Converting Classic Licenses in PAKs to Smart

Smart licensing lets you say goodbye to product activation keys (PAKs). You can migrate from Classic to Smart licenses via Cisco Smart Software Manager (CSSM) based upon your service contract status. Contract entitled upgrades for Smart Licensing enabled products are now supported.

Under Convert to Smart Licensing > Convert PAKs, the following information is displayed:

Name

Roles Impacted

Description

Informational Messages

Viewed by Smart Account Users, Virtual Account Administrators/Users

An informational message may be displayed, for example: “The Smart Account administrator may be able to more easily convert the licenses based on the automatic conversion settings.”

Viewed by Smart Account Administrators only

An informational message may be displayed, for example: “There may be licenses that are eligible to be converted, based on your automatic conversion settings.”

Convert Now button

Available only to Smart Account Administrators

On click, all available PAKs in the Smart Account that are eligible for conversion based on the Virtual Account and Product Type settings in the Conversion Settings tab (available only to Smart Account Administrators) will be converted; also known as a bulk conversion.

If PAK conversion fails for any license(s), the following minor alert will display: “Errors occurred while converting traditional licenses to Smart Licenses. Please attempt to convert the licenses again. If the problem persists, you can open a support case for more assistance.”

Search field

Available to all

Use the Search feature (by PAK, SKU, Virtual Account, or Order Number) if you have a large number of PAKs to help you narrow down the search results.

PAK Details Table

The Product Activation Keys (PAKs) that contain licenses that can be used for traditional licensing or Smart Software Licensing are listed in the table as follows:

Column Header

Description

PAK

(Product Authorization Key)

Lists all available PAKs (Classic Licenses). For more information on each PAK, click on the PAK hyperlink. This opens a window with the PAK Details and the SKUs (licenses) associated with the PAK.

SKUs

(Stock Keeping Units)

Lists all SKUs available to be converted to Smart.

  • If the column width is too narrow to list all the SKUs, click the blue arrow icon to the right to view a complete list.

  • The number of SKUs available for conversion are in parentheses.

Order Number

Displays the system-generated sales order number.

Order Date

Displays the date and time for when the order was placed.

Virtual Account

Displays the Virtual Account name(s) where the licenses in a PAK reside.

Status

Displays the conversion status for the PAK. When the conversion is activated either automatically or by bulk conversion, the Status changes to Conversion in Progress.

Actions

Displays a Convert to Smart Licenses link. Click this link to begin conversion for that particular PAK.

The table data is refreshed every hour and the Last Updated date and time are located above the grid.

Bulk Conversion – Convert Multiple Classic Licenses in a PAK(s) to Smart Licenses

With the Convert Now button (available only to Smart Account Administrators), you can convert multiple PAKs that are assigned to a Smart Account/Virtual Account based on the Virtual Account and Product Type settings in the Conversion Settings tab (available only to Smart Account Administrators; see Conversion Settings, on page 59).

Procedure

Step 1

In the Smart Software Manager, under the Convert to Smart Licensing and Convert PAKs tabs, click the Convert Now button (available only to Smart Account Administrators). The following message will display:

Convert Eligible Licenses – If there are any licenses that are eligible to be converted, based on your automatic conversion settings, they will be converted now.

When licenses are converted, they will be removed from the conversion tabs and will appear in your inventory.

Please note that license conversion cannot be reversed.

You will need to open a support case to revert from Smart Licenses back to traditional licenses.

Step 2

Click Ok

Based on the Virtual Account and Product Type settings in the Conversion Settings tab (available only to Smart Account Administrators), the bulk conversion of multiple licenses in a PAK(s) will be converted to Smart licenses and added to the inventory of the PAKs’ source Virtual Account.

Manual Conversion – Convert Classic Licenses in a PAK(s) to Smart Licenses

To convert classic licenses in a PAK to Smart Licenses, click either the Convert to Smart Licenses button in the PAK Details window, or close this window and in the Actions column, click the Convert to Smart Licenses link. Both options open the Convert to Smart Software Licenses window.

Procedure

Step 1

Select Licenses

Under PAK Details:

  • PAK Number
  • Partial Fulfillment
    • Allowed – Availability to convert one or more licenses for each SKU
    • Not Allowed – All licenses must be converted
  • Destination Virtual Account
    • From the drop-down menu, select the Virtual Account to deposit the converted Smart Licenses

Under SKUs:

  • Check the box next to each SKU to convert to Smart Licenses
    • If Partial Fulfillment is Allowed, enter the Quantity to Convert from 1 to the maximum number of licenses
    • If Partial Fulfillment is Not Allowed, there will be no checkbox available next to the SKU and the quantity cannot be changed

Click Next.

Contract Check

Some licenses are eligible for a contract check based on the SKU settings.

  • Pass
    • If all SKUs pass, review and confirm in Step 2.
    • If some SKUs pass, check to see if Partial Fulfillment is Allowed. If so, you may proceed to convert the licenses that have passed to Smart.
    • If some SKUs fail, check to see if Partial Fulfillment is Not Allowed. If so, you cannot proceed with conversion of Classic licenses to Smart.
  • Fail
    • An alert message appears that states that no contract was found for some of the selected licenses. You will not be able to convert Classic licenses to Smart. Links are provided to:
      • Cisco Commerce Workspace (CCW) where you can manage the contracts associated with your account
      • Open a support case
Step 2

Review and Confirm

Review the information on this screen. If any changes are needed, click Back and repeat Step 1.

If all looks well, click Convert Licenses.

Please note: The following pop-up confirmation message displays: “PAK converted. Your PAK has been successfully converted to Smart Software Licenses and added to the Virtual Account [name].”

Under the Convert to Smart Licensing tab and Convert PAKs subtab, an information icon will display in the grid next to the PAK for partial conversions indicating that the data in the PAK was updated.

Under the Activity tab and License Transactions subtab, the migration details will show Conversion (PAK: xxxx) in the Source column.

Once the licenses chosen for conversion are successfully converted, they will no longer appear in the License Registration Portal (LRP) or Convert PAKs tab.