The documentation set for this product strives to use bias-free language. For the purposes of this documentation set, bias-free is defined as language that does not imply discrimination based on age, disability, gender, racial identity, ethnic identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and intersectionality. Exceptions may be present in the documentation due to language that is hardcoded in the user interfaces of the product software, language used based on RFP documentation, or language that is used by a referenced third-party product. Learn more about how Cisco is using Inclusive Language.
This chapter contains the following sections:
Licensing has the following configuration guidelines and limitations:
Configuration Option | Description |
---|---|
license filename |
NEXUS1000V_LAN_SERVICES_PKG |
switch edition |
New installs use the Essential edition by default. Upgrades use the same addition as the previous install, if one was configured. If not, upgrades use the Advanced edition by default. |
volatile/nonvolatile licensing |
The Cisco Nexus 1000V uses nonvolatile licensing by default, which maintains the link between a license and its assigned VEM until you manually transfer that license, even if the VEM goes out of service. |
You can install the licenses on the Cisco Nexus 1000V by using the install license command. When a module (VEM) comes up, it request licenses from the Cisco Nexus 1000V License Manager.
If the license checkout fails, the module is marked as unlicensed and the virtual Ethernet (vEth) interfaces that are attached to that module are not allowed to come up. For the software upgrades, if the switch is still in the default licensing period, it is extended for another 60 days from the software upgrade date.
As the evaluation license expiration date approaches, the license expiry warning log message informs Advanced edition users about the need to install permanent licenses or change the system to the Essential edition before the evaluation license expiration date. When the Advanced edition is active, messages are logged every day starting from 4 weeks before the license expiry date and every hour on the last day before the licenses expire.
After the expiration date, the existing modules and the interfaces continue to operate and the switch continues to forward the traffic, but if an interface or module flaps, it stays down until the valid licenses are installed or the switch is changed to the Essential edition. In addition, any new interfaces or modules come up in the unlicensed state.
You can disable the advanced features and change the switch edition to Essential even after the licenses have expired.
By default, the switch uses the Essential edition which can be deployed across 128 hosts with a maximum of 512 CPUs. Default licenses are valid for 60 days from the time of installation. During this time you are allowed to change the switch edition to Advanced and try out the advanced features. A maximum of 1024 licenses (up to 128 hosts) are supported during the default license period for the Advanced edition.
The advanced features are available only when you change the switch edition to Advanced. When you install the evaluation or permanent licenses at any time during the default license period, the switch stops using the default licenses and starts using the installed licenses. When the default or the installed licenses expire, if the switch edition is Advanced, it remains in the Advanced edition. You can change the switch edition to the Essential edition even after the license has expired.
When you upgrade the Cisco Nexus 1000V software, the default edition depends on whether your current software version uses tiered-based licensing.
At any time, if you change from the Advanced edition to the Essential edition, the software checks in any licenses that it has checked out of the license pool.
If you are changing from the Essential to the Advanced edition, make sure that you have sufficient licenses installed for all CPU sockets in the VEMs associated with the VSM.
If you are changing from the Advanced to the Essential edition, make sure that you have turned off all advanced features.
This example shows how to display the current switch edition, change to the Advanced edition, and then confirm the change by showing the switch edition:
switch# configure terminal switch(config)# show switch edition Switch Edition - Essential Advanced Features Feature Name Feature State ------------------------------------------ cts disabled dhcp snooping disabled vxlan-gateway disabled Licenses Available: 512 Licenses in Use: 0 License Expiry: Never switch(config)# svs switch edition advanced switch(config)# show switch edition Switch Edition - Advanced Advanced Features Feature Name Feature State ----------------------------------------- cts disabled dhcp snooping enabled vxlan-gateway enabled Licenses Available: 28 Licenses in Use: 4 License Expiry: 11 Dec 2012 switch(config)# copy running-config startup-config switch(config)#
Obtaining and Installing a License
License files have the following characteristics:
Step 1 |
Obtain the serial number, also called the host ID, for your VSM. switch# show license host-id License hostid: VDH=1280389551234985805
|
||
Step 2 | From your software license claim certificate, locate the product authorization key (PAK). | ||
Step 3 | Go to the Software Download site. | ||
Step 4 | From the Software Download site, go to the Product License Registration site. | ||
Step 5 |
From the Product License Registration website, follow the instructions for registering your VSM license. The license key file is sent to you in an e-mail. The license key authorizes use on only the host ID device. You must obtain separate license key file(s) for each of your VSMs.
