Cisco NX-OS Licensing Guide

Smart Software Licensing Overview

Introduction to Smart Licensing

Cisco Smart Licensing is a flexible licensing model that provides you with an easier, faster, and more consistent way to purchase and manage software across the Cisco portfolio and across your organization. And it’s secure – you control what users can access. With Smart Licensing you get:

Easy Activation: Smart Licensing establishes a pool of software licenses that can be used across the entire organization—no more PAKs (Product Activation Keys).
Unified Management: My Cisco Entitlements (MCE) provides a complete view into all of your Cisco products and services in an easy-to-use portal, so you always know what you have and what you are using.
License Flexibility: Your software is not node-locked to your hardware, so you can easily use and transfer licenses as needed.

To use Smart Licensing, you must first set up a Smart Account on Cisco Software Central (software.cisco.com).

For a more detailed overview on Cisco Licensing, go to cisco.com/go/licensingguide.

Smart Software Manager

The Cisco Smart Software Manager (CSSM) enables the management of software licenses and Smart accounts from a single portal. The interface allows you to activate your product and manage entitlements and prevent license violations, expiry of subscription-based licenses, and out-of-compliance licenses. An active Smart account is required to complete the registration process. To access the Smart Software Manager, go to http://www.cisco.com/web/ordering/smart-software-manager/index.html.

You must add the following information in the Smart Software Manager:

Trusted Unique Identifier—This is the device ID [Secure Unique Device Identifier (SUDI)].
Organizational Identifier—This is a numerical format to associate a product with a Smart account or Virtual account.
Licenses consumed—Allows the Smart Software Manager to understand the license type and the level of consumption.

Smart Software Manager On-Prem

Smart Software Manager On-Prem is a component of Smart Software Licensing and works in conjunction with the Smart Software Manager to manage software licenses. You can intelligently manage product licenses and get near real-time visibility and reports pertaining to the Cisco licenses you purchased and consumed.

If you do not want to manage your installed base using a direct Internet connection, Smart Software Manager On-Prem will be installed on your premises to provide a subset of the Smart Software Manager functionality. You can download the application, deploy it, and register it with the Smart Software Manager.

You can perform the following functions using the application on your premises:

Activate or register a license.
Get visibility to your company's licenses.
Transfer licenses between company entities.

To learn more about Smart Software Manager On-Prem, go to https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/buy/smart-accounts/software-manager.html.

Smart Accounts and Virtual Accounts

A Smart account provides you with a single location for all smart-account enabled products and licenses. It assists you in speedy procurement, deployment, and maintenance of your Cisco software.

If you are requesting a Smart account on behalf of an organization, you must have the authority to represent the requesting organization when creating a Smart account. After submitting the request, the request goes through an approval process before you are provided with access to your Smart account.

Go to http://software.cisco.com to learn about, set up, and manage a Smart account.

A virtual account is a subaccount within a Smart account. You can define the virtual account's structure based on organizational layout, business function, geography, or any defined hierarchy. Virtual accounts can be created and maintained only by Smart account administrators.

Smart License Workflow and States

The following illustration shows the workflow for Smart licenses:

Smart Software Licensing supports the following license states:

Table 1. Smart License States
State	Description
Unregistered	The Smart license is enabled but not connected to the Cisco Smart Software Manager (CSSM). Before you register the switch with the CSSM, Smart Software Licensing automatically enters the evaluation period. The switch remains in evaluation mode for 90 days.
Registered	The Smart license is enabled and connected to the CSSM.
Authorized	The switch has the required license. The CSSM has verified that the reported number of licenses in use do not exceed the total number of licenses purchased for an entitlement. The authorization is valid for 90 days. The switch sends the entitlement request again every 30 days to renew the authorization.
Out of Compliance (OOC)	The switch does not have the required license. The license can be out of compliance for one of the following reasons: The number of licenses in use exceeds the total number of licenses purchased for an entitlement. The purchased licenses are subscription-based and have expired.
Authorization Expired	The switch cannot communicate with Cisco for an extended period of time, usually 90 days. The authorization could expire for one of the following reasons: A network issue prevents the renewal of authorization. An issue occurs with license compliance.

Smart Call Home Overview

Use the Smart Call Home feature to communicate with the Smart Software Manager. On Cisco Nexus 3000 and 9000 Series switches, Smart Software Licensing and Smart Call Home are not enabled by default.

