Product Documentation
ADC
14.1-Current Release 13.1 12.1
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License Activation Service

September 27, 2025
Contributed by: 
C

Important:

File-based licensing system (also referred to as manually managed entitlements), traditionally used for activating various on-premises components, will be End of Life (EOL) on April 15, 2026. License Activation Service (LAS) is the next generation technology for product activations across the suite of Citrix products. LAS will be the only way to activate and license NetScaler instances after April 15, 2026, supporting NetScaler Flexed licenses (CPL/UHMC), legacy NetScaler Pooled licenses, and NetScaler Fixed term Bandwidth licenses. To remain supported, your NetScaler and NetScaler Console deployments must be on a LAS compatible version.

The minimum required NetScaler® versions that are LAS compatible are:

  • NetScaler ADCs: 14.1-51.x, 13.1-60.x, 13.1-37.x (FIPS)

  • NetScaler SVM: 14.1-51.x, 13.1-60.x

  • NetScaler Console Service: Supported from early September, 2025

All the other forms of legacy NetScaler licenses such as Pooled vCPU, CICO, perpetual will not be supported with LAS. NetScaler instances leveraging perpetual licenses without an active maintenance will become unlicensed upon upgrade to the above mentioned software versions.

LAS based licenses may not be available to customers where prohibited by law or regulations.

If you have questions or concerns, contact Customer Care. Citrix® may limit or suspend your Citrix Maintenance for non-compliance with these requirements without liability in addition to any other remedies Citrix may have at law or equity. These requirements don’t apply where prohibited by law or regulation.

License Activation Service (LAS) is a new cloud-based licensing solution that provides an alternative to traditional file-based licensing. LAS introduces new modules for activation of Citrix and NetScaler products, ensuring a seamless and modern approach to license management.

Note:

LAS is a licensing mechanism, not a license type. LAS supports Fixed-term Bandwidth licensing for NetScaler deployments. All other forms of legacy NetScaler licenses, such as perpetual licenses, are not supported with LAS.

NetScaler version compatibility for LAS

To use LAS, your NetScaler must be running one of the following minimum versions or later:

  • NetScaler ADC: 14.1 build 51.x, 13.1 build 60.x, 13.1 build 37.x (FIPS)
  • NetScaler SVM: 14.1 build 51.x, 13.1 build 60.x

Prerequisite

Ensure your NetScalers are running on LAS-compatible versions.

Transition to LAS by using the NetScaler GUI

Follow the steps described in this section, if you are:

  • A Fixed-term Bandwidth customer using file-based licensing and moving to Fixed-term Bandwidth LAS-based licensing.
  • Have an unlicensed NetScaler and want to use Fixed-term Bandwidth LAS-based licensing.
  • A perpetual license customer using file-based licensing and moving to Fixed-term Bandwidth LAS-based licensing.

Step 1: In the NetScaler GUI, navigate to System > Licenses > ADC License and select the LAS Activation option.

LAS offline activation

Step 2: LAS activation begins by generating an activation request file that contains the unique identity information for a specific NetScaler instance.

  1. To generate the LAS activation request file, under the Generate NetScaler offline activation request file section, click Generate.

    Generate NetScaler offline activation request file

  2. After the activation request file is generated, click Download to save it to your local system.

    Note:

    The activation request file expires after 7 days. Complete the activation process described in Step 3 within this timeframe to ensure that the file remains valid.

    Download NetScaler offline activation request file

Step 3: Upload the activation request file generated from Step 2 to Citrix Cloud™ (LAS UI) to generate the license activation file or blob for your NetScaler.

  1. Log in to Citrix Cloud and navigate to Citrix Cloud > Licensing > NetScaler licenses > NetScaler ADC.

  2. Upload the activation request file generated in Step 2.

  3. After the file uploads successfully, select the required license type for your NetScaler.

    Note:

    If you have multiple Fixed-term Bandwidth entitlements, a drop-down menu displays all available entitlements. Choose the appropriate one for this NetScaler instance.

  4. After selecting the license type, generate and download the license activation file or blob.

    Note:

    The license activation file or blob remains valid for one year from generation.

    Download NetScaler offline activation request file

Step 4: Return to the NetScaler GUI, navigate to System > Licenses > ADC License and select the LAS Activation option.

  1. In the Upload NetScaler activation file section, click Upload File to upload the license activation file or blob generated in Step 3.

    Upload activation request file

  2. After you upload the activation file, confirm the activation by clicking Yes.

    Confirm LAS activation

  3. Click Reboot to reboot NetScaler for the license to take effect.

    Note:

    A reboot is not required in the following scenarios:

    • You have the exact same Perpetual license file (file-based licensing) or Fixed-term Bandwidth license file (file-based licensing)switching to the same Fixed-term Bandwidth license entitlement using LAS.

    • You are an existing LAS user, and is performing these steps after renewing your license contract.

