Working with Network-Wide Domain Licenses - SBC SWe Edge and CNe Edge

NWDL represents an alternative form of product feature enablement to Node-Locked Licensing (NLL). Refer to Node-Locked Licensing - SBC 1000/2000 and SBC SWe Edge for more information on Node-Locked Licensing.

Network-Wide Domain Licensing Overview

 Network-wide domain licensing (NWDL) licensing is offered to SBC SWe Edge and CNe Edge deployments where SBC instances may be brought up and down dynamically based on traffic. In this model, 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. When a new SBC node is brought up, it can leverage licenses from the domain pool.

SBC SWe Edge and SBC CNe Edge deployments support a domain-based licensing model referred to as network-wide domain licensing (NWDL). 

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. NWDL 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 NWDL.

For more information about which platforms Ribbon supports NWDL, refer to Ribbon Application Management Platform (RAMP) Documentation. 

NWDL is implemented using license management capabilities within the Ribbon Application Management Platform (RAMP). Ribbon Application Management Platform provides the public key used to bind the license to the local domain and is used for associating license data with eligible nodes. The basic steps to implement domain licensing are as follows:

• Log into the Ribbon Application Management Platform managing the SBC SWe Edge or SBC CNe Edge cluster and copy the 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 NWDL license bundle on the Ribbon Application Management Platform. 
• From the Ribbon Application Management Platform, add the feature licenses to the SBC SWe Edge or SBC CNe Edge configuration. The licenses are added to the OAM which then replicates the configuration (including licenses) to the SBC nodes.
• Enable Ribbon Application Management Platform in the SBC Edge GUI so you can enter the management ID and RAMP IP Address to connect to the Ribbon Application Management Platform with NWDL enabled.

Refer to the License Management section in Ribbon Application Management Platform License Management documentation for specific procedures to locate and copy the public key, install a license bundle, and associate feature licenses with SBC SWe Edge or SBC CNe Edge. 

After these preparations are completed on the Ribbon Application Management Platform, enable domain-based licensing on the SBC Edge by enabling Ribbon Application Management Platform in the SBC Edge GUI, so you can enter the management ID and RAMP IP Address to connect to the Ribbon Application Management Platform with NWDL enabled. The OAM node for the cluster provides the configuration update to each SBC node in the cluster. 

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 the Ribbon Application Management Platform, and using it to assign the additional feature licenses to Edge. The resulting set of licenses features and capacity for the cluster is the aggregate of the existing license and the added license.

Obtain a Management ID 

Connectivity to Ribbon Application Management Platform for NWDL Licensing is required. For information about Ribbon Application Management Platform (RAMP), refer to Ribbon Application Management Platform (RAMP) Documentation. 

To connect to a Ribbon Application Management Platform, you must have a Management ID. To obtain a Management ID, follow the Management ID acquisition process. Refer to:

• Obtaining a Management ID

Prerequisites 

Add firewall rules (inbound port and security rules) before configuring NWDL.

Add Firewall Rules 

1. In the OAM GUI, navigate to Overview > System Overview to view the OAM, SNMP, and Egress IPs. 
   
2. Log into the Azure portal and navigate to Home > Virtual Machines.
3. Search for "RAMP"
4. Select your RAMP VM.
5. Select Settings > Networking.
6. Click Add Inbound Port Rule.
   
7. In the Source drop-down, select IP Addresses. 
8. Enter the OAM, Egress, and SNMP IP Addresses you gathered from the OAM GUI. 
9. Under Destination Port Ranges, enter *. 
10. Click Add.
11. Navigate to Home > Resource Group.
12. Under Resources, select VirtualNetwork-Subnet-Signaling-nsg.
13. Select Inbound Security Rules.
    
14. Click Add. 
15. Under the Source drop-down, select IP Addresses. 
16. Enter the RAMP VM IP address. 
17. Under Destination Port Ranges, enter *.
18. Update the name. 
19. Click Add. 

Connect to Ribbon Application Management Platform (RAMP)

You can connect to RAMP and install the Management ID during initial setup or Azure deployment. For these procedures, refer to:

• SBC SWe Edge: Configuring for Ribbon Application Management Platform during Initial Setup and Running Initial Setup on SBC SWe Edge
• SBC CNe Edge: Connecting the SBC CNe Edge to Ribbon Application Management Platform and Deploying the SBC CNe Edge via Azure Marketplace

Configure NWDL Licensing for SBC SWe Edge or SBC CNe Edge

1. In the UI, navigate to Setting > Node Level Settings.

2. In the Ribbon Application Management Platform (RAMP) box, in the Connect to RAMP drop-down, select Yes.

   For CNe Edge, you can populate the Management ID during the Azure deployment when given the option to enable RAMP. If this is done, RAMP will already be enabled and the Management ID will already be populated. Similarly, if you enabled RAMP during initial setup on SBC SWe Edge, your management ID will already be populated.

