Cisco HCS License Delivery and Activation

Introduction

After you place a Cisco HCS order, you then obtain the software and licenses, install the software, and activate the licenses. The tools and processes used to obtain software and licenses are similar. The following information focuses on license downloads and activation specifically.

A Product Authorization Key (PAK) is the source to activating Cisco HCS licenses. A PAK is a short string of code provided by Cisco that generates the actual licenses used by Cisco HCS. A PAK is installed through the Cisco Software Activation License portal.

Generated licenses are installed on the Cisco Prime License Manager associated with the customer.

Electronic License Delivery

Electronic delivery (eDelivery) of Cisco HCS software is the default delivery method of the Cisco Commerce Workspace. eDelivery enables electronic fulfillment of software license entitlement documentation. With eDelivery, users can manage and download their software license entitlement documentation:

  • Right to Use

  • End User License Agreement

  • License Claim Form (with the associated Product Authorization Keys)

When a partner or customer orders any eDelivery product, an email is sent to the contact named in the Ship To field of the order. The email contains a link to the eDelivery application. The link in the email is not tied to a specific user, so the email can be shared with others as necessary.

Customers access the eDelivery application using their Cisco.com user profile (user ID and password). This access allows partners or customers to receive electronic licenses and software downloads.

For more eDelivery information and training, see:

For more information and assistance, send an email to hcs-license@cisco.com.

Physical License Delivery

For the physical delivery of Cisco HCS software and licenses, a kit is delivered by postal mail. The kit contains a DVD, the PAK, and documentation. The kit is shipped to the person and address in the Ship To field of the order. Physical delivery takes longer than electronic delivery.

Electronic is the default delivery method, but you can select physical delivery when you place an order.

License Management Tools

License management within a Cisco HCS deployment is handled through Cisco Prime License Manager. Cisco Prime License Manager offers the following features:

  • Simplified, enterprise-wide management of user-based licensing, including license fulfillment

  • License fulfillment

  • Support for allocation and reconciliation of licenses across supported products

  • Enterprise-level reporting of usage and entitlement

For more information, see the Cisco Prime License Manager documentation: http:/​/​www.cisco.com/​c/​en/​us/​support/​cloud-systems-management/​prime-license-manager/​tsd-products-support-series-home.html.


Note

Cisco Prime License Manager is used in Cisco HCS 10.x deployments. Enterprise License Manager is used in Cisco HCS 9.x deployments.

License Activation

After you receive the license documentation and media, you can activate the licenses. Activating, or fulfilling, a license adds it to the associated system to enable specific use and functionality.

The topics in this section describe electronic and offline methods for fulfilling licenses, using the Cisco HCS license PAK and Cisco Prime License Manager. Cisco Prime License Manager allocates these licenses to its assigned Cisco Unified Communications Manager, Cisco Unity Connection, and TelePresence Room application instances.

Activate a License Using eFulfillment

eFulfillment uses Cisco Prime License Manager to connect to the Cisco License website to fulfill the licenses from the PAK. Use the following procedure to fulfill licenses using eFulfillment.

Before You Begin

An internet connection between the license manager and the Cisco eFulfillment server must be established in order for eFulfillment to function. You may need to configure your firewalls to allow the exchange of information. The minimum access needed is:

  • www.cisco.com
  • tools.cisco.com
  • software.cisco.com
Procedure
    Step 1   Access Cisco Prime License Manager and find Fulfill Licenses from PAK under Licenses > License Fulfillment.
    Step 2   Enter your PAK key. The system asks for your Cisco.com sign-in information to connect to the Cisco licensing server. The available entitlement is displayed.
    Step 3   (Optional) All Cisco HCS license PAKs allow partial fulfillment. Adjust the quantities of each license type that you want to fulfill by clicking the rows and entering a quantity.
    Step 4   Enter an optional description for this license fulfillment transaction and check box to accept the end-user license agreement. Then select Finish. The fulfilled HCS licenses are now available for activation on the UC applications associated with this License Manager.

    Activate a License Offline

    Use this procedure to fulfill and register licenses from one or more PAKs for a Prime License Manager, and then load the resultant license file onto Prime License Manager.

    The license for Unified Communications Manager also provides the IM and Presence capabilities. A separate user or server license is not required to use this function.

    Before You Begin

    Ensure you received new PAKS from your sales order from Cisco. The PAKs are mailed to you. You can also obtain the PAKs from the Order Status Tool, using your sales order number.

