ExtremeCloud IQ Site Engine is Extreme Networks’ on-premises network management application, the successor to Extreme Management Center, and the ExtremeCloud IQ Controller is its on-premises appliance for unified wired and wireless control. Neither has its own device-count licence key. They use the same subscriptions as the cloud applications (Pilot, Navigator, Platform ONE Standard Networking tiers) and report consumption against the same licence pool, or against a local licence file where no internet connection is allowed.[1][2] This article explains what is counted, how the two connection modes differ, and where the legacy Management Center entitlements still appear.
Site Engine in outline
The Site Engine help page states that the product includes all the features and functionality of Extreme Management Center and that existing Management Center customers should contact their representative to have the licence migrated. The Site Engine licence also includes licensing for ExtremeAnalytics.[1] It is a subscription-based licensing model only, and it is not compatible with an ExtremeCloud IQ Connect level account: the account level must be Pilot or Extreme Platform ONE.[1] In Connected mode it is compatible with the Platform ONE licensing model starting with version 25.02.10, and in Air Gap mode starting with 25.05.10.[1]
The data sheet lists four data-sharing options for Site Engine: share statistics and end-system information with ExtremeCloud IQ, share statistics only, use ExtremeCloud IQ as a licence proxy only, or Air Gap mode with no internet connectivity.[3] The choice changes what is shared with the cloud; it does not change which subscriptions are needed.
What consumes a subscription
Each instance of Site Engine, Site Engine Analytics and Site Engine Control requires a subscription. If there is no suitable subscription with capacity left, Site Engine and all devices it manages become unmanaged.[2] The help page counts one licence for the Site Engine itself, even when several Site Engine devices appear in the device list.[1]
For managed devices, the guide gives four options: Pilot, Navigator, Platform ONE Standard Networking, or no subscription for devices added with a ping-only profile (typically non-SNMP devices such as printers, cameras and IoT sensors, or third-party devices that do not need full management).[2] The help page maps device types to licence tiers.[1]
| Device type (help page grouping) | Tier | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Universal 5720, 7520, 7720, 7830; Summit X670 family, X690, X695, X770, X870; VSP 7200, 7400, 8000, 8600 | D | 1 per unit |
| Universal 5520; Summit X460-G2, X465, X590, X620; ERS 5900; VSP 4000 and 4900 | C | 1 per unit |
| Universal 5420; Summit X450-G2; ERS 4800 and 4900 | B | 1 per unit |
| Universal 5320, 5322, 5120, 4220, 4120; Summit X440-G2; SLX, ICX, MLXe, VDX, security appliances and other listed devices | A | 1 per unit |
| Chassis (S, K, N, E series, Black Diamond, MLXe, VDX, SLX) | A | 1 per chassis |
| ExtremeControl engine, ExtremeAnalytics engine, vSensor; Site Engine itself | A | 1 each |
| All other devices, including non-Extreme devices | Tier 3rd Party | 1 |
| Devices with ping-only profile | No licence | 0 |
Port extenders, HiveOS access points, Dell N-series and WiNG access points are noted as requiring a Tier A (or, for WiNG, a Tier 3rd Party) licence that is currently not enforced in Site Engine, and these devices are not onboarded to ExtremeCloud IQ through Site Engine.[1] A licence manager should record such devices as “requirement stated, enforcement not applied” rather than as exempt, because the requirement is written into the same table.
Tier substitution
If the licence of the appropriate tier is not available, a higher tier is used. The hierarchy from lowest to highest is No License, Tier 3rd Party, Navigator, Tier A, Tier B, Tier C, Tier D and Pilot.[1] This ordering means a Pilot subscription can cover any device, but a scarce Pilot subscription spent on a Tier A device leaves a Tier D device without cover. Stacks must use subscriptions of one level, Standard or Pilot; combinations are not allowed, and each unit needs a licence or the whole stack is unmanaged.[1] Unlike the cloud applications, Site Engine supports heterogeneous stacks that mix families.[2]
Connected mode
In Connected mode, ExtremeCloud IQ manages the subscriptions. As devices are added and discovered in Site Engine, they are onboarded to ExtremeCloud IQ with a request for a licence of the appropriate tier (Navigator, Pilot, Platform ONE or no licence), and ExtremeCloud IQ activates the available subscription from the pool and determines whether limits are met or exceeded.[1] All Site Engines connected to the same customer account share the pool, and one serial number consumes one licence entitlement regardless of the number of monitoring entities.[1] A device marked Unmanaged in ExtremeCloud IQ is also unmanaged in Site Engine and uses no licence.[1]
Devices without serial numbers or MAC addresses in Management Center must be rediscovered after an upgrade to Site Engine in Connected mode before they can be onboarded.[1] This is a data-quality step that directly affects the count: a device that cannot be onboarded cannot be matched to a subscription.
