Extreme switch licences control which features of the switch operating system a customer may use. Extreme’s current Universal hardware (for example the 5120, 5320, 5420, 5520, 5720, 7520 and 7720 series) runs either Switch Engine or Fabric Engine, two network operating system personalities that share one licence scheme. The Fabric Engine guide describes the Universal hardware products as sharing a unified licence that is NOS agnostic.[2] These licences are separate from the per-device subscriptions that license management applications, although a subscription can switch some of the same features on. The two mechanisms are easy to double count or to miss, so this article sets them side by side.
License levels
The Switch Engine Licensing Guide lists two levels for Universal hardware: Base, included as standard, and Premier. The Base licence provides a basic feature set and Premier adds functionality.[1]
| Platform | Base | Premier |
|---|---|---|
| 4120 and 4220 series | Included | Not applicable |
| 5120, 5320, 5420, 5520, 5720, 7520, 7720 series | Included | Upgrade |
The Base licence is included with the purchase of the switch and enables basic networking capabilities; further licences are bought separately for advanced features.[2] Version 33.5.1 added feature support to the Base licence for the 4000 series.[1]
What Base and Premier contain
The guide lists the features of each level and the platforms they apply to. The Base licence includes, among others, VRRP, VXLAN on most platforms, multi-switch link aggregation, policy-based routing, RIP, OSPFv2 and OSPFv3 limited to four active interfaces, up to two manually configured BGP peers, PIM limited to four interfaces, Python scripting and virtual router and forwarding on selected models. The Premier licence adds, for example, EVPN, IS-IS, MSDP, full OSPFv2 and OSPFv3 (not limited to four active interfaces), full PIM, BGP4 and MBGP for IPv4 and IPv6 with ECMP, Anycast RP, Integrated Application Hosting on the 5720, 7520 and 7720, and PTPv2 clocks on certain models.[1] The Fabric Engine guide summarises the Premier licence as enabling the DvR Controller (5520 series only), Fabric Connect Layer 3 Virtual Services Networks, more than four OSPF active interfaces and more than two BGP peers.[2]
If a command is run without the required licence, or the limit of the current licence level is reached, the switch reports that the command cannot be executed at the current licence level, or that the maximum limit for the feature at this level has been reached.[1] An unlicensed Premier feature is therefore blocked rather than merely reported, which makes accidental overuse unlikely but leaves the cost of running below the intended feature level.
How Premier can be obtained
The guides describe three routes to Premier features:
- Perpetual Premier licence. A Premier licence is available as a perpetual licence. It can be pushed to the switch from the management application or installed manually from a licence file generated in the Extreme Portal.[3] The Fabric Engine guide lists the part number 5000-PRMR-LIC for the Premier licence.[2]
- Platform ONE Standard Networking subscription. A Premier licence is also included in a Standard Networking subscription.[3]
- Pilot subscription. Switch Engine enables Premier-level features on applicable models when a validated Platform ONE Networking or Pilot licence is applied. For switches managed by ExtremeCloud IQ, Platform ONE or Site Engine with a Pilot or Platform ONE subscription, the management application receives notification of the licence and enables Premier features for the duration of the subscription. The switches must be 5xxx or 7xxx series, and the switch documentation gives minimum firmware versions.[1][3]
The licensing guide adds a point of presentation: although Platform ONE entitlements include Premier features, the management application shows Premier perpetual licences only if an actual Premier licence exists on the switch. If only Pilot or Platform ONE subscriptions exist, it shows only the subscription entitlement level.[3] A software asset manager reading the device list should not treat the absence of a Premier row as the absence of Premier features. The device list has a Feature License column whose values are MACsec, Premier or None, and a separate Device License column for subscriptions.[3]
Another bundled item deserves a line in the register: Fabric Engine documentation says ExtremeSwitching 5320, 5420 and 5520 series switches include a one-year ExtremeCloud IQ Pilot subscription, starting the day the switch ships from Extreme or a distribution partner.[2] When that year ends and no subscription replaces it, Premier features enabled through it end too, unless a perpetual Premier licence is installed.
