NetScaler Console service

Scenarios for Flexed or Pooled license expiry and connectivity issues behavior

November 6, 2024

Contributed by:

C C

This document presents different scenarios of license expiry and connectivity issues behavior in NetScaler MPX, NetScaler SDX, and NetScaler VPX/NetScaler BLX/NetScaler CPX.

Components of Flexed licenses

Software instance (VPX/BLX/CPX, SDX, MPX, VPX FIPS)
Bandwidth capacity

Scenario: MPX form factor

You are using Flexed or Pooled licensing and the licenses are due to expire soon. The following scenarios explain the behavior when a new license is uploaded on NetScaler Console before and after the term expires, or when a license file is not present.

Before the term expires

If the new license is uploaded before the term expires and the old license is still valid, two different pools of capacity (old and new) are available.

If NetScaler is up and running, it switches to the new Flexed or Pooled license seamlessly after the old license expires.
Restart is not required.
NetScaler does not require a manual capacity reconfiguration.

After the term expires

In this case, the existing pool of capacity has expired.

NetScaler keeps running licensed until it is restarted.
If NetScaler restarts and no valid license file is present, it becomes unlicensed.
If NetScaler does not restart during this period, bandwidth must be manually reconfigured. In NetScaler GUI:
1. Navigate to System > Licenses > Manage Licenses.
2. Click Release Allocation to release the allocation.
3. Click Change Allocation to reallocate the bandwidth.
Restart is not required.

Before or after term expiry if license edition of old and new are different

If the license edition of old and new are different, then irrespective of before or after the term expires, you must perform the following:

Bandwidth must be manually reconfigured. In NetScaler GUI:
1. Navigate to System > Licenses > Manage Licenses.
2. Click Release Allocation to release the allocation.
3. Click Change Allocation to reallocate the bandwidth and change the bandwidth to premium.
Restart NetScaler.

Scenario: SDX form factor

Before the term expires

If the new license is uploaded before the term expires and the old license is still valid, two different pools of capacity (old and new) are available.

If NetScaler is up and running, it switches to the new Flexed or Pooled license seamlessly after the old license expires.
Restart is not required.
NetScaler does not require a manual capacity reconfiguration.

After the term expires

In this case, the existing pool of capacity has expired.

NetScaler keeps running licensed until it is restarted.
Bandwidth must be manually reconfigured. In NetScaler SDX GUI:
1. Navigate to System > Licenses > Manage Licenses.
2. Click Release Allocation to release the allocation.
3. Click Change Allocation to reallocate the bandwidth and change the bandwidth to premium.
Instance must be manually reconfigured. In the NetScaler GUI:
1. Navigate to System > Licenses > Manage Licenses.
2. Click Release allocation to release the allocation.
3. Click Change allocation to reallocate the number of instances.
Restart is not required.

If license edition of old and new are different

Before the term expires

Ensure that both old and new license files exist on Console.
Bandwidth must be manually reconfigured. In the NetScaler SDX GUI:
1. Navigate to System > Licenses > Manage Licenses.
2. Click Release Allocation to release the allocation.
3. Click Change Allocation to reallocate the bandwidth and change the bandwidth to premium.
Change all the edition of VPX to premium to reboot the VPX instances.
Click Change Allocation and retain only premium bandwidth. Delete all other bandwidth allocations.

After the term expires

Delete the VPX instances on SDX.
Click Change allocation to reallocate the bandwidth for SDX on Console.
Reprovision the VPX with premium edition on SDX.

Scenario: VPX/BLX/CPX form factor

Before the term expires

If the new license is uploaded before the term expires, and the old license is still valid, two different pools of capacity (old and new) are available.

If NetScaler is up and running, it switches to the new Flexed or Pooled license seamlessly after the old license expires.
Restart is not required.
NetScaler does not require a manual capacity reconfiguration.

After the term expires

In this case the existing pool of capacity has expired.

NetScaler keeps running licensed until it is restarted.
If NetScaler restarts and no valid license file is present, VPX and BLX become unlicensed and CPX becomes CPX Express.
If NetScaler stays up to pick up the new license, it must be manually reconfigured (capacity reassigned).

Before or after term expiry if license edition of old and new are different

If the license edition of old and new are different, then irrespective of before or after the term expires, you must perform the following:

Bandwidth must be manually reconfigured. In NetScaler VPX/BLX/CPX GUI:
1. Navigate to System > Licenses > Manage Licenses.
2. Click Release Allocation to release the allocation.
3. Click Change Allocation to reallocate the bandwidth and change the bandwidth to premium.
Restart VPX/BLX/CPX instance.

Summary

The following table summarizes the behavior of all NetScaler form factors if a new license is not applied on NetScaler Console:

Form factor	After the license expires	After NetScaler restarts
VPX/BLX	Keeps running until restart	VPX/BLX becomes unlicensed
CPX	Keeps running until restart	CPX becomes CPX Express
MPX	Keeps running until restart	MPX becomes unlicensed
SDX	Keeps running until restart	Throughput of all VPX is reduced to 1 Mbps (rendering them unusable)

Scenarios for connectivity issues behavior

If connectivity breaks between NetScaler and agent, or agent and NetScaler Console service, the behavior is as follows:

NetScaler goes into grace for 30 days.
During this grace period, licensing functionality continues to work until the thirtieth day.
On the thirty-first day,
- NetScaler VPX/NetScaler CPX/NetScaler BLX and NetScaler MPX undergo a forced reboot and become unlicensed.
- The throughput on all the VPX on NetScaler SDX is decreased to 1 Mbps.

The official version of this content is in English. Some of the Cloud Software Group documentation content is machine translated for your convenience only. Cloud Software Group has no control over machine-translated content, which may contain errors, inaccuracies or unsuitable language. No warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, is made as to the accuracy, reliability, suitability, or correctness of any translations made from the English original into any other language, or that your Cloud Software Group product or service conforms to any machine translated content, and any warranty provided under the applicable end user license agreement or terms of service, or any other agreement with Cloud Software Group, that the product or service conforms with any documentation shall not apply to the extent that such documentation has been machine translated. Cloud Software Group will not be held responsible for any damage or issues that may arise from using machine-translated content.

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Scenarios for Flexed or Pooled license expiry and connectivity issues behavior

November 6, 2024

Contributed by:

C C

November 6, 2024

Contributed by:

C C

Scenarios for Flexed or Pooled license expiry and connectivity issues behavior

Components of Flexed licenses

Scenario: MPX form factor

Before the term expires

After the term expires

Before or after term expiry if license edition of old and new are different

Scenario: SDX form factor

Before the term expires

After the term expires

If license edition of old and new are different

Before the term expires

After the term expires

Scenario: VPX/BLX/CPX form factor

Before the term expires

After the term expires

Before or after term expiry if license edition of old and new are different

Summary

Scenarios for connectivity issues behavior

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