To realign licences in Connected mode, use Unmanage and Manage in the cloud application.[1]
Air Gap mode
In Air Gap mode Site Engine does not require internet access. It uses a licence file to determine whether limits are met, and devices consume a licence of the appropriate tier against the total listed in the file.[1] Licences in one Air Gap installation cannot be shared with other installations of Site Engine.[1] That makes Air Gap a per-installation allocation, in contrast to the shared pool of Connected mode. A lab instance and a production instance therefore need separate licence files and a decision on how many subscriptions each receives.
The licence file is generated in the Extreme Portal. To move licences, an administrator generates a revocation file (.rvk) in Site Engine, selects the Pilot, Navigator, Platform ONE or NAC licence to revoke, and uploads the file under Assets, Cloud Licenses Home, Revoke License. The revoked licences return to the pool, and a maximum of 10 Air Gap licences can be revoked in one revocation file.[1] In Air Gap deployments the Realign License Assignment button triggers automatic realignment, assigning each device the best-fit available tier.[1]
Violations
For each request to add a device, one of three results follows in either mode. If enough licences of the optimal type exist, onboarding succeeds. If not, a licence of a higher type is used. If there are not enough licences at all, the request is a licence violation, and Site Engine transitions to a violation state in which access to its features and functionality is degraded.[1] To correct a violation in Connected mode the customer must acquire more licences, which Site Engine then uses once they appear in ExtremeCloud IQ. In Air Gap mode the customer generates a new licence file from the portal and installs it.[1] When an evaluation licence is used, all devices are managed with Tier D licences.[1]
ExtremeControl and NAC
If Site Engine is onboarded to ExtremeCloud IQ, ExtremeCloud IQ provides the network access control (NAC) entitlements to it. By default 100 percent of the NAC entitlements is allocated to the first Site Engine; with more than one (for example a lab and a production instance), the allocation can be changed in the cloud application.[1] The allocation is stored as a percentage because the total can change, from 0 to 100 in steps of 0.1.[2]
In Air Gap mode the licensed quantity for ExtremeControl comes from the licence file, and it differs by history. After an upgrade from Extreme Management Center, ExtremeControl licensing does not change: an NMS-ADV licence includes 500 access-control end-systems and an NMS-xx licence includes 250, and if both are in use the quantities are summed. On a fresh installation there is no end-system licence included, and an evaluation licence from the Extreme Portal includes unlimited end-systems.[1]
ExtremeCloud IQ Controller
The Controller is an on-premises management appliance, physical or virtual, designed for unified wired and wireless control in campus and high-density environments. The guide states that it manages up to 20,000 devices (including 1,000 switches) and supports up to 100,000 concurrent users.[2] Those figures are technical capacities, not licence quantities.
Licensing has two parts:
- Activation key. The Controller requires a one-time, per-appliance activation key, sold separately, to enable the software on the hardware or virtual appliance.[2]
- Device subscriptions. Each device the Controller manages needs a Pilot (or Pilot Twin, included with Standard Networking) or Navigator subscription.[2]
The Controller can run independently and connect optionally to the cloud platform, but it does not rely on the cloud platform for licensing. In Connected mode it connects directly to License Entitlement Management (LEM). In Air-Gap mode it stores subscriptions locally in a file, so no internet connection is needed for LEM.[2] Devices onboarded through the Controller are not eligible for CoPilot, and Universal AP devices reported by the Controller are shown with a subscription type of Not Applicable in the device state table.[2]
Pilot Twin and version compatibility
Some Site Engine and Controller versions do not support Platform ONE subscriptions. Site Engine 25.2 and earlier supports Pilot and Pilot Twin; 25.5 and later supports Pilot and Platform ONE; Controller versions support Pilot and Pilot Twin.[2] A customer who buys Standard Networking subscriptions but runs an older application can therefore use the Twin quantity until it upgrades.[1] The lifecycle policy confirms the supported subscription families per application: Pilot, CoPilot, Navigator, Connect, Control, Intuitive Insights, Business Insights, ADSP and Tunnel Concentrator across ExtremeCloud IQ, the Controller and Site Engine.[4]
Server and client applications under the EULA
Where a legacy Extreme server application is licensed under the EULA rather than through the subscription pool, the EULA’s Client License applies: the licence key is installed on the customer’s server and permits the number of Concurrent Users ordered, and a separate licence is required for each additional Concurrent User.[5] The definition of a Concurrent User is any of the licensee’s individual employees given access to the Server Application at any one time.[5] The lifecycle document lists release support for application families, for example current and current minus one for on-premises applications.[6]
Practical points
- Treat each Site Engine, Analytics and Control instance as a licence consumer, in addition to the devices it manages.
- Keep a record per Air Gap installation: licence file date, quantities by tier, and revocation files issued.
- Separate lab and production in Connected mode too, because they draw on one shared pool and one NAC percentage.
- Review the ping-only profile list: devices on it need no licence, but a profile change to full management creates demand.
Out of scope
Cloud-only tiers, switch feature licences and support plans are in the other Extreme articles. Technical sizing of the Controller and Site Engine is a product matter, not a licence rule.