Gigamon GigaVUE-OS and GigaSMART licences cover the software keys that make GigaVUE HC Series and TA Series visibility appliances, their cards, and the GigaSMART traffic-processing applications operational. They differ from the volume-based licences used for GigaVUE Cloud Suite: they are bound to hardware (or pooled across hardware of the same type), and they are counted in keys, cards, chassis or nodes rather than data volume. The reference document is the GigaVUE Licensing Guide, which covers GigaVUE-FM and GigaVUE-OS licensing in one place.[1]
Licence layers
A GigaVUE HC Series installation has up to four licence layers.
- GigaVUE-FM. The fabric manager is provisioned with a base licence that uses the node-locked model. With it, the customer can add one physical node, one virtual node and 10 virtual tap points for each applicable cloud platform.[1]
- GigaVUE-OS (chassis licence). Required on HC Series and TA Series devices to enable management of the nodes; it can be installed through the CLI or GigaVUE-FM.[1]
- GigaVUE-OS Module (card licence). Required to manage modules or cards in HC Series devices.[1]
- GigaSMART Application (feature licence). Required to perform GigaSMART operations and traffic processing on HC Series devices.[1]
For a hardware node to work, the guide says the chassis licence, the module licence and the GigaSMART feature licence must all be installed where the hardware requires them.[1]
Bifurcated -HW SKUs
Some hardware is sold in two parts: a hardware-only SKU and a software licence SKU. The Licensing Guide explains how to tell which applies. Run the show chassis and show card commands and check the HW type; any type with an -HW suffix requires a licence. A device or module without the suffix can be used straight after installation without restriction, although other licences may be required to activate additional features.[1]
| SKU | Meaning in the Licensing Guide |
|---|---|
| GVS-HC3A1 | Standard GigaVUE-HC3 node that does not require a GigaVUE-OS licence |
| GVS-HC3A1-HW | Bifurcated SKU (GigaVUE-HC3 node) that requires a GigaVUE-OS node licence |
| GVS-HC3A1-SW-TM | GigaVUE-OS node licence SKU for an -HW GigaVUE-HC3 appliance |
| PRT-HC3-C08Q08 | Standard expansion card that does not require a licence |
| PRT-HC3-C08Q08-HW | Bifurcated expansion card SKU that requires a card licence |
| PRT-HC3-C08Q08-SW-TM | Card licence SKU for an -HW expansion card |
The guide also states that hardware types can be mixed: an -HW card can sit in a non-HW chassis or the reverse, because each component is licensed separately. On GigaVUE-OS versions earlier than 5.12 the system does not identify -HW components as hardware needing a licence and loads them as standard components; after an upgrade to 5.12 or later the component is identified as -HW and then requires a licence.[1] An upgrade across that boundary can therefore change the licence position of installed hardware.
The three-letter SKU prefixes identify the product: GFM (GigaVUE-FM), GVS (GigaVUE-OS), BPS (bypass switch), PRT (port module), SMT (GigaSMART module), VBL (volume-based licence), TAP (TAP module) and CLS (advanced features).[1] The support terms treat the -HW suffix as meaningful: Return and Replacement is not available for support purchased for hardware SKUs ending in -HW, and for software SKUs ending in -SW-TM (a term licence) advance hardware replacement may be bought for a non-renewable five-year term, only at or within one year of the original hardware purchase.[3]
Chassis and module dependency
For GigaVUE-OS 5.12.00 and later the guide gives the dependency between chassis and module licence types for HC Series devices. A hardware-only chassis with hardware-only modules needs both a GigaVUE-OS licence and a module licence. A chassis and a module with integrated licences need only the base licence. A hardware-only chassis with integrated modules needs the GigaVUE-OS licence, and no licence is required for the ports. An integrated chassis with hardware-only modules needs the module licence for the ports to be active, with no chassis licence.[1] The GigaVUE-HC1-X12G4 card does not require a separate module licence; the GigaVUE-OS licence brings it up. The Gigamon G-TAP and Dell platforms do not support GigaVUE-OS and Module licences, and the TA Series does not support the Module licence.[1]
Binding models
Node-locked (fixed)
A node-locked licence ties to a specific card or device serial number and cannot be moved. It can be managed from the CLI or GigaVUE-FM. Keys are generated in the licensing portal. Automatic renewal is not supported: the customer creates the new licence in the portal, imports it into GigaVUE-FM and assigns it.[1] This follows the general contract restriction against using software that is licensed for a specific device, physical or virtual, on another device.[2]
Removing a node-locked key has two forms. An uninstall removes the licence from the chassis but does not revoke it, so it can be reinstalled. A revoke makes the key permanently unusable: it cannot be reused on reinstall, and Gigamon technical support must generate a new key for the device.[1] The same distinction exists for GigaVUE-FM licences: a deleted key can be added again, a revoked key cannot.[1]
Floating (flexible)
Floating licences are not attached to a specific card or chassis; they can be moved or reassigned across cards within a device or across devices. GigaSMART application licences can be moved only within the same device type. GigaVUE-FM must be installed to manage floating licences, and automatic renewal is supported.[1] Floating licences are supported for GigaVUE-FM and GigaVUE-OS HC Series, not for the TA Series, and the module and chassis licences cannot be transferred.[1] A floating licence can be moved from one GigaVUE-FM to another using the MAC ID of the old GigaVUE-FM, after the new GigaVUE-FM is installed.[1]
GigaVUE-FM packages
