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Ribbon provides a network-wide licensing (NWL) option for customers who require flexibility in applying license capacity across the SBC nodes in their networks. In an NWL model, customers purchase a total number of sessions and a feature set intended to meet the requirements of their entire network. This total licensed capacity is then shared among the SBC nodes in the network in a way that avoids having to define exact license limits on each individual node. Because of the usage flexibility NWL provides, you must have a Ribbon EMS system in your network to enable reporting of your actual license usage. 

License Allocation

For NWL, the license on an individual SBC node contains a combination of purchased licenses (referred to as perpetual licenses) and additional capacity in the form of "burst" licenses. In addition to the perpetual licenses it is allocated, an individual node can carry burst licenses up to its system capacity or to the network limit. From the perspective of the node, perpetual licenses and burst licenses appear the same and both provide session capacity and feature access equally. The burst licenses simply provide the node with a buffer for potential usage above the node's perpetual license allocation. However, if use of burst capacity results in a network exceeding its total network license limits, then additional, perpetual license capacity must be purchased. Thus you have a choice of how to allocate perpetual licenses among your nodes and how many burst licenses to provide. Consult with your Ribbon sales team representative to establish the optimal allocation plan for your network that takes into account the types of nodes you have and how you intend to use them. You can then generate the license files required to enable NWL on your nodes.

License Modes

The SBC is configured in node-locked license mode for network wide licensing. Note that for both hardware-based SBC appliances as well as SBC SWe, node-locked license mode applies regardless of whether you are implementing NWL. In node-locked licensing, an installed license file locks sessions and features to a specific SBC node which is identified through its hardware serial number or Virtual Machine Universal Unique Identifier (UUID). To implement NWL in conjunction with node-locked licensing, both perpetual and burst licenses are included in the license files installed on the network's nodes. An individual nodes is licensed to operate up to the capacity defined by its combined perpetual and burst licenses, with the actual usage audited through its managing EMS. NWL with node-locked licensing is supported on all SBC hardware and SWe platforms, except SBC 5100 and SBC 5200. Refer to Node-Locked Licensing for more information on node-locked licensing. 
 

NWL licensing is offered on all SBC Core platforms and deployment types including hardware SBC appliances, integrated SBC SWe and distributed SBC SWe. In a limited number of large-scale, distributed-SBC SWe deployments, Ribbon permits a form of network-licensing that is tied to a domain rather than the individual nodes. This is referred to as network-wide domain licensing (NWDL). In an NWDL model, license files are installed on the EMS that manages the network and licensed capabilities are associated with individual nodes using the EMS user interface. Refer to Network-Wide Domain Licensing for more information on NWDL.

Auditing License Usage

For auditing purposes, the Ribbon EMS is set up to collect license usage data and generate aggregated statistics for the network. Performance statistics measuring the maximum, simultaneous active session and feature counts across 5-minute intervals are collected for all SBCs in the EMS network. These usage statistics are aggregated monthly and sent either automatically or manually for processing through a portal maintained by Ribbon IT. During this transfer process, the license usage data is encrypted with a hash to ensure data security.

All samples are compared against a network's perpetual license totals. If a license usage report indicates that a network exceeded its number of generated licenses, the Ribbon sales team creates an invoice for the customer to purchase a commensurate number of perpetual licenses. Thus an overage leads to an increase in the quantity of licenses the customer owns in perpetuity. This increased usage threshold takes effect for the next audit period after the PO is received. Monthly network usage below purchased capacity is not credited back to the customer.

NWL Policies  

Although an NWL deployment can span regions or geographies and include a mixture of node types, you must manage the network using a single EMS to enable auditing. If NWL is adopted, you must implement it throughout the network; partial implementations are not supported. However, as long as the network nodes are managed by a single EMS for auditing purposes, the deployment can span regions or geographies and can include a mixture of node types. Customers using NWL must agree to send monthly license-usage reports and allow auditing by a Ribbon representative. Customer must also agree to purchase additional perpetual licenses when usage levels cross the network-wide limit.

 
Consult with your Ribbon sales representative for more information on NWL and to determine the best licensing options for your deployment.


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