Manual Chapter :
License Management
Applies To:
Show VersionsBIG-IQ Centralized Management
- 7.1.0
License Management
How do I manage software licenses for my devices?
A software license is specific to F5 product services (for example, BIG-IP
LTM, BIG-IP APM, and so forth), and is organized in a
license
pool
. From BIG-IQ Centralized Management, you can easily manage licenses in those
pools for numerous devices. That means you don't have to log in to each individual BIG-IP VE
device to activate, revoke, or reassign a license.After you activate your subscription or ELA registration key for a pool
license from BIG-IQ, you can assign the license to a managed, or unmanaged, BIG-IP VE device.
If you assign a license from a license pool to a BIG-IP device and later decide you don't need
that device licensed, you can revoke the license and assign it to another BIG-IP VE device.
This process is similar to a library, where you loan (assign) a license to a BIG-IP device
when it is required, and check the license back into the license pool on BIG-IQ (revoke it
from the device) so it is available to assign to another BIG-IP VE. This flexible licensing
model helps keep track of the licenses, and manage your operating costs.
There are 3 types of devices you can manage licenses for:
- Managed BIG-IP devices
- From BIG-IQ, you assign licenses to and revoke license from BIG-IP devices using each device’s SSL certificate for authentication over an SSL connection.
- Unmanaged BIG-IP devices
- From BIG-IQ, you assign licenses to and revoke licenses from BIG-IP devices using each BIG-IP device’s IP address, user name, and password for authentication over an SSL connection.
- Unreachable devices
- Unreachable devices (sometimes referred to as disconnected devices) are devices that BIG-IQ can generate licenses for without direct communication between BIG-IQ and BIG-IP. Because there is no direct communication between BIG-IQ and BIG-IP, clients must provide additional device information as input. The client is responsible for installing the license on BIG-IP. To do that, use an API call through a third-party computer or program that communicates with BIG-IQ to get a license from BIG-IQ and assign it to the BIG-IP device by a method of your choosing. The third party makes a similar API call to BIG-IQ for revoking a license. For more information about these API calls, see mgmt-api.
To manage licenses for BIG-IQ devices, you must be assigned to one of the
following roles:
- Admin
- Device Manager
- License Manager
Types of license pools
There are four types of license pools. You can assign, revoke, and reassign licenses from these pools as needed.
License Pool Type | Description |
---|---|
Purchased Pool | Prepaid pool of a specific number of concurrent license grants for a single BIG-IP service, such as LTM. For example, a purchased pool of 25
licenses for BIG-IP
LTM allows you to license up to 25 concurrent BIG-IP VE systems
for LTM. |
Utility Pool | Designed for service providers, utility pools contain licenses for BIG-IP
services you grant for a specific unit of measure (hourly, daily, monthly, or yearly).
This means you can pay for licenses as needed with no limit to the number of licenses
you can grant. From BIG-IQ, you can
automatically submit a license usage report. F5 uses that report to calculate billing
based on the licensed services, duration of the license grant, and the unit-of-measure
pricing. To purchase a utility pool license, you must have a master service
agreement. |
Volume Pool | Prepaid subscription (1 and 3 year terms) for a fixed number of concurrent
license grants for multiple BIG-IP services. To purchase a volume pool, you must have
a master service agreement. |
Registration Key Pool | A pool of single standalone BIG-IP VE registration keys for one or more BIG-IP
services. Because you are managing these registration keys from BIG-IQ (instead of directly from the BIG-IP device), you can revoke and reassign a
license to BIG-IP VE systems without having to contact F5 to allow the license to be
moved. |
Options for adding and activating a license pool
Add and activate a purchased, volume, or utility license pool on a BIG-IQ connected to the internet (automatic method)
To add and activate a license, you must have a base registration key. You get your key from F5 Networks, typically in the form of an email. If you do not have a base registration key, contact the F5 Networks sales group (
f5.com
).You can use this procedure to automatically contact the F5 license server for activation if F5 BIG-IQ Centralized Management system is:
- Connected to the public internet.
- Able to access theactivate.f5.comsite.
