ExtremeCloud IQ and Extreme Platform ONE Networking are Extreme Networks’ cloud-managed network applications. Both are licensed by subscription, one subscription per managed device, drawn from a licence pool held in the customer’s Extreme Portal account. The Licensing Guide states the principle in one sentence: all managed network devices require subscriptions.[1] This article describes the subscription types, how a device is matched to one, what happens when the pool runs short, and the related security and service subscriptions. It uses the 25.14.0 guide (September 2026) throughout; guides are versioned with each release, so check the version that matches the deployed application.
Applications and interfaces
The guide covers three management applications that share the same pool: Extreme Platform ONE Networking, ExtremeCloud IQ (New) and ExtremeCloud IQ (Classic).[1] Moving from ExtremeCloud IQ to Platform ONE Networking needs no migration and depends on subscriptions: once any quantity of Platform ONE Standard Networking subscriptions (Tiers A to D) is purchased and activated, the next login loads the Platform ONE interface, and the login URL stays the same.[1] The Platform ONE Subscription Services Agreement adds that a customer who migrates authorises Extreme to move its ExtremeCloud IQ data into Platform ONE, where it is treated as Platform ONE data.[6]
Vocabulary
Four terms matter when reading contracts and the portal.[1]
| Term | Meaning in the guide |
|---|---|
| Contract | A record of the subscriptions and support services in a purchase order, with start and end dates; each line has a quantity |
| Subscription | The right to use an application, feature or function for a defined period; status is Active, Inactive (start in the future) or Expired |
| Entitlement | The right to use a feature, usually metered per device or per user; one subscription can carry several, for example management and TAC and OS |
| CUID | Customer account ID that identifies the licence pool; customers usually have one, MSPs can have several |
A subscription group is a set of subscriptions of the same type with the same start and end date. A managed device is one that has a subscription assigned; an unmanaged device has none and receives no management, monitoring, updates or upgrades from Extreme’s applications.[1]
ExtremeCloud IQ tiers
Connect is the base tier. It provides subscription-free cloud management for up to 10 supported devices.[4] The Licensing Guide adds that Connect accounts cannot use CoPilot or Site Engine.[1]
Pilot. Each Pilot subscription covers a single device. Pilot is required for cloud-native switches and access points managed by ExtremeCloud IQ, for devices managed by Site Engine, and for devices that would otherwise need Navigator. It is not required for Digital Twin devices, simulated devices, unmanaged devices, ping-only devices onboarded through Site Engine, devices assigned Navigator or Standard Networking subscriptions, locally managed devices onboarded to ExtremeCloud IQ, or Universal Compute Platform appliances and clusters.[1]
Navigator. A Navigator subscription provides management functions for third-party and non-native cloud devices, with application visibility, SSH proxy and web proxy to WiNG, Extreme Campus and ExtremeCloud IQ controllers. Each covers a single device. WiNG (VX) controllers onboarded to ExtremeCloud IQ need one per device, and so do the WiNG access points onboarded through them.[1] If Navigator subscriptions run short, a Pilot or Standard Networking subscription can be used instead. The guide warns that the reverse is not automatic: when Navigator subscriptions become available again, the device keeps the substitute until an administrator unmanages and re-manages it.[1]
CoPilot. CoPilot adds AI-driven functions for eligible devices and needs an underlying Pilot or Standard Networking subscription. It is unavailable for Connect and Navigator accounts, and the guide states that CoPilot subscriptions are available to existing CoPilot customers only. Controllers, WiNG devices, devices onboarded through the ExtremeCloud IQ Controller or Site Engine, Digital Twin and simulated devices and unmanaged devices are not eligible.[1] CoPilot can be switched per ExtremeCloud IQ account, which matters when several accounts share one pool, because first come, first served applies.[1]
Platform ONE Standard Networking
Standard Networking subscriptions give managed devices all Pilot functionality plus access to Platform ONE and device TAC and OS support. Each is for a single device and is divided into tiers by device family.[1]
