Smart License Mandatory or not

[anilkumar.cisco]

Hello Team,

Just want to check , whether the smart license is mandatory or not.. because as per below article link

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/ios-xml/ios/smart-licensing/qsg/b_Smart_Licensing_QuickStart/b_Smart_Licensing_QuickStart_chapter_00.html

the Cisco 4000 ISR G3 will support smart license Cisco IOS XE 16.10.1a onwards.. but no where it is mentioned that it would be mandatory or not

Kindly advise..

[Steven Case, MBA-ITM · Accepted solution]

Can't say I'm a huge fan of these documents, as they never seem to paint the whole picture.

Here's some information that is helpful:

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/ios-xml/ios/smart-licensing/qsg/b_Smart_Licensing_QuickStart/b_Smart_Licensing_QuickStart_chapter_011.html

Namely the first few lines:

If you want to upgrade to the Cisco IOS XE Release 16.10.1a or later SL-only image, you must migrate to Smart Licensing.

Hope this helps.

[anilkumar.cisco]

Great, thanks for your quick reply..
So either it is data, voice or security.. all will be Smart license.. correct

[Steven Case, MBA-ITM]

From what I've seen, a new out-of-the-box has a very, very different licensing structure (such that what we typically figured was a securityk9 image license is now bundle in something that would be called "Assurance" or some garbage like that).

However, if you're concerned about converting existing licenses, you should qualify for Device Led Conversion, as explained in the ISR4K Datasheet at https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/routers/4000-series-integrated-services-routers-isr/data_sheet-c78-732542.html:

Device Led Conversion (DLC) allows the customer to convert all existing PAK and RTU licenses on the router into a Smart License.