2504 Wireless Controller AP License Question

[jpecchio]

Hello,

I have taken over IT support at a local private school and just found out their 2504 Series controller's AP license is about to expire in 11 weeks.  Naturally, we are concerned.  But of what we aren't sure.  I am not a Cisco trained admin so I'm unclear on how Cisco licensing works.  What will happen when the AP license expires? 

Obviously, being a school with 1-to-1 deployment we are concerned about the functionality of our network.  Any insight would be most appreciated.

Here's a screenshot of what I'm seeing:

Regards,

-Jp

[Arshad Safrulla]

what is going to expire is evaluation licenses. How many AP's registered to the WLC? Do you have the ap adder license PAK file?  If not you will have to purchase a new one, you may reach out to your vendor.

[jpecchio]

Hello Arshadsaf,

Thank you for your reply.  We have 33 registered APs.  The license we have are the ones you see in the screenshot unless they are listed somewhere else?

Regards,

-Jp

[Arshad Safrulla]

As per your screenshot you are using Evaluation licenses. Once expired it will fall back to base license which give you the ability to manager 5 AP's. So in your case you need to buy another 25AP adder license.

Before making the purchase check whether there was any license PAK file delivered along with your WLC. This PAK file contains the license for your WLC.

[Sandeep Choudhary]

Do you have only one WLC in your network or you have N+1 setup (means Primary & Secondary WLC).

Why I asked this because, if you have secondary WLC then you can convert(after software version 7.6) it to HA-SKU and use 75 AP license on it.

How to configure it:

Via CLI on secondary WLC: configure redundancy unit secondary

Or from the GUI: Controller> General> HA SKU secondary unit> Enable/Disable.

Once your primary wlc license expires, your APs can move it to secondary and It will work for at least 90 days or more! So that you will get time to buy adder license for primary WLC.

Regards

Dont forget to arte helpful posts

[jpecchio]

Hello Sandeep,

Thank you for your reply.  We only have one WLC.  The concerning part is that we don't have the funds available to renew the license, unless I'm looking at the wrong part?  We are a small private school and run on a very tight budget.  Can you confirm the licensing I would need?  Here is what I found:

5 Pack = CON-ECMU-LCT255A

25 Pack = CON-ECMU-LCT2525A

And to clarify, we have 5 included with the base WLC, right?

-Jp

[Sandeep Choudhary]

Yes you have 5 license included in base. 

25 adder license for 2504 series are :L-LIC-CT2504-25A

Regards

Dont forget to arte helpful posts

[jpecchio]

Sandeep,

Thank you again for your response.  Is there a lower quantity license pack we could get?  The 5 base plus a 25 only gets us 30, we have 33 APs.  I'd hate to have to buy two 25 packs, that is a lot of money.

-Jp

[Rich R]

These are the options so you could buy 5 + 25 which would give you total 35 with your existing license.

L-LIC-CT2504-1A       1 AP Adder License for 2504 WLAN Controller (e-Delivery)

L-LIC-CT2504-5A       5 AP Adder Licenses for 2504 WLAN Controller (e-Delivery)

L-LIC-CT2504-25A   25 AP Adder Licenses for 2504 WLAN Controller (e-Delivery)

Like @Arshad Safrulla said - scratch through the drawers and look for any paper license PAK (Product Activation Key) codes that might have been purchased already before you go and buy more.

[Sandeep Choudhary]

Hi,

 As @Rich R  mentioned, you can buy these part type of adder license for 2504:

Also check the datasheet:

https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/collateral/wireless/2500-series-wireless-controllers/data_sheet_c78-645111.html

Regards

Dont forget to rate helpful posts

[jpecchio]

Thank you to everyone who has posted a reply.  So I understand correctly, when the current license expires I will only be able to manage 5 APs.  However, I am still unclear what that would mean for the functionality of the other 28 APs and my wireless network overall.  I guess the better question to ask is:  

Do I have to renew the AP license in order for my wireless network to function?  Or will it continue to work as normal but I won't be able to manage the additional 28 APs?  IE: make changes, update settings, etc.

I realize it is Cisco's preference for us to renew / maintain the license but we do not have the funds available at this time to renew.

Thanks again for all the help this community has provided.  I do appreciate it.

-Jp

[patoberli]

I'm not entirely sure what will happen. But I think no more AP will be able to connect to the WLC after the evaluation licenses are expired. Only 5 AP at a maximum will be able to connect. I don't know if the WLC would kick the remaining connected APs or if it would just continue to work. But as soon as an AP need to reboot (power outage, software failure, software upgrade, ...) they won't anymore be able to connect and cease to function. 

So first I'd check with the reseller where you bought the additional APs (if not bought at the same time) or check with the initial seller if he can find your order number. With some luck you already ordered enough licenses, but they might have never been activated/installed. They get delivered on a so called PAK paper. Typically you seller can even years later re-request the PAK paper if you still have the order number or any other proof of purchase (licenses are typically a separate listing on the order).

What is weird though, this WLC is many years old. I assume the WiFi infrastructure is also as old? If yes, the evaluation license is typically good for 90 days. That would mean, there was a license, but it has disappeared. My suggestion is thus, save the configuration, make a backup, reboot the WLC. For me it looks as if the license is lost for whatever reason.