   If you did not enable RAMP already, continue with this procedure. 

3. Enter your Management Address.

4. Enter your Management ID. 

   Do not to change the management ID or IP address without prior consent from IT, or a service outage may occur. 

5. Click Apply. 
   
   The Management Connection displays as Up if your RAMP VM is connected for NWDL. RAMP Online Licensing will show as NWDL.

Refer to Ribbon Application Management Platform documentation for License Management documentation. 

View License Mode and Status

To view the status of the NWDL license:

1. In the UI, navigate to System > Overview 
   
   
2. Online Licensing should display the value NWDL.
3. Management Connection should display UP.

To view the license mode:

1. Navigate to Settings > Node-Level Settings.
2. In the Ribbon Application Management Platform box, RAMP Online Licensing should display NWDL.

NWDL Features Available for SBC Edge 

Overview

NWDL licensing offers two classes of licensed features, listed in the following table:

1. Features which are disabled by default, and for which the managing RAMP must explicitly activate to allow the SBC to offer the feature in question. 
   1. If the feature has not been explicitly activated by the RAMP, a red cross will appear in the Licensed column of the Current Licenses display; furthermore, the operator will not be able to configure or make use of the feature.
   2. If the feature has been explicitly activated by the RAMP, a green checkmark will appear in the Licensed column of the Current Licenses display; furthermore, the operator will be able to configure or make use of the feature.
   3. Select features (e.g., SBC-SA-RTU-D, etc.)  will be activated with a quantity value, found in the Total Licenses field of the Current Licenses display.
      1. A non-zero value in the Total Licenses field represents the quantity of the feature explicitly activated by the RAMP, but does not represent an upper quantity bound of the feature; the SBC is free to exceed this value, if so configured by the operator and if operation warrants.
      2. A positive value in the Available Licenses field represents the quantity of the feature as not being offered by the SBC during its operational lifetime;
      3. A negative value in the Available Licenses field represents the quantity of the feature offered by the SBC during its operational lifetime above and beyond the quantity of the feature explicitly activated by the RAMP. The operator should access the RAMP to activate additional quantity of the feature in question, so that the negative value disappears in favor of a higher value in the Total Licenses field. The operator may also be required to purchase additional feature licenses, should the NWDL pool in the RAMP not be sufficient to address the actual excess feature usage.
   4. Select features (e.g., TEAMS-SBA-D, etc.)  will not be activated with a quantity value, but rather a Boolean value found in the Total Licenses field of the Current Licenses display. These features, once activated, remain available without regard to quantity.
2. Features which are enabled by default. No action is required from the managing RAMP to explicitly activate the feature to allow the SBC to offer the feature in question. 
   1. Such features (e.g., SBC-CNE-SA-INSTANCE-D, etc.) will always have a green checkmark will appear in the Licensed column of the Current Licenses display; furthermore, the operator will be able to configure or make use of the feature.
   2. Such features may have a positive value in the Available Licenses field representing the feature has been accounted from the RAMP by the operator.
   3. Such features may have a negative value in the Available Licenses field representing the feature has not been accounted from the RAMP by the operator. The operator should access the RAMP to account for the feature in question, so that the negative value disappears in favor of a positive value in the Total Licenses field. The operator may also be required to purchase additional feature licenses, should the NWDL pool in the RAMP not be sufficient to address the actual feature usage across the NWDL licensing domain.

Available Features

Please refer to the following table for the complete list of licensed NWDL features, applicable products, and other details.

NWDL Feature Codes Applicable to SBC Edge Products

To enable the features listed above, the following feature codes are pushed from the Ribbon Application Management Platform. For more information on pushing these feature codes in RAMP, refer to: Enable NWDL Licenses in the Ribbon Application Management Platform Documentation. 

View Current Licenses

In the UI, navigate to Settings > System > Current Licenses.

The Current Licenses screen displays the list of current licensed NWDL features, along with total license counts, available licenses, and feature expiration dates. 

A sample NWDL-related screen display is presented below. For descriptions of the feature codes, please refer to the preceding section.

Capability to shut off calls when there is no License Manager refresh in 90 days

As part of the NWDL architecture, you are required to have the node/instance registered with the license manager to report usage. If the SBC Edge instance has not been registered with the license manager in 90 days, the SBC will stop processing calls after sending warning alarms to the user.