- Existing firewalls allow port 443 to pass through.
You add and activate a purchased, volume, or utility pool license so you can make it available for assignment to BIG-IP VEs in your network. When you activate a volume or pool license using this method, BIG-IQ activates the associated offerings automatically.
- At the top of the screen, clickDevices.
- On the left, click.
- Click theAdd Licensebutton.
- In theBase Registration Keyfield, type or paste the registration key, and into theAdd-on Keysfield, type or paste any associated add-on keys.
- For theActivation Methodsetting, selectAutomatic.
- Click theActivatebutton at the bottom of the screen.
- Review the EULA, and if you agree with the terms, click theAcceptbutton at the bottom of the screen.
Activating licenses with offerings can take 5-10 minutes, depending on the number of offerings. A status bar displays on the licenses and license properties pages to show you the progress. When the activation status displays as
Active
, you can assign a license from the pool to a BIG-IP VE device.If a license or offering fails to activate, the license displays with a yellow triangle next to it in the list. You'll need to reactivate that license and its offerings. For individual offerings, you can add an optional description for identification after activation.
Add and activate a purchased license pool on a BIG-IQ not connected to the internet (manual method)
To add and activate a license, you must have a base registration key. You get your key from F5 Networks, typically in the form of an email. If you do not have a base registration key, contact the F5 Networks sales group (
f5.com
).Activate a pool license and make it available for assignment to BIG-IP VEs in your network. If BIG-IQ Centralized Management system is not connected to the public internet, you can use this procedure for activation, rather than automatically contacting the F5 license server.
- At the top of the screen, clickDevices.
- On the left, click.
- Click theAdd Licensebutton.
- In theLicense Namefield, type a name to identify this license.
- In theBase Registration Keyfield, type or paste the registration key, and into theAdd-on Keysfield, type or paste any associated add-on keys.
- ForActivation Method, selectManualand click theGet Dossierbutton.The BIG-IQ system refreshes and displays the dossier in theDevice Dossierfield.
- Select and copy the text displayed inDevice Dossier.
- Click theAccess F5 manual activation web portallink.The F5 Product Licensing site opens.
- Click theActivate Licenselink.
- Paste the dossier into theEnter Your Dossierbox and click theNextbutton.
- Review the EULA, and if you agree with the terms, click theAcceptbutton at the bottom of the screen.
- Select the license and copy and paste it into theLicense Textbox.
- Click theActivatebutton at the bottom of the screen.
If a license or offering fails to activate, the license displays with a yellow triangle next to it in the list. You'll need to reactivate that license and its offerings. For individual offerings, you can add an optional description for identification after activation.
Add and activate a volume or utility license pool on a BIG-IQ not connected to the internet (manual method)
You must have a base registration key before you can add and activate a licensed pool. You get your from F5 Networks, typically in the form of an email If you do not have a base registration key, contact the F5 Networks sales group (
f5.com
).You add and activate a pool license to make it available for assignment to BIG-IP devices in your network. If the BIG-IQ Centralized Management that you're activating a license on is not connected to the public internet, you can activate the registration key using this manual procedure, rather than automatically contacting the F5 license server.
Volume and utility pool licenses contain offerings.
Offerings
are specific to the services based on F5 Networks' Good, Better, Best licensing structure. If you are manually contacting the F5 Networks license server to activate those registration keys, you must activate each associated offering individually.- At the top of the screen, clickDevices.
- On the left, click.
- Click theAdd Licensebutton.
- In theLicense Namefield, type a name to identify this license.
- In theBase Registration Keyfield, type or paste the registration key, and into theAdd-on Keysfield, type or paste any associated add-on keys.
- ForActivation Method, selectManualand click theGet Dossierbutton.The BIG-IQ system refreshes and displays the dossier in theDevice Dossierfield.
- Select and copy the text displayed inDevice Dossier.
- Click theAccess F5 manual activation web portallink.The F5 Product Licensing site opens.
- Click theActivate Licenselink.
- Paste the dossier into theEnter Your Dossierbox and click theNextbutton.
- Review the EULA, and if you agree with the terms, click theAcceptbutton at the bottom of the screen.