The Smart Call Home (SCH) server runs on Cisco Smart Software Manager On-Prem by default. You can access this service using the following URL:

https://CSSM-On-Prem-IP /Transportgateway/services/DeviceRequestHandler

Provide this URL as part of the Smart Call Home configuration so that the device registration works with CSSM On-Prem. For a sample configuration, see the Configuration Examples for Smart Software Licensing.

Smart Call Home creates a CiscoTAC-1 profile. The associated Smart Call Home messages are sent to the Smart Software Manager only after enabling Smart Call Home.

Note

You must configure the DNS client and virtual routing and forwarding (VRF) before using Smart Call Home. For more information, see Configuring DNS Client and Configuring VRFs to Send Messages.

Traditional Licensing Overview

Traditional licensing at Cisco is a legacy licensing model based on Product Activation Keys (PAKs) and Unique Device Identifiers (UDIs). On most Cisco NX-OS switches, capacity needs are assessed prior to obtaining and installing a .tar file on switches to retrieve the UDI. Customers place an order for a PAK, and the PAK is emailed to the user. The UDI and PAK are used to receive a license file that is installed in the boot directory of the switch to complete the installation of the Cisco NX-OS software.

The License Registration Portal (LRP) is available to help migrate traditional licenses to smart licenses. To access the LRP, obtain training, and manage licenses, go to http://tools.cisco.com/SWIFT/LicensingUI/Home.

Comparing Licensing Models

Two types of licensing models are used for the Cisco Nexus 3000 and 9000 Series Switches: traditional licensing and Smart Software Licensing.

Table 2. Comparison Between Traditional Licensing and Smart Software Licensing
Description	Traditional Licensing	Smart Software Licensing
License instance node locked to the product instance	Yes	No
Product registration upon configuration	No	Yes
Offers tools to report, monitor, own, and consume	No	Yes
Requires Smart Call Home	No	Yes

The licensing mode changes based on the configuration provided. If Smart Software Licensing is enabled, all license requests are passed to the CSSM. If Smart Software Licensing is disabled, all license requests are fulfilled based on the license files installed on the device.

Guidelines and Limitations for Smart Software Licensing

If the switch has no connectivity to a CSSM server, the show running command may get stuck or may take up to 2 minutes to respond. We suggest that the CSSM server is always reachable when smart-licensing is enabled.
Beginning with Cisco NX-OS Release 9.3(3), all Cisco Nexus 3000 and 9000 Series switches (except the Cisco Nexus 3016 and 3064 platform switches) support Smart Software Licensing.
You cannot use both traditional licensing and Smart Software Licensing at the same time.
The FC_PORT_ACTIVATION_PKG license consumes the FC 48 ports entitlement tag regardless of the number of FC ports acquired (Cisco NX-OS 9.3(4) and earlier releases).
Beginning with Cisco NX-OS Release 9.3(5), when a term license is reserved and its term has expired, the license is still shown as Authorized with the show license usage command. In CSSM, alerts will continue and any new licenses from the same pool added to the virtual account are assigned to the reservation.
Beginning with Cisco NX-OS Release 9.3(5), disabling and enabling an installed feature when the license is in a “Not Authorized” state, the license no longer appears in the display of the license usage.
After disabling and re-enabling a Smart License reservation for Cisco Nexus 9000 Series switches, the Smart License request code generated before disabling the reservation remains valid (Cisco NX-OS 9.3(5) and later releases).
Beginning with Cisco NX-OS Release 9.3(5), the conversion of a traditional license to a Smart License using DLC (Device Led Conversion) on Cisco Nexus 3000 and 9000 Series switches, fails when performing additional subsequent Device Led Conversions.
Converting a traditional license to a Smart License — DLC fails unless licenses are installed in traditional mode (Cisco NX-OS 9.3(5) and later releases)
When a smart reservation is configured, ignore any honor-based license syslogs that might appear in the terminal after a system reload (Cisco NX-OS 9.3(5) and later releases).
After converting a traditional license to a Smart License — DLC on a (On-Prem) device, the device does not receive a pass/fail response from the On-Prem Server. Manual synchronization of the On-Prem Server to CSSM might be required to get the return response to the device. (Cisco NX-OS 9.3(5) and later releases)
Beginning with Cisco NX-OS Release 9.3(5), the conversion of a traditional license to a Smart License using DLC (Device Led Conversion) is not supported on Cisco Nexus 3408-S switches.
License Borrowing — When license borrowing is calculated, compliance is accomplished in the quickest way possible. Typically, this means that license borrowing is from its immediate parent.