Installing, binding and moving licences
Licences are stored in the switch’s EEPROM and persist through reboots, software upgrades, power outages and reconfigurations. The keys are unique to the switch but can be transferred.[1] The Fabric Engine guide states that licences are tied to the switch serial number; they are generated in the Extreme Portal and installed manually, or obtained through ExtremeCloud IQ.[2]
Manual activation uses a licence activation file from the Support Portal, loaded to the switch and installed with the install license file command. A licence can be uninstalled temporarily with the withhold option, which keeps the entitlement on the switch, or permanently with the revoke option, which invalidates the feature licence and generates a revocation certificate, the first step in releasing the entitlement back to License Entitlement Management.[1]
On transfers, the guide is narrow. Permanent removal enables transfer to another switch, but the guide says this should be done only when preparing to return a defective switch for an RMA replacement. The transfer is requested in the Extreme Portal with the serial numbers of the defective and replacement units and the RMA or case number.[1] Redeploying a perpetual Premier licence from a retired but working switch to a new one is not described as supported. A customer planning such a move should ask Extreme in writing; the EULA’s Single User, Single Network Device licence is bound to one serial-numbered device or a replacement for that device for the same term.[7]
Evaluation
Universal switches come with a Base licence. To evaluate Premier, an administrator can enable a trial that allows all features except MACsec, with saved configuration, for 30 days. After 30 days without a Premier or Platform ONE licence the trial is removed and the switch reverts to Base capabilities after the next restart. The trial can be renewed three more times (not on 4000 series switches, which have no Premier licence). Installing a Premier or Platform ONE licence clears the trial automatically.[1] The EULA treats such periods as an Evaluation Licence: free, time-limited, non-commercial use.[7] Running a trial in production for up to four 30-day periods is a configuration the guide allows; whether it is within the EULA’s “non-commercial” wording is a question for the licensee’s counsel and Extreme.
Feature licences
Feature licences supplement the levels. They are distributed either in the Switch Engine software, in which case a licence must be bought to use the feature, or as a modular software package (an XMOD file) that must be requested from the supplier and installed.[1]
- MPLS. Available as part of the Premier licence on 5520, 7520 and 7720.[1]
- AVB. Included in the Base licence on supported Universal platforms, so no separate purchase is needed.[1]
- MACsec. Use of MAC Security requires a slot-based MACsec feature licence. On a standalone switch without it, only the show macsec command is available and MACsec cannot be enabled. In a stack, commands are available and MACsec can be configured on MACsec-capable slots, but it can be enabled only on licensed slots.[1] The licensing guide gives a supported-platform table (5120, 5320, 5420, 5520, 5720 and the 7520-48YE-8CE, with exceptions for some models and ports).[1] MACsec is not enabled by the Premier trial, and in a Platform ONE subscription example the guide counts MACsec as a separate per-device licence with its own entitlement.[3]
- ExtremeCloud IQ agent. The agent that connects the switch to ExtremeCloud IQ (discovery, basic monitoring, homogeneous stack visibility) appears in the feature-licence table, where the XMOD column indicates it is delivered as a modular software package.[1]
5320 10 Gbps port licences
By default the SFP+ ports on the 5320 series operate at 1 Gbps. A 10 Gbps Port License is required for 10 Gbps operation, in two sizes: the highest four SFP+ ports on any 5320 model (5320-10GUPG-4X-LIC-P), or all eight SFP+ ports on the 24- and 48-port models (5320-10GUPG-8X-LIC-P). Two port licences cannot be applied to one switch and a 4-port licence cannot be upgraded to an 8-port licence; the 4-port licence must be revoked first.[2] For a refresh project this means the port licence is a switch-level asset to count, even though the hardware has the ports.
Legacy ExtremeXOS and BlackDiamond licences
Older switches used licence levels named Edge, Advanced Edge and Core, with feature packs such as MPLS, OpenFlow, network timing and third-party optics licences. The Feature License Requirements guide for version 31.7 (April 2022) separates non-Universal and Universal hardware, and states that licences are unique to the switch and stored in EEPROM.[4] Extreme’s paperless voucher FAQ lists legacy part numbers (for example Summit X450-G2 Core and Advanced Edge licences, X460-G2 licences, and BlackDiamond 8800 and X8 feature packs) delivered by email rather than on paper. Entitlements may be redeemed only once, are tied to the end customer, and (other than OpenStack products) need the hardware serial number at redemption.[6]
Extreme’s policy on optional operational software explains how such licences are serviced. Feature Packs and Advanced Edge Licenses are sold separately from the base software embedded in hardware. They carry a Software Product Warranty but are serviced as a hardware product, so the switch must also be on a service agreement, at minimum TAC&OS, to obtain support.[5]
Resale and secondary-market equipment
Embedded software is licensed to the end user, and the EULA allows Embedded Software to be used only with the hardware it is embedded on unless the Ordering Documentation says otherwise.[7] Extreme’s secondary-market policy draws the commercial line: base operating software that shipped on the hardware is not affected, but advanced feature licences and application feature licences that are price-list items are not transferable, and the new end customer must buy them again. Subscriptions and original product warranties are also not transferable.[8] The software warranty (90 days from the start date or initial download) applies only to the original end user purchaser.[9] A buyer of used switches should assume that Premier, MACsec and port licences on them are not usable without a new purchase, and should price that in.
Practical points
- Record per switch: serial number, licence level, feature licences, and whether Premier arrives by perpetual licence or subscription.
- Reconcile the device list’s Device License and Feature License columns with Portal licence records; they show different things.
- Plan for the end of the bundled Pilot year on 5320, 5420 and 5520 switches.
- Keep RMA case numbers with licence transfer records.
Out of scope
Feature-by-feature comparison across all platforms, pricing and warranty hardware terms are not covered. The full feature tables are in the cited Licensing Guide.