When you purchase one or more licenses for the FTD device, you manage them in the Cisco Smart Software Manager: https://software.cisco.com/#SmartLicensing-Inventory. The Cisco Smart Software Manager lets you create a primary account for your organization.

By default, your licenses are assigned to the Default Virtual Account under your primary account. As the account administrator, you can create additional virtual accounts; for example, for regions, departments, or subsidiaries. Multiple virtual accounts help you manage large numbers of licenses and appliances.

Licenses and appliances are managed per virtual account; only that virtual account’s appliances can use the licenses assigned to the account. If you need additional licenses, you can transfer an unused license from another virtual account. You can also transfer appliances between virtual accounts.

When you register a device with Cisco Smart Software Manager, you create a Product Instance Registration Token in the manager, and then enter it in FDM. A registered device becomes associated with a virtual account based on the token that is used.

For more information about the Cisco Smart Software Manager, see the online help for the manager.

When you use a Product Instance Registration Token to register the FTD device, the device registers with the Cisco License Authority. The License Authority issues an ID certificate for communication between the device and the License Authority. This certificate is valid for one year, although it will be renewed every six months. If an ID certificate expires (usually in nine months or a year with no communication), the device reverts to a de-registered state and licensed feature usage is suspended.

The device communicates with the License Authority on a periodic basis. If you make changes in the Cisco Smart Software Manager, you can refresh the authorization on the device so the changes immediately take effect. You also can wait for the device to communicate as scheduled. Normal license communication occurs every 12 hours, but with the grace period, your device will operate for up to 90 days without calling home. You must contact the License Authority before 90 days have passed.

The following table explains the licenses available for the FTD device.

Your purchase of a FTD device automatically includes a Base license. All additional licenses are optional.

When you register a device, you must also specify whether to Allow export-controlled functionality on the products registered with this token. You can select this option only if your country meets export-control standards. This option controls your use of advanced encryption and the features that require advanced encryption.

Evaluation mode is treated the same as registering using a non-export-compliant account. That means that you cannot configure remote access VPN, or use advanced encryption algorithms, when running in evaluation mode.

Most particularly, the DES standard is available only in evaluation or non-export-compliant mode.

Thus, if you configure encrypted features, such as site-to-site VPN, or encrypt the failover connection in a high availability group, you might end up with connection problems after registering in an export-compliant account. If the feature was using DES in evaluation mode, that configuration will be broken after you register the account.

Consider the following recommendations for avoiding encryption-related problems:

• Avoid configuring encrypted features, such as site-to-site VPN and encrypted failover connections, until after you register the device.

• After registering the device using an export-compliant account, edit all encrypted features that you configured in evaluation mode and select more secure encryption algorithms. Test and verify each of these features to ensure they are functioning correctly.

Note	If you configured HA failover encryption in evaluation mode, you will also need to reboot both devices in the HA group to start using stronger encryption. We recommend you remove the encryption first to avoid a split-brain situation, where both devices consider themselves the active unit.

If one of the following optional licenses expires, you can continue using features that require the license. However, the license is marked out of compliance and you need to purchase the license and add it to your account to bring the license back into compliance.

If you disable an optional license, the system reacts as follows:

• Malware—The system stops querying the Secure Malware Analytics Cloud, and also stops acknowledging retrospective events sent from the Secure Malware Analytics Cloud. You cannot re-deploy existing access control policies if they include file policies. Note that for a very brief time after a Malware license is disabled, the system can use existing cached file dispositions. After the time window expires, the system assigns a disposition of Unavailable to those files.

• Threat—The system no longer applies intrusion or file policies. For Security Intelligence policies, the system no longer applies the policy and stops downloading feed updates. You cannot re-deploy existing policies that require the license.

• URL—Access control rules with URL category conditions immediately stop filtering URLs, and the system no longer downloads updates to URL data. You cannot re-deploy existing access control policies if they include rules with category and reputation-based URL conditions.

• RA VPN—You cannot edit the remote access VPN configuration, but you can remove it. Users can still connect using the RA VPN configuration. However, if you change the device registration so that the system is no longer export compliant, the remote access VPN configuration stops immediately and no remote users can connect through the VPN.

There are two separate types of license reservation:

• Universal Permanent License Reservation (Universal PLR or UPLR)—The Universal Permanent License permits perpetual, unlimited use of supported firewall products, including all optional licenses. Once you purchase and apply a Universal Permanent License, any applied feature licenses, which are normally time-based, are permanently applicable. However, you are still responsible for purchasing replacement licenses as they expire in your Smart License account. ISA 3000 does not support Universal PLR.

• Specific License Reservation—Specific License Reservation requires the same number and types of licenses as standard Smart Licensing. When you obtain this license, you select which optional feature licenses you want in addition to the base license. You must periodically update your licenses as they expire.

FDM supports Universal PLR only.

You must work with your Cisco representative to enable Universal Permanent License Reservation (PLR) mode in your Cisco Smart Software Manager (CSSM) account.

To verify that you can obtain and apply a permanent license, log into your CSSM account and go to the Smart Software Licensing > Inventory page, then click the Licenses tab. If you can see the License Reservation button, then you are authorized to obtain permanent license reservations.

However, this button starts a wizard that works for both Universal and Specific Permanent Licenses.

You must also look through your list of available licenses to verify that there is a Universal License for the device. This license will appear as a selectable item in step 2 of the wizard launched by the License Reservation button.

If you can see the License Reservation button and you can get a Universal License, then you can proceed with converting the system to use a permanent license. If the button does not appear, or you can reserve Specific licenses only, call your Cisco representative and request that Universal PLR mode be enabled for your account.