|
||
Step 6 | Save your license to a SCP/SFTP/TFTP server. | ||
Step 7 |
Copy your license to bootflash on the VSM. switch# copy scp://user@linux-box.cisco.com/home/user/n1kv_license.lic bootflash: Enter vrf (If no input, current vrf 'default' is considered): user@linux-box.cisco.com's password: n1kv_license.lic 100% 252 0.3KB/s 00:00 switch# |
This example shows how to install a license file and then display its contents and usage:
switch# install license bootflash:n1kv_license.lic Installing license ..done switch# show license file n1kv_license.lic SERVER this_host ANY VENDOR cisco INCREMENT NEXUS1000V_LAN_SERVICES_PKG cisco 1.0 permanent 10 \ HOSTID=VDH=1575337335122974806 \ NOTICE="<LicFileID>n1kv_license.lic</LicFileID><LicLineID>0</LicLineID> \ <PAK>PAK12345678</PAK>" SIGN=3AF5C2D26E1A switch# show license usage NEXUS1000V_LAN_SERVICES_PKG ---------------------------------------- Feature Usage Info ---------------------------------------- Installed Licenses : 10 Default Eval Licenses : 0 Max Overdraft Licenses : 16 Installed Licenses in Use : 4 Overdraft Licenses in Use : 0 Default Eval Lic in Use : 0 Default Eval days left : 0 Licenses Available : 22 Shortest Expiry : Never ---------------------------------------- Application ---------------------------------------- VEM 3 - Socket 1 VEM 4 - Socket 1 VEM 4 - Socket 2 VEM 5 - Socket 1 ---------------------------------------- switch#
Note |
The Default Eval days left field displays the number of default evaluation days that are remaining before the license expires, not including the present day. |
To verify the license configuration, use one of the following commands:
Command | Purpose |
---|---|
show license |
Displays the license filename for the VSM. |
show license brief |
Displays the license installed on the VSM. |
show license file filename |
Displays the contents of the license file installed on the VSM, including the license filename and the expiration date for evaluation licenses. |
show license usage |
Displays the total number of licenses in use on the VEMs. |
show license usage package_name |
Displays statistics about the number of evaluation and permanent licenses available, installed, and in use on the VSM. When you use this command, the Default Eval days left field displays the number of default evaluation days that are remaining before the license expires, not including the present day. |
show module vem [module] license-info |
Displays the license mode and the usage of licenses by each module. |
Transferring Licenses
You can transfer licenses from one VEM to another, for example, when one VEM is removed from service.
Command or Action | Purpose | |
---|---|---|
Step 1 | switch# configure terminal | Enters global configuration mode. |
Step 2 | switch(config)# svs license transfer src-vem vem_no dst-vem vem_no | Transfers the licenses from one VEM to another. |
Step 3 | switch# show license usage package_name | Verifies the transfer by displaying the licenses in use on each VEM. |
Step 4 | switch(config)# copy running-config startup-config | (Optional) Saves the change persistently through reboots and restarts by copying the running configuration to the startup configuration. |
This example shows how to transfer a license from VEM 3 to VEM 5 and verify the transfer in the license usage:
switch# configure terminal switch(config)# svs license transfer src-vem 3 dst-vem 5 switch(config)# show license usage NEXUS1000V_LAN_SERVICES_PKG ---------------------------------------- Feature Usage Info ---------------------------------------- Installed Licenses : 29 Default Eval Licenses : 0 Max Overdraft Licenses : 16 Installed Licenses in Use : 2 Overdraft Licenses in Use : 0 Default Eval Lic in Use : 0 Default Eval days left : 0 Licenses Available : 43 Shortest Expiry : 01 Jul 2011 ---------------------------------------- Application ---------------------------------------- VEM 5 - Socket 1 VEM 5 - Socket 2 ---------------------------------------- switch(config)# copy running-config startup-config switch(config)#
You can transfer licenses from a VEM to the VSM license pool. This procedure must be performed in the following cases:
Note |
When you transfer its licenses to the VSM license pool, all virtual Ethernet interfaces on the VEM are removed from service. |
Log in to the CLI in EXEC mode.
Command or Action | Purpose | |
---|---|---|
Step 1 | switch# configure terminal | Enters global configuration mode. |
Step 2 | switch(config)# svs license transfer src-vem vem_no license_pool | Transfers the licenses from a VEM to the license pool. |
Step 3 | switch(config)# show module vem module license-info | (Optional) Verifies the transfer by displaying the licenses in use on the VEM. |
Step 4 | switch(config)# copy running-config startup-config | (Optional) Saves the change persistently through reboots and restarts by copying the running configuration to the startup configuration. |
This example shows how to transfer a license from VEM 3 to the license pool:
switch# configure terminal switch(config)# svs license transfer src-vem 3 license_pool switch(config)# copy running-config startup-config
Command or Action | Purpose | |
---|---|---|
Step 1 | switch# configure terminal | Enters global configuration mode. |
Step 2 | switch(config)# svs license transfer license_pool dst-vem module | Transfers a license from the license pool to the VEM. The module argument range is from 3 to 66. |
Step 3 | switch(config)# show module vem module license-info | Verifies the transfer by displaying the licenses in use on each VEM. |
Step 4 | switch(config)# copy running-config startup-config | (Optional) Saves the change persistently through reboots and restarts by copying the running configuration to the startup configuration. |
This example shows how to transfer licences to the CPU sockets on VEM 3 and verify that these licenses have been applied:
switch# configure terminal switch(config)# svs license transfer license_pool dst-vem 3 switch(config)# show module vem 3 license-info Licenses are Sticky Mod Socket Count License Usage Count License Version License Status --- ------------ ------------------- --------------- -------------- 3 2 2 1.0 licensed switch(config)# copy running-config startup-config switch(config)#
Configuring Volatile Licenses
You can enable volatile licenses so that whenever a VEM is taken out of service, its licenses are returned to the VSM pool of available licenses.
