Stacking time-based licenses, Time-based license expiration, Shared anyconnect premium licenses – Cisco ASA 5505 User Manual

Page 143

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3-23

Cisco ASA 5500 Series Configuration Guide using the CLI

Chapter 3 Managing Feature Licenses

Information About Feature Licenses

Stacking Time-Based Licenses

In many cases, you might need to renew your time-based license and have a seamless transition from the
old license to the new one. For features that are only available with a time-based license, it is especially
important that the license not expire before you can apply the new license. The ASA allows you to stack
time-based licenses so you do not have to worry about the license expiring or about losing time on your
licenses because you installed the new one early.

When you install an identical time-based license as one already installed, then the licenses are combined,
and the duration equals the combined duration.

For example:

1.

You install a 52-week Botnet Traffic Filter license, and use the license for 25 weeks (27 weeks
remain).

2.

You then purchase another 52-week Botnet Traffic Filter license. When you install the second
license, the licenses combine to have a duration of 79 weeks (52 weeks plus 27 weeks).

Similarly:

1.

You install an 8-week 1000-session AnyConnect Premium license, and use it for 2 weeks (6 weeks
remain).

2.

You then install another 8-week 1000-session license, and the licenses combine to be 1000-sessions
for 14 weeks (8 weeks plus 6 weeks).

If the licenses are not identical (for example, a 1000-session AnyConnect Premium license vs. a
2500-session license), then the licenses are not combined. Because only one time-based license per
feature can be active, only one of the licenses can be active. See the

“Activating or Deactivating Keys”

section on page 3-33

for more information about activating licenses.

Although non-identical licenses do not combine, when the current license expires, the ASA
automatically activates an installed license of the same feature if available. See the

“Time-Based License

Expiration” section on page 3-23

for more information.

Time-Based License Expiration

When the current license for a feature expires, the ASA automatically activates an installed license of
the same feature if available. If there are no other time-based licenses available for the feature, then the
permanent license is used.

If you have more than one additional time-based license installed for a feature, then the ASA uses the
first license it finds; which license is used is not user-configurable and depends on internal operations.
If you prefer to use a different time-based license than the one the ASA activated, then you must
manually activate the license you prefer. See the

“Activating or Deactivating Keys” section on page 3-33

.

For example, you have a time-based 2500-session AnyConnect Premium license (active), a time-based
1000-session AnyConnect Premium license (inactive), and a permanent 500-session AnyConnect
Premium license. While the 2500-session license expires, the ASA activates the 1000-session license.
After the 1000-session license expires, the ASA uses the 500-session permanent license.

Shared AnyConnect Premium Licenses

A shared license lets you purchase a large number of AnyConnect Premium sessions and share the
sessions as needed among a group of ASAs by configuring one of the ASAs as a shared licensing server,
and the rest as shared licensing participants. This section describes how a shared license works and
includes the following topics:

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