How to upgrade ASA VPN AnyConnect user license when using active/standby ASA's

[Mike Baker]

Hello.  We have two ASA 5520 in active/standby mode.  I need to upgrade the VPN AnyConnect user license.  We purchased two separate 10 user license, one for each ASA.  I need to know how to apply the license.  I know on the asa you login  to the cli and go to conf t and user the activation key command, but I am told when I do that it will break the replication, since the licenses will immediately not match.  My thought was to login to the standby asa, apply the license.  Replication will break, so the active asa will probably say "no active pair" or something like that.  After rebooting the first asa, can I then apply the license to the active firewall, and then when it reboots, will replication work again?  I don't want to do this if it will cause an outage, and I don't want both asa's down and have no Internet or vpn and then have replication broken and nothing working.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you.  Mike Baker

[Jennifer Halim]

I would really recommend that you perform the change during off peak hour. Typically there shouldn't be problem, but sometimes the easiest and simplest things can cause issue.

Here is the steps to upgrade license for failover pair (no reload is required):

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/security/asa/asa82/license/license82.html#wp195282

Please kindly be advised to place in the correct activation key with the serial# of the correct ASA.

For your reference, here is the list of license activation key that requires ASA to be reloaded, and upgrading the AnyConnect user license does not require reload:

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/security/asa/asa82/configuration/guide/license.html#wp1335945

Hope that helps.

[Mike Baker]

Thank you very much, yes, this helps.  I agree it should probably be done on off-peak hours in case there is a problem.

Mike Baker

[Jennifer Halim]

Great, thanks for the update.

Please kindly mark the post as answered if you have no further question. Thank you and good luck.