Managing Dell EMC PowerEdge Server Software Licenses by using Digital Licensing This Dell EMC technical white paper provides an overview of Dell enterprise software that utilizes digital licensing.
Revisions Version Date 1.0 July/11/2017 Description Initial release The information in this publication is provided “as is.” Dell Inc. makes no representations or warranties of any kind with respect to the information in this publication, and specifically disclaims implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Use, copying, and distribution of any software described in this publication requires an applicable software license. Copyright © July– 2017 Dell Inc.
Contents Revisions.............................................................................................................................................................................2 Executive summary.............................................................................................................................................................4 1 Purchasing PowerEdge servers with installed licenses .......................................................................................
Executive summary This technical white paper provides an overview of Dell enterprise software that utilizes digital licensing. Several key enterprise products have taken advantage of the ease of use and simplicity to upgrade that digital licensing provides. Products such as the Dell integrated Remote Access Controller 8 (iDRAC8), iDRAC7, OpenManage Essentials Server Configuration Management, and the Enterprise versions of Chassis Management Controller (CMC) for VRTX.
1 Purchasing PowerEdge servers with installed licenses For the 12th and 13th generation of PowerEdge servers, you can purchase license upgrades from Dell EMC, and the licenses are applied directly in the factory. There is no license to download and install when purchased at the point of sale. To ensure that a key is never lost, Dell EMC also stores a copy of the key and makes it available in an online License Management portal (www.dell.com/support/licensing).
2 Comparing an Enterprise Perpetual license against Evaluation License Customers can install an Evaluation license to test out a new feature class before purchasing it. An Evaluation license is good for 30 days. A status icon in the iDRAC GUI will change from green to yellow when the license has 5 days remaining. There will also be log entries in the Lifecycle Controller log. To purchase a Perpetual license or obtain Evaluation licenses, customers may contact their Dell EMC service provider.
3 Installing an Evaluation License by using the iDRAC GUI, RACADM, or WS-Man Base and Point of Sale (POS) upgrade licenses are installed in the factory by Dell EMC prior to platform shipment. The base functionality for the particular server model is enabled at POS and does not require an additional file. After Point of Sale (APOS) licenses must be installed electronically by using iDRAC 7 iDRAC8 interfaces such as the web interface, RACADM, or WS-Man. To install the Point Of Sale licenses: 1.
3.2 RACADM To install a license by using RACADM: The basic command for RACADM is racadm license import. This has many possibilities based on whether you are using local, remote, or firmware RACADM and where the license file is located. [SH7757 ~]$ racadm license help import License import -- Import licenses to various devices on the server.
3.3 WS-Man To install a license by using WS-Man: winrm i ImportLicenseFromNetworkShare "cimv2/root/dcim/DCIM_LicenseManagementService?SystemCreationClassName=DCIM_SPCo mputerSystem+CreationClassName=DCIM_LicenseManagementService+SystemName=systemmc +Name=DCIM:LicenseManagementService:1" -u:%s -p:%s -r:https://%s/wsman SkipCNcheck -SkipCAcheck -encoding:utf-8 -a:basic file:d:\xml_files\license_management_import_license_From_Cifs_Network_Share_idra c.
4 Purchasing iDRAC Enterprise license after server purchase Moving iDRAC licensing to digital form has eliminated the necessity to purchase and install hardware in your server to upgrade the iDRAC functionality. What used to require server downtime and physical hardware to be shipped, can now be done with no impact to the production workload that is running on your PowerEdge server (zero downtime).
4.2 Using License Management Portal of Dell EMC Customers can use the external self-help License Management portal to view their digital licenses, obtain a replacement license, or in some cases reassign licenses to different hardware. For more information about using the Dell Digital Locker, click https://www.dell.com/support/software/us/en/19/Default/QuickStartGuide.
5 Backing up and restoring iDRAC license keys Dell EMC iDRAC license keys can be individually backed up and restored using the Lifecycle Controller, iDRAC GUI, RACADM, or WS-Man interfaces, or Dell EMC License Manager can back up and restore licenses on a one-to-many basis. For more information about using DLM to backup and restore licenses, see Using the Dell EMC OpenManage License Manager in this technical white paper. Enterprise-level backup and restore is part of the Lifecycle Controller.
