When the Cisco CSR 1000v or Cisco ISRv first boots, it boots in evaluation mode. The network interfaces are activated but throughput is limited to 2.5 Mbps and the feature support is limited. Activate the software licenses to obtain the throughput and feature support provided by the license. For information about the available licenses in your software version, see the Cisco CSR 1000v Release Notes. The Cisco CSR 1000v and Cisco ISRv support the following options to activate the software licenses:

You can use feature add-on licenses to add memory to the Cisco CSR 1000v/Cisco ISRv. Memory is allocated to both the IOSd component and the data plane component. The amount of the memory allocation is dependent on the licenses installed.

You can install multiple 4 GB add-on licenses. You can add 4 GB of additional memory by installing the broadband feature license and then install further 4 GB add-on licenses.

The following table lists how the memory is allocated depending on the amount of VM Memory and the feature licenses installed.

Note	Restrictions apply when installing memory add-on licenses with a broadband feature license. For more information, see the Information About Installing Broadband Feature License and the Installing Broadband Feature License sections in this guide.

Note	The Cisco CSR 1000v is no longer available with a VM Memory of either 2.5 GB or 6 GB.

This section seeks to explain some misleading memory usage values that may be shown after installing add-on licenses. Installing add-on memory provides additional memory that is assigned to the main IOS-XE process (IOSd). For example, if you add three 4 GB add-on licenses you may gain approximately 11 GB memory. However, bear in mind that adding memory may not solve underlying issues with your configuration and the additional memory may not be necessary.

If you add two or three memory add-on licenses, you may see misleading messages such as the following error log message:

%PLATFORM-3-ELEMENT_CRITICAL: R0/0: smand: RP/0: Used Memory value 96% exceeds critical level 93%

A similar high usage value is displayed by a show platform command such as show platform software status control-processor brief . See Example 1 below.

Example 1

In this example a Cisco CSR 1000v running Cisco IOS XE 16.6.2 has 2 x 4 GB memory add-on licenses. The displayed information indicates a critically high memory usage.

# show platform software status control-processor brief 
...
Memory (kB)
 Slot  Status    Total     Used (Pct)     Free (Pct) Committed (Pct)
  RP0 Critical 12242316 11775260 (96%)   467056 ( 4%)  12255384 (100%)      << 96% Critical

If you were able to have access to the underlying Linux system you could find that only less memory than 96% is being used. For example, internally the following Linux command shows only 81% usage—based on used memory as a percentage of total memory.

free -m
              total        used        free      shared   buff/cache   available
Mem:          11955        9708          76         758        2169        1383   		

If you were then to add a third 4 GB add-on license, making a total of three add-on licenses, the 96% memory usage that is displayed by the show platform command would not be significantly reduced.

If you use the show processes memory sorted command, as shown in Example 2 below, you get a better indication of the memory usage.

Example 2

This example shows the difference between using a Cisco CSR 1000v with no add-on licenses, and a Cisco CSR 1000v with two add-on licenses.

1. CSR 1000v with no add-on licenses.

   # show processes memory sorted 
   ...
   Processor Pool Total: 2458193040 Used:  239241616 Free: 2218951424    << 239 MB used

2. CSR 1000v with two add-on licenses.

   # show processes memory sorted
   ...
   Processor Pool Total: 9625210000 Used: 1231337528 Free: 8393872472    <<  1.2 GB used

This shows that even considering the additional 700 MB extra processing needs, the memory that is being used is quite low. Therefore, using two add-on licenses for this processing requirement may be unnecessary.

The Cisco CSR 1000v/ Cisco ISR v support the Broadband Network Gateway feature set and the Intelligent Services Gateway feature set. The required broadband feature license (For the Cisco CSR 1000v: L-CSR-BB-1K=) provides up to 4 GB of additional memory and support for up to 1000 broadband sessions.

The following restrictions apply:

• The APPX feature license with a minimum of 1 Gbps maximum throughput must be installed.

• You can install multiple broadband feature licenses to increase the number of broadband sessions. However, installing additional broadband feature licenses will not add more memory. To add more memory beyond the 4 GB installed with the first broadband feature license, you must install a separate memory add-on license.

• If both a broadband feature license and memory add-on licenses are installed, then the broadband license takes higher priority than any memory add-on licenses installed. When the Cisco CSR 1000v/ Cisco ISRv is reloaded, the broadband feature license takes effect first, before any installed memory add-on licenses.

• We recommend that you install the broadband feature license before installing any memory add-on licenses.

• The VM must have enough memory allocated to accommodate the additional memory. See Understanding the Cisco CSR 1000v Memory Allocation for more information.

