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Manual Chapter : License Pools

Applies To:

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BIG-IQ Device

  • 4.4.0
Manual Chapter
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About pool and utility licenses

When you purchase and activate a license pool, you can assign licenses to BIG-IP virtual edition (VE). This keeps operating costs fixed and allows for flexible provisioning options. There are two types of license pools: pool licenses and utility licenses.

Pool licenses are purchased for a fixed number of devices, but are not permanently tied to a specific device. As resource demands change, you can revoke and grant those licenses to other resources as required.

Utility licenses are not limited to a set number of devices. You can create any number of licenses as needed, selecting the frequency in which you are billed.

About pool licenses

Pool licenses are purchased for a fixed number of devices, but are not permanently tied to a specific device. As resource demands change, you can revoke and grant those licenses to other resources as required.

Automatically activating a pool license

You must have a base registration key before you can activate the license pool.
If the resources you are licensing are connected to the public internet, you can automatically activate the license pool.
  1. Log in to BIG-IQ Device with your administrator user name and password.
  2. At the top of the screen, click Provisioning.
  3. Hover over the Licenses panel, click the + sign when it appears, and then click Add New Pool License. The panel expands to display New License properties.
  4. In the License Name field, type a name for this license.
  5. In the Base Registration Key field, type or paste the BIG-IQ registration key.
  6. In the Add-on Keys field, paste any additional license key you have.
  7. For the Activation Method setting, select Automatic, and click the Activate button. The End User License Agreement (EULA) displays.
  8. To accept the EULA, click the Accept button.
You can now assign this license to a BIG-IP device.

Manually activating a pool license

You must have a base registration key before you can activate the pool license.
If the BIG-IQ Device you are licensing is not connected to the public internet, you can still activate the pool license manually.
  1. Log in to BIG-IQ Device with your administrator user name and password.
  2. At the top of the screen, click Provisioning.
  3. Hover over the Licenses panel, click the + sign when it appears, and then click Add New Pool License. The panel expands to display New License properties.
  4. In the License Name field, type a name for this license.
  5. In the Base Registration Key field, type or paste the BIG-IQ registration key.
  6. In the Add-on Keys field, paste any additional license key you have.
  7. For the Activation method setting, select Manual and click the Generate Dossier button. The BIG-IQ system refreshes and displays the dossier in the Device Dossier field.
  8. Copy the text displayed in the Device Dossier field, and click the Access F5 manual activation web portal link. Alternatively, you can navigate to the F5 license activation portal at https://activate.f5.com/license/.
  9. Paste the dossier into the Enter your dossier field, and then click the Next button. The Accept User Legal Agreement displays.
  10. To accept the EULA, click the Accept button.
  11. Copy the license file from the F5 license activation portal to BIG-IQ Device.
You can now assign this license to a BIG-IP device.

Assigning a pool license to a BIG-IP VE

Before you can assign a license pool to a BIG-IP VE device, you must activate the license pool on the BIG-IQ system and discover the BIG-IP VE device to which you want to assign a pool license.
Using a pool license for a BIG-IP VE device provides you with the flexibility to easily manage resources and operating costs.
  1. Log in to BIG-IQ Device with your administrator user name and password.
  2. At the top of the screen, click Provisioning.
  3. Hover over the Deployment panel, click the + sign when it appears, and click New Deployment Job.
  4. In the Name field, type a name for this license deployment.
  5. From the Device list, select the device you want to license.
  6. From the Licensing list, select Use a Pool License.
  7. From the License Pool list, select the pool license you want to use for this device.
  8. Click the Deploy button.
  9. To confirm that the license was successfully deployed, click the License Pool from which you deployed the license, and click the Assignments tab. The device you licensed displays with the license status and the last contact from BIG-IQ Device.

Revoking a utility license from a managed device

Before you revoke a utility pool license, you must assign a pool license to a BIG-IP device.
When fewer devices are required for your applications, you can revoke licenses to reassign them to other resources as needed.
  1. Log in to BIG-IQ Device with your administrator user name and password.
  2. At the top of the screen, click Provisioning.
  3. Hover over the Deployment panel, click the + sign when it appears, and click New Deployment Job.
  4. In the Name field, type a name for this license revocation.
  5. From the Type of Job list, select Modify a Virtual Device.
  6. From the Device list, select the device from which you want to revoke a license.
  7. From the Licensing list, select Revoke a License.
  8. From the Utility License list, select the utility license you want to revoke.
  9. Click the Deploy button.
You can now assign this license to a BIG-IP device.

About utility licenses

Utility licenses are based on metered usage and you are charged only for the duration that the license is activated. When a resource is no longer required, you revoke its license and are no longer charged for that instance.

Each utility license is associated with a specific set of F5 offerings (for example, BIG-IP LTM 25M, BIG-IP LTM 200G, and BIG-IP LTM 1G ). You can activate any number of seat licenses (or license grants) for the selected offering. You create seat licenses when you need them, and specify the unit of measure (an hour, a day, a month, or a year) for which you want to be billed for each license. BIG-IQ Device tracks usage consumed in each billing period, which you send that data directly to F5.