| Tier | Device families (examples from the guide) |
|---|---|
| A | Universal access points; 4000, 5100 and 5300 series; Summit X435 and X440-G2; SR series; XR series; Third-Party Management Engine host |
| B | 5400 series; Summit X450-G2; ERS 4800 and 4900 |
| C | 5500 series; Summit X460-G2, X465, X590; VSP 4450, 4850 and 4900; ERS 5900 |
| D | 5700 and 7000 series; Summit X670-G2, X690, X870; VSP 7200, 7400, 8200, 8400, 8600 |
| 3RD | Devices managed by the Third-Party Management Engine |
The Platform ONE Service Description groups the same hardware into Tiers A to D and lists the mapping model by model in an appendix.[2] Every subscription includes network management, inventory and lifecycle management, contract and licence management, visualisation, AI for networking and TAC and OS support on qualified hardware where the subscription has been onboarded.[2]
Part numbers
The guide lists one-year part numbers per device and tier, with either PartnerWorks Plus (PWP) or ExtremeWorks (EW) support, for example EP1-STD-TA-S-C-PWP-1YR for Tier A and EP1-STD-T3RD-S-C-EW-1YR for a third-party device.[1] The Pilot, Navigator and CoPilot part numbers follow the pattern XIQ-PIL-S-C-PWP, XIQ-NAV-S-C-EW and XIQ-COPILOT-S-C-PWP, each for one device for one year.[1]
Pilot Twin
Some versions of Site Engine and the ExtremeCloud IQ Controller do not support Standard Networking subscriptions. To give customers time to upgrade, every Standard Networking subscription includes an ExtremeCloud IQ Pilot Twin subscription with the same start date, end date and quantity. The Twin is shown in the Extreme Portal but not in ExtremeCloud IQ or the Platform ONE applications, and contracts identify it as XIQ-CHILD-PIL-S-C-PWP or XIQ-CHILD-PIL-S-C-EW.[1] A licence manager should not add Twins to the count of devices covered; they mirror, not extend, the Standard Networking quantity.
Support exclusions
Standard Networking includes TAC and OS support, with exceptions. The Platform ONE agreement ties the entitlement to Extreme hardware where the licence has been onboarded and refers to an Exclusions List that Extreme may update at its sole discretion.[6] The list (updated 6 October 2025) names hardware on which a subscription can be activated but hardware TAC and OS is excluded; those products keep their warranty terms and support can be bought separately.[3] Devices at End of Service Management have reduced management, visibility and AI capabilities.[2]
Matching devices to subscriptions
The management application assigns subscriptions automatically when a device is onboarded or becomes managed. When the right tier is unavailable it can use a higher one: for a Tier A device it assigns Tier A and, if none is free, Tier B.[1] The guide includes a priority table in which Navigator-eligible devices and Third-Party Management Engine devices fall back through Standard tiers and finally Pilot, and notes that Pilot subscriptions cannot be assigned to devices in a site or building after Unlock Full Features is used on it.[1]
Other counting rules:
- Stacks. Stacks can mix tiers but all subscriptions must be of one level, Standard or Pilot. Each unit needs a subscription, and if the pool cannot cover every unit the entire stack is unmanaged.[1]
- Tunnel Concentrator. Each instance needs a Tier A subscription, as does each access point connected to it.[1]
- Pre-provisioning. No subscription is assigned until a device first connects to the cloud, so a replacement can be configured while the old unit is still managed, and the old unit unmanaged just before the swap.[1]
- Bundled Pilot on new switches. Fabric Engine documentation states that 5320, 5420 and 5520 series switches include a one-year ExtremeCloud IQ Pilot subscription, starting on the day the switch ships from Extreme or a distribution partner.[8] That clock runs from shipment, not activation.
- Activation and release. Adding a device as managed activates a subscription; unmanaging or deleting it revokes the subscription back to the pool.[1]
Mixed deployments
Full-feature access in Platform ONE Networking needs Platform ONE subscriptions: a site, building or fabric that uses a Pilot subscription has limited features, shown with a blue icon. To unlock full features the location must use only Platform ONE subscriptions, and the reassignment replaces Pilot with Standard Networking subscriptions and is non-reversible.[1] Fabric Engine devices require all buildings with Fabric Engine to be selected together.[1] Because the reassignment cannot be undone, an upgrade project should check the count of devices per tier in the target locations before unlocking.