An alternative is considered if no licenses are found to be eligible to be borrowed from the immediate parent. If during a subsequent call, a device is found not be in compliance, a recalculation for optimization is done. The trigger for a completely optimized pool is a device that is potentially receiving OOC.

Setting Up Smart Accounts

This section provides information on requesting a Smart account and adding users to the account.

Requesting a Smart Account

Requesting a Smart account is a one-time process. Subsequent management of users is a capability provided through the tool.

Before you begin

Ensure that you have a Cisco login.

Procedure

Step 1

Go to http://software.cisco.com, and log in to your account.

Step 2

Click the Request a Smart Account link in the Administration section.

Step 3

Perform one of the following tasks to select the Account Approver:

To select yourself as the approver, click Yes, I will be the Approver for the account option.

To select a different person as the approver, click No, the person specified below will be the Approver for the account option and specify the person's email ID.

Note

The specified approver must have the authority to enter legal agreements. The approver serves as the primary owner and nominates account administrators.

Step 4

Depending on the approver type, perform one of the following procedures:

If you are the approver, perform the following tasks:

Enter Account Name, Company/Organization Name, Country, and State/Province/Region information.
(Optional) Click Edit.

In the Edit Account Identifier window, enter a valid Proposed Domain Identifier and Contact Phone Number, and click OK.

Note

The default domain identifier is the approver's email domain. If you edit the domain identifier, the change goes through a manual approval process.

Click Continue to select the legal address to be linked to your Smart account.

If you are not the approver, perform the following procedure:

Enter the Account Name and an optional Message to the approver.
(Optional) Click Edit.

In the Edit Account Identifier window, enter a valid Proposed Domain Identifier, and click OK.

Note

The default domain identifier is the approver's email domain. If you edit the domain identifier, the change goes through a manual approval process.

Click Continue.
Follow the instructions in the email that is sent to you to complete the request.

Adding a User to a Smart Account

Smart account user management is available in the Administration section of Cisco Software Central.

Procedure

Step 1	Go to http://software.cisco.com, and log in to your account.
Step 2	Click the Manage Smart Account link in the Administration section.
Step 3	Click the Users tab.
Step 4	Click New User.
Step 5	Provide the required information in the New User section. (Define roles to manage the entire Smart account or specific virtual accounts.)
Step 6	Click Continue.

Converting a Traditional License to a Smart License

Traditional licenses associated with Product Activation Keys (PAKs) can be converted to smart licenses using the License Registration Portal (LRP). Access traditional licenses by clicking the PAKs/Tokens tab. Then use the information in this section to convert PAKs to smart licenses.

Note

Alternatively, you can convert traditional licenses to smart licenses using one of the following methods:

Access the Smart Software Manager and follow the instructions in the "Convert to Smart Licensing" section.
Contact Cisco Global Licensing Operations (GLO) or TAC. You need to provide your PAK and device details as well as the smart account where you want the licenses to be deposited.

Procedure

Step 1

Go to http://software.cisco.com, and log in to your account.

Step 2

Click the Traditional Licensing link in the License section.

You are redirected to the LRP window.

Step 3

Click the PAKs/Tokens tab under Manage, if it is not already selected.

Step 4

Check the PAK/Token ID check box.

Step 5

Select Convert to Smart Entitlements from the Actions drop-down menu.

Step 6

Select a smart account from the Smart Account drop-down list.

Note

You can view only the smart accounts that are assigned to you.

Step 7

Select a virtual account from the Virtual Account drop-down list.

Note

You can view only the virtual accounts that are assigned to you.

Step 8

Click Assign.

The selected PAK is converted to a smart license.

Converting a Traditional License to a Smart License—DLC (Device Led Conversion)

Traditional licenses associated with Product Activation Keys (PAK) can be converted to smart licenses using CLI.

This type of conversion is also known as a Device Led Conversion (DLC).

Before you begin

Ensure that Smart Software Licensing is enabled.
Ensure that you have a valid smart account.
Ensure that you have valid user rights for the smart account.