For more information about configuring broadband support, see Broadband Access Aggregation and DSL Configuration Guide and Intelligent Services Gateway Configuration Guide.

You can install multiple licenses on a Cisco CSR 1000v/ ISRv. To determine if a license is active, enter the show license or show license detail command. The display indicates the license status. The following are the possible states for the license:

• Active, In Use

  This state indicates that the license is active and is in use by the Cisco CSR 1000v.

• Active, Not in Use

  This state indicates that the license is installed on the Cisco CSR 1000v, but is not currently being used.

• Inactive

  This state indicates that the license is installed on the Cisco CSR 1000v but is no longer valid. For example, a license that has reached the end of the subscription term is shown as inactive.

The following example shows that a Cisco CSR 1000v has two licenses installed: an AX technology license and a Security technology license:

router# show license detail 

Index: 1        Feature: ax_1G                           Version: 1.0        License Type: Paid Subscription        Start Date:         N/A, End Date: Nov 10 2014        License State: Active, In Use        License Count: Non-Counted        License Priority: Medium        Store Index: 0        Store Name: Primary License StorageIndex: 2        Feature: sec_1G                           Version: 1.0        License Type: Permanent        License State: Active, Not in Use        License Count: Non-Counted        License Priority: Medium        Store Index: 1        Store Name: Primary License Storage

The AX technology license is shown as Active and in use, while the Security technology license is Active but not in use. To use the Security technology license, the license boot level command needs to be configured to “security” and the Cisco CSR 1000v must then be reloaded.

The following example of the show version command shows that the Cisco CSR 1000v has an AX technology license installed, but that the license boot level command has been set to “security”, but the Cisco CSR 1000v has not yet been reloaded.

router# show version | inc Level  

  License Level: ax   Next reload license Level: security

Starting with Cisco IOS XE 3.13S, the names of the technology package licenses changed as shown below.

• The Standard technology package was changed to the IPBase technology package.

• The Advanced technology package was changed to the Security technology package.

• The Premium technology package was changed to the AX package.

The base feature content for each license is the same as previously, but the names as shown in the licenses and display output have changed. If you migrated either a Standard or Advanced technology package license from a previous version to Cisco IOS XE 3.13S, then the show version and show license commands display the old license names, which is expected behavior. The new license names display when you enter the show running configuration command.

In the following example, the show running configuration command following the migration shows the new “security” technology package :

Router# show running | include level
license boot level security

However, in the show version output, the migrated license displays as the old “advanced” technology package name, as shown in the following example:

Router# show version | include License Level
License Level: advanced

In the show license detail output, the feature license also shows the old advanced license package name, as shown in the following example:

Router# show license detail
Index: 1        Feature: adv_100M                          Version: 1.0
        License Type: Permanent
        License State: Active, In Use
        License Count: Non-Counted
        License Priority: Medium
        Store Index: 0
        Store Name: Primary License Storage

No further configuration is required. To verify the correct feature set name for the migrated license, use the show running configuration command.

When you deploy a Cisco CSR 1000v instance from a Cisco CSR 1000v Amazon Machine Image (AMI), the license that is displayed differs depending on whether you deployed a Bring Your Own License (BYOL) or an hourly-usage license.

• If the show license command shows the license as “advance, internal_service” or a similar designation, then the instance uses an hourly-usage license purchased on Amazon Web Services.

The following example displays the license information for an hourly-usage instance:

router# show license
Index 1 Feature: ax           Index 2 Feature: internal_service

• If the show license command shows a list of supported licenses with various throughput levels, then the instance is a BYOL instance.

The following example displays the license information for a BYOL instance:

router# show license
Index 1 Feature: advanced                       
Index 2 Feature: standard                       
Index 3 Feature: ax                             
Index 4 Feature: security                       
Index 5 Feature: lite                           
Index 6 Feature: appx                           
Index 7 Feature: ipbase                         
Index 8 Feature: prem_10M                       
Index 9 Feature: prem_50M                       
Index 10 Feature: prem_100M                      
Index 11 Feature: prem_250M                      
Index 12 Feature: prem_500M                      
Index 13 Feature: prem_500M_8G                   
Index 14 Feature: prem_1G                        
Index 15 Feature: prem_1G_16G                    
Index 16 Feature: prem_2500M                     
Index 17 Feature: prem_5G                        
Index 18 Feature: prem_10G                       
Index 19 Feature: prem_200G                      
Index 20 Feature: ax_10M                         
Index 21 Feature: ax_50M                         
Index 22 Feature: ax_100M                        
Index 23 Feature: ax_250M                        
Index 24 Feature: ax_500M                        
Index 25 Feature: ax_500M_8G                     
Index 26 Feature: ax_1G  

• The license boot level and platform hardware throughput-level commands are not available with hourly-usage license. These commands are only supported on Cisco CSR 1000v instances with BYOL licenses.

