Licensing
This section provides information about the licensing packages for features available on Cisco Catalyst 9000 Series Switches.
License Levels
The software features available on Cisco Catalyst 9400 Series Switches fall under these base or add-on license levels.
Base Licenses
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Network Essentials
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Network Advantage—Includes features available with the Network Essentials license and more.
Add-On Licenses
Add-On Licenses require a Network Essentials or Network Advantage as a pre-requisite. The features available with add-on license levels provide Cisco innovations on the switch, as well as on the Cisco Digital Network Architecture Center (Cisco DNA Center).
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DNA Essentials
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DNA Advantage— Includes features available with the DNA Essentials license and more.
To find information about platform support and to know which license levels a feature is available with, use Cisco Feature Navigator. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to https://cfnng.cisco.com. An account on cisco.com is not required.
Available Licensing Models and Configuration Information
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Cisco IOS XE Fuji 16.8.x and earlier: RTU Licensing is the default and the only supported method to manage licenses.
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Cisco IOS XE Fuji 16.9.1 to Cisco IOS XE Amsterdam 17.3.1: Smart Licensing is the default and the only supported method to manage licenses.
In the software configuration guide of the required release, see System Management → Configuring Smart Licensing.
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Cisco IOS XE Amsterdam 17.3.2a and later: Smart Licensing Using Policy, which is an enhanced version of Smart Licensing, is the default and the only supported method to manage licenses.
For more information, see Configuring Licenses on Cisco Catalyst 9000 Series Switches.
For a more detailed overview on Cisco Licensing, go to Cisco Software Licensing Guide.
License Levels - Usage Guidelines
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The duration or term for which a purchased license is valid:
Smart Licensing Using Policy
Smart Licensing
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Perpetual: There is no expiration date for such a license.
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Subscription: The license is valid only until a certain date (for a three, five, or seven year period).
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Permanent: for a license level, and without an expiration date.
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Term: for a license level, and for a three, five, or seven year period.
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Evaluation: a license that is not registered.
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Base licenses (Network Essentials and Network-Advantage) are ordered and fulfilled only with a perpetual or permanent license type.
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Add-on licenses (DNA Essentials and DNA Advantage) are ordered and fulfilled only with a subscription or term license type.
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An add-on license level is included when you choose a network license level. If you use DNA features, renew the license before term expiry, to continue using it, or deactivate the add-on license and then reload the switch to continue operating with the base license capabilities.
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When ordering an add-on license with a base license, note the combinations that are permitted and those that are not permitted:
Table 1. Permitted Combinations DNA Essentials
DNA Advantage
Network Essentials
Yes
No
Network Advantage
Yes1
Yes
1 You will be able to purchase this combination only at the time of the DNA license renewal and not when you purchase DNA-Essentials the first time. -
Evaluation licenses cannot be ordered. They are not tracked via Cisco Smart Software Manager and expire after a 90-day period. Evaluation licenses can be used only once on the switch and cannot be regenerated. Warning system messages about an evaluation license expiry are generated only 275 days after expiration and every week thereafter. An expired evaluation license cannot be reactivated after reload. This applies only to Smart Licensing. The notion of evaluation licenses does not apply to Smart Licensing Using Policy.
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