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Cisco ASA Series CLI Configuration Guide
Chapter 1 Managing Feature Licenses
Information About Feature Licenses
Failover or ASA Cluster Licenses
With some exceptions, failover and cluster units do not require the same license on each unit. For earlier
versions, see the licensing document for your version.
This section includes the following topics:
•
Failover License Requirements and Exceptions, page 1-30
•
ASA Cluster License Requirements and Exceptions, page 1-30
•
How Failover or ASA Cluster Licenses Combine, page 1-31
•
Loss of Communication Between Failover or ASA Cluster Units, page 1-31
•
Upgrading Failover Pairs, page 1-32
Failover License Requirements and Exceptions
Failover units do not require the same license on each unit.
Older versions of ASA software required that the licenses match on each unit. Starting with Version
8.3(1), you no longer need to install identical licenses. Typically, you buy a license only for the primary
unit; for Active/Standby failover, the secondary unit inherits the primary license when it becomes active.
If you have licenses on both units, they combine into a single running failover cluster license.
The exceptions to this rule include:
•
Security Plus license for the ASA 5505, 5510, and 5512-X—The Base license does not support
failover, so you cannot enable failover on a standby unit that only has the Base license.
•
Encryption license—Both units must have the same encryption license.
•
IPS module license for the ASA 5512-X through ASA 5555-X—The IPS module license lets you
run the IPS software module on the ASA. You must also purchase a separate IPS signature
subscription for each unit. To obtain IPS signature support, you must purchase the ASA with IPS
pre-installed (the part number must include “IPS”). The combined failover cluster license does not
let you pair non-IPS and IPS units. For example, if you buy the IPS version of the ASA 5515-X (part
number ASA5515-IPS-K9) and try to make a failover pair with a non-IPS version (part number
ASA5515-K9), then you will not be able to obtain IPS signature updates for the ASA5515-K9 unit,
even though it has an IPS module license inherited from the other unit.
Note
A valid permanent key is required; in rare instances, your authentication key can be removed. If your
key consists of all 0’s, then you need to reinstall a valid authentication key before failover can be
enabled.
ASA Cluster License Requirements and Exceptions
Cluster units do not require the same license on each unit. Typically, you buy a license only for the
master unit; slave units inherit the master license. If you have licenses on multiple units, they combine
into a single running ASA cluster license.
The exceptions to this rule include:
•
Clustering license—Each unit must have a clustering license.
•
Encryption license—Each unit must have the same encryption license.
Summary of Contents for 5505 - ASA Firewall Edition Bundle
Page 28: ...Glossary GL 24 Cisco ASA Series CLI Configuration Guide ...
Page 61: ...P A R T 1 Getting Started with the ASA ...
Page 62: ......
Page 219: ...P A R T 2 Configuring High Availability and Scalability ...
Page 220: ......
Page 403: ...P A R T 2 Configuring Interfaces ...
Page 404: ......
Page 499: ...P A R T 2 Configuring Basic Settings ...
Page 500: ......
Page 533: ...P A R T 2 Configuring Objects and Access Lists ...
Page 534: ......
Page 601: ...P A R T 2 Configuring IP Routing ...
Page 602: ......
Page 745: ...P A R T 2 Configuring Network Address Translation ...
Page 746: ......
Page 845: ...P A R T 2 Configuring AAA Servers and the Local Database ...
Page 846: ......
Page 981: ...P A R T 2 Configuring Access Control ...
Page 982: ......
Page 1061: ...P A R T 2 Configuring Service Policies Using the Modular Policy Framework ...
Page 1062: ......
Page 1093: ...P A R T 2 Configuring Application Inspection ...
Page 1094: ......
Page 1191: ...P A R T 2 Configuring Unified Communications ...
Page 1192: ......
Page 1333: ...P A R T 2 Configuring Connection Settings and QoS ...
Page 1334: ......
Page 1379: ...P A R T 2 Configuring Advanced Network Protection ...
Page 1380: ......
Page 1475: ...P A R T 2 Configuring Modules ...
Page 1476: ......
Page 1549: ...P A R T 2 Configuring VPN ...
Page 1550: ......
Page 1965: ...P A R T 2 Configuring Logging SNMP and Smart Call Home ...
Page 1966: ......
Page 2059: ...P A R T 2 System Administration ...
Page 2060: ......
Page 2098: ...1 8 Cisco ASA Series CLI Configuration Guide Chapter 1 Troubleshooting Viewing the Coredump ...
Page 2099: ...P A R T 2 Reference ...
Page 2100: ......