    Reboot to activate LAS

Step 5: Your NetScaler instance is now licensed through LAS.

LAS activated NetScaler

Step 6: Monitor and manage license activation file or blob to ensure continuous operation.

The license activation file or blob remains valid for one year. You can view both the last renewal or activation date and the upcoming renewal or activation date in the interface.

To maintain continuous NetScaler functionality, click Renew Now and repeat Step 2 through Step 5 before the upcoming renewal date expires.

Renew LAS

Important:

If you do not renew and apply the license activation file or blob in time, NetScaler becomes unlicensed.

Transition to LAS by using the NetScaler CLI

Follow the steps described in this section, if you are:

  • A Fixed-term Bandwidth customer using file-based licensing and moving to Fixed-term Bandwidth LAS-based licensing.
  • Have an unlicensed NetScaler and want to use Fixed-term Bandwidth LAS-based licensing.
  • A perpetual license customer using file-based licensing and moving to Fixed-term Bandwidth LAS-based licensing.

Step 1: Generate an activation request file that contains the unique identity information for your NetScaler instance.

  1. Generate the LAS activation request file by running the following command in NetScaler CLI:

    show ns licenseactivationdata
<!--NeedCopy-->

  2. After the activation request file is generated, you can see it at the following path:

    "/nsconfig/license/<FileName>"

  3. Use SCP to transfer the file from the NetScaler to your local computer.

Note:

The activation request file expires after 7 days. Complete the next steps within this timeframe to ensure that the file remains valid.

Step 2: Upload the activation request file generated from Step 1 to Citrix Cloud (LAS UI) to generate the license activation file for your NetScaler.

Note:

Step 2 cannot be performed using CLI.

  1. Log in to Citrix Cloud and navigate to Citrix Cloud > Licensing > NetScaler licenses > NetScaler ADC.

  2. Upload the activation request file generated from Step 1.

  3. After the file uploads successfully, select the required license type for your NetScaler.

    Note:

    If you have multiple Fixed-term Bandwidth entitlements, a drop-down menu displays all available entitlements. Choose the appropriate one for this NetScaler instance.

  4. After selecting the license type, generate and download the license activation file.

    Note:

    The license activation file or blob remains valid for one year from generation.

    Download NetScaler offline activation request file

Step 3: Transfer the license activation file generated from Step 2 to your NetScaler and activate it.

  1. Use SCP to copy the license activation file generated in Step 2 from your local system to the following NetScaler directory:

    /nsconfig/license

  2. After transferring the file to this location, run the following command to activate the license on your NetScaler:

    apply ns laslicense -filename <activation_blob_file> -filelocation <path_to_license_directory> -fixedBandwidth
<!--NeedCopy-->

    Example:

    apply ns laslicense -filename NS_activation_blob.tgz -filelocation /nsconfig/license -fixedBandwidth
<!--NeedCopy-->

    LAS license CLI

  3. If you get a Warning to reboot, reboot NetSaler for the license to take effect.

    Note:

    A reboot is not required in the following scenarios:

    • You have the exact same Perpetual license file (file-based licensing) or Fixed-term Bandwidth license file (file-based licensing)switching to the same Fixed-term Bandwidth license entitlement using LAS.

    • You are an existing LAS user, and is performing these steps after renewing your license contract.

Step 4: Your NetScaler instance is now licensed through LAS. Verify the applied license using the following command:

show ns license
<!--NeedCopy-->

The command output displays the current license status and details:

Show license CLI output

Step 5: Monitor and manage license activation file or blob renewal to ensure continuous operation.

Note:

The license activation file or blob remains valid for one year. To view the last activation date and upcoming renewal date, use the following command:

show ns laslicense
<!--NeedCopy-->

The command output displays the LAS license details including activation and renewal dates:

LAS show license CLI output

To maintain continuous NetScaler functionality, repeat Step 1 through Step 4 before the upcoming renewal date expires.

Important:

If you do not renew and apply the license activation file or blob in time, your NetScaler becomes unlicensed.

License activation file behavior and expiry

The license activation file or blob remains valid for one year from the date of generation. Customers are responsible for tracking the upcoming renewal date and renewing the file before it expires.

Important:

Failure to renew the license activation file before its expiration date results in the NetScaler becoming unlicensed.

License contract expiry

The number of days remaining until your license contract expires, is shown under License Entitlement Expiry by navigating to System > Licenses > ADC License.

License Entitlement Expiry

To ensure smooth functioning of your NetScaler, you must renew your license contract and complete the steps outlined in the following sections before your license contract expires:

Important

  • If the license contract is not renewed in time, your NetScaler becomes unlicensed.

  • NetScaler instance stops its normal operations after the license expiry, including configuration loss and complete shutdown of traffic processing.

License Activation Service
September 27, 2025
Contributed by: 
C
September 27, 2025
Contributed by: 
C

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