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.

1. On the left, click LICENSE MANAGEMENT > Licenses.

2. Click the Add RegKey Pool button.

3. Type a Name to identify this pool.

4. Click OK.

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 the activate.f5.com site.
• 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.

Note: 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.

1. At the top of the screen, click Configuration.

2. On the left, click LICENSE MANAGEMENT > Assignments.

3. Click on the name of the registration key pool you want to activate a license for.

4. For the Activation Method setting, select Automatic.

5. Click the Activate button at the bottom of the screen.

6. Review the EULA, and if you agree with the terms, click the Accept button 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.

Note: 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.

1. On the left, click LICENSE MANAGEMENT > Licenses.

2. Click the Add RegKey Pool button.

3. In the Registration Key Pool Name box, type a name for this pool.

4. Click the AddRegKey button.

5. In the Base Registration Key field, type or paste the registration key, and into the Add-on Keys field, type or paste an associated add-on keys.

6. For the Activation Method setting, select Manual.

7. Click the Generate Dossier button.

   The screen refreshes to display the dossier.

8. Select and copy the dossier.

9. Click the Access F5 manual activation web portal link.

   The F5 Product Licensing site opens.

10. Paste the dossier into the Enter Your Dossier box and click the Next button.

11. Click the Activate License link.

12. Review the EULA, and if you agree with the terms, click the Accept button at the bottom of the screen.

13. Select the license and copy and paste it into the License Text box.

14. Click the Activate button 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.

Note: 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.

1. At the top of the screen, click Configuration.

2. On the left, click LICENSE MANAGEMENT > Licenses.

3. Click the Add RegKey Pool button.

4. Type a name for this pool.

5. Click the Import CSV button, navigate to the file, and click Open.

6. Click Save & 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.

View registration keys details of the registration key pool

After you have activated a license’s registration key, you can view the registration key details of the pool license

1. At the top of the screen, click Devices.

2. On the left, click LICENSE MANAGEMENT > Licenses.

3. Click the name of the license.

   Under the section Registration Keys, following details of the registration keys are displayed:

   Item	Description
   Status	Registration key’s activation status.
   Registration Key	Base Registration Key with Hyperlink to the registration key details.
   Description	The registration key is used for tracking and can be changed and stored for future use.
   Device Name	Hostname of the Device to which the license is assigned.
   Device Address	Management IP Address of the Device to which the license is assigned.
   MAC Address	Management Interface MAC Address of the Device to which License is assigned.
   Tenant	Tenant Name provided during the device license assignment, applicable only for unreachable devices.
   License Status	The current state of the license’s assignment.
   Device Type	Type of Device Assigned with the License i.e., Unmanaged / Managed / Unreachable.
   Activation Date	Initial license activation date.
   Expiration Date	Expiration date for the License.
   Service Check Date	Service check date which is recorded in the license file, and which aligns with the date the license was last activated or the expiration date of the service contract for the device, whichever occurs sooner. Example: If you have an active service contract that ends on December 31, and you license a device on June 30, the Service Check Date is set to June 30

   Note: The license file’s Service Check Date is updated whenever the license is reactivated, provided there is an active service contract for the BIG-IQ system.

   |Max allowed throughput rate|Maximum allowed throughput rate on the BIG-IP system

Note:

-   The Good-Better-Best Bundle and standalone module licenses for the BIG-IP VE have a maximum allowed throughput rate, which is enforced and limits the number of vCPUs and Traffic Management Microkernel \(TMM\) threads.

Example: A new Better Bundle license for a maximum allowed throughput of 1 Gbps for BIG-IP VE , with a limit of4 vCPUs. If you allocate the BIG-IP VE with 8 vCPUs in the hypervisor, the BIG-IP VE only recognizes 4 of the 8 allocated vCPUs, and allows a maximum of 4 TMM threads to run.

-   Clone pool traffic counts against the maximum allowed throughput rate licensed on the BIG-IP VE system.
-   Prior to the introduction of the Good, Better, Best licensing, BIG-IP VE did not have vCPU enforcement and allowed you to configure eight vCPUs in the hypervisor. This applies to licenses issued or purchased prior to 2014, when Good-Better-Best licensing was introduced.You can use the following command from the command line to see if you are running a license that places restrictions on the number of provisioned vCPUs allowed: **tmsh show sys license detail \| grep perf\_VE\_cores**. If you are running a new license, you see output similar to the following: **perf\_VE\_cores \[8\].**If no output is reported, your system is using a license prior to 2014.
|**Max allowed VE Cores**|Maximum allowed vCPUs Cores on the BIG-IP system|
|**Permittted SW Version**|Supported TMOS versions|

4. To select the desired number of items to display per page, click the Items Per Page dropdown and select a number (e.g., 150, 300, 500). The list updates automatically to display the selected number of items.

   Note: The chosen page size will not be saved. When you switch to another view, the default page size of 150 will always be displayed. To expand the number of entries displayed in the list, select another number to adjust the page size.