    Procedure
      Step 1   In your web browser, navigate to http:/​/​www.cisco.com/​go/​license and enter your credentials.
      Step 2   Click Load More PAKS.
      Step 3   Select the PAKs from which you want to fulfill licenses. Click Fulfill Selected PAKs.
      Step 4   The Cisco HCS License PAK can contain various license types including UCM Basic, UCM Foundation, UCM Standard, Unity Connection, and TelePresence Room. Enter the quantity of each license to be fulfilled to Prime License Manager.
      Step 5   Generate the Prime License Manager license request, which is obtained through the Prime License Manager system administration panel under License Management > Licenses > Generate License Request. To create a license request, see the "Generate License Request" section of the Cisco Prime License Manager User Guide.
      Step 6   Copy the license request from Prime License Manager and paste it on the License Registration page. The license request contains the unique identification of the Prime License Manager to which the licenses will be registered.
      Step 7   Click the pencil icon next to end user and enter the information for the user. Click OK.
      Step 8   Click Get License. The License Request Status window appears to indicate that the license transaction is complete. A confirmation email is sent, which includes the license file for the customer instance. This email contains instructions on how to install the license file on Prime License Manager.
      Note    Do not try to install the ZIP file attachment onto Prime License Manager. When you upload the ZIP file, Prime License Manager unzips and installs the license file. Alternatively, you can open the ZIP file and extract the files. The .bin file is installed on Prime License Manager.
      Step 9   Install the license file on Prime License Manager.
      1. Sign in to Prime License Manager.
      2. Click Install License File.
      3. Under License Management on the navigation panel, click License Page. A file browse dialog opens.
      4. Navigate to the .bin license file you extracted in step 8 and click Open.
      5. Click Install.

      Cisco HCS Management Licenses

      Licenses for Cisco Prime Collaboration Assurance

      Beginning with Cisco HCS 10.0(1), licensing is required for the Cisco Prime Collaboration Assurance software.

      The process for fulfilling Cisco Prime Collaboration Assurance licenses is similar to the process for Cisco Unified Communications applications.

      • In your web browser, navigate to http:/​/​www.cisco.com/​go/​license .

      • Enter the PAK that you received for Cisco Prime Collaboration Assurance.

      • Follow the prompts to create the single instance license from your overall license pool.

      • Obtain the MAC address of the server and enter it when prompted.

      For more information about licensing, including endpoints, see the Cisco Prime Collaboration Assurance Guide - Advanced: http:/​/​www.cisco.com/​c/​en/​us/​support/​cloud-systems-management/​prime-collaboration/​products-user-guide-list.html.

      Important:

      The management license packages for the Cisco HCS 10.x releases include the license for Prime Collaboration Assurance 10.x. If you are using one of these HCS releases and upgrade to Prime Collaboration Assurance 11.0, then upgrade the license for Prime Collaboration Assurance. Also upgrade any add-on licenses for Prime Collaboration Assurance.

      Licenses for Cisco Unified Communications Domain Manager

      Cisco Unified Communications Domain Manager ships a PAK that you use to register the product. The PAK does not generate a license file:

      1. In your web browser, navigate to http:/​/​www.cisco.com/​go/​license.

      2. Enter the Unified Communications Domain Manager PAK number.

      3. Click the pencil icon next to End User and enter the information for the end partner.

      4. Accept the end-user license agreement. You do not need a MAC address for this process.

      A confirmation email is sent from licensing@cisco.com to show that registration is complete. No license file is generated.

      Cisco HCS Application Licenses

      Basic, Foundation, and Standard Licenses

      Basic, Foundation, and Standard licenses are delivered as a PAK. Use Cisco Prime License Manager to register and activate them. For more information, see the Cisco Prime License Manager User Guide: http:/​/​www.cisco.com/​c/​en/​us/​support/​cloud-systems-management/​prime-license-manager/​products-user-guide-list.html.

      Essential Licenses

      Essential licenses for analog device connections, Cisco Unified IP Phone 3905, or Cisco Unified IP Phone 6901, are registered with the same PAK used for Cisco Unified Communications Manager. Use Cisco Prime License Manager to activate these licenses.

      Cisco TelePresence Room Licenses

      Cisco TelePresence Room licenses are registered with the PAK for Cisco Unified Communications Manager. Use one room license for each deployed TelePresence room. Activate these licenses using Cisco Prime License Manager.

      For information about how licenses are delivered, see Electronic License Delivery and Physical License Delivery.

      Cisco HCS Add-On Licenses

      Cisco Emergency Responder

      Cisco HCS License Manager supports Cisco Emergency Responder, except for CER HCS LE.

      Cisco Unity Connection

      For license registration, the PAK contains only Cisco Unity Connection components but the registration steps are the same.

      For more information about ordering Cisco HCS licenses, see the License Ordering chapter.

      Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise

      Every Cisco HCS Contact Center agent license must include the following:

      • One Contact Center Enterprise license

      • One CVP (IVR Port) license

      • One Desktop license

      Ensure that you have the answers to the following questions:

      • How many concurrent agents are required?

      • How many extra IVR ports are required?

      • Do you want support for multichannel or outbound options?

      For more information, see the Cisco HCS for Contact Center chapter. You can also visit the HCS for Contact Center community: https:/​/​communities.cisco.com/​community/​partner/​collaboration/​contactcenter/​hcs_for_cc/​content?query=hcs.

