Cisco Catalyst 9000 Switch Smart License Introduction

Cisco Catalyst 9000 Switch Smart License Introduction

Cisco Catalyst 9000 switches series support Cisco’s new way of licensing for its devices.

What is Smart Licensing?

Smart licensing is a system that consists of a license manager on Cisco IOS XE device that manages licenses for various software and hardware features. The license manager parses and authenticates a license before accepting it. It this method, Catalyst device’s instances will be registered to with the Internet connection to Cisco smart software management website (CSSM).

For registration of all instances, device automatically requests the license it requires and asks for registration. All pooled licenses are shown in the admin or company’s smart account and makes it possible to monitor and manage all licenses which are stored securely on Cisco servers and can be moved from one device to another.

Cisco Catalyst 9000 License Types

All Cisco Catalyst 9000 switches can support following licenses which are shown in the following figure:

The Network Essentials tier offers an augmented Network OS license that enables Full layer 2 and Routed access capabilities on the Catalyst 9000 platforms. Additionally, DNA Essentials licenses provides a license relevant Base Automation and Monitoring capabilities on the switch and DNA Center to simplify network management and troubleshooting through Plug n Play, On-box python, Client 360 and more.

The Network Advantage tier is arguably the finest software tier available in the Enterprise Switching market today. It is providing Full layer 3 functions, Segmentation and Resiliency capabilities on the Catalyst 9000 platforms.

DNA Advantage license provides Cisco’s lead Enterprise architectural solution such as SD-Access, providing policy-based automation from edge to cloud, network security through micro-segmentation, encrypted traffic analytics (ETA) and proactive issue resolution through predictive analytics.

Cisco Catalyst 9000 PLR License

All premium features mentioned above, can be activated by using the Cisco Permanent License Reservation (Cisco PLR License) for the Cisco 9000 switches. Cisco Catalyst 9000 PLR license can register all product instances permanently and without network connection which is considered as intuitive and cost-effective way of smart licensing. This license can be applied using the following commands:

After enabling the license reservation (Line 1) you need to generate a request code (Line 2). Then send the generated Code for us and we will share the reservation code with you. After that put your code in the line 3 and Enter. Finally, you can verify license reservation status using the last command.

Note: It’s recommended that customers apply the PLR license on prior IOS XE version 17.3.1 to disable all reporting requirements.  After IOS XE version 17.3.1, Cisco enables Smart license usage policy on its IOS XE-based devices eliminating SLR license enforcements. Although, the previous SLR and Cisco PLR licenses would be honored.