GigaVUE-FM licence packages are sized by physical node count. The base or evaluation licence is free of charge and covers one physical node. The 5-Pack covers up to five and the 10-Pack up to ten; Prime covers more than ten, up to the maximum in the GigaVUE-FM specifications. Customers can upgrade from a 5-Pack to a 10-Pack or Prime and from a 10-Pack to Prime.[1] Features differ: the base licence shows only a fixed set of static dashboard widgets and no reports, with one day of trending data; the 5-Pack adds customisable dashboards, reports and one week of trending data; the 10-Pack and Prime keep one month of trending data.[1]
If the GigaVUE-FM evaluation licence expires, GigaVUE-FM reverts to supporting one physical and one virtual node. When a licence is invalid the guide applies a node priority order (a cluster leader, then standalone nodes ranked by model with GigaVUE-HC3 above GigaVUE-HC1), and deactivated nodes remain visible and can be reactivated when a valid licence is reinstalled.[1] To run only GigaVUE V Series, no additional GigaVUE-FM licence is needed.[1]
GigaSMART application licences
GigaSMART licences can be procured as node-locked or floating and individually or as bundles. Several operations (packet slicing, masking, trailers and a set of tunnel encapsulation and decapsulation functions) are covered by a base licence on GigaVUE HC Series nodes. Separate licences enable further applications.[1]
| Licence | What it enables |
|---|---|
| Advanced Tunneling (Tunneling on HC1) | IP, Layer 2 GRE, VXLAN, custom and ERSPAN tunnel functions |
| De-duplication | GigaSMART De-duplication |
| Header Stripping | Header Addition and Header Stripping |
| Adaptive Packet Filtering (APF) | GigaSMART APF |
| Application Filtering Intelligence | Application Session Filtering and APF |
| Application Metadata Intelligence | Application Metadata Intelligence |
| GTP Filtering and Correlation | GTP correlation, whitelisting and flow sampling, scaling, stateful session recovery |
| SIP/RTP Correlation | SIP/RTP correlation |
| FlowVUE | FlowVUE |
| NetFlow Generation | NetFlow generation |
| SSL Decryption | Passive SSL decryption and SSL decryption for inline and out-of-band tools |
GigaSMART load balancing does not need a separate licence: stateless load balancing is included with the base licences, stateful load balancing for GTP and ASF is included with the GTP Filtering and Correlation and Application Session Filtering licences, and stateful load balancing for tunnels is included with the tunneling licences. MPLS traffic performance enhancement also needs no separate licence. Bundled features can run only on the corresponding GigaSMART hardware, and the SKUs are in the GigaSMART data sheet.[1]
Evaluation and perpetual combinations
An evaluation licence can cover a bundle of GigaSMART applications. If a customer holds a perpetual licence for one application, for example de-duplication, and evaluates a bundle of ten applications that includes it, the 60-day evaluation applies to the other nine and the perpetual licence applies to de-duplication. A perpetual licence obtained after an evaluation licence overwrites it.[1] Evaluation and perpetual keys are saved on the GigaSMART card or module while the licence information is stored in the configuration database; a mismatch between them (after a card crash or when moving licences between cards) shows as license-mismatch and is cleared by re-installing a licence.[1]
Term licences and expiry
Gigamon licences are either term (evaluation, or subscription of one month or 1, 3, 5 or 7 years) or perpetual. The guide states that Elite support is included for the duration of a term licence and with a perpetual purchase.[1] The Products Terms separate this from the contract: support is provided for a separate fee under the Support Terms.[2] A practitioner should read the support entitlement on the quote.
On expiry of a term licence the Products Terms say the software may no longer function and may not be used without a new Term License.[2] The Licensing Guide describes the product behaviour: a uniform 45-day window after expiry in which normal operation continues and map creation and editing are allowed, followed by a state in which new maps cannot be created and existing maps cannot be edited. Traffic flow is not affected during or after the window.[1]
| Licence | Not installed | On expiry |
|---|---|---|
| GigaVUE-OS (HC Series) | All cards in the node are down | Chassis stays up; all modules except the CC (control) cards shut down; cards cannot be brought up until renewed |
| GigaVUE-OS Module (HC Series) | All ports of the card are inactive | Ports go inactive; port-level changes not allowed until renewed |
| GigaSMART | New maps with GigaSMART operations cannot be configured | Maps cannot be created or edited once the 45-day window has passed |
| GigaVUE-OS (TA Series) | All ports inactive | All ports in the device go inactive; port-level changes are not allowed until renewed |
Additional consequences follow expiry of GigaVUE-OS or Module licences: an in-band cluster breaks, logical inline traffic flows are affected, config switch-to fails and switching to FIPS or Crypto mode fails. If a licence expires on a bypass (BPS) card, physical bypass is enabled on all protected inline networks.[1] These are operational impacts that matter when planning renewals of inline deployments.
Late renewal
Under the Products Terms a late renewal of a term-licence subscription carries a reinstatement fee equal to 15 percent of the annual value of the renewal fee, plus retroactive fees from the date the term licences originally expired.[2] Letting a term lapse into the 45-day window therefore changes the commercial position even if traffic keeps flowing.
Out of scope
This article does not cover the keys used for GigaVUE Cloud Suite (see volume-based licensing), the portal workflow (see licence portal and activation), or hardware specifications and per-SKU prices, which Gigamon publishes in product data sheets.