Note	If you are using CSR1000v release 16.10.1 or later, for Smart Licensing information, refer to the Smart Licensing Guide for Access and Edge Routers.

Beginning with Cisco IOS XE Release 3.15S, the Cisco CSR 1000v/ Cisco ISRv support activation using Cisco Smart Licensing.

• To use Cisco Smart Licensing, you must first configure the Call Home feature and obtain Cisco Smart Call Home Services.

• For Cisco IOS XE 3.15S and later, and IOS XE Denali 16.3 and later, the following Cisco IOS XE technology packages are supported: IPBase, Security, AX and APPX

• Cisco Smart Licensing uses the Cisco Smart Software Manager for managing licenses. To access the Cisco Smart Software Manager, use the following URL: https://software.cisco.com/#module/SmartLicensing

For more information about Cisco Smart Software Manager, see the Cisco Smart Software Manager User Guide , which is accessible from the Cisco Smart Software Manager tool.

• You cannot use the Web UI to configure SLP related commands for Cisco CSR1000V or Cisco ISRv 17.3.x and earlier versions.

This section describes what to do if there is a failure to connect to the Cisco Smart Call Home Server when IPv6 is configured, as mentioned previously in Enabling Cisco Smart Licensing.

To re-establish connectivity with the Cisco Smart Call Home Server, use one of the following two methods, depending on the version of Cisco IOS XE that you are using:

If you are using one of the following recent versions of Cisco IOS XE: 3.16.6, Denali 16.3.4 and later, Everest 16.4.2 and later, Everest 16.5.1 and later, see Re-establishing Connectivity.

Note that in some cases, after configuring the previous steps, you may need to restart the router to fully re-establish connectivity.

A successfully licensed router may receive an "out of compliance" syslog message during reload or renewal/reauthorization of license from the Smart Licensing server if an attempt is made to contact the Smart Licensing server for a license and the number of available licenses recorded on the Smart Licensing account is exceeded. This message may also occur as a result of the router having been configured to have a higher performance level compared to the previously purchased feature set.

After the "out of compliance" message appears, the system continues to operate at the previously licensed throughput rate.

When a successfully licensed Cisco CSR 1000v/Cisco ISRv is unable to contact the Smart Licensing server, during reload or reauthorization or renewal of license, then the router continues to operate at the previously licensed state.

The license authorization expires if the CSSM satellite server has had no connectivity with the Smart Licensing server for more than 90 days. The license then changes to a License Authorization Expired State and the router continues to operate at the previously licensed state and runs in the Feature Restricted mode.

The following example shows a typical license expiry message that appears on the console.

*Aug 4 08:02:19.056: %VXE_THROUGHPUT-6-CLI_RESTRICTED_LICENSE_EXPIRE: System is in
feature restricted mode due to license expire. Configuration CLIs have been blocked. 
nvram:startup-config is write protected (read-only). Valid license and reboot is required to recover
from this state. Use configuration CLI - platform hardware throughput restricted-throughput-rate-mode
if startup-config changes are needed.

In the Feature Restricted mode, the feature configuration commands are blocked except for those commands that are needed for licensing. Also, the commands for setting the technology features and the throughput rate are available.

Note

In the Feature Restricted mode you cannot save or write the running configuration. However, starting from the 17.1.1 release, you can execute the copy command except while copying to statup config/NVRAM, as startup configuration is write protected. From the 17.1.1 release, when your device is in the Feature Restricted mode, if the hostname was previously Router#, it changes to (restricted)Router#. Renew your license to move out of the Feature Restricted mode.

Example 1

This example shows that if you enter a write command an error message appears.

router# write

nvram config write protected

Example 2.

This example shows that if you enter a reload command an error message appears.

router# reload

System configuration has been modified. Save? [yes/no]: yes 

nvram config write protected

Proceed with reload? [confirm]

After you confirm by pressing Enter and proceed with the reload, the existing configuration is retained and the router continues to run. Note that the existing configuration cannot be modified.