Automatically activating a utility license

You must have a base registration key before you can activate the utility license.
If the resources you are licensing are connected to the public internet, you can automatically activate the utility license.
  1. Log in to BIG-IQ Device with your administrator user name and password.
  2. At the top of the screen, click Provisioning.
  3. Hover over the Licenses panel, click the + sign when it appears, and then click Add New Utility License.
  4. In the License Name field, type a name for this license.
  5. In the Base Registration Key field, type or paste the BIG-IQ registration key.
  6. For the Activation Method setting, select Automatic, and click the Activate button. The End User License Agreement (EULA) displays.
  7. To accept the EULA, click the Accept button.
You can now assign this utility license to a BIG-IP device.

Manually adding and activating a utility license

You must have a base registration key before you can activate the utility license.
If the resources you are licensing are not connected to the public internet, you can still activate the utility license manually.
  1. Log in to BIG-IQ Device with your administrator user name and password.
  2. At the top of the screen, click Provisioning.
  3. Hover over the Licenses panel, click the + sign when it appears, and then click Add New Utility License.
  4. In the License Name field, type a name for this license.
  5. In the Base Registration Key field, type or paste the BIG-IQ registration key.
  6. For the Activation method setting, select Manual and click the Generate Dossier button. The BIG-IQ system refreshes and displays the dossier in the Device Dossier field.
  7. Copy the text displayed in the Device Dossier field, and click the Access F5 manual activation web portal link. Alternatively, you can navigate to the F5 license activation portal at https://activate.f5.com/license/.
  8. Paste the dossier into the Enter your dossier field, and then click the Next button. The Accept User Legal Agreement displays.
  9. Select the check box to agree to the license terms, and then click the Next button. The license key displays
  10. Copy the license key.
  11. On the BIG-IQ Device, into the License Text field, paste the license key.
  12. Click the Add button. The unactivated utility license displays in the Licenses panel.
  13. Click the arrow next to the utility license you created to expand the list of licenses.
  14. Click the utility license you want to activate.
  15. Copy the license key.
  16. On the BIG-IQ Device, into the License Text field, paste the license key.
  17. Click the Apply button. If the license does not display as activated in the Licenses panel after several minutes, click the arrow next to the utility license to contract the list, then click it again to expand. The screen should refresh and display the license as activated.
You can now assign this utility license to a BIG-IP VE device.

Assigning a utility license to a BIG-IP device

Before you can assign a utility pool to a BIG-IP VE device, you must activate the utility license on the BIG-IQ system and discover the BIG-IP VE device to which you want to assign a pool license.
Using a utility license for a BIG-IP VE device provides you with the flexibility to easily manage resources and operating costs by choosing a specific billing term for licenses.
  1. Log in to BIG-IQ Device with your administrator user name and password.
  2. At the top of the screen, click Provisioning.
  3. Hover over the Deployment panel, click the + sign when it appears, and click New Deployment Job.
  4. In the Name field, type a name for this license deployment.
  5. From the Type of Job list, select Modify a Virtual Device.
  6. From the Device list, select the device you want to license.
  7. From the Licensing list, select Use a Utility License.
  8. From the License Pool list, select the pool license you want to use for this device.
  9. Click the Deploy button.
  10. To confirm that the license was successfully deployed, in the Licenses panel, click the license you deployed and review the License Assignment section. The device you licensed displays with the license status, the associated device, and the billing terms for the license.

Revoking a utility license from a managed device

Before you revoke a utility pool license, you must assign a pool license to a BIG-IP device.
When fewer devices are required for your applications, you can revoke licenses to reassign them to other resources as needed.
  1. Log in to BIG-IQ Device with your administrator user name and password.
  2. At the top of the screen, click Provisioning.
  3. Hover over the Deployment panel, click the + sign when it appears, and click New Deployment Job.
  4. In the Name field, type a name for this license revocation.
  5. From the Type of Job list, select Modify a Virtual Device.
  6. From the Device list, select the device from which you want to revoke a license.
  7. From the Licensing list, select Revoke a License.
  8. From the Utility License list, select the utility license you want to revoke.
  9. Click the Deploy button.
You can now assign this license to a BIG-IP device.

Automatically submitting a utility license usage report to F5

You must assign a utility license to a device before you can submit and save a usage report.

You provide this report to F5 Networks for billing purposes, as per the terms and conditions of your contract.

  1. Log in to BIG-IQ Device with your administrator user name and password.
  2. At the top of the screen, click Provisioning.
  3. On the Licenses panel, click the gear icon for the utility license that you want to submit for billing, and then click Create Usage Report.
  4. For the usage submission method, select Automatically submit report to F5.
  5. Click the Submit button. BIG-IQ Device sends a report directly to F5, and saves a copy on BIG-IQ Device.

Downloading a utility license usage report

You must assign a utility license to a device before you can create a utility usage report for that license.

You can use this report to augment your internal licensing management and budget planning. You also have the option to submit this report manually to F5 for billing purposes.

Note: If you would like to manually submit this report to F5 for billing purposes instead of automatically, contact F5 Support.
  1. Log in to BIG-IQ Device with your administrator user name and password.
  2. At the top of the screen, click Provisioning.
  3. On the Licenses panel, click the gear icon for the utility license for which you want to download a usage report, and then click Create Usage Report.
  4. For the Period setting, in the From and To fields, type the date range for the report. Alternatively, click the calendars and navigate to the dates.
  5. Select a format option for the report.
  6. Click the Download button and select an option to open the file, or save the file.
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