Caution |
Service Disruption—Volatile licenses are removed from a VEM during a loss in connectivity and must be reassigned when connectivity resumes. We recommend that you use nonvolatile licensing and you transfer unused licenses as described in Transferring Licenses to the License Pool. |
Log in to the CLI in EXEC mode.
Command or Action | Purpose | |
---|---|---|
Step 1 | switch# configure terminal | Enters global configuration mode. |
Step 2 | switch(config)# svs license volatile | Enables volatile licenses in the running configuration. |
Step 3 | switch(config)# copy running-config startup-config | (Optional) Saves the change persistently through reboots and restarts by copying the running configuration to the startup configuration. |
This example shows how to enable volatile licensing:
switch# configure terminal switch(config)# svs license volatile switch(config)# copy running-config startup-config switch(config)#
You can disable volatile licenses so that whenever a VEM is taken out of service, its licenses are not returned to the VSM pool of available licenses.
Note |
By default, the licenses are nonvolatile (sticky) in nature, which is the recommended configuration. This configuration ensures that the licenses are reserved for a VEM. Even after a period of brief connectivity loss between the VEM and the VSM, the VEM is guaranteed to get the needed licenses. |
Log in to the CLI in EXEC mode.
Command or Action | Purpose | |
---|---|---|
Step 1 | switch# configure terminal | Enters global configuration mode. |
Step 2 | switch(config)# no svs license volatile | Disables volatile licenses in the running configuration. |
Step 3 | switch(config)# copy running-config startup-config | (Optional) Saves the change persistently through reboots and restarts by copying the running configuration to the startup configuration. |
This example shows how to disable a volatile license:
switch# configure terminal switch(config)# no svs license volatile switch(config)# copy running-config startup-config switch(config)#
You can change the serial number, or host ID, associated with a license. This process is also called rehosting and is required if you replace a VSM in your network with a new VSM.
Caution |
Service Disruption—When you remove a VSM from your network, the vEthernet interfaces on the VEMs are removed from service and the traffic flowing to them from Virtual Machines (VMs) is dropped. This traffic flow is not resumed until you add a new VSM and, new license file with the new host ID. |
Step 1 |
Obtain the serial number, also called the host ID, for your new VSM: switch# show license host-id License hostid: VDH=1280389551234985805
|
||
Step 2 |
E-mail the following information to licensing@cisco.com, requesting that the license file be rehosted to the new host ID:
A new license key file, with the host ID of the new VSM, is sent to you in an e-mail within 48 hours.
|
||
Step 3 | Save your license to a SCP/SFTP/TFTP server. | ||
Step 4 |
Copy your license to bootflash on the VSM. switch# copy scp://user@linux-box.cisco.com/home/user/n1kv_license.lic bootflash: Enter vrf (If no input, current vrf 'default' is considered): user@linux-box.cisco.com's password: n1kv_license.lic 100% 252 0.3KB/s 00:00 switch# |
Install the license file on the VSM.
This table includes only the updates for those releases that have resulted in additions or changes to the feature.
Feature Name | Releases | Feature Information |
---|---|---|
VXLAN gateway |
4.2(1)SV2(2.1) |
The show switch edition displays the VXLAN gateway as an Advanced edition feature. |
Licensing for new software installation |
4.2(1)SV2(2.1) |
The Essential edition is updated to be deployed across 124 hosts and the Advanced edition is updated to support a maximum of maximum of 1024 licenses. |
Default license |
4.2(1)SV2(1.1) |
512 default licenses are included for the Essential edition in the software image. In addition, 512 default licenses are also available for the Advanced edition that are valid for 60 days from the date of installation. |
Evaluation license |
4.0(4)SV1(3) |
16 evaluation licenses that are valid for 60 days are included in the software image. More evaluation licenses of varied durations can be downloaded from Cisco.com and installed separately. |
Evaluation license |
4.0(4)SV1(2) |
Evaluation licenses are part of the software installation or upgrade. A separate evaluation license file no longer needs to be installed. |
show license usage package_name command |
4.0(4)SV1(2) |
The show license usage package_name command output is updated to show statistics about the number of evaluation and permanent licenses available, installed, and in use on the VSM. |
License |
4.0(4)SV1(1) |
This feature was introduced. |