If you further attempt to authorize or renew licenses with the Smart Licensing server, and if communication cannot be achieved with the Smart Licensing server (e.g, after rebooting the router), the syslog messages about being in the Feature Restricted mode, are generated. The following example displays this scenario:

*Aug 4 08:02:19.056: %VXE_THROUGHPUT-6-CLI_RESTRICTED_LICENSE_EXPIRE: 

System is in feature restricted mode due to communication fault to license server. 
Configuration CLIs have been blocked. nvram:startup-config is write protected (read-only).
Valid license and reboot is required to recover from this state.
Use configuration CLI - platform hardware throughput restricted-throughput-rate-mode
if startup-config changes are needed.

router(config)# platform hardware throughput restricted-throughput-rate-mode

After you enter the platform hardware throughput restricted-throughput-rate-mode command, the system displays the following message:

% The config will take effect on next reboot. This device will need to be re-licensed

After the next reload, the throughput rate restricted mode is in operation, and the traffic throughput rate is 100 Kbps.

When the modification of the start-up configuration is disabled, changes you make (such as registering a new license or configuring the license server connectivity) in the Feature Restricted mode are lost if you reboot the router. The router then returns to the Feature Restricted mode. If you use the platform hardware throughput restricted-throughput-rate-mode command, recovery is possible as you can use the configuration commands that are required to restore the router license.

If the configuration commands to renew licensing are not required, you can reboot the Cisco CSR 1000v / Cisco ISRv instance. The device communicates with the Smart Licensing server and then pre-existing licenses are renewed.

Activating a license using Permanent License Reservation (PLR) allows a device to use a license without having to be connected to Cisco Smart Software Manager (CSSM) or CSSM satellite. This feature is available using release Cisco IOS XE Everest 16.5.1a or later.

Utility Reporting allows you to pay for features based on usage, instead of paying in advance for feature licenses. Utility Reporting is available for the Cisco CSR 1000v or Cisco ISRv using Cisco IOS XE Fuji 16.8.1 or higher.

Utility Reporting collects usage data from products that have Cisco Smart Licensing and Utility Reporting enabled and sends the usage data via the CSSM satellite to the Cisco Service Billing Platform (SBP), which produces daily reports. Usage data is produced in the Resource Utilization Measurement (RUM) format (ISO/IEC 19770-4).

The device collects usage data every 15 minutes and sends it to the CSSM satellite every four hours. Every 8 hours the CSSM satellite sends data to the Cisco SBP. The device stores usage data for up to 30 days and the CSSM satellite saves data for 90 days. This data backup allows recovery after, for example, the CSSM satellite becomes disconnected from the Cisco SBP. If there is a lack of connection for more than 30 days, the Cisco accounts team should contact you to communicate any issues.

Before enabling Utility Reporting, perform the following steps:

• Add the licensese that are going to be used for utility reporting (using a post-payment method) into a smart account. For example, see Smart Software Licensing Overview.

• Enable Smart Licensing on the device.

  Summary steps:

  
  configure terminal
  license smart enable
  exit

  See Enabling Cisco Smart Licensing, in this document.

• Install and configure CSSM satellite. For further information, see Smart Software Manager satellite.

• Register the device. For further information, see Registering the Router with the Cisco Licensing Cloud (CSSM satellite), in this document.

To verify that utility reporting data is being sent from the CSSM satellite to Cisco, enter the command shown in the following example, in configuration mode:

show license all

In the sample output shown below, in the "Utility" section, the line "Last attempt: SUCCEEDED on Dec 19 18:23:02 2017 UTC" shows when the utility report data was last sent successfully. Other data shows the date and time that the report was sent, and the expected date and time of the next utility report (4 hours later).

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

Smart Licensing is ENABLED

Registration:
  Status: REGISTERED
  Export-Controlled Functionality: Allowed
  Initial Registration: SUCCEEDED on Dec 13 16:11:51 2017 UTC
  Last Renewal Attempt: None                                 
  Next Renewal Attempt: Feb 19 16:24:44 2018 UTC             
  Registration Expires: Jul 05 16:50:33 2018 UTC             

License Authorization: 
  Status: AUTHORIZED on Dec 13 18:23:51 2017 UTC
  Last Communication Attempt: NOT STARTED       
    Failure reason: Device in Thirdparty Utility Mode
  Next Communication Attempt: None                   
  Communication Deadline: Mar 19 18:23:02 2018 UTC   

Utility:
  Status: ENABLED
  Utility report:
    Last success: Dec 19 18:23:03 2017 UTC
    Last attempt: SUCCEEDED on Dec 19 18:23:02 2017 UTC
    Next attempt: Dec 19 22:23:02 2017 UTC             

  Customer Information:
    Id: <empty>        
    Name: <empty>      
    Street: <empty>    
    City: <empty>      
    State: <empty>     
    Country: <empty>   
    Postal Code: <empty>

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

Transport:
  Type: Smart
  Registration URL: https://cssm-onprem.dcloud.cisco.com/SmartTransport
  Utility URL: http://10.87.9.106/Transportgateway/services/DeviceRequestHandler

