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Cisco ASA 5500 Series Configuration Guide using the CLI
Chapter3 Managing Feature Licenses
Information About Feature Licenses
•Licenses FAQ, page3-30
Preinstalled License
By default, your ASA ships with a license already installed. This license might be the Base License, to
which you want to add more licenses, or it might already have all of your licenses installed, depending
on what you ordered and what your vendor installed for you. See the “Monitoring Licenses” section on
page 3-38 section to determine which licenses you have installed.
Permanent License
You can have one permanent activation key installed. The permanent activation key includes all licensed
features in a single key. If you also install time-based licenses, the ASA combines the permanent and
time-based licenses into a running license. See the “How Permanent and Time-Based Licenses
Combine” section on page 3-22 for more information about how the ASA combines the licenses.
Time-Based Licenses
In addition to permanent licenses, you can purchase time-based licenses or receive an evaluation license
that has a time-limit. For example, you might buy a time-based AnyConnect Premium license to handle
short-term surges in the number of concurrent SSL VPN users, or you might order a Botnet Traffic Filter
time-based license that is valid for 1 year.
This section includes the following topics:
•Time-Based License Activation Guidelines, page3-21
•How the Time-Based License Timer Works, page3-21
•How Permanent and Time-Based Licenses Combine, page 3-22
•Stacking Time-Based Licenses, page 3-23
•Time-Based License Expiration, page3-23

Time-Based License Activation Guidelines

•You can install multiple time-based licenses, including multiple licenses for the same feature.
However, only one time-based license per feature can be active at a time. The inactive license
remains installed, and ready for use. For example, if you install a 1000-session AnyConnect
Premium license, and a 2500-session AnyConnect Premium license, then only one of these licenses
can be active.
•If you activate an evaluation license that has multiple features in the key, then you cannot also
activate another time-based license for one of the included features. For example, if an evaluation
license includes the Botnet Traffic Filter and a 1000-session AnyConnect Premium license, you
cannot also activate a standalone time-based 2500-session AnyConnect Premium license.

How the Time-Based License Timer Works

•The timer for the time-based license starts counting down when you activate it on the ASA.