Overview
Smart Licensing Using Policy is a software license management solution that provides a seamless experience with the various aspects of licensing.
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Purchase or order licenses: Purchase licenses through the existing channels and use the Cisco Smart Software Manager (CSSM) portal to view product instances and licenses.
You can also order postpaid licenses. You can also view these licenses in CSSM. They are listed with a subscription ID.
Note
For new hardware or software orders, Cisco simplifies the implementation of Smart Licensing Using Policy, by factory-installing the following (terms are explained in the Concepts section further below):
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A custom policy, if available.
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An authorization code, if applicable. For this, you must provide your Smart Account and Virtual Account information when placing the order.
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A trust code, which ensures authenticity of data sent to CSSM. This is installed starting with Cisco IOS XE Cupertino 17.7.1a. This trust code cannot be used to communicate with CSSM.
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Use: Most licenses are unenforced. This means that you do not have to complete any licensing-specific operations, such as registering or generating keys before you start using the software and the licenses that are tied to it. Only export-controlled and enforced licenses require Cisco authorization before use. License usage is recorded on your device with timestamps and the required workflows can be completed at a later date.
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Report license usage to CSSM: Multiple options are available for license usage reporting. You can use the Cisco Smart Licensing Utility (CSLU), report usage information directly to CSSM, use a Controller (like Cisco DNA Center or Cisco vManage), deploy Smart Software Manager On-Prem (SSM On-Prem) to administer products and licenses on your premises. A provision for offline reporting for closed networks, where you download usage information and upload to CSSM, is also available.
The usage report is in plain text XML format. See: Sample Resource Utilization Measurement Report.
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Reconcile: For situations where delta billing applies (purchased versus consumed). This applies when you use postpaid licenses - you are billed according to usage.