6 Exporting a license file Using a system backup, a license key can be exported to the local file system or to a share from the iDRAC GUI, RACADM or WS-Man. 6.1 iDRAC GUI To export a license by using the iDRAC GUI: 1. In the left pane, click Licenses. 2. In the working pane, select Export from the License Options drop-down menu, or, click the plus (+) sign to view a specific license and select Export from the License Options drop-down menu.
3. Click Save if you want the file to go to the default downloads folder or click Save, if you want to select the exact location you prefer. 6.2 RACADM To export a license by using RACADM: [SH7757 ~]$ racadm license help export License export - Exports licenses from various devices on the server.
Valid Options -c -e -t FQDD name of the device from where the license file has to be exported. Entitlement ID of the license to be exported. Transaction ID of the license to be exported. Note: To locate the transaction ID, Type RACADM on the License page. The ID is displayed. It can also be located by expanding the plus sign (+) next to the license in the GUI. Network share location (see “Usage Examples” for NFS or CIFS) or local file system to which the license file must be exported.
+Name=DCIM:LicenseManagementService:1" -u:root -p:calvin r:https://172.27.99.61/wsman -SkipCNcheck -SkipCAcheck -encoding:utf-8 -a:basic file:c:\xml_files\license_management_export_license_to_network_share_idrac_nfs.
7 Restoring a license To restore a one-one license, the license key that was exported can be imported from the iDRAC GUI, RACADM or WS-Man. 7.1 Validating End User License Agreement (EULA) compliance To validate license compliance and verify licenses that are installed for all your iDRAC, Dell EMC provides several tools: For the one-one small business customers: o iDRAC GUI o RACADM command line o WS-Man Use one of the above interfaces to view the installed license(s).
8 Using the Dell EMC OpenManage License Manager Dell EMC License Manager is a one-many license deployment and reporting tool for iDRAC and other licenses. DLM can deploy and back up licenses, and report about licensing status, including the currently enabled iDRAC feature level. The new features in DLM are managing licenses for volume binding and distribution by connecting to Dell Online and normalizing a unique password for the ‘root’ user on the multiple iDRAC9 servers. 8.
5. Type IPs of all iDRAC IPs, and click Next.
6. Type your iDRAC credentials, verify your communication settings, and then click Next. 7. Confirm your settings and click Run Discovery / Inventory. The status of Discovery/Inventory progress is displayed on the Tasks page. You may view the inventoried systems or iDRACs on the Systems page when complete. Note: The factory-installed licenses are not retrieved during the discovery and inventory of iDRAC 9 systems. Therefore, the iDRAC9 licenses are not listed on the Licenses page.
9 Managing licenses for volume binding This feature enables the user to bulk-bind the unbound license entitlements to the discovered systems and then deploying the licenses on those systems by using their Dell Online account information in very quick and simple manner. Managing the licenses for volume-binding is a two-step process. 1. Type the OTP that you can get from the Dell Online. 2. Click ActionBind Licenses for binding and deploy the licenses on the servers.
2. Click Dell Online to go to the login page and type the username and password to receive the OTP. 3. Click Sign in. An OTP is sent to the registered mobile phone. 4. Type the OTP. Click Enable Proxy, if required.
5. To save the credentials, click Save Connection Credentials. It is sufficient to type OTP only once. 6. To view the connection status, click Next. Review the message on the wizard to know the status of connection result. If the connection is successful, click Next to see all the unbounded entitlements.
7. If the Entitlements are already bound to a Service Tag, you can download that entitlement from the Entitlement page. If an entitlement is not bound, click Action Bind Licenses to bind the licenses to a Service Tag. Go to Binding or deploying from Dell Online to explore this feature. You can download the licenses of bounded entitlement from Entitlement page and deploy them. Entitlement page contains all the entitlements which are associated with that Dell Account.
