Cisco Unified Communication License

Cisco UC License

The Cisco Unified Communications solutions call routing and signaling component is called Cisco UC (Unified Communications) Manager.

In order to accurately track active device registrations in relation to the license units that have been purchased, license management is administered through CUCM GUI administration. When phones are provisioned and the Cisco UC manager service is activated, license enforcement takes place. The following are the license compliance metrics that CUCM monitors for hardware, software, and applications:

• Software licenses: Software licenses are connected to the software’s primary version. Upgrading to CUCM 6 necessitates the purchase of software licenses.
• Licenses for device units: The CUCM database’s maximum number of provisioned devices will be monitored and followed. No enforcement is made of route points or CTI ports.
• Application licenses: Each call-processing server that uses the CallManager service must have an application license. The network interface card (NIC) of the server’s MAC address is linked to application licenses.

The quantity of units that are needed by each device is tracked by Cisco UC manager. The number of units for each type of device is fixed. The type of device and the phone’s capabilities determine how many DLUs are used per device.

You can see from the CUCM Administration how many units are needed for each device. DLUs are permanent and platform independent.

These are the primary elements of the license file:

• Quantity of DLUs.
• The license server’s (publisher’s) MAC address.
• Version of the CUCM software, or major release.
• Node license count (cluster size for CUCM servers).

License files can be combined. There is the option to load multiple license files. A digital signature ensures the integrity of license files, which are obtained using the Cisco FlexLM process.

Upgrading from Cisco Unified CallManager 4.x during the Cisco UC manager migration procedure, an intermediate XML file containing these license counts is generated. The number of DLUs and node licenses in the interim license file is determined by the number of servers and devices that are present in the database at the time of the migration. Up until the interim license file has been swapped out for a real license file, no new phones may be added.

Request for a License File Process.

1. The client requests Cisco UC manager in writing.
2. The Product Authorization Key (PAK) is scanned and entered against the sales order in the manufacturing database.
3. The customer receives a physical delivery of the product (CD or paper claim certificate).
4. The customer enters the MAC address of the publisher device that will serve as the license server when registering the product on a public website.
5. The license key generator generates a license file, and the license fulfillment infrastructure validates the PAK.
6. The client receives the license file via email. The email also includes directions for installing the license file.
7. The license server (publisher)’s license file is installed by the customer.

Licensing elements

The license manager and license server are the two primary licensing elements of CUCM licensing.

Licensing server

The publisher in the CUCM cluster serves as the host for the license server service, which manages the licensing transactions. The publisher’s MAC address is necessary to create a license file.

Licensing Manager

Between Cisco UC manager programs that require licensing information and the license server, the license manager serves as a middleman. Requests are received by the license manager, who then sends them on to the license server on behalf of the CUCM applications. After the license server has processed the request, the license manager replies to the application. As a licensing proxy server, the license manager performs.

The functional diagram is finished by an alarm subsystem and an administration subsystem. The following information relates to these two subsystems:

• In order to alert the administrator of the following conditions: the alarm subsystem generates alarms that are sent to event logs or sent to a management station as SNMP traps.
  • When there is an overdraft circumstance, there is an overdraft. When more licenses are used than are available but the excess is within acceptable bounds, an overdraft condition develops. Overdrafts up to 5% are allowed.
  • When the License Manager is unable to contact the license server, the term “license server down” is used.
  • The license server will raise an alarm to let the administrator know if there aren’t enough licenses to fulfill the request when this situation occurs.

• The administration subsystem offers the following features:
  • Keeps records of the license units needed for each type of phone. A GUI is available for the customer to use to view his information.
  • Supports a GUI tool that figures out how many phone unit licenses are necessary. The customer enters the phone types and the number of each type of phone they wish to purchase. The amount of licenses the customer will ultimately require for the specified configuration is the output.
  • Supports a GUI tool that shows the total license capacity, the number of active licenses, and license file details. The number of available licenses can also be reported by the tool.