- Select the license and copy and paste it into theLicense Textbox.
- Click theActivatebutton at the bottom of the screen.The license displays in the list asPending.
- Click the name of the license, then the name of a pending offering.
- Copy the contents of theDevice Dossierbox.
- Paste the dossier into theEnter Your Dossierbox and click theNextbutton.
- Select the license and copy and paste it into theLicense Textbox.
- Click theActivatebutton at the bottom of the screen.
- Repeat steps 14-18 for each pending offering.
If a license or offering fails to activate, the license displays with a yellow triangle next to it in the list. You'll need to reactivate that license and its offerings. For individual offerings, you can add an optional description for identification after activation.
Create a registration key pool for standalone BIG-IP VE licenses
You create a registration key pool for standalone licenses to help you manage a group of standalone BIG-IP VE registration keys.
- On the left, click.
- Click theAdd RegKey Poolbutton.
- Type aNameto identify this pool.
- ClickOK.
The new RegKey Pool properties screen displays.
You can now add registration keys to this pool using one of the following methods:
- Import registration keys to BIG-IQ from a CSV file and automatically activate them.
- Add and activate registration keys from BIG-IQ connected to the internet (automatic method).
- Add and activate registration keys from BIG-IQ not connected to the internet (manual method).
Add and activate a standalone registration key on a BIG-IQ connected to the internet (automatic method)
You must have your base registration key before you can activate it. You get this from F5 Networks, typically in the form of an email. If you do not have a base registration key, contact the F5 Networks sales group (
f5.com
).You can automatically contact the F5 license server for activation if the BIG-IQ system meets these criteria:
- Is connected to the public internet.
- Is able to access theactivate.f5.comsite.
- Existing firewalls allow port 443 to pass through.
You add and activate standalone registration keys to a registration key pool to make them available for assignment to BIG-IP VE devices from BIG-IQ Centralized Management. This gives you the flexibility to assign and revoke licenses as needed for your managed devices, without requiring you to contact F5.
You cannot re-activate (or import) registration keys from currently-active BIG-IP VE licenses. For devices in your network already licensed, contact F5 Support for assistance in transferring them to BIG-IQ for license management. Create a pool for each type of service the registration key is licensed for. It's best not to create a registration pool that contains keys for licenses with different/mixed services.
- At the top of the screen, clickDevices.
- On the left, click.
- Click on the name of the registration key pool you want to activate a license for.
- For theActivation Methodsetting, selectAutomatic.
- Click theActivatebutton at the bottom of the screen.
- Review the EULA, and if you agree with the terms, click theAcceptbutton at the bottom of the screen.
If a license or offering fails to activate, the license displays with a yellow triangle next to it in the list. You'll need to reactivate that license and its offerings. For individual offerings, you can add an optional description for identification after activation.
Add and activate a standalone registration key on a BIG-IQ not connected to the internet (manual method)
You must have your base registration key before you can activate it. You get this from F5 Networks, typically in the form of an email. If you do not have a base registration key, contact the F5 Networks sales group (
f5.com
).You add and activate standalone registration keys to a registration key pool to make them available for assignment to BIG-IP VE devices from BIG-IQ. This gives you the flexibility to assign and revoke licenses as needed for your managed devices, without requiring you to contact F5. If your BIG-IQ system is not connected to the public internet, you can activate the registration key using this manual procedure, rather than automatically contacting the F5 license server.
You cannot re-activate (or import) registration keys from currently-active BIG-IP VE licenses. For devices in your network that are already licensed, contact F5 Support for assistance in transferring them to BIG-IQ for license management. Create a pool for each type of service the registration key is licensed for. It's best not to create a registration pool that contains keys for licenses with different or mixed services.
- On the left, click.
- Click theAdd RegKey Poolbutton.
- In the Registration Key Pool Name box, type a name for this pool.
- Click theAddRegKeybutton.
- In theBase Registration Keyfield, type or paste the registration key, and into theAdd-on Keysfield, type or paste an associated add-on keys.
- For theActivation Methodsetting, selectManual.