Expiry and violations
When a subscription expires, ExtremeCloud IQ assigns available current subscriptions of the same type; if there are too few it reallocates, using higher tiers if needed, for the most recently onboarded devices first.[1] In ExtremeCloud IQ (Classic), a shortfall of Pilot or Platform ONE subscriptions makes the system change devices to Unmanaged and Not Licensed, newest first, until it is compliant; unmanaged access points stop sending traps and statistics.[1] Administrators get warnings 90, 60 and 30 days before expiry and then daily from seven days, with optional email and a CSV of affected devices.[1] For a managed service provider the number of Pilot licences can be limited by the MSP, and the customer must go to the MSP to raise the limit.[1]
Legacy Entitlement Keys are no longer sold and are unsupported with the current schema; the guide directs holders to GTAC to convert them to Pilot subscriptions.[1]
Ordering, contracts and trials
Subscriptions are bought through Extreme or a partner. In the application an administrator can build a subscription request and send it to a preferred partner for a quote; renewals follow the same route, and Extreme adds the subscriptions to the pool for the CUID once the request is processed.[1] Contracts that belong to an Enterprise Agreement can have subscriptions added; a new contract is created within minutes and the original is updated at its next anniversary.[1] The Contracts page, for Platform ONE Networking only, shows contract numbers, dates, partner, status and sites, and can be filtered for contracts expiring in 30, 60 or 90 days.[1]
Trials are limited. An administrator can request a 90-day free trial of a Platform ONE application only once; trials are not available to MSP tenants or for ExtremeCloud IQ (Classic), and a trial that was granted but never used still disqualifies a later one.[1] The older ExtremeCloud IQ Evaluation Agreement sets a 30-day free trial and requires a purchased subscription for production use.[10] Preview Services (free, trial, alpha or beta offers) under the Platform ONE agreement are limited to internal evaluation.[6]
NAC, Secure and other services
NAC. ExtremeCloud IQ NAC is sold in blocks of 1K, 10K or 100K end-systems per year. The total is held in the pool and allocated to NAC engines (ExtremeCloud A3 4.0 or later, Site Engine 21.9 or later) as a percentage; the first engine automatically receives up to 100 percent.[1]
Platform ONE Secure and Secure Plus. Secure is sold per year for 250, 1,000, 10,000 or 100,000 endpoints, and Secure Plus for 50 endpoints and 50 remote users, each combined with EW, EW Premier or PSS support.[1]
SD-WAN. ExtremeCloud SD-WAN subscriptions come in two feature levels, Standard and Advanced, priced per appliance tier (Small, Medium, Large) for one, three or five years. The whole deployment must use one level, and two appliances in one site running as active and backup count as one subscription at the highest model.[11]
Universal ZTNA and Business Insights. Both services have a one-year minimum term. For ZTNA the customer cannot cancel before the term ends and remains liable for the remaining charges if it stops using the service. The ZTNA description also states that the service is not designed for usage beyond 300 MB of data transfer per user per month and throughput of 900 Mbps, and that Extreme may throttle usage.[12][13]
Extreme AI. The AI service is made available through subscriptions that include entitlement to it; some premium features may be subject to usage limitations and additional fees based on usage.[14]
End of life
Products that have reached End of Sale can keep connecting and remain operational using existing ExtremeCloud IQ and Platform ONE subscriptions, but Extreme cannot ensure new features work with them. After End of Service Life, GTAC support, software downloads and documentation are no longer covered under Platform ONE; the product’s EOSL overrides the support terms within the subscription.[7] A subscription register should therefore record the lifecycle status of each covered device next to its tier.
Cloud terms that affect licence management
Under the Cloud Subscription Services Agreement, subscription services are non-cancelable and non-refundable except as the agreement provides, and a right to use exists only if the subscription is rightfully acquired through an Extreme-authorised channel.[9] Data is deleted 30 days after the Service Term unless the customer renews before it ends.[9] The Platform ONE agreement lets Extreme suspend access for a security risk, suspected fraud or uncured breach.[6] The Agreements article covers these documents in full.
Out of scope
This article does not cover Site Engine and Controller licensing, switch feature licences or support plans; see Site Engine and Controller licensing, Switch licences and Support and lifecycle. Prices are not published in the cited documents. The subscription-to-hardware mapping for individual models is in the appendix of the Platform ONE Service Description.[2]