Procedure

Step 1

switch# license smart conversion start

Starts a manual conversion of a traditional license to a smart license. The conversion takes place in the background. After the conversion succeeds or fails, a system log message is displayed on the switch console.

Step 2

(Optional) switch# license smart conversion stop

Stops the manual conversion.

Step 3

(Optional) switch# show license status

Displays the license conversion status. If you run this command from an active device in a high availability (HA) configuration, this will display the status of all the devices in the HA configuration.

Converting a Traditional License to a Smart License—DLC

The following example shows how to convert a traditional license to a smart license using the CLI:

switch# license smart conversion start

Smart License Conversion process is in progress. Use the 'show license status' command to
check the progress and result.

The following example shows how to stop the process of converting a traditional license to smart license using the CLI:

The following example shows the status of the license conversion for a standalone device:

switch# license smart conversion stop
stop manual conversion failed:  
Some Smart Licensing Conversion jobs stopped successfully.

The following example shows the status of line conversion for a standalone device:

switch# show license status

Smart Licensing is ENABLED.
Registration:
Status: REGISTERED
Smart Account: Big-U University
Virtual Account: Physics
Export-Controlled Functionality: Not Allowed
Initial Registration: SUCCEEDED on Feb 24 23:30:12 2020 PST
Last Renewal Attempt: SUCCEEDED on Feb 24 23:30:12 2020 PST
Next Renewal Attempt: Apr 24 23:30:12 2020 PST
Registration Expires: Dec 24 23:30:12 2020 PST

The following show output is applicable from Cisco NX-OS Release 9.3(5) onwards:


Smart License Conversion:
Automatic Conversion Enabled: False
Status: SUCCEEDED on Jan 1 00:00:00 2020 UTC

License Authorization:
Status: AUTHORIZED on Mar 31 17:04:56 2020 UTC
Last Communication Attempt: SUCCEEDED on Mar 31 17:04:56 2020 UTC
Next Communication Attempt: Apr 30 17:04:56 2020 UTC
Communication Deadline: Nov 29 16:58:31 2020 UTC

Configuring Smart Call Home for Smart Software Licensing

Make sure that Smart Call Home is enabled on the switch before configuring Smart Software Licensing. For more information, see the "Configuring Smart Call Home" chapter of the System Management Configuration Guide, Release 9.3(x) for your specific Cisco Nexus 3000 or 9000 Series switch.

Configuring a DNS Client

Before you begin

Make sure that the name server is reachable before you configure a DNS client.

Procedure

	Command or Action	Purpose
Step 1	switch# configure terminal	Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2	switch(config)# ip domain-lookup	Enables DNS-based address translation.
Step 3	switch(config)# ip domain-name `name` [use-vrf `vrf-name`]	Defines the default domain name that Cisco NX-OS uses to resolve unqualified host names. You can also define a virtual routing and forwarding (VRF) that Cisco NX-OS uses to resolve this domain name if it cannot be resolved in the VRF under which you configured this domain name. Cisco NX-OS appends the default domain name to any hostname that does not contain a complete domain name before starting a domain-name lookup.
Step 4	switch(config)# ip name-server `address1` [`address2... address6`] [use-vrf `vrf-name`]	Defines up to six name servers. The address can be either an IPv4 or IPv6 address. You can optionally define a VRF that Cisco NX-OS uses to reach this name server if it cannot be reached in the VRF under which you configured this name server.
Step 5	switch(config)# vrf context `vrf-name`	Creates a VRF and enters VRF configuration mode.
Step 6	switch(config-vrf)# ip domain-name `name` [use-vrf `vrf-name`]	Defines the default domain name that Cisco NX-OS uses to complete unqualified host names. You can optionally define a VRF that Cisco NX-OS uses to resolve this domain name if it cannot be resolved in the VRF under which you configured this domain name. Cisco NX-OS appends the default domain name to any hostname that does not contain a complete domain name before starting a domain-name lookup.
Step 7	switch(config-vrf)# ip name-server `address1` [`address2... address6`] [use-vrf `vrf-name`]	Defines up to six name servers. The address can be either an IPv4 or IPv6 address. You can also define a VRF that Cisco NX-OS uses to reach this name server if it cannot be reached in the VRF under which you configured this name server.