- Click theGenerate Dossierbutton.The screen refreshes to display the dossier.
- Select and copy the dossier.
- Click theAccess F5 manual activation web portallink.The F5 Product Licensing site opens.
- Paste the dossier into theEnter Your Dossierbox and click theNextbutton.
- Click theActivate Licenselink.
- Review the EULA, and if you agree with the terms, click theAcceptbutton at the bottom of the screen.
- Select the license and copy and paste it into theLicense Textbox.
- Click theActivatebutton at the bottom of the screen.
If a license or offering fails to activate, the license displays with a yellow triangle next to it in the list. You'll need to reactivate that license and its offerings. For individual offerings, you can add an optional description for identification after activation.
Import and activate registration keys in bulk
Before you can start this task, you must create a CSV file with the registration keys you saved in
regkey,notes/comments
format. After you add a registration key (regkey) pool, you can import the CSV to activate the registration keys all at once.With BIG-IQ, you can easily import and activate a large number of registration keys.
A regkey pool should contain BIG-IP VE standalone registration keys only and should not contain pool licenses such as a utility or volume or purchased pool license. The standalone registration keys in the regkey pool should be of the same type. For example, don't mix LTM and ASM registration keys. If you have multiple types of registration keys, use separate regkey pools for each. It's best to activate registration keys of the same type at once. For example, don't mix LTM and ASM registration keys.
- At the top of the screen, clickDevices.
- On the left, click.
- Click theAdd RegKey Poolbutton.
- Type a name for this pool.
- Click theImport CSVbutton, navigate to the file, and clickOpen.
- ClickSave & Close.
BIG-IQ imports and activates the registration keys.
When import and activation are complete, you can assign a registration key to a BIG-IP VE device.
Assigning, revoking, and changing a license or license pool
Once you have activated a license on F5 BIG-IQCentralized Management, you can assign and revoke those licenses for your managed and unmanaged BIG-IP VE devices in your network.
Unmanaged devices
are devices that are located in your network, but that are not in the BIG-IQ Centralized Management system's BIG-IP Inventory list. Assign a license to a BIG-IP VE device
After you have activated a license's registration key, you can assign it to a BIG-IP VE device.
To assign a license to an unmanaged device in your network, you must have the device's admin user name and password.
You assign a license to a BIG-IP VE device to authorize the device to run F5 services that support your applications.
- At the top of the screen, clickDevices.
- On the left, click.
- Click the name of the license you want to assign to a device.
- Click the name of the offering.
- Click theLicense Devicesbutton.
- For managed devices, from theDeviceslist, select the device you want to license and move it to theMember Deviceslist.
- For unmanaged devices (devices in your network, but you are not managing from BIG-IQ), type the device's address, user name, and password in theUnmanaged Devicessection.
- Click theAssignbutton at the bottom of the screen.
Revoke pool license from a BIG-IP VE device
Before you can revoke a license for a device in your network, you must have the device's IP address.
When fewer devices are required for your applications, you can revoke licenses to reassign them to other BIG-IP VE devices, as needed. This procedure allows you to revoke a single license.
When you revoke a BIG-IP license,
BIG-IQ removes it from the BIG-IP. When the license is removed, that BIG-IP is no longer
operable and won't be able to manage traffic.
- At the top of the screen, clickDevices.
- On the left, click.
- Select the check box next to the device you want to remove a license from.
- If this is an unmanaged device, type the BIG-IP system's administrator'sUsernameandPassword.Unmanaged devicesare devices that are located in your network, but are not in the BIG-IQ system's BIG-IP Inventory list. These fields do not display if this is a managed device.
- Click theRevokebutton at the bottom of the screen.
Change a pool license for a BIG-IP VE device
You must have activated and assigned a license to a BIG-IP VE device before you can change the license.
F5 BIG-IQ Centralized Management makes it easy to change a specific license offering on a BIG-IP VE as traffic increases, as requirements for different services come up, or if you need to change the unit of measure for billing purposes. Use this procedure to change a single pool license offering.
- At the top of the screen, clickDevices.
- On the left, click.
