Obtaining Your License Keys

Obtaining, Entering, and Upgrading Your License Keys

To take full advantage of your device, you must access the Pulse Secure Licensing and Software Download Center at https://my.pulsesecure.net, provide your licensing hardware ID and authorization code(s) to obtain your license keys, and sign in to the admin console to enter the license keys you receive from Pulse Secure.

A licensing hardware ID is a unique 16-character code Pulse Secure uses to identify your particular device when generating license keys. You can find the system’s licensing hardware ID above the menu options in the serial console and at the bottom of the admin console.

An authorization code is a pass key required to generate and activate license keys you or your company have purchased for your device. You receive your authorization code(s) after you purchase your device and associated product and feature licenses. Figure underneath shows the license key generation and activation flow.

The package you download from the Pulse Secure Licensing and Software Download Center or the e- mail message you receive from Pulse Secure might contain different types of licenses:

•User license keys—Enables you to host as many users as are specified in the license key code. User license keys are additive, meaning that you can expand the number of users that can access a device by simply acquiring an additional user license key and adding it to your configuration. For example, if you initially purchase a 100-user license and then purchase another 100-user license in the future, your device can accommodate up to 200 users.

•Access feature license keys— Allows you to enable system access methods. These keys are available for a variety of access methods including onboarding and cloud secure licenses.

•In Case of Emergency (ICE) license keys—Allows you to activate the emergency mode and provides licenses for additional users on a device and Pulse Secure devices for up to eight weeks. The ICE license does not include optional features.

•Evaluation license keys—Allows you to enable and roll out the latest functionality for a limited time before deciding whether or not to purchase license keys and enable the new functionality on a permanent basis. Evaluation license keys are valid for eight weeks also. For example: “POLSEC-EVAL-8W”.

You can use the System > Configuration > Licensing tab to enter the license keys for your site, to view their expiration dates, and to delete them (if needed).

Ensure that you read the license agreement, which is accessible from the Licensing tab, before submitting your license key. The license agreement available from the Licensing tab is the same text displayed in the serial console during the initial setup.

Configuring License Options

Use the Pulse Secure Licensing and Software Download Center to create and enter new license keys or to transfer license keys to replace a device. Detailed instructions are located on the Pulse Secure Licensing and Software Download Center located at https://my.pulsesecure.net.

Activating and Deactivating Emergency Mode

The emergency mode feature allows you to temporarily enable a system for a large number of users.

In emergency mode, you must first install an In Case of Emergency (ICE) license using the standard system license installation procedure. Then, when the emergency occurs, you can easily activate emergency mode through the system’s web console. When your emergency has passed, you should then deactivate the emergency mode.

In 9.1R6 release, REST API is provided to activate/deactivate ICE license and fetch the current status of ICE license. For details, refer to 9.1R6 PCS/PPS REST API Solutions Guide.

In 9.1R7 release, automatic management of ICE license is provided. PCS enables ICE license when the logged in users count crosses the maximum licensed users count and disables ICE license when the logged in users count drops below the maximum licensed users count.

Example: If you installed 100 licensed user counts, when the 101^th user logs in, ICE license gets automatically enabled.

The ICE license is permanent until you activate emergency mode. Activating emergency mode switches the ICE license to a temporary license and only enables you to operate in emergency mode for 8 weeks. Once the ICE license expires, all features disappear, and your users can no longer access the device using the emergency mode.

To activate or deactivate emergency mode manually:

1.In the Web console, select System > Configuration > Licensing.

2.Find the In Case of Emergency License entry in the license list. Sample ICE license names include:

•PSA-ICE

•ACCESS-ICE-25PC

3.Click the Enable link on the right side of the license column to activate emergency mode or click Disable to deactivate it.

When you enable and disable emergency mode, the system decrements the corresponding license in 5 minutes intervals.