Configuring a VRF To Send a Message Using HTTP

Procedure

	Command or Action	Purpose
Step 1	switch# configure terminal	Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2	switch(config)# callhome	Enters Call Home configuration mode.
Step 3	switch(config-callhome)# transport http use-vrf `vrf-name`	Configures the VRF used to send email and other Smart Call Home messages over HTTP.

Viewing a Smart Call Home Profile

Procedure

Command or Action	Purpose
switch# show running-config callhome	Displays the Smart Call Home profile.

Configuring Smart Software Licensing

Follow the instructions in this section to enable Smart Software Licensing, register your device to use a Smart account, and renew device registration and authorization.

Enabling or Disabling Smart Software Licensing

Procedure

	Command or Action	Purpose
Step 1	switch# configure terminal .	Enters global configuration mode.
Step 2	Use one of the following commands to enable Smart Software Licensing: switch(config)# [no] license smart enable switch(config)# [no] feature license smart	Enables Smart Software Licensing and disables traditional licensing. All license requests now go through the CSSM. The [no] version of this command disables Smart Software Licensing.

Command or Action

Purpose

Step 1

switch# configure terminal .

Enters global configuration mode.

Step 2

Use one of the following commands to enable Smart Software Licensing:

switch(config)# [no] license smart enable

switch(config)# [no] feature license smart

Enables Smart Software Licensing and disables traditional licensing. All license requests now go through the CSSM.

The [no] version of this command disables Smart Software Licensing.

Registering a Device

You can register your device to use a Smart account. You need to register each device only once.

Before you begin

Make sure that Smart Software Licensing is enabled.
Make sure that you have the token to register your device to the Smart account.

Procedure

Command or Action

Purpose

switch# license smart register idtoken token [force]

Registers your device to the Smart account using the token. The CSSM automatically renews the registration information with Cisco every 30 days.

Note

To unregister a device, use the license smart deregister command.

Renewing Device Registration and Authorization

Procedure

	Command or Action	Purpose
Step 1	switch# license smart renew id	Renews the device registration.
Step 2	switch# license smart renew auth	Renews the device authorization.

Verifying Smart Software Licensing

Verify Smart Software Licensing using the following commands:


Commands	Purpose
show license all	Displays all smart licensing information.
show license status	Displays the smart licensing status.
show license summary	Displays a summary of the registration, authorization, and entitlement for smart licenses.
show license tech support	Displays smart licensing technical support information.
show license udi	Displays the device identifier used by the smart license.
show license usage	Displays authorization, entitlement, version, and status information for smart licenses.

Note

System messages for traditional licensing might appear when the device is using Smart Software Licensing. If your device is using Smart Software Licensing, you can ignore messages such as the following: "LIC_MISSING_WARNING: A feature that requires license-name license is not installed."

Verification Examples for Smart Software Licensing

These examples show how to verify Smart Software Licensing:

switch# show license status

Smart Licensing is ENABLED

Registration:
  Status: REGISTERED
  Smart Account: Cisco Systems, Inc.
  Virtual Account: NexusSmartLicensing_Test
  Export-Controlled Functionality: Allowed
  Initial Registration: SUCCEEDED on Nov 12 10:43:33 2019 UTC
  Last Renewal Attempt: None
  Next Renewal Attempt: Jun 16 10:43:32 2019 UTC
  Registration Expires: Nov 12 08:07:20 2019 UTC

License Authorization: 
  Status: AUTHORIZED on Nov 12 10:43:48 2019 UTC

  Last Communication Attempt: SUCCEEDED on Nov 12 10:43:48 2019 UTC
  Next Communication Attempt: Jun 16 10:43:47 2019 UTC
  Communication Deadline: Nov 12 08:07:20 2019 UTC

switch# show license summary

Smart Licensing is ENABLED

Registration:
  Status: REGISTERED
  Smart Account: Cisco Systems, Inc.
  Virtual Account: NexusSmartLicensing_Test
  Export-Controlled Functionality: Allowed

License Authorization: 
  Status: AUTHORIZED on Dec 14 10:43:48 2019 UTC

  Last Communication Attempt: SUCCEEDED
  Next Communication Attempt: Jun 16 10:43:47 2019 UTC
  Communication Deadline: Nov 12 08:07:20 2019 UTC

switch# show license all

Smart Licensing Status
======================
Smart Licensing is ENABLED

Registration:
  Status: REGISTERED
  Smart Account: Cisco Systems, Inc.
  Virtual Account: NexusSmartLicensing_Test
  Export-Controlled Functionality: Allowed
  Initial Registration: SUCCEEDED on Nov 12 10:43:33 2019 UTC
  Last Renewal Attempt: None
  Next Renewal Attempt: Jun 16 10:43:32 2019 UTC
  Registration Expires: Nov 12 08:07:20 2019 UTC