      Unified Attendant Console Advanced Edition

      Cisco Unified Attendant Console Advanced uses Single-Server licensing. The publisher server is responsible for all the licensing and customers are not required to license the subscriber separately.

      Hosted License Manager and Cisco Prime License Manager do not support Cisco Unified Attendant Console Standard. The administrator performs the following tasks:

      • Obtains licenses for the Cisco Unified Attendant Console.

      • Enters the registration codes on each Cisco Unified Attendant Console server.

      • Enters the license activation codes from the fulfilled order.

      In the case of SMB, the consolidated license file feature may be useful to apply to each Cisco Unified Attendant Console.

      Third-Party Software Licences

      The following third-party software requires licensing:

      Other License Activation Considerations

      Version Upgrade from HCS 10.0(1) or 10.1(x) to 10.6(1)

      For upgrades from Cisco HCS release 10.0(1), 10.1(1), or 10.1(2) to release 10.6(1), upgrade your Cisco Emergency Responder license from release 10.0 to 10.5.

      For more information, see the 'Cisco Emergency Responder' topic in the Cisco Hosted Collaboration Solution, Release 10.6(1) Upgrade and Migration Guide: http:/​/​www.cisco.com/​c/​en/​us/​support/​unified-communications/​hosted-collaboration-solution-version-10-6-1/​model.html.

      Version Upgrade from Cisco HCS 10.0(1) or 10.1(1) to 10.1(2)

      No licensing changes are required for an upgrade from Cisco HCS 10.0(1) or Cisco HCS 10.1(1) to Cisco HCS 10.1(2).

      Important:

      If your configuration of Cisco HCS 10.1(2) includes the 10.5(2) release of the Unified Communications applications, use Cisco Prime License Manager release 10.5(2).

      Version Upgrade from HCS 9.1(x) to HCS 10.1(x)

      To upgrade from Cisco HCS 9.1(x) to Cisco HCS 10.1(x), contact Cisco HCS Licensing to deactivate the old licenses and obtain new ones.


      Note
      • Operation Manager and Service Monitor are not compatible with Cisco HCS 10.1(x). Cisco Prime Collaboration Assurance replaces these applications. When upgrading from Cisco HCS 9.1(x) to Cisco HCS 10.1(x), entitlement is for Cisco Prime Collaboration Assurance licenses.
      • A Cisco Prime License Manager that is upgraded to 10.1(x) can support Cisco HCS 9.1(x) and 10.1(x) licenses. When upgrading customers, the service provider has 60 days to upgrade the necessary licenses from 9.1(x) to 10.1(x) for the customer.
      • Enterprise License Manager and Prime License Manager do not support Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Cisco Unified CM) 8.x. Users who were provisioned under Cisco Unified CM do not appear in licensing reports.

      For questions and assistance, contact Cisco HCS Licensing at hcs-license@cisco.com.

      Version Upgrade from Cisco HCS 8.x to Cisco HCS 10.1(x)

      Upgrades from Cisco HCS 8.x to Cisco HCS 10.1(x) for Unified Communications applications are handled manually. When planning to upgrade, contact Cisco HCS Licensing at hcs-license@cisco.com.

      Cisco Software Support Service

      For more information about Cisco Software Support Service (SWSS) for Cisco HCS activation and support, visit http:/​/​www.cisco.com/​go/​servicedescriptions/​.

      Licensing for Customer Turnover (Deactivation)

      You can add and remove clusters from the Prime License Manager as they join or leave the service. If a Prime License Manager goes down or you add a Prime License Manager, you can move licensing from one Prime License Manager to the other. To move licensing, contact hcs-license@cisco.com and include the following information:

      • License request from the original Prime License Manager
      • License request from the new Prime License Manager Sales Order number of the Cisco HCS purchased
      • Partner name

      Prime License Manager runs for 60 days without permanent licensing in place. This grace period allows time to facilitate moves and changes.

      Rehosting Licenses

      When customers leave Cisco HCS, the licenses assigned to the departing customers can be rehosted for use by other existing or new customers.

      For Cisco HCS 8.6, Cisco HCS licenses are assigned to each customer based on their own MAC address. To rehost departing customers on Cisco HCS 8.6, contact Cisco HCS Licensing: hcs-license@cisco.com. The Cisco HCS license team returns those licenses to the partner’s Cisco HCS pool or moves the licenses as designated by the partner.

      For Cisco HCS 9.x and later, Enterprise License Manager or Cisco Prime License Manager manages licenses for multiple customers. Therefore, rehosting is needed only when licenses move from one license manager to another. To move licenses between license managers, contact Cisco HCS Licensing: hcs-license@cisco.com.


      Note

      Cisco HCS Public Sector licenses can be rehosted only to other Public Sector customers on the separate Public Sector license manager.