- Select the check box next to the name of the device you want to change a license for and click theChange Licensebutton.
- If this is an unmanaged device, type the BIG-IP system's administrator'sUsernameandPassword.Unmanaged devicesare devices that are located in your network, but are not in the BIG-IQ system's BIG-IP Inventory list. These fields do not display if this is a managed device.
- In the New Assignment area, from theLicense Typelist, select the type of license pool you want to select another license from.
- From theLicenselist, select the license you want to assign to this device.
- Click theAssignbutton at the bottom of the screen.
Re-license a BIG-IP device with the same license
If you make a change to an assigned BIG-IP license (for example, if you purchase an add-on key for a license), you'll need to re-license the BIG-IP device the license is associated with.
Use this procedure to re-license a managed BIG-IP device.
- At the top of the screen, clickDevices.
- On the left, click.
- Click the license name.
- Select the check box next to the license and click theRefreshbutton.
BIG-IQ re-licenses the BIG-IP device to which this license was previously assigned to.
Active and historical pool license usage reports
Pool license usage reports give you insight into how you're using your pool licenses. You can run these reports for both currently-assigned and previously-assigned pool licenses. These reports can help you budget for future license purchases.
Create an active usage report to see how the BIG-IP VE devices are currently licensed
Before you can create a usage report, you must have already licensed BIG-IP VE devices.
You can create an active usage report to see details about how BIG-IP devices that are currently licensed for a specific license type. This report contains all assigned licenses and is available in a CSV format. This makes it easy for you to reformat and share the information in any way you want.
- At the top of the screen, clickDevices.
- On the left, click.
- Click theGeneratebutton.
- For theTypeoption, selectActive Report.
- Select a license type from the list to narrow the results to the license type you want to create a report for.
- From theAvailablelist, click the license you want to run a report for, and click the arrow to move it to theSelectedlist.
- Click theDownloadbutton at the of the screen to generate the report.
Create a historical usage report to see how the BIG-IP VE devices were licensed during a specific time period
Before you can create a historical usage report, you must have already licensed BIG-IP VE devices.
You can create a historical usage report to see how you've been using certain license types during a specific time period. This can help you plan and budget for future resources. This report is available in a downloadable CSV format to make it easy for you to reformat and share the information in any way you want.
- At the top of the screen, clickDevices.
- On the left, click.
- Click theGeneratebutton.
- For theTypeoption, selectHistorical Report.
- Select a license type from the list to narrow the results to the license type you want to create a report for.
- From theAvailablelist, click the license you want to run a report for, and click the arrow to move it to theSelectedlist.
- In the Usage Period area, in theStarting DateandEnding Datefields, type the date range for the report. Alternatively, click the calendars and navigate to the dates.
- Click theDownloadbutton and select an option to open the file, or save the file.
License usage billing reports
A utility billing report provides F5 Networks the information it needs to accurately bill for your license usage. You can manually create and submit a utility billing license usage report to F5, at the frequency specified in your license agreement. You can also create a schedule for generating utility license reports on a regular basis.
When you create a report or a report schedule, keep in mind:
- If you activated your utility pool on 1-Jan-2019 and generate a report on 1-Feb-2019, the report includes all usage between 1-Jan-2019 and 31-Jan-2019.
- If you generate another report on 1-Apr-2019, the report includes all usage between 1-Feb-2019 and 31-Mar-2019.
Providing permissions to run license usage reports
For users to view and create license usage reports, they must have the permissions granted by an administrator. To grant permissions to a user, you complete the four tasks included in this procedure:
- Create a role type and provide that role type permissions to the licensing service. Steps 1-5
- Create a custom resource group, associate it with the licensing service, and add the utility billing report object. Steps 6-10
- Create a custom role and associate it with the resource group you added. Steps 11-16
- Add a user and associate it with the role with permissions to the utility billing reports. Steps 17-20
- At the top of the screen clickSystem, at the left select , and then click theAddbutton.
- Type aNameand an optionalDescriptionfor this role type.
- Towards the middle of the screen, from theSelect Servicelist, selectDevice, select the check box next toUtility Billing Reporting, and click theAdd Selectedbutton.
