License Introduction
Definition
License: A license is an agreement that the supplier and customer arrive at and authorizes the range and period of using the purchased product (referring to the software product in this document). Through the license, the customer obtains the services committed by the supplier. A license is composed of a license file and a license authorization certificate.
Purpose
After purchasing a device, you can use basic functions of the device. To use value-added features or expand device resources due to service expansion, you need to purchase licenses of corresponding device functions or resources to meet service requirements.
The license reduces costs for you. You can select licenses as required to obtain customized functions.
License Types
Licenses can be sold in the traditional or N1 model.
Traditional model
Customers purchase different licenses or license packages based on their service requirements. These licenses take effect permanently. However, if new functions or features are required, customers need to purchase new licenses.
N1 model
Customers purchase N1 software packages (Management, Foundation, and Advanced packages) based on solution scenarios. Within the Subscription and Support (SnS) validity period, if the purchased N1 software packages have new functions, customers can upgrade their license files on the Electronic Software Delivery Platform (ESDP) to obtain new N1 licenses.
Depending on purpose, licenses are classified into commercial (COMM) licenses and non-commercial (DEMO) licenses.
Commercial license
Typically, most licenses purchased according to contracts are permanently valid and some with a fixed validity period. All purchased licenses are commercial licenses.
Non-commercial license
Non-commercial licenses are used for special purposes such as testing and trial use, and are strictly controlled.
Depending on authority, licenses are classified into function licenses and resource licenses:
Function license
A function license controls the usage of a specific function. To use a restricted function, you need to obtain authorization for this function first.
Resource license
A resource license controls the number of available resource items. To use a resource item, you need to obtain authorization for this resource item first.
You may not select a resource license as the default license is sufficient for your resources. You can also select one or more resource licenses based on actual service needs. You can select the same resource license for multiple times or select multiple types of resource licenses. The resource quantity is the sum of all resources in all selected resource licenses.
The resource capacity allowed by the licenses you purchased cannot exceed the maximum capacity of the product. To learn the maximum capacity of the product, contact Huawei local office.
License Characteristics
Convenience
Installing a license file on a device does not require a device reboot and will not affect running services.
Security
A license file is bound to the Equipment Serial Number (ESN) of a device. That is, a license file is unique and corresponds to only one device. If a license file is modified manually, the file becomes invalid. This protects the license against theft.
DR mechanism
If an accident such as an earthquake happens and rescue is organized, you can set the status of the license activated by traditional license mechanism to Emergency. In this status, the resource license does not limit resource usage. The device provides maximum number of resources to meet service requirements.
Concepts
- License file: A license file controls the capacity, functions, and validity period of a software version. It is generated by a dedicated encryption tool based on the contract signed with Huawei and delivered as an electronic file.
Only one license file can be loaded on a device. If features or resources provided by a license file are insufficient, you can have the license capacity expanded to use more features or resources. During the license capacity expansion, the ESDP automatically merges all the license items for the device and generates a new license file, which needs to be loaded on the device.
- License authorization certificate: Also called a license certificate, it records the product name, entitlement ID (originally called LAC, which is short for License Authorization Code), customer name, and validity period. The license authorization certificate is sent to the customer by email or delivered together with the product in the form of common A4 paper or CD. It specifies the software authorization range and protects the rights of buyers.
Only commercial licenses have license authorization certificates.
- ESN: The equipment serial number is a string of characters, which uniquely identifies a device. It is used to ensure that the license is granted to the specified device. It is also called the fingerprint of a device.
- License serial number (LSN): An LSN uniquely identifies a license file.
- Revocation code: A license revocation code is a character string generated after a revocation command is run on an NE. The code is used to manually modify and adjust the ESN on the license website. After you run the license revocation command on an NE, the license file of the NE is revoked.
- Grace period: A license file enters the grace period after the expiration date. Typically, the grace period is 60 days. In the grace period, features in the license file are still available. After the grace period, the features become unavailable.