License Authorization: 
  Status: AUTHORIZED
  Last Communication Attempt: SUCCEEDED on Nov 12 10:43:48 2019 UTC
  Next Communication Attempt: Jun 16 10:43:48 2019 UTC
  Communication Deadline: Nov 12 08:07:21 2019 UTC

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

Product Information
===================
UDI: SN:AB123456789

Agent Version
=============
Smart Agent for Licensing: 1.6.6_rel/88

switch# show license tech support

Smart Licensing Status
======================
Smart Licensing is ENABLED

Registration:
  Status: REGISTERED
  Smart Account: Cisco Systems, Inc.
  Virtual Account: NexusSmartLicensing_Test
  Export-Controlled Functionality: Allowed
  Initial Registration: SUCCEEDED on Nov 12 10:43:33 2019 UTC
  Last Renewal Attempt: None
  Next Renewal Attempt: Jun 16 10:43:32 2019 UTC
  Registration Expires: Nov 12 08:07:20 2019 UTC

License Authorization: 
  Status: AUTHORIZED on Nov 12 10:43:48 2019 UTC

  Last Communication Attempt: SUCCEEDED on Nov 12 10:43:48 2019 UTC
  Next Communication Attempt: Jun 16 10:43:47 2019 UTC
  Communication Deadline: Nov 12 08:07:20 2019 UTC

Evaluation Period:
  Evaluation Mode: Not In Use
  Evaluation Period Remaining:  89 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, 7 seconds

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

Product Information
===================
UDI: SN:AB123456789

Agent Version
=============
Smart Agent for Licensing: 1.6.6_rel/88

Upcoming Scheduled Jobs
=======================
Current time: Nov 12 08:44:44 2019 UTC
IdCert Expiration Warning: Oct 15 08:07:20 2019 UTC (303 days, 23 hours, 22 minu
tes, 36 seconds remaining)
Daily: Oct 15 10:26:50 2019 UTC (1 hours, 42 minutes, 6 seconds remaining)
Certificate Renewal: Jun 16 10:43:32 2019 UTC (179 days, 1 hours, 58 minutes, 48
 seconds remaining)
Reservation configuration mismatch between nodes in HA mode: Not Available
Certificate Expiration Check: Nov 12 08:07:20 2019 UTC (363 days, 23 hours, 22 m
inutes, 36 seconds remaining)
Authorization Renewal: Jun 16 10:43:47 2019 UTC (29 days, 1 hours, 59 minutes, 3
 seconds remaining)
Authorization Expiration Check: Nov 12 08:07:20 2019 UTC (363 days, 23 hours, 22
 minutes, 36 seconds remaining)
Init Flag Check: Not Available
Register Period Expiration Check: Not Available
Ack Expiration Check: Not Available

License Certificates
====================
Production Cert: True
PIID: 

Licensing Certificated:

    Id certificate Info:
        Start Date: Nov 12 08:07:22 2019 UTC
        Expiry Date: Nov 12 08:07:22 2019 UTC
        Version Number: 3
        Serial Number: 123456
        Common Name: 9c172927d1806d05694c1f434b40ec0fbef93abb::2

    Signing certificate Info:
        Start Date: Aug 11 19:05:34 2019 UTC
        Expiry Date: Nov 12 07:00:15 2069 UTC
        Version Number: 3
        Serial Number: 3
        Common Name: MMI Signer

    Sub CA Info:
        Start Date: Sep 11 19:06:30 2019 UTC
        Expiry Date: Dec 7 07:00:15 2069 UTC
        Version Number: 3
        Serial Number: 2
        Common Name: Smart Licensing CA

    Root Cert Info:
        Start Date: Jun 30 19:48:47 2019 UTC
        Expiry Date: Dec 7 07:00:15 2069 UTC
        Version Number: 3
        Serial Number: 1
        Common Name: Cisco Licensing Root CA

