too large. Back up existing block files, delete them from nvram and reissue "license expand nvram".If the license expand nvram command is issued on an already expanded NVRAM, this message is sent to the console:
Error: license storage already expanded to maximum size.
Example: Compressing the Configuration Files in NVRAM
The following example shows how to compress configuration files for a Cisco 2800 series router that are larger than 192 KB.
Router# configure terminalEnter configuration commands, one per line. End with CNTL/Z.Router(config)# service compress-configRouter(config)# endRouter#%SYS-5-CONFIG_I: Configured from console by consoleRouter# copy system:running-config nvram:startup-configBuilding configuration...Compressing configuration from 201179 bytes to 152674 bytes[OK]Additional References
Related Documents
Related Topic Document TitleCisco IOS Software Activation
•Cisco IOS Software Activation Conceptual Overview
Cisco IOS Software Activation Command Reference
Cisco IOS commands
Standards
MIBs
MIB MIBs LinkNone
To locate and download MIBs for selected platforms, Cisco IOS releases, and feature sets, use Cisco MIB Locator found at the following URL:
RFCs
Technical Assistance
Feature Information for Licensing Storage Expansion
Table 2 lists the features in this module and provides links to specific configuration information.
Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and software image support. Cisco Feature Navigator enables you to determine which Cisco software images support a specific software release, feature set, or platform. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to http://www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.
Note Table 2 lists only the software release that introduced support for a given feature in a given software release train. Unless noted otherwise, subsequent releases of that software release train also support that feature.
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