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Domain Locked Licensing Overview

SBC SWe deployments support a domain-based licensing model (DL). In contrast to node-locked licensing, a domain license is tied to an administrative domain rather than the hardware ID for a specific host server or the UUID for a specific node instance. A domain license is bound to the domain through public/private key-pairing and it defines the features and capacity allowed for all nodes within the domain. DL provides flexibility in cloud environments where the number and placement of nodes sometimes varies. Contact your Ribbon representative for more information on available licensing options and to complete the ordering process that is required prior to implementing DL.

DL is implemented using license management capabilities within the

• Log into

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  managing the SBC SWe cluster and copy the

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  domain public key.
• Submit the copied public key, along with the order details, to the self-service licensing portal to generate a license bundle file that incorporates the domain public key.
• Install the DL license bundle on

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  .
• From

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  , add the feature licenses to the SBC cluster configuration. The licenses are added to the OAM which then replicates the configuration (including licenses) to the SBC nodes. 

Refer to License Management in the

After these preparations are completed on

Domain Locked Licensing Infrastructure

True Forward Subscription relies upon a Domain Locked Licensing infrastructure for successful operation. Domain Locked Licensing infrastructure supplies critical services for a successful subscription deployment:

• Centralized subscription licensing management
• Recognition of licensed product(s) feature(s) successful delivery
• Accounting for licensed product(s) feature(s) successful delivery through supplementary quotes for events such as True Forward Growth

Domain Locked Licensing Infrastructure is uniquely suited to address True Forward Subscription deployments:

• The efficient “sharing” of licensed product features across a multi-node network, to emulate the “movement” of licenses to where they are required
• Support for accounting of licensed product feature consumption above an amount purchased by the customer, to permit growth without service interruption
• Support for ephemeral product operation, where products can scale-in/out at run time without concerns for license “apportioning” which otherwise would result in service interruption higher costs

A True Forward Subscription agreement requires customers to deploy and operate the Domain Locked Licensing infrastructure per product specifications for successful subscription-related product consumption.

Supported Products / SBC Core, PSX, and  RAMP Required for CNe

Subscriptions are licensed on a Domain Locked (DL) License basis; the Subscription Software Licenses may be used across the network domain with Ribbon’s Application Manage Platform (RAMP) and Ribbon’s Audit Portal (RAP). 

Initial Deployment

The following figure presents the sequence of actions that flow from the signing of a True Forward to the point where end nodes are ready to begin delivering services.

1. Initial True Forward quote is made available to the customer, and the customer signs a Purchase Order to signal acceptance of both the Terms and Conditions of the offer as well as the licensed product(s) feature(s) they wish to activate for the period of the agreement.
2. Ribbon IT forwards to the customer a license file that encapsulates the ordered Licensed product(s) feature(s) as Feature License Keys.
3. The customer loads the license file into the RAMP License Manager, and confirms the expected range, quantity and expiration date of Feature License Keys is recognized, correct and available for use.
4. The customer (from the RAMP License Manager) assigns at least one unit of each desired Feature License Key into the end nodes as desired to activate licensed feature operation.
5. The end nodes are now ready to begin offering the ordered True Forward related services.

Steady State Operations

The Domain Locked Licensing network topology comprises three major network actors:
• End nodes (for example, SBC, PSX, Application Server, WebRTC Gateway), where True Forward licensed product features are delivered;
• RAMP (Ribbon Application Management Platform) where centralized True Forward-related license management is undertaken, along with aggregation of licensed product feature delivery reports and submission;
• RAP (Ribbon Audit Portal) that reconciles licensed product feature delivery reports for True Forward accounting and action.

Adding License Capacity

In domain licensing mode, you can add to your existing license definition following the same process to load another license bundle file onto

Full-Capacity Licensing Option

When configured for DL, the SBC supports a "full-capacity" option in which the counts for individual, counted license features are no longer used to limit activity on the SBC. Enabling the full-capacity feature effectively enables feature use up to the capacity of the node. Actual license usage is reported to Ribbon using

The full-capacity feature requires the SBC-CAPACITY-D license key in the license file. Contact your Ribbon representative for more information on the use of the full-capacity licensing option. 

Configuring DL Options

Use the SBC CLI or access the SBC Configuration Manager UI from

Enabling Domain License Mode

By default, SBC license mode is set to nodeLocked. Use the following CLI commands to place the SBC in domain (DL) license mode:

% set system licenseMode mode domain
% commit

Or, in the SBC Configuration Manager UI:

1. Go to All > System > License Mode  The License Mode window opens.
2. In Mode, select Domain.
3. Click Save.

Displaying Domain License Bundle Information

Use the following command to output information on the domain license bundles loaded into the system.

 > show table system licenseDomainBundleInfo 

Or, in the SBC Configuration Manager UI:

Go to All > System > License Domain Bundle Info  The License Domain Bundle Info window opens.

The following license information is output:

• activeLicenseMode – The licensing mode currently in use by the SBC
• bundleName – License bundle name
• expirationDate – License expiration date
• featureName – license keys for each licensed feature
• generationDate – The date the license was generated
• installDate – The date the license was installed
• licenseId – License ID
• lineId – The line ID for the license feature entry
• purchaseOrderId – The purchase order ID specified when the license was generated
• usageLimit – Usage limit for the licensed feature

Shut Off Calls if License Manager Doesn't Refresh After 90 Days

The SBC SWe includes the capability to shut off calls when there is no License Manager refresh in the last 90 days. The DL architecture requires the user to have the node/instance register with the license manager to report the usage, and then refresh the registration periodically. This functionality is enabled by the LACK of a CAPACITY license. If the SBC instance is not successfully registered with the license manager in 90 days, the SBC stops processing calls after sending warning alarms to the user. 

Feature behavior:

The SBC SWe identifies the

• If the SBC auto-registers with

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  through the LCA, the same EMS address and user/password information is used to communicate with the License Manager.
• If the SBC does not auto-register with

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  , then the new CLI parameters have been added to specify the address and user/password information of the

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  servers. If the values of these new parameters are set, those values are used instead of any auto-registration data.