• Secure Mobile Access 12.4
• About This Guide
• CMS Configuration
  • Introduction to CMS
    • Overview
    • CMS Deployment Options
    • What’s New in This Release
      • Global Policy Settings
      • CMS Alerts Logging
    • Central Management Server
    • Central Management Console
    • Managed Appliances
    • Licensing CMS
    • Central User Licenses
    • Global Traffic Optimizer
    • FIPS and CMS
    • Getting Started in Five Steps
  • Installing and Configuring the Central Management Server
    • Overview
    • Kernel based Virtual Machine
    • Supported Platforms for CMS with Global HA
    • Hardware Resource Requirements
    • Installation Files
    • Setting Up a CMS
  • Configuring Appliances for Central Management
    • Overview
    • Firmware Compatibility with the CMS
    • Enabling Central Management on SMA Appliance
    • Registering an SMA Appliance with the CMS
    • Previously Configured Appliances
  • Using the Management Console Menus
    • Overview
    • Dashboard
      • Alerts
      • Appliances Pane
      • Appliance Load
      • Central License Usage Pane
      • About Pane
    • Management Server
      • Alerts
        • View Alerts
        • Configure Alerts
        • Notification
      • Configure
        • Central Management Settings
        • CMS Address Pool
        • Licensing
        • Administrators
          • General Settings
        • Network Settings
        • SSL Settings
        • Services
          • Manage SSH settings from CMS
      • Monitor
        • Configure the logging setting for Managed appliances
      • Maintain
    • Managed Appliances
      • Add/Remove
      • Configure
        • Overview
        • Configuring the Managed Appliances
          • Define Policy
          • Synchronize
        • Support multiple policies with CMS and shared licensing
          • Applying authentication servers to specific appliance
          • Applying SMTP configuration service to specific appliance
          • Applying SMS service to specific appliance
          • Applying realms to a subset of appliance
          • Assign rules to a subset of appliances
          • Support multiple GTO services
      • Monitor
        • User Sessions
        • Reports
        • Health
      • Maintain
  • Central User Licensing
    • Overview
    • How Central User Licenses Work
      • Central Spike User Licenses
      • Central Email Licenses
      • Perpetual Pooled Licenses
    • Enabling Central User Licensing
    • Getting Started with Central User Licensing
      • Setting Up CMS to Use Central User Licenses
      • Setting up CMS for Centralized Appliance Configuration and Management
      • Resetting a CMS License
  • Global High Availability
    • High Availability of the VPN Service
    • High Availability of the CMS
    • Disaster Recovery for the VPN Service
  • Alerts and SNMP
    • Overview
    • Pre-Configured Alerts
    • Configuring SNMP
  • Capture Advanced Threat Protection
    • Enabling Capture ATP
    • File Options
    • Web Services
    • Advanced Settings
  • Central FIPS Licensing
• Global High Availablity
  • Introduction to Global HA and GTO
  • Planning GTO Deployment
    • Choosing a Deployment Model
    • Minimizing Configuration Differences
    • GTO Service Names and DNS Delegations
    • Provisioning Certificates
      • Let's Encrypt
      • Adding Certificates to SMA Appliances
      • Generating a Certificate Signing Request (CSR)
      • Importing SSL Certificates
  • Setting up GTO
    • Setting up the CMS and SMA appliances
    • Enabling GTO service for managed appliances with the CMS
    • Setting up a Basic GTO Service
    • Monitoring and Configuring GTO
    • Defining the Central Policy
  • Extending GTO Deployment
    • Enabling Cached Credentials
    • Additional Deployment Notes
• SonicWall Support
  • About This Document

How Central User Licenses Work

User licenses do not have to be applied to individual VPN appliances. The pooled licensing model allows central user licenses to be shared among the managed appliances. Central user licensing makes use of a distributed data store to keep track of license usage. The distributed data store has storage nodes on multiple appliances so that central user licensing is resilient to the failure of (or communication loss with) the CMS or any one appliance.

Managed appliances must be able to communicate with each other via their external interface IP addresses or internet-routable IP addresses in order for them to be able to share information in the distributed data store.

The following drawing illustrates centrally managed licenses for globally located VPN appliances.

Beginning with the SMA 12.1 release, CMS uses a distributed data store to track user license consumption for each appliance and to regulate the total number of pooled user licenses being used.

In the event of a CMS failure (or loss of communication):

• Managed appliances will continue to access the distributed data store and share central user licenses.

In the event an appliance is orphaned (unable to communicate with the CMS or other appliances):

• An orphaned appliance will have access to the all the central user licenses (and spike licenses) for 7 days or until communications are re-established.

In the event of a communication loss between the CMS and MySonicWall:

• The central user licenses continue to be valid for 30 days.

• Central Spike User Licenses
• Central Email Licenses
• Perpetual Pooled Licenses