The licenses are displayed under the License tab. See Deploying licenses to know more about deploying these licenses on the system. 9.2 Binding or deploying from Dell Online After connecting to Dell online, click ActionBind Licenses page. The Bind Licenses page displays the license type that is associated with your Dell Account and not bounded to any Service Tag. 1. Select the license type and click Next. The list of systems on which you can deploy that licenses is displayed.
2. If you do not want to deploy the licenses on the servers after binding, you must clear the Deploy Licenses after binding check box. These licenses appear in the Licenses section so that you can deploy them in future. For more information, see Deploying licenses. 3. When prompted, type the iDRAC credentials. 4. On the Summary page, click Run to bind or deploy the licenses to the system.
5. Go to Tasks page to track the progress of the binding or deployment. The user can track the progress in the task status section. If the task is completed you can view the system licenses.
10 Importing licenses After getting your licenses from the License Management Portal, you may import them into DLM for deployment. To import licenses: 1. On the Licenses page, click Import Licenses.
2. Select the license archives (compressed file) or license files (XML) you want to import and click Open. Multiple files must be selected at a time.
3. Review the license validation results and click Import. The imported licenses are displayed.
11 Deploying licenses After an inventory of licensable systems is complete and licenses are imported, they can be deployed. To deploy licenses: 1. On the Licenses page, from the Deploy Licenses drop-down menu, select Automatically Deploy Licenses. All the licenses (not already installed) are deployed to systems in the inventory based on their service tag.
2. Confirm the licenses to deploy and click Next.
3. Type your credentials and verify your communication settings. Click Next. 4. After deployment starts, you can monitor the progress on the Tasks page. Detailed logs of license operations are retained and displayed on the Logs page.
12 Backing up licenses Dell EMC License Manager retains licenses imported from the file system and will automatically retrieve perpetual licenses during the Discovery or Inventory process. Also, DLM has the ability to save a complete license archive to the file system. The archive is in compressed file format, containing XML license files named by Entitlement ID.
2. Confirm the export file location and name and click Save.
13 Restoring licenses
14 Viewing license status and compliance information Dell EMC License Manager allows you to view a variety of information on licensable systems on the Systems page. The information can be sorted, filtered, and grouped as required. To sort a column, click the column header. To apply a filter, pause the pointer over the column header, click the filter icon when it appears, and enter the filter criteria. To group based on a column, select the column name in the Group By box.
installed Entitlement ID in order to determine which systems may be out of compliance with a particular license. Dell EMC License Manager allows you to view a variety of information on licensable systems on the Systems page. The information can be sorted, filtered, and grouped as required. To sort a column, click on the column header. To apply a filter, pause the pointer over the column header, click the filter icon when it appears, and enter the filter criteria.
If DLM detects that a Perpetual license is installed on more than one system, a compliance warning is displayed in the Additional Information column on the Systems page. The systems can be sorted by installed Entitlement ID in order to determine which systems may be out of compliance with a particular license.
15 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) How do I transfer the iDRAC license to a new machine? 1. Log in to the License Management Portal. 2. Click the Manage Licenses tab. 3. In the Search box, type the Service Tag of the system the license is currently installed on. The license is displayed in the data grid. 4. Click Unassign to notify Dell EMC that the license will no longer be used on the old system. 5. Click the Activate License tab. The license that you just unassigned should be visible. 6. Click Assign.
3. See Using License Management Portal of Dell EMC if you do not have an upgraded license backup available in order to download it again or have it emailed to you. If you have an iDRAC8 upgrade, the iDRAC license is automatically backed up and stored, and will be automatically replaced after a motherboard exchange.
5. Contact your Dell EMC sales representative to request an Evaluation license extension. I lost my Enterprise license. How do I get it replaced? If you have misplaced your original copy and need another license downloaded or emailed to you, see Using License Management Portal of Dell EMC. How do I determine who has access to my company’s licenses? Use Online License Management Portal of Dell EMC to verify access.
For more information, go to the GUI Licenses tab and click the plus (+) sign to view the license details. From racadm, type “racadm license view”. Using WS-Man, you would execute the enumerate command, for example, winrm e "cimv2/root/dcim/DCIM_License" -u:root p:calvin -r:https://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/wsman SkipCNcheck -SkipCAcheck -encoding:utf-8 a:basic.