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

(ax_1G):
  Description:
  Count: 1
  Version: 1.0
  Status: AUTHORIZED
  Utility Subscription id:  81

Product Information
===================
UDI: PID:CSR1000V,SN:9ZT6BKI8CXG

Agent Version
=============
Smart Agent for Licensing: 4.3.0_rel/8
Component Versions: SA:(1_3_dev)1.0.15, SI:(dev22)1.2.1, CH:(rel5)1.0.3, PK:(dev18)1.0.3

To set the information that will appear in the "Customer Information" section of the show license command above, use the following command:

license smart utility customer_info info_type info_value , where info_type is one of the following: city, country, id, name, postalcode, state, street.

Example

license smart utility customer_info city New York

Use the show license all command to display the device registration information.

Router#show license all
Smart Licensing Status
======================
Smart Licensing is ENABLED
Registration:
  Status: REGISTERED
  Smart Account: BU Production Test
  Virtual Account: CRDC_SH_3
  Export-Controlled Functionality: Allowed
  Initial Registration: SUCCEEDED on Jul 08 20:45:54 2015 UTC
  Last Renewal Attempt: None
  Next Renewal Attempt: Jan 04 20:45:54 2016 UTC
  Registration Expires: Jul 07 05:59:29 2016 UTC
License Authorization: 
  Status: AUTHORIZED on Jul 08 20:46:05 2015 UTC
  Last Communication Attempt: SUCCEEDED on Jul 08 20:46:05 2015 UTC
  Next Communication Attempt: Aug 07 20:46:05 2015 UTC
  Communication Deadline: Oct 06 05:59:43 2015 UTC
License Usage
==============
CSR 1KV AX 500M (ax_500M):
  Description: CSR 1KV AX 500M
  Count: 1
  Version: 1.0
  Status: AUTHORIZED
Product Information
===================
UDI: PID:CSR1000v,SN:9Q0BWG3BHL0
Agent Version
=============
Smart Agent for Licensing: 1.4.0_rel/11
Component Versions: SA:(1_4_rel)1.0.10, SI:(rel21)1.2.0, CH:(rel4)1.0.23, PK:(rel17)1.0.5

The show call-home profile all and show license tech support commands may be helpful during troubleshooting.

You can configure the Cisco CSR 1000v/ ISRv to notify you when a certain percentage of the maximum throughput level is reached. The maximum allowable throughput is based on the installed throughput license.

Note	This feature is available on Cisco IOS XE 3.13S or later, and Cisco IOS XE Denali 16.3.1 and later.

By default, when the router first boots, the throughput level notification is enabled, and notifications are sent when the router reaches 95 percent of the maximum throughput level. The throughput level is measured every 300 seconds. When the router is rebooted, the threshold and interval level settings configured using the set platform hardware throughput-monitor command are retained.

The following command configures the hardware throughput monitor settings. The threshold percentage value represents the percentage of the maximum throughput at which the system notifies you. The valid range is from 75 to 95, and the default value is 95 percent.

The interval value represents how often the system measures the throughput level. The valid range is from 30 to 86400 seconds. The default value is 300 seconds.

set platform hardware throughput-monitor threshold percentage interval seconds

Router# set platform hardware throughput-monitor threshold 85 interval 30

Router# show platform hardware throughput-monitor parameters
 
  Throughput monitor parameters
  Throughput monitor threshold: 95 percent
  Throughput monitor interval: 300 seconds
  Throughput monitor status: enabled 

Dec 13 22:00:29.699: %BW_LICENSE-3-THROUGHPUT_THRESHOLD_LEVEL: F0: cpp_ha: Average 
throughput rate exceeded 95 percent of licensed bandwidth 3 times, sample
 period 300 seconds, in last 24 hours

Dec 13 22:00:29.699: %BW_LICENSE-4-THROUGHPUT_MAX_LEVEL: F0: cpp_ha: Average 
throughput rate exceeded the total licensed bandwidth 50000000 bps and dropped 
packets 7 times, sample period 300 seconds, in last 24 Hours

The Cisco Smart Software Manager (CSSM) manages the licenses for all Cisco devices, including Cisco CSR 1000v and Cisco ISRv. When these licenses reach end-of-life (EOL) in 2022, you must move to the Cisco DNA licenses to continue to use these devices, and to keep your Smart Account compliant. After you activate your Cisco DNA license, the CSSM automatically maps the device licenses (CSR 1000v and Cisco ISRv APPX, AX, SEC and IP Base licenses) to your Cisco DNA license, based on the existing license package and throughput.