- In the Selected Object Types area, select theAddcheck box to add a specific type of permission for this role type.You might have to decrease the size of the bottom half of the screen (using the horizontal bar right above theObject Typelist) to see the permission settings.
- Click theSave & Closebutton.
- On the left, underROLE MANAGEMENTclick , and then click theAddbutton.
- Type aNameand an optionalDescriptionfor this resource group.
- Towards the middle of the screen, from theSelect Servicelist, selectDevice.
- From theSelect Object Typelist, selectUtility Billing Reporting, and then click theAdd Selectedbutton.
- ClickSave & Close.
- On the left, clickRoles.
- At the left of the Roles page, select, and then click theAddbutton.
- Type aNameand an optionalDescriptionfor this role.
- From theRole Typelist, select the custom role type that you created.
- From theResource GroupsAvailablelist, select the custom resources group you created, and move it to theSelectedlist.
- ClickSave & Close.
- On the far left, select, and then click theAddbutton.
- Type aUser Name,Full Name, andPasswordfor this user.
- From theRolesAvailablelist, select the custom role you created, and move it to theSelectedlist.
- ClickSave & Close.
This user now has permissions to create, view, and submit utility license usage reports.
Create a license usage report and submit it to F5 Networks for billing
You create a license usage report to submit to F5 Networks for billing purposes.
- At the top of the screen, clickDevices.
- On the left, click.
- Click theGeneratebutton.
- For Type, selectUtility Billing Report.
- From theAvailablelist, click the license you want to run a report for, and click the arrow to move it to theSelectedlist.
- Select aSubmission Method.
- If you want to obscure the device's host name and IP address in the report, selectYesforObfuscate Data.
- ClickSubmitat the bottom of the screen.
When BIG-IQ successfully generates the report and submits it to F5 Networks, it also downloads and it displays in the reports list. If the report fails to create properly, the system displays an error message. If this happens, you can automatically re-submit the report from the license reports screen. Alternatively, you can email a copy to
vesubscriptions@f5.com
.Create a license usage report schedule
Before you can create a license usage billing report schedule, you must be in a role with permissions to view and modify utility billing reports.
If F5 BIG-IQ Centralized Management cannot access
api.f5.com
or pass traffic through port 443, you must manually submit the report to F5 Networks instead of submitting automatically. Manually submit your report to vesubscriptions@f5.com
You create a schedule so that BIG-IQ can automatically license generate usage reports at the same time every month for all your utility licenses.
- At the top of the screen, clickDevices.
- On the left, click.
- Click theSchedulebutton at the top of the screen.
- ForSchedule Status, select theEnablecheck box.
- SelectAutomatically submit report to F5for theSubmission Method.If BIG-IQ cannot accessapi.f5.comor pass traffic through port 443, you must manually submit the report to F5 Networks offline, instead of submitting it from BIG-IQ. For information about how to manually submit the report offline, contact F5 Support.
- Specify theDay of the Month(from1to28), theStart timehour(from0to23) andminute(from0to59) that you want BIG-IQ to create the utility reports.
- If you want to obscure the device's host name and IP address in the report, selectYesforObfuscate Data.
- If you want BIG-IQ to send an email when the report is created, select theEnablecheck box forEmail Notification, and type one (or more) email address(es) in the box, separated by commas.
- Click theSave & Closebutton.
BIG-IQ will create license usage reports on the day of the month and the time you specified. If you enabled email notification, BIG-IQ also sends a notification to the email address(es) specified to let them know the reports are available. When BIG-IQ successfully generates the report and submits it to F5 Networks, it also displays it in the reports list.
Resend a license usage report to F5 Networks
When BIG-IQ Centralized Management creates a license usage report, it retains a copy of that report in the license report list. If you need to re-send a report to F5 (for example, in the event an automatic submission failed), you can do so from that screen.
Alternatively, you can email the report to
vesubscriptions@f5.com
.- At the top of the screen, clickDevices.
- On the left, click.
- Select the check box next to the utility billing report that you want to send, and click theSend To F5button.