IOS license requirements for end of life IOS.

[glennwood1]

Is there a point after end of life of an IOS that licensing is no longer required ?

[AFROJ AHMAD]

"As per my understading  Feature license will always be required even after the EOL of an IOS."

********If someone has any other view or have anything to add ..please do******

Thanks-

Afroz

[Do rate the useul post]

[fb_webuser]

I agree with afrahmad

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Posted by WebUser Erik Boss from Cisco Support Community App

[Marvin Rhoads]

Different features may or may not enforce the licensing in software but the End User License Agreement (EULA) still remains in effect even after the product has reached end-of-life.

[glennwood1]

Marvin, thanks for your reply.  I'm pretty green about licensing.  I've seen on ebay, etc where people are selling older used Cisco equipment with the IOS on it, but usually no mention about an IOS license. Is the buyer responsible for buying a  license on those older devices ?

[Marvin Rhoads]

A given piece of Cisco gear has licensing that it is authorized for depending on how it was purchased and what support contracts it is covered under. All hardware is at a minimum licensed for the code it was shipped with (including any separately licensed features or images).

The combinations and permutations vary widely. Some products have different images with different feature sets. Some of them enforce that with license files linked to the device by being generated according to the device's burnt-in Universal Device Identifier (UDI). Others simply require user accept a EULA to activate a given feature. Still others require an Activation Key to "unlock" features.

Apart from the feature licenses you also have the issue of image revision level. Not all features are introduced via licesning - many (most) are introduced with newer releases of the operating system (IOS, IOS-XE, IOS-XR, NX-OS, ASA software etc.). Upgrading to a new major (or minor) revision usually requires support contract coverage at the time of the upgrade.

[glennwood1]

Thank you for all of your help Mark. 

[Marvin Rhoads]

You're welcome. Please mark your question as answered and rate helpful posts.

[Leo Laohoo]

I've seen on ebay, etc where people are selling older used Cisco equipment with the IOS on it, but usually no mention about an IOS license.

Depends on the model of the router or switch but you could be able to determine what license (particularly the newer models) if you get the seller to post the output to the command "sh license".

Otherwise, the biggest stumbling block you have with e-Bay appliance is downloading the IOS from Cisco website.  The only exception so far I'm aware of is when you are downloading controller-based RCV IOS, which you no longer require a Service Contract.