HA Info
==========
RP Role: Active
Chassis Role: Active
Behavior Role: Active
RMF: True
CF: True
CF State: Stateless

Other Info
==========
Software ID: regid.2015-09.com.cisco.Nexus_9000,1.0_6e2b6ed8-fe9b-48e0-a71f-74ea
f1bcc991
Agent State: authorized
TS enable: True
Transport: Callhome
Locale: C
Debug flags: 0x7
Privacy Send Hostname: True
Privacy Send IP: True
Build type:: Production
sizeof(char)  : 1
sizeof(int)   : 4
sizeof(long)  : 4
sizeof(char *): 4
sizeof(time_t): 4
sizeof(size_t): 4
Endian: Little
Write Erase Occurred: False
XOS version: 0.11.0.0
Reservation enable: False
Reservation in progress: False
Reservation type: None
Reservation request code: <empty>
Reservation authorization code: <empty>
Reservation return code: <empty>
Config Persist Received: True
Message Version: 1.1

switch# show license udi

UDI: SN:AB123456789

switch# show license usage

License Authorization: 
  Status: AUTHORIZED on Nov 12 08:45:50 2019 UTC

(LAN_ENTERPRISE_SERVICES_PKG):
  Description: LAN license for Nexus 9000 Platforms
  Count: 1
  Version: 1.0
  Status: AUTHORIZED

switch# show running-config callhome

!Time: Thu Nov 12 08:55:26 2019

version 9.3(3)
callhome
  email-contact sch-smart-licensing@cisco.com
  destination-profile CiscoTAC-1 transport-method http
  destination-profile CiscoTAC-1 http https://tools.cisco.com/its/service/oddce/
services/DDCEService
  transport http use-vrf management
  enable

Configuration Examples for Smart Software Licensing

This example shows how to register your device with the Cisco portal and enable Smart Software Licensing:

Note

To avoid any issues when registering your device, make sure that the name server is reachable before registering your device.

switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# ip domain-lookup
switch(config)# ip domain-name cisco.com
switch(config)# ip name-server 171.70.168.183 use-vrf management
switch(config)# vrf context management
switch(config-vrf)# ip domain-name cisco.com
switch(config-vrf)# ip name-server 171.70.168.183
switch(config-vrf)# exit
switch(config)# callhome
switch(config-callhome)# transport http use-vrf management
switch(config-callhome)# exit
switch(config)# feature license smart

This example shows how to disable Smart Software Licensing:

switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# no feature license smart

This example shows how to register a device:

switch# configure terminal
switch(config)# license smart register idtoken sampletokenID
register status: Registration process is in progress. Use the 'show license status' command to check the progress and result

This example shows how to unregister a device:

switch# license smart deregister

This example shows how to provide the URL for CSSM On-Prem as part of the Smart Call Home configuration:

callhome
  contract-id <contract-id>
  customer-id <customer-id>
  site-id <site-id>
  email-contact <email>
  phone-contact <phone>
  streetaddress <street address>
  destination-profile CiscoTAC-1 transport-method http
  destination-profile CiscoTAC-1 index 1 http https://<CSSM-On-Prem-IP>/Transportgateway/services/DeviceRequestHandler
  transport http use-vrf management
  enable

Use Cases for Smart Software Licensing

Scenario 1

Configure and order a Cisco Nexus 3000 or 9000 Series switch with licenses and select the Cisco NX-OS release that will be preinstalled on the hardware prior to shipment.

Note

To convert the preinstalled licenses on the hardware to smart licenses, you must have a Smart Account set up and then convert the licenses by going to the License Registration Portal.

Click the Devices tab under the Manage section. Click the corresponding Device ID, and choose Convert to Smart Entitlements from the Device ID drop-down list. Doing so converts all the licenses that are preinstalled on the switch to smart licenses. This task must be performed for each switch that you want to convert to smart licensing.
The service validates if license Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) on the switch have been mapped to smart licenses before proceeding with the conversion.
Enable smart mode on the switch and start using the smart licenses.

Scenario 2

Configure and order a Cisco Nexus 3000 or 9000 Series switch with licenses and select the Cisco NX-OS release that will be preinstalled in the hardware prior to shipment.

Upgrade the switch to Cisco NX-OS Release 9.3(3) or a later release.

Note

To convert the preinstalled licenses on the hardware to smart licenses, you must have a Smart account set up and then perform the conversion by going to the License Registration Portal.

