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Cisco ASA 5500 Series Configuration Guide using the CLI
Chapter3 Managing Feature Licenses
Information About Feature Licenses
Figure3-1 Failover and Shared License Servers
The standby backup server shares the same operating limits as the primary backup server; if the standby
unit becomes active, it continues counting down where the primary unit left off. See the “Information
About the Shared Licensing Backup Server” section on page 3-25 for more information.

Failover and Shared License Participants

For participant pairs, both units register with the shared licensing server using separate participant IDs.
The active unit syncs its participant ID with the standby unit. The standby unit uses this ID to generate
a transfer request when it switches to the active role. This transfer request is used to move the shared
sessions from the previously active unit to the new active unit.
Maximum Number of Participants
The ASA does not limit the number of participants for the shared license; however, a very large shared
network could potentially affect the performance on the licensing server. In this case, you can increase
the delay between participant refreshes, or you can create two shared networks.
Failover Pair #1
Main (Active)Main (Standby)
Failover Pair #2
Backup (Active) Backup (Standby)
1. Normal
operation:
Blue=Shared license
server in use
(Active)=Active
failover unit
Failover Pair #1
Main (Failed) Main (Active)
Failover Pair #2
Backup (Active) Backup (Standby)
2. Primary main
server fails over:
Failover Pair #1
Main (Failed) Main (Failed)
Failover Pair #2
Backup (Active)Backup (Standby)
3. Both main
servers fail:
Failover Pair #1
Main (Failed) Main (Failed)
Failover Pair #2
Backup (Failed) Backup (Active)
4. Both main servers and
primary backup fail:
Key
251356