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:
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:
|
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:
|
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. |