Click the Devices tab under the Manage section. Click the corresponding Device ID, and choose Convert to Smart Entitlements from the Device ID drop-down list. Doing so converts all the licenses that are preinstalled on the switch to smart licenses. This task must be performed for each switch that you want to convert to smart licensing.
The service validates if license SKUs on the switch are mapped to smart licenses before proceeding with the conversion.
Enable smart mode on the switch and start using the smart licenses.

Scenario 3

Order a spare license SKU and do not associate a Smart account to the order in Cisco Commerce Workspace (CCW).

Note

You must have a Smart account set up before using Smart Software Licensing.

Order a PAK and load it to your Smart account.
The License Registration Portal service validates if the spare license SKU is mapped to a smart license.
The Smart Software Manager (SSM) notifies you through email when your Smart Account has licenses that can be fulfilled as traditional licenses or smart licenses.
Specify the PAKs as smart licenses in SSM.
Ensure that Cisco NX-OS Release 9.3(3) or a later release is installed on the switch, enable smart mode, and start using the smart entitlements.

Scenario 4

Order a spare license SKU and assign a Smart account to the order in CCW.
The existing License Registration Portal service deposits the PAK to the LRP Smart account.
The License Registration Portal service validates if the spare license SKU has been mapped to smart entitlements. If the spare license SKUs are mapped to smart entitlements, the service sends out a confirmation notification to CSSM.
The Smart Software Manager notifies you through email when your Smart Account has licenses that can be fulfilled as traditional licenses or smart licenses.
Specify the PAKs as Smart Software Licenses in SSM.
Ensure that Cisco NX-OS Release 9.3(3) or a later release is installed on the switch, enable smart mode, and start using the smart licenses.

Additional References for Smart Software Licensing

Table 3. Technical Assistance
Description	Link
License Registration Portal (LRP) documentation	https://www.cisco.com/web/fw/tools/swift/xui/html/help.html
Smart accounts and smart licensing	https://forums.cisco.com/OperationsExchange/s/Training-Details?L1Category=Training&L2Category=CSE_End_Customer&L1CategoryPath=training
Training and resources	https://community.cisco.com/t5/smart-licensing-enterprise/software-on-demand-training-resources-for-customers/ta-p/3639797

Feature History for Smart Software Licensing


Feature Name	Release	Feature Information
Converting a Traditional License to a Smart License—DLC (Device Led Conversion)	9.3(5)	Introduced support for Device Device Led Conversion (DLC) to convert a traditional license to a Smart License.
Smart Software Licensing	9.3(3)	Introduced this feature for Cisco Nexus 3000 and 9000 Series switches.

Results

Chapter: Smart Software Licensing for Cisco Nexus 3000 and 9000 Series Switches

Smart Software Licensing for Cisco Nexus 3000 and 9000 Series Switches

Smart Software Licensing Overview

Introduction to Smart Licensing

Smart Software Manager

Smart Software Manager On-Prem

Smart Accounts and Virtual Accounts

Smart License Workflow and States

Smart Call Home Overview

Traditional Licensing Overview

Comparing Licensing Models

Guidelines and Limitations for Smart Software Licensing

Setting Up Smart Accounts

Requesting a Smart Account

Before you begin

Procedure

Adding a User to a Smart Account

Procedure

Converting a Traditional License to a Smart License

Procedure

Converting a Traditional License to a Smart License—DLC (Device Led Conversion)

Before you begin

Procedure

Converting a Traditional License to a Smart License—DLC

Configuring Smart Call Home for Smart Software Licensing

Configuring a DNS Client

Before you begin

Procedure

Configuring a VRF To Send a Message Using HTTP

Procedure

Viewing a Smart Call Home Profile

Procedure

Configuring Smart Software Licensing

Enabling or Disabling Smart Software Licensing

Procedure

Registering a Device

Before you begin

Procedure

Renewing Device Registration and Authorization

Procedure

Verifying Smart Software Licensing

Verification Examples for Smart Software Licensing

Configuration Examples for Smart Software Licensing

Use Cases for Smart Software Licensing

Scenario 1

Scenario 2

Scenario 3

Scenario 4

Additional References for Smart Software Licensing

Feature History for Smart Software Licensing

Was this Document Helpful?

Contact Cisco

Related Cisco Community Discussions